Ode to Sweet Pea

Early in the year 2003, while I was feeling for the most part isolated, as I was living alone in Bellingham Washington, attending Western Washington University - http://www.cob.org/. Bellingham is closer in distance to the country of Canada then to the city of Seattle which had been my home for ten years previous. However, I was 'oh so determined' in my mid-thirties to obtain a degree. Not only was I isolated physically, I was also isolated mentally from my previous life. I was playing student with all the trappings. I ate badly, slept little, hid away in the gorgeous libraries of campus, and well, I am sorry to have to be so truthful, dreamed of being Hermione Granger. Western Washington University is a beautiful campus, with modern art as well as the style of buildings one might dream up for a University.

But I digress this story isn't about Bellingham, this post is a memorial to Sweet Pea.

Sweet Pea is what I named my first iPod, a second generation, 10 gig, black and white, gift from my boyfriend, Zok.

(Get it? Pod, Pea? Pea Pod. Later came Fancy Pea (video), and Weenzie Pea (shuffle)).

I had glossed over the invention of the iPod, because the beginning of digital music was too close to the world of the music industry I had left behind.

Therefore, I sort of ignored Sweet at first, I mean really, "How indulgent!", and strange, thought I.

I still played records. Well, I still play records...

Yet, when I got close to graduation, and closer to what would become almost two years going from city to city, and country to country without a permanent home. Of course during this time, I was living out of a large red suitcase, and I certainly wasn't toting around my vinyl collection. Sweet Pea as one might guess became indispensable. I also conducted an experiment, I left my iPod on shuffle for close to two years. I found that the shuffle function never cycled through all the songs. I started to watch tutorials about iPods on the internet. I actually became quite well versed regarding iPods, I found myself helping strangers on planes when their screens went frozen and they did not know how to reset. I wrote letters to Apple suggesting improvements they might want to consider for their next generation of iPods.

When Zok and I finally bought a house in Blackmans Bay around early 2005, I decided as my iPods' were plentiful, that Sweet Pea would become the 'house' iPod, this meant that the music on the iPod would be very carefully thought out.

I spent years getting the exact balance I wanted. Other iPod owners marveled at Sweet Pea's long life, Zok stated that Sweet Pea was 'one-hundred and sixty' in technological years.

Alas, a few weeks ago, songs started to just go silent part way through, a little more silence, day by day, until nothing remained but a blank screen.

'The day the music died' to enact a cliché.

Sweet Pea, like 8-track, and cassette before her is not easily replaced.

Even if I could get another iPod of the same generation, she could not be replaced in my heart.