A very bad thing.

When I was running Tuesday, a very, very bad thing happened. Tragic, really. I busted my walkman. I BUSTED MY WALKMAN!! The horror, the horror. I accidentally knocked if off the sink when I was washing my hands and busted it. It sort of split at the seams, and I snapped it back together, but it was useless. The radio still works, but the cassette player does not and the cassette player is all that matters because I have to listen to very specifc music when I run. You never know what you're going to get with the radio and you can't always count on reception. I cannot exercise without music. Not I dont want to exercise without music, I CANNOT exercise without music. I suffer from a rare disorder known as noexercisimus sansmusicplayiolitis. It's been a lifelong battle, but it's just the way the cards were dealt for me. I have to listen to specific music when I exercise, music that allows me to imagine I'm really cage dancing while I run. So my current exercise tape has stuff like RuPaul's Supermodel, Spice Girls' Wannabe, KC and the Sunshine Band's Shake Your Booty, Duran Duran's Planet Earth, Depeche Mode's Master and Servant, and you get the picture. While I run, I see myself dancing and it helps me keep going because dancing's fun. Anyway, when I realized that I had broken my cassette player, I became a little frantic because what the hell am I going to do now? I can't run without the tunes, man. I've talked a bit about how I'd like an iPod to use while I run, but I'm one of those people who tends to be really behind the curve when it comes to up-to-date personal electronic purchases. I always feel guilty spending money on myself when there are more important things to take care of, so I usually go with the lowest common demoninator (cost-wise) to satisfy my desires, hence the portable cassette player rather than the digital audio player or even a portable CD player. But I knew a time of reckoning had come, I didn't want to spend money on a new cassette player when what I really want is an iPod or MP3 player that I can just strap to my arm while I run.

And here's the part where I turn a frown upside down. I stopped at the Walgreen's across the street from my daughter's school this morning to just see what they had, thinking maybe I'd just buy a really cheap cassette player to bide my time. I go in and notice an MP3 player on sale for $41.99, reduced from $69.99. I think, "Should I?" Because that's really not a bad price for something like that, and I decide quite impulsively, "Yes, yes I will." So I get the MP3 player feeling pretty satisfied that I've gotten something close to what I'd like at a fairly good price, then I go to the register, the lady scans the package and it rings up at $35.99. YES, I rule. I'm getting an even better bargain than I counted on. Plus, the MP3 player comes with it's own armband carrying case and headphones, along with all the computer paraphenalia required to download the music. So when I go for my run after work today, I am going to be bustin' moves like Madonna and J. Lo all mixed up. Oooh, oooh.