Analog Girl gets an iPod

Some people love new technology. I'm not one of those people. Long after everyone had switched over to CDs, I was still listening to music on cassette tapes. And the only reason I bought a DVD player was because Babylon-5 was coming out on DVD and I needed something to watch the DVDs on. So of course I resisted the iPod hype, though I was tempted by its size (or lack thereof) purely for medical reasons--the less I'm carrying, the happier my shoulders and back will be. And I have a long commute to work and cannot read on the bus. Still, I resisted, until I spilled ginger ale on my CD player while coming back from New York, after which the volume control wouldn't work.

So, I bought an iPod Mini. The first few days after its arrival it sat, lonely and unloved, still in its shrink-wrap. I was busy (I rationalized); I needed to back up files on my computer before loading new software. Yeah yeah lame excuses. It's finally out of the box, and I'm using it, having uploaded half a dozen CDs to the computer and then to the little gizmo. But I'm still struggling with the "very easy to use" controls on the iPod. What's up with that little wheel anyway? Yes, if I fumble with it long enough eventually I get it to do what I want...but I feel like I need a tutorial from a 13-year-old. And so, I get pulled further into the 21st century. First a cell phone, now this.

At least I still have my analog wrist watch.