doesn't every celebration need some music?

Well, final exams are done with. I decided to celebrate in true Hong Kong fashion: I went shopping.

Before you worry that someone has replaced the real 狄樂禮 with someone who actually enjoys shopping, let me assure you there was a good reason why I had to head to the mall. At the end of June, I was given HK$800 [about US$100] in gift certificates to a local electronics chain. Since these certificates expired in July, that left me a short time-frame to use them.

I showed up at the store with a long wish list. I knew that in the States one can buy affordable digital cameras for US$100, so could I buy a similarly-cheap camera here? Ha! The cheapest digicams I saw cost over HK$2000. Then I thought: perhaps I can get some computer software or music CDs? Nope, software and hardware are sold seperately in Hong Kong. How about a replacement for my worn-out portable radio, like a Walkman or CD player? Not stocked, since those items have, in HK at least, gone the way of the eight-track player. The "portable audio" department of the store consisted entirely of mp3 players, or mp3/combo devices. Okaaay. It looked like the only way I could get music on the go was to (wait for it) get a mp3 player.

Because I view shopping as a chore, I usually do a lot of research before making major purchases. (For my last car purchase I kept a binder with product reviews and pricing details.) Not so this time. I asked the salesclerk which 1 GB mp3 player was the cheapest and I bought it. It just so happens that the iPod Shuffle is over HK$300 cheaper than its Chinese and international rivals. (The fact that it goes well with trips to Starbucks and other yuppie endeavors -- well we can ignore that part, can't we?)

Nor am I far from alone in buying an iPod. How do I know? One of the features of iTunes, the software that goes with an iPod, is the ability to share one's iPod music collection with other people using your internet connection. While this was designed for households with multiple computers, this is especially cool when a dormitory is on the same network. Every time I boot up my software, a different person's music collection shows up on my PC. Someone in my building is a Christian worship leader - or just digs such tunes as "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High". Someone else like Chinese rap, which I didn't even know existed before I saw the playlist. A third person has a British club music collection. (Gorillaz, anyone?) For a portable music device, I seem to be using this thing quite a lot at home...