Drumroll, please... I am now the proud new owner of a CD burner. Specifically, an Iomega ZipCD 4x4x6 CD-RW Drive. Eez bee-yoo-tiful, no? Now, I'm perfectly aware that this CD burner will not win any awards for cutting-edge technology, and that Iomega is not a very flashy brand name, and that 4x4x6 is not lightning-fast. But I'm starting slowly with something I know will be compatible with my lightweight iMac and it's similarly lightweight iTunes (who apparantly put Sound Jam, the program I've used very successfully at work, out of business). All the hardware-y people in my life have pointed out that it's considered painfully slow, but a thing that can record at four times the speed of a normal CD seems pretty darn good to me. If it recorded at four times *slower* than the speed of a normal CD, I would still be excited, because do you know why? It can WRITE CDs. For FREE. And that's AWESOME. :)

It made me realize something else, too -- I have never purchased a real piece of hardware or electronics before. Never ever. My father got me a used laptop through the school where he works when I went to college. My VCR and TV are both castoffs from various family members. My stereo was a high school graduation gift. I don't own a microwave or a toaster or even a blender (do those qualify as electronics? oh well) -- they've all belonged to various roommates. My coffee maker was a birthday present, and I think the biggest thing I'd bought myself was a cordless phone. Until now. Heh heh.

Yes, I'm aware that I am both a newbie and a geek. The checker at Best Buy thought so too, when I walked up to the counter with a big box and a spindle (ooh, the fun CD-burning vocabulary!) of 100 CDs while chortling with glee. I'd never been inside a Best Buy before and I was dutifully awed by its air-conditioned-to-freezer-level, warehouse-style massiveness -- although because I've been asking around and researching on the Web for the last few days, I knew exactly what I wanted and made a beeline for the box without looking around at all -- and the woman was like, "uh, can I HELP you?!" when I was picking up the bags and trying to walk out before I giving her my credit card or any other form of payment. Now THAT would have been a trip to Best Buy.