electronic failure

All my electronic gadgets are shitting the bed on me at the same time. Well, only 2 - my phone and my iPod - but those are really all I've got electronic gadget wise (except my laptop, pleeease don't crap out on me.)

Last week my iPod stopped working. One minute I was rockin' out, and the next thing I knew there was a little apple on the screen. The color slowly drained from the apple and then nothing. I went to the website and tried to do the stuff they said. Nada.

Yesterday my phone started fritzing. Every time I tried to write a text message it froze and then restarted itself. Not cool.

Today I decided I needed to deal with these things. There's a Verizon store and an Apple store near my department, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone. The Verizon store was easy enough - they had to update some software and just needed me to leave it there for an hour. The only downside to that was I still don't have a watch and my cell is currently my only time-telling device, but I knew it wouldn't be hard to kill 60 minutes in SoHo.

This was my first trip to the Apple store. I've decided it is designed to make you feel a) uncool and b) stupid. Not to mention you'd think they had the secret to eternal life on the shelves with the sheer number of people in the store and various groups lining up for no discernible reason. It's an absolute shit show in there. I talked briefly to the first guy I saw who looked appropriately hip enough to work there, and he told me I'd need to go to the genius bar, but to do so I have to make an appointment through the concierge. No joke.

Let's start with the fact that it's called a genius bar. Nothing to put you in your place like an interaction where you have to essentially tell someone, "I am stupid and inferior and don't know how this works. You may or may not be able to fix this for me. I will stand here meekly and kindly request that you bestow upon me and my humble device (I've got a 2nd generation Nano, it's not even like I've got an iPhone) some of your infinite wisdom and skill, if it so pleases you." Of course all the appointments for the day were taken, and, low and behold, Thursday and Friday were booked, too. I can't make it on Saturday, so I'm just going to wait until Monday and go back in and see if they can fit me in sometime during the next lunar month. Of course I'm convinced Apple has programmed their devised to die (mine is barely 1.5 yrs old) so you're forced to buy a new model. The new nanos are out now.

Mercifully, my phone is fixed and Peter had an extra iPod to lend me so I don't have to resort to kicking it old school with a boombox on my shoulder. Fingers crossed for the fate of my iPod.