It's Not That I'm Not Listening, It's That I Can't Hear

If I were advertising on this site, today's post would be for sure underwritten by Bose.

Over the weekend, I found myself in a Bose store. Most people know of Bose products because they tend to advertise in magazines like "Vogue" and "Time" and sometimes they include material in credit card bills. I know Bose because I have a couple of their products and because I turned the rest of my family into consumers of their line as well.

Until you hear a Bose "Wave" for yourself, you'll just never understand how anyone would shell out $350 for a "clock radio". I used to only notice the awesomeness of the item when I was traveling and had to use the hotel radio. It's something that I take for granted now honestly ... how great the sound is from that unit.

I was again reminded of the quality of their product line when I purchased the Bose "in -ear headphones" last summer. Yes, your portable music device may have come with some ear buds but ... they aren't like these. These are comfortable and they fit perfectly and they make it sound like YoYo Ma lives in my head and is playing just for me.

There was a time when traveling was a big part of my job that I considered purchasing their "noise cancelling headphones" but I just couldn't justify shelling out that kind of money. I told myself that my inner-ear sponge machine-shop floor things worked well enough and ignored what I was trying to talk myself into.

And yet, this weekend, I saw their store, I walked inside, and stood at the wall of noise cancelling headphones, wondering if this time I would walk out with yet another Bose product. After testing a few different models and talking the salesperson into cutting $50 from the price, I did indeed become a triple-purchaser and I'm happy about it.

I tested them out as soon as I got home. Sitting on the couch, I turned on the DVD player and, putting the headphones on and turning them into noise-cancelling mode, I heard ... *crickets*. I could tell the TV was on, but I couldn't hear the actual dialogue. My roommate unwittingly helped me test them further - he walked in and asked me a question and I hadn't seen him enter the room. It wasn't until the 4th or 5th time he said my name that I realized he was even there.

I'll be putting them to the real test this week when I use them on a plane, and my guess is that I'll realize shortly after takeoff that I should have purchased these years ago.

I really should listen to me more.