Date: 2007-01-11
To: Prep #68--Gearhead Defined
Miles today: 0.0

This actually happened a few months back, and it still cracks me up. When a person starts researching for an undertaking such as hiking the AT, one of the first things you realize is that there's A LOT of gear to choose from and there are an infinite number of ways to "do" this hike. So, while right in the middle of my gear journey, I realized I had not purchased any ear plugs. Now I am an extremely light sleeper....everything wakes me up, and I had seen it recommended that you carry a pair of ear plugs for those times when you're sleeping at a hostel/shelter/near others, etc. Makes perfect sense to me right?So....I hop online thinking it would be a 2 minute task, find a set of ear plugs, order them, and go on with bigger things in life. Oh, I had no idea what was awaiting me when I typed "ear plugs" into my google search bar.All of a sudden, I was bombarded with colors, types, styles, patterns, ratings, specifications, technical information and all of that. Now the average person would have just filtered all of that out, clicked on the link to the classic yellow foam ear plugs, ordered a pair, and then went on their merry way.Well.....not me.....I had already become hyper-obsessed with knowing every little detail there is to know about every piece of gear I owned or wanted to own to include, but not limited to the following details:1. Exact dimensions2. Exact weight (to two decimals of an ounce of course)3. Color4. Materials it is constructed with5. Features (such as multi-purpose uses, how the internal mechanisms work, etc.)6. How to wash/clean it7. Is it safe to eat if it were the only thing left in my pack and I was stranded due to both of my legs and 1 arm being pinned under a boulder8. Can I light it on fire in order to satisfy my pyromaniac tendencies9. Does it coordinate well with the color scheme of the rest of my gear10. Does it hold enough value for me to trade it on the trail for a SnickersYou know...the normal types of things that a true gearhead wonders about.So I start this insane search, and found the E-A-R company that had more designs and technical information than I ever thought possible. I, of course, spent a good amount of time reading up on the different ratings of ear plugs, and what everything meant, how it worked, etc. I started scrolling through the pics and to my astonishment, THE perfect pair of ear plugs jumped right out at me! ***Side note....I am totally obsessed with skulls and flames***I actually found a pair of corded ear plugs with little red flames on them and I was SURE they'd work better than any other pair offered. Here's a pic of my coveted flame ear plugs: So I knew I'd found them, but there was one problem...this company only sold in bulk. Darn!!! But wait, I wasn't going to be so easily defeated. I started searching the website and as my luck would have it, I found a page where they stated they'd send you a FREE sample! Can you believe that? I thought, "Man, it really doesn't get any better than this, all I need is 1 pair anwyays!"So I go to the form and start filling it out. I entered my personal email address and it stated it couldn't accept it. So I entered my work email address and that seemed to work just fine. Didn't think twice about it. I pushed the "submit" button, and happily anticipated the arrival of my free pair of ear plugs.Well, about a week later, I was coming home from work and walked up to my front door to find this HUGE box sitting on the sidewalk. I figured Rachael had ordered something, but to my surprise, it was addressed to me. I carried it inside and opened it.I immediately started laughing uncontrollably....because I realized at that moment why my work email address was required for my free sample request. I opened the big box to find my "Free Sample": They thought I was a place of business and I got not only 1 pair, but 100 pair of these flamed-corded ear plugs!!!!! It was at that moment I realized I really had issues. I'd like to thank the E-A-R company now and let them know I was NOT trying to portray myself in a dishonest way. So, guess what.....anyone who is staying at the hiker hostel starting March 11, 2007 on, will be receiving a free pair of flamed-corded ear plugs, until supplies run out!