Victory Is Mine!

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Last summer, I inherited a fifth-hand green iPod mini from my visiting brother. I was excited to finally join the rest of the humans in this century and spent countless hours walking around the city while listening to Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A.'s "Bird Flu" on repeat, oblivious to honking cars and friends yelling "hello" from across the street.

My joy was short-lived... because my battery was short-lived. Within a month of getting the little music robot, the elderly battery came to last just long enough for me to get excited about the song I was going to hear (about five seconds). In disappointment, I retired the iPod into my junk drawer. It has languished there for months, next to several old cell phones and a surprisingly large number of random screws and nails.

Over the months, I have felt an increasing need to iPod myself. Every two weeks, I walk into a store and stare longingly at the pretty little machines only to walk out because I can't justify dropping $200 on anything.

But today at Best Buy, as I moved past the shiny little blue Nano I've been coveting, I noticed an altogether more exciting package: an iPod replacement battery. It was a mere $30 and came complete with all necessary tools for the job as well as an instructional CD and the claim of being the "longest lasting iPod battery."

The process was relatively easy because of the informative and calmly-narrated instructional video. The package did not come with the hairdryer needed to melt the strong adhesive that keeps the iPod together, but for some reason I have three, so I was set. From start to finish, the process took about 20 minutes and my initial examination indicated no damage. I turned the iPod on and "Bird Flu" was waiting for me, as if we had never been parted these long, silent months.

I feel victorious about this for a number of reasons. 1) I am excited to have saved myself $170 dollars. 2) I am pleased to reject the disposable mentality so pervasive in today's western society and to have either reduced, reused, or recycled. 3) I am shocked that I was actually able to replace the battery without hurting myself, the iPod's delicate mechanism, or my fascinated cats.

To all of you suffering from the affliction of an unchargeable iPod battery, listen to me: if I can do this, so can you. Granted I had some valuable experience making a small pig with flashing LED eyes in Grade 8 electronics shop class, but there's no soldering involved in iPod battery replacement.

Meanwhile, I am now on the hunt for other things in my home that I can fix with two tiny screwdrivers, a blue plastic "prying tool" and a hairdryer...

Incidentally, M.I.A. is coming to The Burt on May 30...

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