One of the many benefits of my recent career change include the release of guilt. I’ve always been very interested in satellite radio. I had heard wonderful things about it – you can listen to the same radio station all the way across the country. There are no commercials. There are specialized radio stations. You have over 160 radio stations to choose from. The list goes on and on.
When I worked in the radio industry, I thought it would be insanely hypocritical of me to go buy a satellite radio system. After all, satellite radio, along with CDs, MP3 players and in-car entertainment systems (DVD, etc) are slowly eroding the grip traditional radio has on a driver. My salary was derived from ad revenue. To own a satellite radio would make me feel very guilty.
I officially left radio on Friday at 5 p.m. I had a satellite receiver installed in my car at noon on Sunday. It would have been sooner, but we had a wedding to go to on Saturday.
My last day of work was shared with a co-worker, who is becoming a broadcasting industry instructor at one of the local BOCES (vocational schools). He had his satellite radio installed Thursday night. I guess he could deal with one day of guilt.
I’d been planning this since tendering my resignation, so I had three weeks to do lots of research. After some silent debate, I decided to get a Sirius radio made by Audiovox.
OH MY GOD.
To say that I love this radio system would be a drastic understatement. Driving in traffic is now the equivalent of an audio orgasm, if you will. I can listen to nothing but disco from Buffalo to Baltimore if I want to. I can keep up on financial news from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. I can listen to all 80s music from Walla Walla to Watertown.
And I never have to listen to another damn commercial again. Now that’s what I call getting Sirius about radio.
