To MP3 or Not to MP3

Ah the petty worries of the indecisive one. "She who hesitates is, well ... me," Dan always says. And he's right. The most recent mock crisis? MP3 players.

The Bay had a sale on a Sony 8GB player starting last Friday. I hemmed and hawed so long that by the time I went on Sunday the players had all gone too (although there was a chance they might have had more available today). So then I was regretting not going ... only not terribly badly since I'd never actually made up my mind I wanted one in the first place. It's just that it was such a good buy - $50 instead of $140 - and a decent little player too from all accounts, with an astonishing 45 hours of battery life. But then today I noticed on Tiger Direct that a 30GB Zune is on sale for $125. What's a girl to do?

I should explain that I already have a perfectly functional little Creative Zen player. It has decent sound, runs conveniently off AAA batteries, and includes a nice FM radio. Its only downfall, really, is that it's only 1GB or 10-12 cd's. That's rather limiting because I really don't know ahead of time what I'm going to be in the mood to listen to (the fact I'm a little lazy about unloading and reloading it, even though it's a very simple process, doesn't help either). I should also add that I don't even listen to it that much! At school I often want to hear the sound of nothing other than peace and quiet on my breaks. On my walks I want to hear the birds and the waves (and, if necessary, the cars!). At home I have a whole (big) drawer full of real cd's, plus more files still on my computers. The only time I really use it extensively is on our drives to Kingston ... maybe three or four times a year!

So what's a girl to do and why is she worrying about it at all? The innate and frugal Scot in me wants a bargain. But do I want more storage space? Better quality? Longer battery life? And why on earth am I stressing at all when I have enough sitting in my bank account to go right out and buy the most expensive Ipod Touch - not even on sale? [BTW I was reading an interesting article in Real Simple (Oct. 2008) about happiness that made the distinction between satisficers, who are content to make a decision once their basic criteria have been met and maximizers, who can't make a decision until they've examined every possible option - and even then may be anxious about their choices. Guess which one's happier ... and guess which one's me!]

In the end, I'm not getting any MP3 player at all right now. And maybe that's for the best. My horoscope did say that "your current obsession is a chocolate soldier that looks formidable entering the battlefield, but melts in the heat of passion" after all! And maybe instead of looking for bargains, I need to just define my criteria, get what meets them, and be happy.

So, here's my criteria for when I'm really ready to upgrade:

• big enough to hold lots of music and some movies too - minimum 32GB
  
• nice big screen (not easily scratched or fingerprinted) for when I do want to watch a movie
• great battery life (maybe including the ability to use disposables in a pinch); wind-up or solar powered would be extra cool, but that's a bit far-fetched for the near future I think!
• a simple USB connection - NO proprietary cables!!!
• something that plays pretty much everything you can throw at it - mp3, wav, flac, wmv, avi, divx, xvid etc. etc. etc. so no stupid conversions are required
• wireless internet for simple surfing, email checking etc.
  
• the ability for a few little games would be sort of nice, as would the ability to read my excel-file booklist

Hmmm ... sounds sort of like an Ipod Touch - made by somebody other than Apple. Well we'll just have to see what the technology gurus at Sony, Creative, Microsoft and others come up with. In the meantime, it looks like my little Creative Zen and I will be starting off another school year together.

Little Highlights Every Day

So, when you're on holiday the days - weeks even - all tend to blur one into another. Yet I still look forward to the special and unique things about each day. They're small (generally very small) pleasures, but it's nice to have even the tiniest thing to look forward to. And here they are:

Monday: Easy puzzles in the paper (I can do the N.Y.Times crossword!) to ease you into the week. Concerts in the evening at Pine Beach Park.
Tuesday: Easy puzzles again. Evening concerts at Centennial Park. I've also enjoyed a few episodes of the PBS series "Nova Science Now". And there's always the possibility of a discount movie too.
Wednesday: Some concerts at Stewart Hall; also once-a-year special events (Movies in the Park, Shakespeare in the Park and the Orchestre Metropolitain) in Dorval. Dan plays hockey so I'm on my own to enjoy little pleasures like a nice long soak in the tub or maybe a movie.
Thursday: The flyers arrive! Sad, I know, but this really is one of the highlights of my week. I love seeing what's on sale and planning where to shop this week. The Chronicle and Suburban are also available at the library.
Friday: The electronics flyers arrive. Usually I don't need anything, but it's nice to see what's new.
Saturday: The big paper of the week. Possible garage sales (although very skimpy this month). I watch Hyacinthe ("Keeping Up Appearances") when it's on.
Sunday: A nice big Wonderword to keep me occupied. Sometimes we watch PBS's "Nature" - if it won't be too scary!

Adieu M.J.

First off I need to make it clear that I am not a big Michael Jackson fan. There are a few songs I like - generally the slower, more meaningful pieces (to me it's all about the lyrics). Others I really don't like at all - including Thriller: it scared me! That being said, though, I still recognize his indisputable talent, genius even. And even if I wasn't actively listening to his music, it was still always there, somehow, in the background of my youth.

So naturally I was somewhat surprised to hear of him dying at the relatively young age of 50. Younger than Dan!!! Perhaps it wasn't too unexpected given that he, like just about everybody in the entertainment industry it seems, regularly used - abused - drugs. You just can't take chances like that with your body.

I wasn't even particularly planning to watch his memorial service, but it was a rainy and cold afternoon so I figured I'd check it out, see what celebrities would appear or perform. And I'm actually very glad I did. I found the whole ceremony dignified, respectful, and also definitely Christian which was incredibly heartwarming and comforting. I left feeling that yes, Michael is in a better place now where, for perhaps the first time in a very long time, he feels as if he belongs and is at home. The musical performances were moving and the tributes really humanized him. And when his little daughter said a few words at the end about the love for her daddy it choked me up. For, despite all the controversies of his life, I'm positive he was essentially a good - albeit sometimes misguided person - who really wanted nothing but the best for the world. In a lot of ways I think he was still an innocent child, struggling to find his way and make a place in a very confusing environment. He left us too soon, but I hope all the positive sentiments he put into the best of his songs really impact the world for the better for a very very long time.

First Day of Summer Vacation

Of all the days in the entire year, there is only one first day of summer vacation ... and this is it!!!!!

So far I'm still full of vim and zeal - up just after seven, walked dogs, made bread, did laundry, tidied my drawer full of Cd's (a task I'd put off for ages) which is now two drawers half-full of Cd's. Still to come: brownies, hanging up the just-finished laundry, a session of EA Sports Active, supper, another walk and more. As the days go by, though, I expect my pace to slow down steadily. You simply don't realize how weary you are at the end of a school year until you sit and settle and let it sink in.

Summer goals? Modest as usual. No vacation plans (no summer vacation for Dan) although I'd love a little weekend getaway to somewhere. Mainly we need to tidy out the basement - More. Again. (Or still.) I'm going to Wii a little almost every day. And I'm going to write a journal/blog/something regularly. My goal is four times a week, which I think is reasonable. My topics won't be earth shattering - just the typical thoughts, feelings, events of a typical life. Mainly I want to hone my writing skills - or at least not let them deteriorate too badly.

Et c'est tout. Bonne première journée d'été!