Today I Finally Said "I Do"

You guessed it. Today is finally the day. The day I hand my life over to another. I figured what better way to inform my family and friends of this momentous occasion then through my recently and always struggling blog. Everyone thought I would get it done while in Italy but I knew the timing was not right. I needed to wait until I felt it, and that day was today. We met over five years ago and I knew without a doubt that this was a love unlike any other. It was winter when my eyes met the most beautiful, glowing, perfectly rectangular piece of technology known to man. That is right, today I make true my love to none other than Steve Jobs.

I first met Steve at Christmas my Junior year of High School. (Can you believe it has been five and half years already, Steve?) I don't remember the clothes you were wearing, probably because I ripped them off like a senior prom date. After tearing through what felt like layers of wrapping I came to the holy grail. All that was left was one final maneuver and you were free, more than willing to be handled by my grizzly hands for the rest of time.

We have had our fair share of hard times, frustrating moments, hospital visits. Hell, we broke up over seven times...literally. Yet somehow, Steve, you got me to come back begging for you after each and every time. No matter the cost, you always came back more beautiful than I remembered you being previously. Although I didn't mind you originally, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the way you got into shape and slimmed down for me while still allowing me more space and time. Or the time you came back to me, filled with color as though you'd spent our entire time apart basking in the sun. And even when I am short for cash, I love you enough to buy you knew clothes, give you baths, and even pay for your hair extensions (headphones...stretch?).

You might ask, "Soren. What made today THE day?" I'll tell you why. Today I finally found out about the application that was created solely for me. And I didn't even know that this generation of iPod had applications. We are talking about an application so brilliant, Stevie wouldn't dare tell anyone, not even his dearly beloved, yours truly.

Since summer vacation I have been in the mindset, when it comes to music, to let things play at as they will. So of course the best way to do so is use the "Random" feature. But my iPod Random is not like any normal iPod, it is genius random. We have all heard about the digital paintings that supposedly change to the mood of the person in the room. Well my iPod now has this same feature. Yes, it can gauge my mood and play the correct music accordingly.

Now maybe I should give Shure Headphones some credit. Maybe they teamed up with Steve to create some mind reading device that shoots into my brain through my ears, reads my mood and returns through the ear buds, down the cord and into my iPod (the funny part about this is, I doubt that technology is more than a year or two away). The application only was installed about a month ago and I didn't even realize it at the time. In fact, Steve kept it such a secret he let a feud between us linger for nearly a month before popping the question today. You see, I have been noticing several of the songs on my iPod skipping, like old shake your portable cd player skipping. At first I saw this as another sign of a breaking device. Naturally, I blamed it on overuse; possibly the shaking that occurs when I run with it.

It wasn't until today that I realized this was the application in full bloom. While I was out for my daily (ya right) run it occurred to me at mile 3, my half way point. The story however, starts from mile one. Now I don't need a pacesetter song to start, just one I enjoy. So sure enough, right off the bat I get "Fix You" by Coldplay (don't start with the "You know how I know your gay" jokes. They fit to well with this post). Certainly a slow song to start, but one I enjoy and that picks up in speed after a few minutes. Perfect way to start. Fast forward a bit. A song I have been obsessed with lately, not because I like the song or the artist, just because of one lyric. "Nemesis" by David Gray. Around the three minute mark he sings, "I am your one true love that sleeps with someone else". For some reason I find this to be so poetically beautiful I can even explain. Mile three, half way, struggling a bit. This is when it occurs to me.

Now with my new view on music listening, I am only skipping songs when they don't play correctly. So keep in mind that about half don't work right so I skip quite a few, several that I really enjoy. So right after I hit three miles and start to slow I skip ahead to the next working song and it is none other than, "Move Along" by The All American Rejects. I don't particularly enjoy the song, don't enjoy the band, but I realized that the timing was perfect. Like a movie scene perfect. Struggling protagonist gets sudden pick-me-up out of nowhere. Oscar worthy. And it is true, they have done studies that show how the right music corresponds to a faster running pace, better weight lifting abilities, etc. This is the exact moment it hit me. Fast forward to mile 5. As I am making my return run, "Take a Picture" by Filter. Awesome song. I didn't even realize it was on my iPod. What makes this incredibly perfect is the fact that when I really am struggling, I look the calmest. So I drumming to the song and they at several points the lyric "Awake On My Airplane" is sung. Of course I put my arms out and pretend like I am flying, it's the only way to push through. And of course two bikers would drive by at this exact moment and laugh. But what made it even more perfect was as soon as they sing "Could you take my picture? Cause I won't remember" I emerge from the woods into the brilliant rays of the sun. At that exact moment. No picture could capture it, but I will remember. Now mile six, last mile. "Hush" by L.L. Cool J. Terrible song. Terrible. But what it made me think of...awesome. Vegas baby. My sixth favorite city in the world. If you are wondering, we saw him there in January. Just thinking about that trip could get me another mile.

Finally, the end of mile six and my journey. As I walk up the driveway to Tawny's house and into it to find her, "99 Problems" by Jay-Z. I laughed. I have a ton of problems, but a bitch certainly is not one of them. Now I just hope she accepts that Steve Jobs is a part of our lives forever.


On a quick sidenote, while I was looking up World War II images for my internship I came across a cartoon comparing Steve Jobs to Hitler. If they are saying that Apple is attempting to take over the world, count me in, minus the whole genocide.