iPod or Blaster Rifle?

Not sure what people thought about last night’s post. I had been thinking about it for the past few months and decided that it was something that I wanted to have somewhere other than on my hard drive. They tell students that journalism is the first draft of history. Along that logic, my writer’s journal and the blog that it evolved into is the first draft of my autobiography. That really was as close of a record that I have as to what was going through my head that afternoon.

It’s a little strange to realize that basically every important event that has happened to me since 1998 has been written down somewhere. I’m not kidding, you can go through past versions of my writer’s journal and discover the exact moment I met someone or when I switched paths in Destiny’s garden. It’s rather incredible though it tends to be disturbing when I describe to someone our first conversation because I reread it that afternoon. I’m still not quite sure what the overall purpose of the journal or the blog has been but it’s nice to know that I am keeping a record of my life as trivial as it may seem at the time.

Anyway, I’ve got a data request for the reader(s) of the blog. I know that there are a number of you who are tech savvy and I need your assistance. I’ve decided that I deserve a birthday present for myself. Now, I did get a Paul Konerko jersey from my parents, which is awesome, but I’ve decided to do one of the following. I’ll either pick up that full scale stormtrooper costume made from the original costume molds or undergo a technology upgrade. Yes, I want to finally move on and get an iPod/MP3 player and a new laptop.

Wait a minute, I think my laptop is crying. Hold on a minute…

(I know, I know, I feel bad too. But it’s not you, it’s me. It’s been a good five years but at some point we both just need to move on. No, it’s not just because I want to move on to a newer model….)

Sorry, but I have spent five years with Julie the Laptop, which is so much longer than any of my relationships that I don’t even want to joke about it. For a machine that I purchased on the fly it has served me extremely well but we are at the point where several of the keys don’t even have letters on them anymore. It’s just time to upgrade and gasp, finally move on to high speed internet.

So here are my questions. I have no idea what to look for in either an MP3 player or a laptop. The MP3 player is the more important one as I would preferably like to move my entire collection to it (well, maybe not the Joan Osbourne CD). Plus, I’d like to be able to download music online, legally and artist supported of course, but I’m not sure if this is best through iPod or another brand. The laptop is a little easier as I basically just need to get a more powerful model for Julie II. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

(Oh, and I’m not kidding about the stormtrooper costume. Check out the site at http://www.firebox.com/index.html?dir=firebox&action=product&pid=1431. I am so tempted to buy this. It’s not that I would wear this on Halloween. I’d also wear it occasionally while just cleaning my apartment. Hell, I’d show up to work in it. There’s something about the thought of standing in an office cafeteria in a stormtrooper outfit that seems incredibly funny. Or just sitting in your cube and waiting for someone to ask you a question.)