Getting Used to Disappointment

With all the crap that goes on in my life, you'd think that my paradigm, my default approach or mantra would be somewhere in the realm of "expect disappointment". Like that poor, lovable sap, Charlie Brown, I come truckin' full speed ahead whenever life holds that beautiful football to the ground, fully expecting that this time I'll send it soaring end over end through the golden goal posts, only to have it yanked from my reach at the last second. I end up on my back, again, looking up at the sky where I utter a little prayer, "Why me?"

OK, so that intro is a little over the top (now you know where Kyra gets her melodramatic tendencies), but I'm frustrated. With my Zune. Well, not with my Zune specifically, but with the FM transmitter I couldn't buy at Best Buy but could buy on Best Buy's website, so I did and then had to wait in anxious anticipation for ten days for it to arrive. Pssst, here it is...look at this big, juicy football...

Diane called me at work last Thursday to tell me that my "thing" came. Finally! I arrived home to find a box, much bigger than necessary, waiting for me on the counter. Cool! I opened it, removed two yards of bubble pouches, and found the treasure resting at the bottom of the box. Let's see if it works! I removed the transmitter from its box, grabbed my Zune, and headed to the bedroom. Diane was in bed and she immediately noticed the look of determination in my eyes. "Got your new toy?" she asked.

"Yup."

I sat down next to her and began to demonstrate the capabilities of the long-awaited transmitter, "You plug this into the Zune, dial in an unassigned frequency, then tune the radio to the same frequency." I dialed the transmitter to 90.1, the frequency that worked best according to the Best Buy guy, then slowly turned the dial on the clock radio sitting next to the bed. The radio crackled and warbled as I scrolled through the various stations until Coldplay's "Don't Panic" came roaring to life. "Well, I'll be...it works!"

The real test would come in the car and the results vary. At times it sounds great, but overall I'm disappointed. I haven't been able to find a completely static-free channel, and every time I drive through an intersection with stoplights, I lose the signal due to interference. A couple of friends have told me that cassette adapters work better than the transmitter, but I don't have a cassette player in my car. Once again, I'm screwed. He swings...he misses...he catapults through the air!

I've already invested nearly $500 in the Zune, the system upgrade, and the transmitter in a vain attempt to enjoy my music with a high-quality signal in my car. I guess my next Zune upgrade will have to be the purchase of a new vehicle. At least then I can say I got a car out of the deal.