Will this discontent breed progression or insanity - Abigail, Day 1

The anticipation for this project got to me Thursday night as I stayed awake two hours longer than I should have allowed just getting my fill of music and Internet before the long days ahead. Stupid I know, like if it were food and I’m stuffing myself so I could be full for as long as possible before my arrival at a desert island. Its funny how we depend so heavily on mundane objects and practices to fill the void in our lives.

Friday morning came to quickly. Luckily I had made plans with my best friend to go out in the morning before either of us went into work. Which helped to an easy start. We drove around and headed to a bookstore to explore some divert reading. Options are limited when you’re not allowed to embrace the world of media and you only have one working leg. On our way out, at the check out counter, flashing at me was a copy of Time magazine, on the cover, Obama’s first 100 days. If I couldn't watch CNN this was the next best thing. After eating we headed back home. I’m a sucker for sleep deprivation, so I took advantage of the silence and slept. I woke soon to leave for work. As I get ready I usually have my television or mp3 player on in the background so as fill the silence. Turns out I can get ready a lot faster without stopping to look at a screen or skip to a fast song on my play list. I avoided the living room were the television blared as my father watched Spanish talk shows. I became anxious and ended up at work a half hour early. The drive there was no help as I’m usually the one to turn on the radio, instead I rolled down the windows and listened to the wind and traffic. I work at a retail store behind a desk, answering customer phone calls and being the store secretary. When its slow and I have little to no extra work, I usually have Pandora open as I work on paperwork. I’m not in a closed room and my desk is completely open to traffic and sounds from around the store, but it was a slow day. The music we play for our customers comes from one area that is far from my concentration and the television screens are blocked from my view (and even if they weren't they display only demos approved by company policy and played in reiteration). So the seven hours past and on the drive home I was imprisoned by the sounds of my father’s favorite radio station 92.9 Esterio Latino. Don’t get me wrong, I love Spanish music, but there’s a clear difference between that station and 95.1.

And so the day passed, not to my liking but not as bad as I fear Sunday, my day off, will be. Anticipation once again takes over.

Prof. Albert Lopez (DAY 1): The Silence was Soothing... And Deafening

This is my second time doing this Media Deprivation experiment and, man, it still feels like the first time. Like my students, I was NOT looking forward to this weekend at all. It's one of those rare occasions when I hope the weekend flies by and I'm actually praying Monday comes... And I got a long day of yard-work around the house waiting for me on Monday, too! Sheesh...

Anyway, I slept a little later than usual on Friday since I had gone to sleep real late the previous night (saw a midnight screening of X-Men Origins: Wolverine; it was semi-worth it), but it didn't take long for this Media Deprivation experiment to affect me. 

See, I usually start my day by working out at home while listening to my iTunes library blast in the background. Since no music is allowed (if I can help it, which in this case I could), I couldn't play my music so my workout was something of a doozy. Luckily, I live in a somewhat desolate area of San Antonio (in a relatively new subdivision) and my backyard is basically the woods, so the only sounds I could really hear were birds chirping and the occasional wind gust outside my bedroom window--all sounds that can be quite soothing, especially if you're trying to focus on a task like working out. 

But what should've been a 30 to 40-minute workout became an hour-long session as I soon discovered the lack of charging, frenetic music playing in the background caused me to take my time, to go slower during my workout. Good thing I wasn't pressed for time, but still, I felt like I slacked a little bit; I mean, I didn't do any less reps or anything, I just didn't go as hard or fast as I usually do. It seems that I need more than just the sounds of nature to get me pumped up, which wasn't much of a surprise since I constantly listen to music. 

By the way, it's completely quiet as I type out this blog, and it's getting to the point where I need some kind of "noise" in the background to ensure that I don't go stir crazy. The slight "whirring" sound coming from the nearby fridge (followed intermittently by the ice-maker) that I would normally block out is now a noise I welcome, which is something I didn't expect. 

It's only the first day and I found myself singing out loud (by myself, mind you) numerous times throughout the day. I won't bore you with a description of my singing capabilities, but let's just say that I don't do karaoke. Ever. 

Yet there I was singing in my car while running errands, refusing to let the deafening silence consume the entire car ride. That's the thing about total silence: it can be just as "loud" as any My Bloody Valentine CD blasting in your CD player, especially if you're not used to silence while driving, working out, writing, or grading papers, which I am absolutely not (or ever will be for that matter).  So, yeah--this whole "no music" business has quickly become a huge thorn in my you-know-what. 

As for not using the Internet or my iPhone for fun, that's barely trailing the "no music" rule as far as being the crappiest rule of this experiment. I do the social networking thing probably more than is usually appropriate for someone my age. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter--I do them all, and with the help of my iPhone (it's not called the JesusPhone for nothing, folks), I check them out WAY more than I should. What can I say? I've become something of a tech-geek when it comes to using my cell phone for stuff other than actual phone-related activities. It's sad, really...

Oh, well I'm off to bed. Got a fun day ahead of me on Saturday... That is, if you think going to the dentist is all wine and roses, which I'm sure you don't. 

But at least I'll have something other than lack of mass media to worry about tomorrow, right? Oh, wait....

I HATE GOING TO THE DENTIST!