They are also kind of a personal item. I mean we wear them on our heads and our ears, and clean as anyone is, that's kind of some intimate contact. As a rule, most people don't share hairbrushes and q-tips, so you get the idea.
What some people do not understand is that headphones are a piece of sensitive equipment and being the neurotic crazy people most radio folks are, we do fetishize them a tiny bit and probably are overly sensitive about our personal pairs. It's pretty rare to lend them out and often times it's almost impossible to use someone else's because your pair sounds and feels the way you want them to. These are your ears, so to speak and using someone else's headphones is like trying to hear with someone else's ears. Even if you're comfortable rubbing something on your head that's been on someone else's head (and believe me, I've borrowed a pair here and there for various reasons) most of the time it just feels, weird.
Anyway back to the point... I don't lend my headphones out very often. I'm obviously extremely crazy about them. While I didn't purchase them personally, they weren't cheap and I can not imagine being able to afford to replace them with a comparable pair any point in the near future. I also can't see myself using anything but these. I love them.
That being said, I do on occasion let someone else use them. Like I let Jeremy use them for like five minutes the other day when he was learning the board/automation system again and he gave them back to me in the same condition I handed them to him in, because yo, V-Rock gets it, right? But when I lend them out and they come back to me... well okay with the cords all wrapped up around the headband/ear pieces that makes me nuts, because it does damage the wires inside the cords. Think about when you pinch off a hose to stop the flow of water if that doesn't make sense. Or when I lend them out and then have to go track down the adapter that plugs into the mixing board because someone either left it plugged into the board or just pulled it off and left it on the counter? Man that makes me see red, because what if it's lost? How do I do my show without being able to plug myself into the board?
Other things people have done that almost drove me to a rage fit... wearing too much hair gel and using my headphones (so gross!) not putting them back in the drawer or handing them to me, you know just tossing them on a desk, out of their little bag? Arrugh maddening. Or tangling the cords and just leaving them knotted up. Taking them without asking? Man I want to cut a bitch when that happens, and when you work in a place without locking drawers, cabinets, etc, it will happen. (Both the stealing of headphones and the me cutting a bitch.)
Am I the only one who's this crazy?
I think it's not at all unusual to be protective/obsessive about the tools you use for your job. Doesn't matter if that means headphones, baseball bats or hammers.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's always annoying when people don't respect your things, regardless of the circumstances. I think some people are just like that about everything. Doesn't matter if it's theirs or someone else's.