I'm thinking about putting an "i" before my name

Although I've always managed to get mine to work, and always loved it, I've always regarded my iPod with a little suspicion; I recognize this little bit of electronic bliss must come at a price. 

Usually, the price involved gnashing of teeth and a few swear words before I could get things figured out.  I'd trudge along in the support section of the Apple tutorials and try to make sense of all those discussions and comments from the technogeeks who have the time and energy to figure it out, and were good enough to post it for the rest of us to see.

It was fine when I was on my own in the i-world, but as of Christmas and Nolan's birthday, I had two more folks on board the i-train, and they looked to me for all things iPod.

That's a lot of pressure to put on someone who barely manages to get her kids to school on time every morning.

Okay, 3 out of 5 days.

(Which, apparently is a problem for the school, regardless of my child's good grade performance--Ben announced to me just this morning:  "Mommy, the lady in the office wants to know what's going on at home..."  "What?  You mean, do I beat you or something?"  "No, what's going on at home that I'm tardy so much of the time."  Oy.  I bite back a remark about how the late-night prostitution ring I run isn't conducive to waking up at 6:30 am, but I want no more explanations, certainly not long ones, when we are heading out the door.  *A few minutes late.*  For the record, I hate mornings.  They hate mornings.  I am more than gullible when it comes to "just a few more minutes" and I challenge any of the office ladies to come and wake Ryan, whose sweet little seahorse shape, warm under the covers, just begs me to snuggle for just one minute.  Or ten.  I dare them.  Whoops.  I digress.)

So, anyway, I was faced with two very excited people in in my house, Nolan of the birthday Nano and Mr W with his so-small-they-should-implant-it-in-your-head Shuffle; both of them waiting for me to work my magic.

Why  me?

Because I'm a little bit protective of my laptop.  And it'smineit'smineit'smine.  (I'm so mature.)

I figured out the Shuffle pretty easily.  To be honest, I read through Appleland, got frustrated, and plugged the damn thing in, figuring I'd learn along the way, and I could always start over.  No one was as surprised as I was that it was so simple, and whoohoo, it worked.

The Nano was a bigger challenge.   It has enough memory to support the songs I already had in iTunes--but while we have similar taste in music, Nolan wasn't that keen on the idea of my girlie songs in his pod--even if hot girls were singing them.  It posed a problem, because I didn't want him to have his own acct on my computer (did  I mention, it'smineit'smineit'smine?), with his own iTunes acct full of stuff I'd already loaded.   The waste of space along with the redundancy of this solution really annoyed me.  

However, he kept at me with those big brown eyes...

I'm such a sucker.

I fixed it so we could get him started, certain I'd find a solution that would make me happy.

It only took me two months and a fortuitous trip to the library, where I found a book that touted itself as "iPod and iTunes, the Missing Manual."

So what if it was on the same shelf with all the other "____ for Dummies" books?  I usually do better when I read.  I'm a good student that way.  (I'd give a shoutout to certain other instructional things I've read, but this is a family show, and that journal is now private anyway.)

As of today, Nolan and I are in iPod heaven.  It's fantastic.  I'm trying to get everyone I know to cross on over to the dark side with me and feel the power of the iForce.

I feel like I might actually know what I'm doing.

Which of course means I probably don't know a thing.