My DH gave me his Creative Labs Zen a few days ago when a friend of his gave him an older IPOD. I had put it in a drawer when it suddenly dawned on me tonight, I can listen to an audio book while I knock out some needlework projects, so came the discovery of http://librivox.org/completed-books at LibriVox (a link compliments of my DH also, just between you and me, I think he’s hinting he wants the new IPOD for Christmas).

Eons ago, for about all of a week, I downloaded audio books online, took a pair of headphones to bed with the laptop and proceeded to try and see if I could be lulled to sleep.
I quickly came to my senses and untethered myself once again…. something I tend to do with more frequency as I age. I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere…

Okay, I’m by no means techno-illiterate and I sincerely do value technology for it’s own sake and I’ve even fallen for one tv must-see-show, House…. I love House! When House is on, the resentment that someone wants to make me watch their ideas, week in and week out, falls away. For House, I make an exception. lol. Seriously tho, often I resent how much technology has invaded our lives. Time savers and communication devices have become time and communication killers.

For four years or so, I’ve managed to evade being called on a cell phone because I don’t own one. I rarely talk on the phone at home except to call a family member. I certainly don’t want to be on the suburban talk show at the local store while deciding which hygiene pad to buy or what kind of underwear I should by my husband. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m beginning to feel like a brain in a vat and the wires connected are high-speed *sizzle*

Well, at last, I’ve decided to try a little MP3 Zen and downloaded Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. If this goes well, there’s more lined up. It may even end up being a great tool for the kids’ homeschool program. The earbuds are small, the Zen is small and mobile, so the test tonight is if I can watch the fashions stroll by on the old movies tonight while I knit and listen then it may just have obtained a spot on the nightstand, beside the clicker, to the right of the needlework projects on top of the radio.