Saved by the Dell

Ask anyone that knows me and they'll tell you that music is muy importante to me. I am always changing the song on my MySpace to mirror my mood or try to convey feelings that I can't quite find the words for. My mp3 player is always with me in my car, at the gym, or on neighborhood walks/rollerblading. My computer, which houses my music library, travels with me throughout various places in my home to deliver my much needed musical therapy. Yes, I even take it into the bathroom with me when I am showering. Music just makes the mundane go quicker and dare I say..fun!

Imagine my panic when my mp3 player went on the fritz! I've had this feeling once before when my first mp3 player died after jumping off a treadmill once...but oh yeah....3 times in the matter of 20 minutes. One phone call to Dell later revealed that mp3 suicide wasn't covered in the regular warranty. My husband wasted no time in getting me another one in a very timely manner. Guess he didn't want to deal with my music withdrawals. Who can blame him? The whining, bitchiness, wandering aimlessly singing to myself..it's not pretty. Anyway, the other night he and I were on our way to dinner and true to form, I hooked up my player to my little car converter. The music started but only the right speaker delivered sound. Thinking I hadn't put the thingy into the jack all the way, I took it out, put it back in but this time it was clear in the right speaker and crackly in the left. Come on! I jiggled the wire around and the left speaker delivered clear sound. Whew! Nobody move! A little shaken but slightly relieved I optimistically said, "Oh it must be this connection. Hope it doesn't do that with my earphones."

Fast forward two days later at the gym. Getting ready to get my work out on and ready to listen to some heart pumping tunes, I hooked my ear phones up and to my horror, sound in the right ear only! Every time I moved the sound went in and out of the left ear. Crap! Are you kidding me? Stupid Dell! I was totally unimpressed at this point seeing as I had already been through one Dell product. True, the first go 'round was my fault which is why my dear dear player stayed in such a soft protective case...just in case of further suicide attempts....and there have been a couple.

Well, luckily I have the smartest husband ever! He took my player with the faulty jack and worked his magic. I don't know what he did but all I saw was screws everywhere, the silver housing being pried off and the guts of my player in his hands. I felt a little panic as I thought about reloading 500+ songs on a new player if he couldn't get this fixed. Interrupting my thoughts, he said, "I think I fixed your player." Nervously I hooked my earphones up and turned the player on. The tracks popped up and I quickly pushed PLAY. Lo and behold "All that noise and all that sound" blared through both ears! Yippee! A look of relief and accomplishment flooded his face. Yes, I'm sure that he is very proud that he staved off a music withdrawal episode. Can you imagine having to actually tote CDs again and not have a play list of at least 20 different artists? Oh! the horror. It's just too much. I just can't think about it.