Pack Rat Mentality

I am such a pack rat. Or maybe a magpie. Whatever creature, it boils down to a simple fact: I like shiny things. If it has a little sparkle to it, it's far easier to convince my "purchase power" self to indulge in it.

Apparently, this is not merely a defined fact applicable only to clothes, jewelry or other so called girl things.

I've fallen in love with a glittery car radio.

Soon it will be warm enough for me to pull the rag top off the Jeep. And, in a convoluted way, it comes to pass that it was time for me to do a simple task that I've been putting off for the last few years - replacing my car antenna. It's just not right to drive a Jeep with the top down without tunes blaring to annoy other people. ( <-Mostly exaggeration) The antenna was long gone when I purchased the Jeep and in true car fever frenzy, I overlooked it, instead assuming that the Jeep had an embedded antenna in the windshield.

Understand my logical brain knew those weren't made anymore, but when you have car fever, rational thought doesn't always kick in. Had it done so, I'd have made the car dealer replace it before I bought. And, the radio worked, so....*shrugs*

Last fall, without warning, the radio began fizzling to a slow and probably very timely death. *cough*, *sputter* *cut out* Eventually, it passed away, the only remnants being the airy sound coming through the speakers. No longer did Bob and Tom entertain me on the way to work each morning. That was more than likely a lifesaver, because they have been known to make me laugh so hard I've damn near driven into the ditch.

I bought a replacement antenna within a couple of weeks of becoming a Jeep owner. But, the car dealer didn't want to install it for free. They wanted about $70 bucks. So did Orion's favorite store, Best Buy. My local car dealer was a little kinder - they simply said that it could be less, but it depended on how difficult a task it was to tap into the broken off piece and remove it to replace the antenna. So, I put off the repair. After all, the radio did work.

Since the radio now needed replacing, I decided to begin with the antenna. Took the Jeep in and got it replaced. After all, when I was looking for radios at BB a few weeks ago, they once again told me it would be about $70 bucks to repair even if they were already installing a radio for me.

Turned out the labor cost was $42.00. Far better than I ever had hoped. And, in a flash of inspiration, I asked the dealership if there was any other option besides BB for purchase of a new car stereo.

Yep. A new store has been in existence for a couple of years. I drive past it every day and had never seen the sign. (It's usually dark out when I go past.)

So, I checked it out on the way home, and voila! They have the same radios as BB, and they install free of charge if you purchase from them. Not only that, if you want that radio put into a new vehicle, they'll change it out free as well.

I'd planned on buying a Pioneer brand. It has a bright, large dial with a clock I can see at a glance, it's easy and simple to use, and it's wired to be satellite radio ready when I'm ready to add that. And, now that installation is free, I can afford to go ahead and upgrade to a little better option.

But, right next to the Pioneer on the display was a Panasonic. Same price, and the clerk had highly recommended it right along with the Pioneer.

The Panasonic has a display that can be set to flash random bright colors on the display if you want. Uh-oh. That puts it into the "shiny" category. It's cool, it's modern, and it made my pack rat saliva glands drool.

But, I just got slightly ahead of myself.

After getting this wonderful news of a better option than BB, I paid my bill and got into my Jeep to drive away, glancing at the new sight of an antenna attached to my baby Jeep. I started the engine...

...and the radio worked.

Ah, shit! Now I didn't have much of an excuse other than "want" rather than "need" for a radio. So, I fell in love with a shiny object, and you know, there really wasn't a real reason to buy it after all, so I tucked the thought into the miscellaneous file and wandered sadly back to my real life.

But then last night I had to head back into town to a meeting. Decided to switch radio stations to my preference. The buttons didn't work. I figured I just needed to reset them. So, I hit the scan button. And NOTHING. So, I figured I'd deal with it today since it's a day off.

But. the gods can be kind. As I drove home after the meeting, I went across the railroad tracks. These are very smooth tracks which you only know are there because of the signs and the very slightest of "I'm going across railroad tracks" sort of jostle. That tiniest of jostle took the radio out.

Yippee!!!! If I can get around to it today, I'm going to go buy myself a new car stereo/CD player/satellite-ready toy that's shiny and sparkly.

And then I'll have tunes again! Happy happy, joy joy!!!