The trouble with summer

One of the great joys in my life is listening to my I-pod at work. I have a carefully selected playlist that keeps me upbeat, happy and singing even as I scrape up my forearms with sharp metal, bring aches and pains to my feet with jumps from slightly-higher-than-wise locations, and try to do 10 hours work in 8. 

Of course, by "carefully selected playlist" I mean several songs are included I did not mean to include so every time they come on I skip to the next one...but still, they were songs I once wanted.

Anyway, I came up with a pretty clever way of keeping my Ipod convenient. I got one of those Belkin cases with a loop. I attach it to my necklace.

I know, I know, I am a guy...it is a chain, not a necklace. Rrrrrrriiiigggggghhhhhhhhtttttt. And GI Joes are not dolls, they are "action figures" and politicians are not criminals, they are politicians. Whatever.

Anyhow, I wear a t-shirt, over that I wear a flannel, and when it is cold, usually a pull-over and/or a coat. 

As a result, I can put in one earbud and the other one goes in my flannel pocket. Keeps it out of the way but close enough to the Ipod that it doesn't yank the other one out of my ear. 

So here is the rub (and the choice of that word will shortly become clear).

As the weather gets warmer, the clothes start coming off. No more coat. No more pull-over. Now just the flannel and t-shirt. No problem, the Ipod stays inside the flannel so it isn't flopping around wildly, getting in the way.

Except...the last couple days, the annoying sun was shining, the birds were tweeting, and I didn't have my BB gun...wait a second, wrong post. The sun was shining, it was warm, and I could not justify wearing even the flannel. Uh-oh, problem.

See, I am what you might politely call a hairy individual. (and yes, I still find that piece very funny). 

So where is the problem you ask? Well...I don't like the Ipod swinging free, so I tuck it inside my shirt. Let's consider the situation.

Weighted object with clip hanging close to hair.

Ouch. 

It keeps getting caught. On my chest hair. I suspect a couple of times it even snatched an errant strand or two clean out of my chest. 

So warm weather means I have to constantly stop short as the Ipod case clip catches a chest hair and reminds me that there is a reason smooth chests are better.

The only real solution I can see here is to create a snow machine to ensure it is always cool enough to wear at least two layers. I mean, sure, you could argue that I could find an alternate way to pack the Ipod or wrap the clip or some such crazy, sensible solution. But I think we all know that is not going to happen. 

In short, warm weather causes me to face...wait for it....wait for it...the payoff is not worth the portion of your life you spent waiting for it, but wait for it...I now face a hairy situation.