Customization

I'm a customization freak.

I have a cell phone. Of course, most folks do these days. But I change my ringtone a lot. By a lot I'm talking weekly. Not just my regular ringtone, but my custom ringtones. For example, if Indi called me right now (which would be freaky, 'cause she's asleep) my phone would ring with the opening notes to Der Komissar by Falco. If my Dad called me, you'd hear the somber piano notes from the closing shot of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. If my brother called me, you'd hear the Level 1 theme from Super Smash TV, a SNES game we enjoyed playing co-op. I could go on. If those same people had called me last week, you'd hear Silent Hill music, Ennio Morricone, and the theme to Unsolved Mysteries in their place. I can't leave 'em alone.

I'm the same way with my user picture on MySpace. Changing it all the time. I have an IM client at work that supports avatars. Changed weekly. I wear a different belt buckle every day. Once I have my clothes picked out and on my person, I decide what jacket I'm going to wear. It's madness.

However, back to my first example...I'm a bit of a ringtone freak. I make my own using mp3's, NSF (NES Sound File) clips, and other resources. Edited properly in Adobe Audition, of course. Balanced for sound. And finally transferred to my phone via Bluetooth. My memory card on my Nokia has not yet begun to hold the amount of random tones that it will eventually.

I think everyone is a little crazy. I'm a bit OCD (more at some times than others) and can sometimes spend hours at this computer perfecting sound. Editing out a chorus or merging two music clips together. I don't like words in my ringtones, so sometimes it's dropping vocals or trying to clip just the right part of a song that will repeat nicely.

I find myself hearing a bit of a song and think to myself, "That would make a great ringtone." Or I'm lying in bed and I must get up and make a change to my handset. Then I end up typing about it.