by Shawna Blake

Created on: January 11, 2008

As a thirty year old, I believed myself to be quite hip when I bought my Nano last February. When I got over being cynical about the popularity surge of the product, I kept my eyes on the prize. Now, I am a grown woman, yet that teal blue music box held me enchanted for months. The only thing holding me back from limitless musical entertainment was my job. I work in a metal shop, and had always assumed we were not allowed to wear headphones for safety reasons. My, how wrong I was.

There was this machine that sat, as luck would have it, directly behind my workstation. It was quite loud, louder than any machine around me. It nearly drowned out the radio! I complained to my boss, and his answer was for me to get myself some headphones. So, off to Target I went, to peer into the plastic locked cases that held my musical gem. Only this time, I walked away with a teal one for myself, and a silver one for my sister.

Sure I am in my very own world when I am listening to my Ipod. But, that was the whole plan. I meant to tune out the old ladies at my job who talk all night long about nothing at all. I meant to ignore the tapping of the machine behind me. It was my full intention to have a reason to ignore those around me that I like to avoid in the first place. This was the greatest thing I had ever bought. Because when people see those head phones hanging from your ears, they venture a friendly wave instead of distracting small talk.

This is great, and it doesn't keep me away from everything. It actually keeps me zoned into my job, I seem to be super productive when I am jamming away to some of my favorite music. I argue less with the people that I work around (we get along anyway, but sometimes you can grate on someones nerves, no matter how well you enjoy them), and I get to listen to whatever I choose. I can change music on a whim, set up certain types of play lists, even listen to many different genre's a day if I so please. Sometimes I will listen to only one artist all day if I am in the mood. I never could have done that before my Ipod.

It does not keep me completely isolated because I don't allow it to. I can still hear important things, like my machine. And I seem to notice more that goes on around me, because instead of listening, I see alot of what happens around me. Of course if anyone approaches me, I turn it off, immediately, and I am much quieter with my Ipod.

What do I miss out on while I am isolated in my music bubble? I miss out on every argument that arise between my coworkers. I miss all of the music that I do not want to hear. I miss out on the loud machine in the corner. I miss out on the older ladies bossing me around. I find that I am gaining much more than I am missing out on.

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