Kids Today

Jesus H. mother of Christ, I feel old. Recently given an IPOD from my better half, I find myself feeling a bit like, say, my grandmother trying to utilize email (which, by the way, she doesn't. She doesn't even have an answering machine). Perhaps my family carries the "perpetually behind the times"gene? Who knows; suffice it to say that I had to actually go out and buy a "how to use your IPOD" book, containing screen shots, just so I could figure out how to work the damn thing. I was, I admit, relieved to find (when I freaking had to look online when I couldn't figure it out) that there is not--indeed there is not--an "on/off" button for the bastard.

The bastard thing is dangerous, too. Having signed up with the iTunes Store, it's too freaking simple to buy music. With a "click," I suddenly own music from Panic! At The Disco, Cyndi Lauper, Betty, and the Hooters. Yes, OK, I admit it, the Hooters. Blame it on my days as a Durannie and a band geek; I was vulnerable back then, and recently I had a hankerin' for their version of "Time After Time," which of course was easily available via iTunes. This bastard iPod has thrown me into nostalgia land, a bit. Something--a commercial, a bit of overheard conversation, having a dear friend from high school visit--will remind me of a band or of a song that I haven't heard in years and yes, you know what happens...it's JP to the Internet scouring for downloadable memories.

So I've managed to import some CDs, download a few albums (I get a strange pleasure from the fact that it's apparently OK again to call them "albums"), and create a playlist. I'm going to have to find some agreeable 14 year old, though, to help me with any more sophisticated maneuvers.

That reminds me! Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark! I wonder if "If You Leave" is available on iTunes??