Sunday, September 26, 2010

41: Meet My iPod, Fritz

My little orange friend has failed. Truth be told, she's been fritzy from the beginning, turning on for no reason, refusing to pause or resume at races, and dying out in an hour despite a full night's charge. I haven't brought her back because, well, I just assumed I was the one doing something wrong.

I suited up to run 10 miles this morning, only to find the iPod just wouldn't turn on. I went to Apple online and tried to sign up for a spot with the Genius Bar but there wasn't a single one available today in the city; so I decided to just go to the store - and beg.

Guess I'm not the only person who's done that because they actually have a no begging policy. I remained super cheerful, offering to stand there waiting, in my running clothes, looking very much unshowered... Or, I could just buy a new iPod, use it today, and then return it when they could help me... They told me they have a 10% restocking fee. Oh, no problem, I can just go over to Best Buy and purchase one there because they don't have a restocking fee... Finally they got the point. I wasn't going to leave.

Someone went in the back and made a call. An appointment at 4:20 PM magically opened at a different location across town. If I wanted it, it was mine. Ahh... an audience with a real live genius! Too good to be true.

When I finally saw his honorable self, he was dreamy. Well, initially he was dreamy; and then he seemed incompetent. My genius took my iPod in his hand, pushed it some magical way, shot a pocket flashlight up its little receptor, and pronounced it sick. There was a new battery in stock that it needed; the exchange was covered under warranty. I signed some papers. We were done.

"Wait!" I said as my genius started to walk to the back. I'd just tried pressing the on button, and it didn't work. "Is it me?" I said, holding it out for him to see the familiar darkness... "It doesn't like me."

The genius grabbed my iPod back, scrunched up his brow, took it to the back, did some tests, and finally, pronounced it completely dead. Out came a refurbished replacement and I had to sign a whole new set of papers. I felt a little bit like I was adopting a pet.

So I didn't get a run in today - at all. Truth be told, I'm coming down with a cold or something. I've felt sick since yesterday morning. I did intenSati in the Park and couldn't stop sweating all day afterwards. Woke up the same way today and while mentally I was ready to go running when I put on my shoes this morning, I'm sort of glad I didn't go. I'm still exhausted from running 18 miles last week. My legs are only now starting to feel like their old selves. I can only imagine now what I'll feel like after the marathon. I'd better clear my calendar. It's going to be heavy!

No comments:

Post a Comment