Well, I bought a black Nano instead of a Shuffle. I went on an ipod 'kopation' on Friday, experimenting with Crystal's Nano, Leung Yan's 30 GB ipod and Zis Zis' 60 GB ipod. I also had a little chat with them and Pheng Heong and Zil Zil. They convinced me that the Nano is not as bad as I have thought and that I should really buy a Nano instead of a Shuffle.

So off I went to town to buy my ipod - the first time I ever visited Orchard in many years.

The Apple Centre at Funan IT Mall is rather spectacular, with plenty of Apple's expensive gagets and machines on display. But well, the service there pretty much sucked.

I went with my sister and her husband, and we circled the store for around 20 minutes with no one coming up to attend to us. We tried catching the attention of one or two salesperson in the store, but they prompty ignored us to attend to others.

Unwilling to wait any longer, I approached the counter.

"Excuse me. Where is the ipod Nano?"

She looked up at me, half-bored.

"Sorry?"

I thought I was too soft, so I repeated my question.

"Where do I go to purchase the Nano?"

She blinked.

"Sorry, pardon?"

I frowned, and my sister rolled her eyes.

"I want to buy the ipod Nano."

She looked like as though she struck lottery (the 'enlightenment' expression). She then asked whether or not I wanted to see it or buy it. I felt like throwing a tantrum because I said very clearly that I want to purchase a Nano. However, I managed to convince myself that she was just a meticulous salesgirl who wishes to confirm my request.

I eventually bought a 2 GB black Nano and a case to protect it, all in 5 minutes because I wanted to get out of the place so damn badly.

When I stepped of the store, I was filled with joy. I cannot express how digusted I am with the way we were treated. Other customers who walked in got immediate attention. We had to circle the store before giving up hope of being attended to and asked the counter for help.

When I sat down with the package at home, I realised that I should have bought the white one instead of the black one. White ones show scratches less than the black ones, and a white Nano looks nicer in the case I bought. However, it was too late to think of such matters, so I merely shrugged and went on to open the package.

Today is but the second day of my purchase of the Nano. And I have already dropped it once in the morning. My heart skipped a beat when it dropped. I picked it up and examined it with my trembling fingers.

Hmmm. Music playing. LCD screen working. Touchwheel still sensitive.

Still worried, I plugged the Nano to the computer.

... Okay. The computer recognized it and iTunes is updating it with the new songs I ripped yesterday night. Whew.

I do not regret the fact that I bought a Nano, but I must admit that taking care of it is draining my energy and attention. Shuffle would have suited me better, but one feature of the Nano truly won my heart -

I can keep and view pictures of Dante with it. Anytime. Anywhere. My choice.

Hee.