Thursday, June 15, 2006

Guilty Pleasures

What's with the things that we secretly enjoy, though we feel like we shouldn't (or we really shouldn't)? I have quite a few: spending the large chunk of a day reading when I feel that I should be doing something more 'productive'; eating after 10pm; staying up late when I really should be getting my much needed rest for the next day; watching films at home (again, I feel like I should be doing something more worthwhile); splurging on something nice for myself (my frugal side feels that I should save and spend on needs, not wants). Hmmmm, I think I'm starting to see a pattern here. I feel like I should always be engaged in some productive activity.

Anyway, the latest are books that I read when I was a teenager. I have always been a big reader and have always tended to read what I like, paying no attention to genre. So, maybe I'm merely reading books whose stories capture my interest. I don't know.... A couple of months or so ago, I picked-up some Sweet Dreams books. I thought they were silly and fluffy. But, here I am a few months later reading another one - Rocky Romance about a budding romance set in ...... oh, wait for it ..... the Rockies (Canadian mountain). Well, I guess this phase will soon pass.

My other guilty pleasure has for a while been my iPod. A guilty pleasure because I swore I would never buy into the hype of cool created by some very clever marketing team. Until I tried it out and discovered that the iPod was actually quite a cool gadget. Aside from the fact that it works very well, it has such a sleek design.

The one not-so-cool thing that I had heard about iPods was that they don't have a very long shelf live. And oh, did I find that out the hard way. My iPod is no more! When I try to start it up, it makes this sad, whirring noise like it's desperately trying to come alive but, due to forces stronger than itself, it cannot. I'm sad especially since I hadn't owned it for that long, but at the end of the day it's just a gadget and life can go on without it. But, now I'm wondering if this is the dark side of the iPod. It looks so gorgeous and works so well initially. By the time, you are totally hooked, it goes kaput on you. And like the personal music/video fiend that you have now become, you run out to buy another one. LOL! Maybe that's a better business plan than giving your consumers products that work so well that they have no need to buy another one for years.

10 comments:

Vixen said...

Sorry for your Ipod. if you've had it less than a year you can mail it back to Apple Inc. and they will send you a new one. Just look for info on the Apple website, under Customer Service. If you've had it longer than 6 months you have to pay S&H on it but otherwise it's totally free.

Pilgrimage to Self said...

I second tuckergurl on the guilty pleasures. I have so many of them.

And like vixen said, mail your iPod back and you'll get a replacement. So far so good, mine has been going strong for a few months now with no problems. I only wish they had included a user manual with it. Cheap skates! Grrrr. :-)

Ore said...

LOL! Thanks, girls! I'm not sure how it would work mailing an iPod from Lagos and having them mail one back.

Today I'm totally deluged with work and so the world of guilty pleasures seems to far away.

Anonymous said...

Sweet Valley High and Sweet Dreams. I remember reading quite a few of those books!

I got an iPod Nano about a week and a half ago and can see why people get so attached to theirs. Looking forward to taking mine on a short trip over the next few days!

Ndidi.

Vixen said...

You've been tagged by the way. Details on Mysterious Meander.

Pilgrimage to Self said...

The African Food Blog has launched, please visit www.africanfoodblog.blogspot.com to see how you can be a part of it. thanks!

PS - spread the word

TMinx said...

its 3.05 and im browsing. Talk about guilty pleayyyures. I'm not sleepy though, I think I have a case of insomnia. Girl give it 9the ipod) to someone travelling to post and they can send it to an addy abroad and u can get it later. Some of them have factory faults hence the free exchange.

supermandru said...

I got an ipod in 2003, it lasted till this year. Now it's got battery problems. From speaking with a couple of people that have worked for apple, the battery problem is a big issue with ipods and apple is aware of this. So if you mail your ipod back, and it is really a battery problem they'll mail you a new one (in the exact version/model of the faulty one). You'd have to pay a service charge though

I have tried another mp3 player (creative labs zen vision: M), mainly because I don't like the restrictions that come with the ipod/itunes. It has more features than the ipod and it doesn't have the restrictions with the ipods, but it's bulkier(like the older generation ipods), the sound quality is not as good, and the controls are ackward to use. I just returned it for a refund over the weekend. Maybe the next generation of the zen vision: M will give apple a run for their money. We'll see.

Ore said...

Supermandru, I had thought about trying another MP3 player. The iPod is great, but can it really be the best out there? I really loved my iPod though. It was so easy to use and the design was both sleek and very functional, but I hope that some worthy alternatives come up.

Anonymous said...

creative has a wide range of mp3 players. and the best thing is that it can be used on any computer system. i've had mine for 4 years now. obviously newer models have come, but i don't like replacing electronics until they break.

less pollution. if i could send it to someone back home in nigeria, then i would. positive re-cycling in a way