#digital downsizing

how should I bedazzle/customize it??

23 June 2011

I cracked my iPod Touch screen tonight. This is ironic, because I just spent time going through my music collection deleting and unchecking music that was no longer relevant to me (or not relevant enough to carry around everyday) as part of my digital downsizing. My iPod is basically my substitute for a smartphone. Why? Well, because it does all the things a smartphone can do, but at a tiny fraction of the cost. What about internet? Assuming I can't find free wifi (hey, it happens), I actually have mobile 4G from Clear and often have my modem with me - lots of birds, one stone with that one. (I might rant talk about Clear at some other point, too.)

So how did I crack the screen? Long story short, I forgot it was in my back pocket - it's rarely there - and it fell out. Now, it only dropped maybe 18 inches, but it fell onto tile, apparently landing directly on the bottom left corner, glass-side down. Thus there's a nice spider-web radiating out from the impact point, but luckily not very far into the screen, perhaps because I have an Invisible Shield on it. I'm disappointed - I've been careful to take care of it (it's only 6 months old), and I hate when things aren't "perfect" anymore. 

But this has also been a little bit of a revelatory occurrence. See, about a year ago, my cat caused an accident that knocked a snow globe - a gift from my family for my college graduation, something that had obvious sentimental value - on the floor, shattering it. I was distraught. The company had since gone out of business and I couldn't even find a replacement online. The best I could do was fine one of the very few artisans who repair snow globes on the web and inquire about getting it fixed. He seemed very nice, but I never did send it in (I was moving soon). I still have that broken globe in its box, and I'm unsure if I should get it repaired since it meant a lot to me, or if I should get rid of it. 

My iPod, on the other hand, seems to be functionally sound. While I can't stand cosmetic blemishes like this crack, I'm sure in time I'll get used to it. In fact, my initial disappointment led to 20 minutes of searching the web for the possibility of fixing it, by the end of which time I wasn't even sure it was worth the time/money. My iPod is just a thing. Sure, I feel dumb for being careless and cracking it, but it still works just fine. As much as I might want it to look nice, I'm not going to go drop over $100 to get the glass replaced.

Lest I sound too flippant, like "I know I'm just going to get a new one sooner or later, so it doesn't matter," rest assured I don't feel compelled to get the newest gadget every 6 months. My other iPods each lasted at least 3 years before biting it, and their replacements were gifts. Remember how I don't have a smartphone? Yeah, I'm still on my old Samsung texting phone that's also the better part of 3 years old. I'm not a high-turnover techie, which would fly in the face of my new mission anyway.

My real revelation tonight was that my iPod is just a thing, it doesn't need to be perfect. If it were really broken, of course I'd be upset - it was expensive and I like having it (for work and play) - but its damage isn't hurting me. 

It's just a thing.

And that was incredibly freeing.