Right where I want to be...

So I’m an audio/visual savant, I just am. Wires, connections, optimizational settings are oddly my thing. It’s weird, I know, but at the same time it’s even fascinating to me how I just get it.

My wife has an iPod player in her car that is unique because when the car is turned off, the iPod turns off also. The problem is that the power to the player is suspect because of terrible design – it’s top-heavy so the weight pushes the plug down and the power comes and goes. I’ve taken the thing completely apart trying to figure out “a new way” and concluded that it’s going to take a “special connection”.

I was at the mall a couple of weeks ago and popped into the Radio Shack and was met by a young man who was helpful in so much that he followed what I was saying and tried to find exactly what I asked for. They didn’t have it, so he sent me to some mega electronics store in Brentwood. Terrible service later, still nothing. I’d lost hope and conceded that this “special connection” wasn’t possible… that is until yesterday.

I needed to make a trip to a different Radio Shack because I needed a longer audio cord for the connection between the upstairs DVR and the downstairs TV (I rearranged the basement because spacial relations is also something I love to do). As I was pulling up I remembered an alternative idea I had towards making the iPod situation less frustrating for Julie so I grabbed the player on my in.

As usual, I was greeted by the sales associate upon entering, he found my audio cord and asked if I needed something else. I shared my story for the 3rd time and told him that I’d lost hope on the “special connection” and was just looking for a “not so great, but better than what I got” solution. He showed me to the elbow connectors and when I hemmed and hawed because it just wasn’t right, he asked for a moment and then walked into the backroom of the store.

While I was waiting, I tuned into the store manager who was sharing a story with another customer about an issue he helped try to fix with someone else. And while he was going through all of the possible solutions they tried he came up with another even better one and commented how he was going to call them back. It was obvious this guy loved his job.

Shortly thereafter, my sales associate returned with a “special connector” I’d never seen and shared my story to the manager who was now done with the other customer. They went back and forth (or rinsed and repeated if you will) and I was in awe. They did the whole, “what about this” and “could we do that” and “that would blow up his car” routine – it was right where I wanted to be. Their final recommendation included cutting wires and soldering, a little out of my comfort zone, but it was a new solution.

I gladly thanked them for the ideas and requested the specs of the “special connector” if it were made by someone who actually manufactured it legally. They obliged and even made a couple more suggestions for additional options to consider. I got in my car and felt rejuvenated about the new feeling I had, a feeling of hope.

These guys were a living example of hope – there are solutions, there are ways, you just need to spend the time working hard to find them (planking if you will). They could have rested at the, “nope we don’t have THAT cord”, but instead they challenged themselves to think harder, think differently, think a bit crazily.

Thank you Radio Shack dudes, you reminded me how inspiring it is to be around innovators. I will go there from now on because that is where I want to be, that is who I want to be, that is where the good shit is.