I can now officially announce it. I've lost my iPod. Or rather it was stolen. Or a combination thereof.
I left it in the console of a rental car (rented from !@#$%^&* Alamo Rent-a-Car), which I dropped off at the Minneapolis airport and then got on a plane for Chicago. I realized my ultimate dumbshit move while stuck on plane sitting on a runway at O'Hare. When I got home I called the rental car agency immediately, but could only leave a message. By the time I reached a live person the next morning, I was told the iPod had not been turned in and that the car had been rented out again. Which, the claims officer just told me, means that the company isn't liable (could have been the renter after me who took it). But who are we kidding? It was the cleaning crew who stole it. What makes it particularly galling is that this happened to me once before: I left a a dulcimer in a trunk of a f-ing Alamo car and THAT disappeared within an hour after dropping off the car.
When I told that to the claims officer, she said, "You don't have much luck with Alamo." No, I don't. I'm stupid enough to leave TWO things with a thieving company like Alamo. DO NOT RENT CARS FROM ALAMO. Or, if you do, make sure your thinking cap is ON.
So now I know that dark side of iPod ownership: it's a very valuable piece of hardware which is very (too) mobile, so that it can be easily lost or stolen. This is why I've never invested in a PDA or a cell phone for that matter. I'm preternaturally formed to lose such things.
And I can't afford another iPod right now. I may try a cheaper mp3 player. Or I may try an iPod mini. But my little fling with iPod is over.
And you know what? I'm surviving. I'm not convinced I need a portable player at all. I can find other ways to listen to music at home or in a car. Otherwise I don't think I need something to listen to while I'm walking around in the world.
I know: I blaspheme. Forgive me.
Then again I might change my mind if they include a new feature that enables you to spike your iPod remotely when it's stolen. I would pay a little extra for a feature like that.
Posted by jeb at August 22, 2005 4:46 PM | TrackBack