Ooo, Shiny!

More snow this morning--an inch or two of the heavy kind that drags down the branches on all the evergreens and looks quite picturesque. But it has jump-started a dormant yearnin', burnin' in me. That's right, folks--I want something clean and new and shiny.

My car actually does okay because it sits outside. I do a lot of scraping (and swearing when I forget to allow time to scrape and am late getting into town), but each storm that dumps precipitation leaves the material for a "carwash." When the snow finally melts, presto! clean car. Roy's car, however, gets filthier and filthier from driving and then is parked in the garage, where it is protected from the elements but never gets cleaned.

But between storms, my car gets pretty gross with salt and dirt. So yeah, the urge for shiny started one afternoon when I was sick of trying to avoid even brushing up against the car, because that always leaves a stain on whatever I'm wearing, which means work. I had this momentary desire for a new car, but $anity returned.

Then I saw ads for iPods on sale and thought "Oooo, I want an iPod." They're such great colors, and I don't have all the music around I'm used to having, and replacing it all on CD seems like an expen$ive proposition, but if I got an iPod, I could download just the songs I want...you get the picture. (I'm excellent at rationalization; it's what's allowed me to live this long.)

What actually stopped the iPod purchase was the color choice. I got all hung up trying to decide between a fuschia one and a blue one (orange is OUT but yellow is still on the table, and an aqua one...well, who'd be able to resist that). And then I realized I don't really want one iPod; I want all the colors as displayed because they're cuter all together than separately. So I resisted the urge and turned on the TV.

On the TV, they were advertising this great sale on Blackberrys, and I thought "Oooo, I want a Blackberry."

And then, in a "wow I coulda had a V8" whack to the forehead, sanity prevailed. The last thing in the world I need is a Blackberry. With my father gone, the only person who ever needs to find me is my husband, and he enjoys the short walk downstairs. We have cell phones only because occasionally I drive to town without him and "everyone" needs one to call 911 if there's a problem. It's a miracle when I remember to turn the damn thing on.

Furthermore, I don't want a Blackberry. I don't want to be available 24/7 (though I basically am, even without my cell phone, because regular phones are in most places I am). I have never wanted a Blackberry and have only grudgingly accepted a cell phone. When I found myself wanting a Blackberry, I knew I was possessed by something--my own version of March Madness, Spring Fever, whatever you want to call it.

But I have to admit, I haven't completely ruled out an iPod. I was forcing myself to wait till the first day of Spring to see if I still wanted one. And now, with the new snowfall, it's not so much that I still want one as that I want one again.

Time to check the ads for Future Shop and Staples...