The Saga Continues

I "autofilled" the Shuffle last night. No surprises; just more of the same perfect song selection. I only had to un-select one: a sound bite from Kill Bill. Truth be told, I could have left it in because I really like that movie. Perhaps I should have left it in...

Walking to the bus stop I was giddy at the perfect selection of songs playing from my headphones. Dave Matthews, some house music, Zero 7, and on and on. As I stepped onto the bus, Let it Be (by some band called the Beatles) was winding down the last few measures. I took my seat. Other passengers were doing a variety of things, from reading to people-watching to sleeping to listening to music on their own (inferior) MP3 player. Little did they know that their bus-riding routine was soon to be interrupted by me, laughing hysterically.

The Shuffle had a plan. As you will see in a moment, the Shuffle's powers are far greater than you could imagine. Knowing full well that I was amongst many other people, it needed to expand its influence. Having searched my brain for tasty brain juice, it also knew just how to accomplish this feat. It patiently waited with the next song.

"Mele kaliki maka is the thing to say..." burst from the headphones. In a flash, all I could think of was Cousin Eddie with that ridiculous smile waving from the diving board. Clark Griswald and his extended family living through a Christmas of epic proportions. "Bend over 'and I'll show ya". "I don't know Margot!" Mele kaliki maka is a wise way...The tiny smirk became a grin, an open mouth, a blast of laughter. I smacked my leg and immediately realized what had happened. I swear I could hear the Shuffle laughing.

As you probably know, I'm pretty shameless when it comes to laughing in public. I don't care if people can hear me, especially if I'm on the bus or in some other loud environment. The ultimate goal of the Shuffle was not to make me laugh out loud. I didn't realize it at first, but after answering the question, "is that one of the new ipod Shuffles?" several times, I was humbled by the Shuffle's awesome power. No less than five people near me asked about it, how many songs can it hold, gosh isn't it small but the clip is awesome, how many colors does it come in, and so on. Just like that, the Shuffle's influence over the masses grew. Those people were authentically impressed at its size and ability. I, of course, was gushing over its functionality and practical use. Its power will only grow with each passing day. It will devise further schemes to augment its influence. If this isn't proof enough, you're not paying attention.

And you thought I was being paranoid...