iPod + rice, oh how nice

I love my little iPod shuffle. It allows me to run to the beat, free of burdensome armbands or iSkins like I used to use, with my more mature, classic iPod. The little guy hardly weighs anything, and has a built-in clip, so you can bring your music anywhere. You can imagine how disheartened I was after discovering that the little guy was inside the pocket of a hoodie I carelessly threw into the wash when I returned from the gym one day. Together with my gym clothes, it had been jostled, drenched with water, scrubbed with detergent, and spun around quickly. By the time I realized what happened, it was too late. I opened the washing machine door, unzipped the pocket, and felt the reassuring cool metal in my hand, but feared that it had no life left in it. I tried turning it on and off, on and off, placed it carefully on its charger base overnight, stared at it and willed it to revive, but it just sat there, listless, a beautiful little piece of machinery holding 17.1 hours of music inside.

I was sad. I jumped onto the Apple website and starting searching for a replacement (ooh, they come in pretty colors now!), but I knew in my heart that nothing new could truly substitute for the fond memories of my silver iPod shuffle. Perhaps, I thought, I could take it to the Apple store nearby, where they could perform some emergency procedure to bring it back to life, if only for a short while, long enough, perhaps, for a final run and a goodbye. I called the store, explained the dire situation, and the words that flew out of the technician's mouth sounded like New Age witchcraft to me. He told me to place the little guy in a plastic bag with some rice, and just leave it for a few days. He claimed that the rice would absorb the water that had drowned the little guy during its encounter in my washing machine, and it might be revived.

In my desperation, I wanted to believe that his magic spell would work. I questioned him further: is brown rice ok? Does the brand of baggie matter? He assured me that any variety of rice might offer a cure, in any sort of bag. So, I gently placed the mute iPod into a bag with some brown rice (hey, I'm a healthy whole grain girl, living in Colorado and all) and waited. Three days later, I took it out of its bag, and voila!

It works!!

It's so great being back together. I appreciate its features even more than ever, now that it has suffered that life-altering accident. I can listen to stuff like soulico (who was here last night, which was an excellent evening for me) and rock out. Yaaay!!