After really debating what my needs were, establishing how much I wanted to spend, I ended up with these, the Sony MDR-NC7. Definitely not the highest end headphones, but you know what? They worked pretty damn nice and I can hear my music over the lawn mower.
So where does the ingenuity come into play? Well after watching a movie on Boot Camp and Outsourced on Hulu.com, it was time to bed. In a really long story I going to shorten, I was sleeping on my ottoman upstairs. Set the laptop down and headphones beside them, near one of the ottoman's legs. In a twist of fate, I rolled over and the ottoman moaned in protest and tipped over slightly, lifting the far side's legs up. No biggie...or so I thought. Rolled back and the legs obediently returned back to the floor. Cruuuunnnnch. Unsure of what it was, my jaw dropped as i saw my newly purchased headphones now had a detachable ear pad.
After a few choice words, a fitful night's worth of so-called rest, and a few more choice words, the feeling of helplessness began to leave and I was motivated to salvage the headphones. It wasn't a torn wire and simply a broken hinge. A lot of variables in play, I made my plan. A quick trip to Wal-Mart for some Gorilla Glue Super Glue and I was ready.
The surgery was difficult at first, as the headphones swivel around and flip over as well, making a steady hold of the pieces difficult. In addition, I was unable to initially locate a way to separate the broken pad (normally you can click plastic pieces over another, as the plastic gives a bit; not the case here, as I needed the glue to be completely stable and not to stretch). Finally, the pieces are apart and ready to built back together.
"We can rebuilt [it]. We have the technology."
The glued hinge wasn't going to hold all by itself; it was a little circle with only a quarter of it initially connected to frame, now glued to the frame. Too much stress. By luck, I found a very tiny screw that I utilized through the opposite side. Shazam, the phones are back to life.
I guess I wanted to share this story as it's basically something I've done many times in my life. I can't afford nor justify buying another set of headphones merely six weeks after getting these. Whether it be some simple black speaker stands for some Bose speakers I won through work, to the shared ideas implemented by friends and co-workers (yes, I'm talking to the teacher who stole my idea of using a bed sheet and curtain rod as a projector screen).
I'd call my self cheap. Sure I am. But my lifestyle allows me to be so and still get away with it. Quite frankly, it's no different from being thrifty; it just doesn't have that je ne sais quoi that thrifty has. Whatever.
I'm sure we've all done the whole PMI thing (read the title again, in case you're wondering). It works. And yes, you should be proud that you not only saved a few bucks, but more so that you would have been able to survive in a time when you couldn't just go out and buy a new thing to replace it with.
Shazam!
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