My first one was a Nano, that lasted for about a year, until I washed and dried it, and, shave my legs and call me Susan, it stopped working. Who would have thought it? In my own defense, it was around the time when the period in my life I'm now calling The Never-ending Car-crash was getting into gear, no pun intended. And the poor thing was on my trouser pocket, and was a) immersed in water for about 45', and then spun and dried for a little under an hour. And that killed it, thank you very much. After some very creative saving and financial rearrangement, I managed to acquire a silver Classic, 120 GB. And, in a way - and yes, I am aware it is inanimate.... - it has been a company. I have pictures, audio books, movies, songs, TV series, you name it, its there. Ideal for long coach trips and the 40' each way walking in and out of OUDE (Oxford University Department of Education). Apple hit the bullseye with this technology, I tell ya. Who know, I might get a Mac at some point....
I can finally write about it. In the old country, we have many sayings. I guess it was a form of preserving wisdom in an farming/agricultural world, where the next village was half a day away. One of them, roughly translated says: 'Better alone that in bad company.' How very, very true. Why do we keep around us people that are bad for us, when, just out of simple probabilities, there must be at least one other person, out of 6 billion, that is actually good for us? Why do we stay chained to pain and suffering, and tell ourselves lies, and falsehoods, just because, it 
