Ode to my Headphones

I am not a fan of earbuds. I know they are trendy. And iPod cool. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod, but I hate the earbuds. I use them if I am walking somewhere of at the store--they fit in my purse or pocket along with the iPod.

But at work? Big headphones. Big noise-canceling headphones. I also use them while traveling. They worked well to drown out the background noise on a plane.

I bought my noise-canceling headphones last fall before going to the MS Coast to cleanup after Katrina. I figured the cost of the headphones would be worth it after being on a bus with a bunch of other people for five hours. And they were.

Then I started using them at work. This is where they began to pay for themselves. I could drown out the general chatter that I have to deal with every single day. They helped keep me almost sane.

So, Friday I was boarding the plane to come back down south. I was trying to find an overhead bin that wasn't half full. While I was looking I felt the cord of my headphones catch on something and pull away (my iPod was in my pocket). I didn't think much of it since I have gotten the cord caught on things before--the plug would just pull out of the jack. I got my stuff situated and I turned around to go back to my seat. I picked up the cord to my headphones and all I saw were wires. The plug was still in the jack. I broke my noise-canceling headphones.

Crap.

I'm really bummed about this. What will I do at work? What will I do in three weeks during a gazillion-hour flight to Seattle? Sure, I can use the earbuds but they are uncomfortable. And they hurt. And they keep falling out. And they don't cancel noise.

I did a good job of screwing up my checking account last month so extra expenses are not something I cam do right now. Looks like I will be sans noise-canceling headphones for awhile. It isn't the end of the world, I know. But I do worry about my sanity at work. My colleagues will be extra chatty after not seeing each other for almost two weeks. And I will be forced to listen to them.

Double crap.