Wednesday, May 6, 2009

day 2 (brittany caraway)

day two...i picked up a shift at work so wouldnt have my mind on things.like being media deprived for one thing.this gave me a reason to ignore my roommate and not give her rent until the last minute.she just sucks at life.you have to be around her long enough to know.but i knew that if i brought my phone to work i would be tempted to look at it.and if i get caught looking at my phone,my manager would consider terminating me.i did however,get a guest complaint.they were stupid,and i was tired.because yes,a double shot of vodka with sprite is going to be pretty strong.fyi.so i almost got a write up for that,but because i made so much last night,i really didnt care.so i got off and went home.and because i cant use my phone, i had to plan ahead once again.so i made plans to go to a girlfriends house and drink with her,her boyfriend and roomate.that was fun.we talked alot of shit mostly.got pretty tipsy.but i had to work in the morning at 1130.so i set a bedtime for 330.but thankfully i didnt wake up with a hangover,but we all agreed at work that that wouldve taken my mind off things.but i got to work not very good looking,so my manger kept an eye on me.but at least all day saturday i worked from 1045 to 11pm.no worries though.i do feel alot of relief from the worries of everyone else around me.its always bothered me when someone is always on the phone.and their phone is always dead.that sucks.i just really relaxed yesterday.like a vacation.but i still gossip,so its not like im dead because i cant use any media sources.hahaha.

Day 3 Jordan Wiggins

Today was actually the easiest of the three days of deprivation. My Sundays are usually pretty active. I went to church this morning, then out to eat with family, and for the rest of the day I have been studying. The first two days I must say were the worst. My phone, television, and computer are a big part of my everyday regiment, seeing how most of my school work involves the computer and television for news coverage. This project has really tested my discipline in cell phone use. As the directions stated I put my phone away out of reach, actually putting it in my guest bedroom and only using it when needed. When I would need to use my phone for important reasons I would come to a phone swamped with text messages and missed calls. Some actually being very important missed calls. Deprivation from my cell phone has got to be the least draining. Deprivation from the television was with out a doubt my top weakness. I found that I watch more television then I thought. I guess it is one of those activities that help pass time but in essence time should be passed spending it wisely. I found that I read more then usual and I think I read on a regular. But, being away from media brought me closer to myself and realizing what I really enjoy doing. I think some forms of media are a waste of time and we as knowledgeable human beings need to spend more of our time learning like some of the greats such as Einstein, Aristotle, Machiavelli, etc.

Day 1 Jordan Wiggins

No phone, computer, or TV uses today, oh the agony! Today was rather difficult seeing how music is one of my first loves. Today my day consisted of cleaning and studying, two tasks I do that I love to listen to music while doing. While I was doing so, I found it very lonesome in the process. Normally there is something playing in the background that I can hear but today was different. Nothing. I think it will only get tougher as time goes on, but I have found some things to do to pass time like working out (something I do often), reading, and having conversations with different family members. I think this experience is great. I think that we as Americans should not depend on media as the only means of entertainment, and I think with all the technology now we have lost sight of that.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Day 3 Jenna Denver

Day 3. Almost over. Today started out having to type up an essay for my government class. Normally I have the radio or television on as background noise while I do my papers. But today I couldn't. I did realize that I get much more done without the tv or radio on though. I was able to write my paper much quicker and keep my thoughts straight. After that, I went to work around four. Figuring that working the rest of the day would be easier than sitting at home bored! So I went to work, and it was so slow all night that I had nothing to do. I did have my phone with me though. Normally when I'm at work with nothing to do, I text. But I couldn't. That made time go by so much slower. They didn't even have to tv on at work yesterday! So, I sat there, bored. Dreaming about tomorrow when I could turn on my radio on the drive to school, and watch a movie when I got home. Truth be told though, this project couldn't have happened on a better weekend. I got to study and relax a little bit before finals. But I am done depriving myself of media after this weekend. I love media. I love all the capabilities it provides us. If I couldn't use my cell phone or GPS I would get lost all the time. I had to go to a friends house the weekend, and I wasn't sure how to get there. I wanted to use my GPS so bad. I can't imagine days back when people had to use maps! Those things are impossible. But its almost over. Tuesday I'm definetely going to see Wolverine because thanks to this project I haven't been able to this weekend. Tuesday will be a good day.

Day 3 Steven Brewer

Last day of the project. Definetely the worst. Pretty sure I'm going through withdrawals at this point. I can't wait until tomorrow. Video games all day! Except I have finals so probably not. This project has really made me think. How difficult were times before people could easily communicate. I haven't spoken who live in Alabama all weekend. What would it be like to never get to speak to my friends unless I went to visit? Also, what did people do to take up all this free time? I've had so much of it this weekend. You can only read so much until you get tired of it. It would be a very different world without all of our modern technology. I haven't watched tv at all this weekend either, not even the news. It's strange not knowing what is going on in the world. But back before technology, people couldn't flip on the tv and get instant news on what was going on across the world. They had local newspapers, and I believe thats it. How could they find out important issues without some mass form of communication? I am glad that I have participated in this project though. It has definetely given me an insight how much easier times are now that we have so much technology. I just hope I never have to do a project like this again! I appreciate what it has taught me, but it has been very very difficult.

day 3 antoine

The last day wasn't all that bad for me because I was doing things most of the day. But there were some times it was pretty challenging because it was so hot outside not to watch TV. But I went out with my mom and bought her some early mother's day presents so that kept me occupied for a few hours. This project definitely taught me a lesson and showed me some things about myself. It was more of the alone time that was the most challenging but I realized how much I depend on music, internet and especially TV to occupy my time when I either dont have anything to do or dont feel like entertaining myself. I felt a bit ashamed of myself for a little bit because I noticed how much time I have in a day to be doing things productive instead of being lazy. I am definitely glad the nightmare is over. I am gonna go home and not even go anywhere and watch a movie, listen to my ipod and be on the internet at the same time. Even though I got frustrated quite a bit during this project I do understand why it was given, it teaches a lot of things about yourself you never would have realized on your own.

S.O.S. - Day 3 - Angelo Reyes

Ok. By now, I was sure I’d be pulling my hair out and kickin’ babies, but I’m not. I’m not even bothered by the fact that I haven’t watched t.v. or listened to music. I guess it’s just something you get used to. Day 3 wasn’t much different than the other two. I woke up at ten, meditated, and showered, and headed off to work. Work was pretty much the same as the past days. I noticed that I talk more to my co-workers, being actually interested in them and how they’d been doing. That was a pleasant surprise. It’s nice to know you’re not a monster and genuinely care about other people. I had a pretty deep conversation with this girl I barely even speak with. Afterwards, I realized that I tend to judge people on first sight and my reactions towards them are determined by my judgement. I was pretty surprised by this because I’d never thought about it before. People tend to act before they think of the repercussions of their actions and I must admit I’m guilty. I got out of work at 4:30 and headed home. No music, no radio, nothing. Not bad. Not bad at all.
At home, I sat down for a couple hours reading a sci-fi novel. I’ve always enjoyed reading, but I hadn’t read the email about being able to read, until yesterday, so I read. After reading, I went outside and messed around with a soccer ball for an hour. Worked up a good sweat. I have actually killed my smoking habit, since that friday night when I said I would. I noticed the cleansing of my lungs. I hope it lasts. After soccer, made myself a grilled chicken salad and garlic bread. It was delicious. After I ate, I went up to my room and meditated for half an hour. Love it. After that, I took a shower. I played with my kitty-cat for an hour, then went to bed.
I can’t wait to talk about this project with you guys in class. See you then. Peace

Day Three - Christina Gomez

Oh lordy…the last day has finally come to pass. I must say that I haven’t exactly been counting down the days, but my mindset knew the second I woke up this morning I could text my friends again.

Saturday, I completely skipped out on blogging to go paintballing, then to a skating rink, which I haven’t been to since middle school, and finally a beach themed birthday party. Of course I chose to forego wearing a swimsuit and wore something more subtle like clothing. My entire day was quite entertaining, since I had left my phone at home. During that time, fond memories of what life was like before having a cell phone glued to my fingers were coming back to me.

Sunday, I slipped and listened to the radio on my way to work, but it took me until I was already at work to realize I was listening to the radio! Afterwards, I felt like I had to confess to a priest. Not more than 10 minutes later, I blew it off. Seeing as how it was 7 in the morning and I don’t function properly, or care at all for that matter, that early in the morning.

Three o’ clock came around and I bolted out of work faster than you can imagine. I returned to my car and reluctantly turned off my radio and listened to the sound of rushing air from my A/C and was left, once again, with the pointless thoughts going through my mind. “I wonder why the plural form of moose isn’t meese. Why is it that men have nipples if they have no purpose for them? Wow, that’s a nice Porsche.”

Along the way, I went to James’ and baked a pineapple upside down cake while he watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I, of course, just stuck with the strategy that every good parent tells children when they cuss around them, “earmuffs.”

By this time, I was already starting miss all kinds of media. I can’t really pass my time by playing go-fish, baking, working, and school alone. I was beginning to wonder how people managed to make it out of their generations without Internet, high definition cable, and DVR.

But aside from all the stressing the lack of media caused, I found myself stressing less about little things. This past weekend, I have gotten more sleep than I have any other weekend for the past year. I ended up finding more energy to go out and do some pretty fun things. Rather than feeling cut off from the world without a phone or Facebook, I felt more personal connections when I went to parties and hung out with friends. It’s nice to remember that I’m not socially awkward without media and that says a lot coming from a comm. major!!!

Deanna Briones-Hassuni Day 3

I almost cheated. The start of my day consisted of waking up late due to not having my alarm clock blaring with music, because of this I was late to a meeting at work and almost got fired. As I'm on my way out I get in a huge argument with my mom (probably because I was stressed out about not being able to listen to music!) and that put me in a really bad mood. So I get to the meeting and it's almost over so I yell at everyone and leave. Usually when I'm in this bad of a mood I listen to music as a form of therapy, but I couldn't so I end up just being crabby all day. So I hopped in my car, furious and with swollen eyes and drove to the nearest Starbucks to listen to music and study. It certainly wasn't the coffee or the studying that calmed me down. Later on my way home, I stared at the stereo as it tempted me to turn it on and looked up just in time to swerve from nearly running over a defenseless little squirrel. This almost made go flying off a bridge near I-10. Being all alone and in silence did make me realize and think about things though. Like how much I appreciate my life and don't like doing this project and not being entertained. We as humans need entertainment. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy right?? Cause that's how I feel. Except I'm a girl. I mean sure maybe if I lived somewhere cool like the beach or was visiting a far off place I could do with out media for awhile, but no I'm still here in same old stuck up San Antonio. Thank god this is the last day and my hair can start growing back out tomorrow. If I wasn't so occupied doing homework right now, I would probably be wandering around my neighborhood kicking Ferrel cats to humble myself. So I guess this is a better time then ever to get this project over with since I can spend most the time focusing on school. I guess one good change I've noticed is that I don't procrastinate as much. But I do still procrastinate, just not "as much". So later I went and chugged beer to get my mind off of studying and this project, and got smashed and fell over and hit my head on the curb, at this point the project has now injured me and dang neared killed innocent animals and I'm really considering cheating for my health at this point. Just kidding. But I did get pretty toasty :). Then I didn't drive drunk home and went to bed. So I woke up today, with the mother Teresa of all hang overs, and realized I could go back to my drab and lethargic form of an existence. Excited as hell, I leapt from my slumber as if I was a star Olympian and turned on the all mighty TV and then got back in my bed and snuggled up under my sheets as though it were my mothers womb. At last, the pain is over. So what did I get out of all of this? Well.... I guess I was more productive, and hopefully it will show it's self in my grades. Hint hint. I'll tell you one thing though, if I fail this class, you darn well better believe this girl is not doing this project again!

Final Day- Lisa Lozano


OMG!!!! I almost went completely crazy.......This final was the worst…..!!!! Day three came around and I was so happy. It was the easiest day out of all of them but at the same time I caught myself just counting down the time. This seemed more than three days for me though. Truthfully throughout this whole thing I think I would make it through life without TV. But the other things like my cell phone and radio I wouldn’t be able to be without anymore. It was a weird experience but now I understand how easy life was back then when none of this even existed. It wasn’t even important to the people back in the day, they were fine with telegrams and smoke signals. Shoot I’m so happy to be alive when all of these cool things were out. All in all this was fun especially for my family to see me strive living without certain things. I’m starting to think if there is any therapy for people that actually have a cell phone addiction problem if so I need to sign up. Lol!!!!!!

harold peavy day 3

The past three days have been something of a blur; So much so that I spent all of today so far without media. I can say that only because I had a final this morning, but hey I didn’t remember to turn the radio on the way to school. And when I remembered on the way back, it was not even worth putting on. I figured I had gone this long, why chance it on some crappy hit when I could choose the appropriate song at home. This is just a portion of how my thinking has changed from this process; I have actually had a lot fun with how my time has been spent.
Sunday was one of the best days I have had in a long time, minus the crippling hangover. So I have to say that the day was shortened, it had been a while since I had been in bed until 2.p.m. I would have had no problem staying in all day either, except I was rustled out of bed by friends. I had been keeping tight tabs on my roommate’s and friend’s media exposure as well. I had made plans to have a day out of the house, to all enjoy a day by making fun of what ever came our way. 2:30, out of the house and on to Tim’s, time to ride dirt bikes and shoot guns. This is often a Sunday practice, our congregation you might say, Tim works in Laredo during week so on the weekends we cut loose at the ranch.
5:30, back to Laredo for Tim and off to the pool for everyone else. Tired, hot, and dirty from the bikes we arranged to meet a bud Nick where he works as a lifeguard. It was the first time we made the visit, definitely worth it. The pool was out Culebra in some new housing development. Three story water slide do I need to say more?
8:00, Buzzed and hungry. I have only been awake for a portion of the day but I’m already pretty beat. We leave the pool in search of food, and end up with more of a place to drink. With a bite to eat and a couple of pints at the Saucer, it’s any easy decision to go out for more. At our neighborhood dive the Monkey, I find myself irritating my friends with questions and insights as it is already today.
What did we learn? Above all I have to say I couldn’t do it alone. Not because of lack of will, but for the fact that you have way to much time to think when you’re alone. Not trying to be funny but, I don’t really get along with myself and would much rather have others deal with me. It is better for all of us that way. I don’t know if you act as psychiatrists or need to see one after a personal internal look like that. Long drives in the car solo are similar to Looney bins; padded walls could be an improvement though. Other than the car, my life is rather enjoyable. I often found myself in my daily routine not feeling deprived of media, fine without. Working 40 plus hours a week and going to school keeps me busy. The last thing I want to do is spend my me time on my ass.
Writing these blogs I have opened up and allowed myself to really get a since of what I’m about. and I'm glad to say it makes me happy. Living an active life is fun and glad I live the way I do, although I think I may have a drinking problem. I can’t wait to go watch SportsCenter with a cold one.

Taylor Lieber - Day 3

Day three was definitely the hardest. I was really missing my music, tv, and phone!! I finally decided to just turn my phone off and put it in the closet so I wouldn't be tempted. By Sunday I was also missing getting on the computer and downloading music. Wednesday night I watched American Idol, and it reminded me of some songs that I wanted to put on my ipod. I forgot to do that before the project, and it definitely bothered me. I woke up a little earlier than usual to go have breakfast with my roomate and another friend of ours. Since there were three of us in the car to talk to each other, they didn't yell at me too much about the no music thing. During breakfast however, both of them kept using their phone to text people, and it was so hard to watch! They were doing it on purpose. I'll have to get them for that later.... When I got home I did the usual couple of loads of Sunday laundry. Once again, I missed having my radio on while I folded everything and put it away. That afternoon, I finally decided to head to Barnes and Noble to get a new book. I sat there for about an hour, enjoying a cup of coffee and listening to the elevator music they play in the store. It was very relaxing. In the evening, my roommate kept me company since I was close to turning on the tv. We talked for about an hour while she put away her laundry. I then decided to get ready for bed. I figured that the sooner I went to sleep, the sooner I could wake up and the project would be over! I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for presents in the morning. Looking back over this project, I think that if I didn't have all of these forms of media in my life, I would be a much more active person.

dominic-sunday media deprivation

Sunday was a great day, because I did really fell the effects of not having media in my life. I went to bed early Saturday night because i had nothing better. On my usual Saturday i would go to bed around 11 because i have to wake up at 4:25am go to to I work at 5:25am. Getting up was weird because instead of waking up to my music tone, on my alarm, I had to wake up to a loud noise! The default alarm on my phone will wake you up but in the process it will really stress you out. The stress but alarm sound could be the main cause of sleeping disorders in Americans because I dread going to sleep because I don't want to hear the alarm noise in the morning. Once the deprivation project is done the first think I am going to change is the alarm, my music tone is far more relaxing.
At work I had a blast because I work at Verizon so there were gadgets everywhere! So from 6am to 3pm I was surrounded by all kinds of media. This was a slap in the face when had to leave because I had to drive with no radio, and play the sound of wind sound track! Once I got home it was not so bad. I put my phone in my room on my night stand and i forgot about it because I spent time with my family. Family time in my family is few and far between because we are always tied to the TV or computer or phone but not having the medias allowed up to talk and connect. To my surprise time went by really fast and I learned a lot of great information about my family.
Monday morning I was finally able to take a shower with music playing! i never knew how much I depend on having music. Music is a great media that everyone needs because they can express their emotions and connect with thousands at one time. putting on a music alarm was great to, I really felt that i was more relaxed and was not stressed to wake up by an abrupt sound.
The three days without the media were not as bad as i thought they would be. There should be more of a balance of time that we spend without media and with media because media keeps up intouch with the world and events.

Josh Aldama [Day 3]

Finally, it's Monday, and there's about 40 minutes left for this experiment to end. I've gone this whole weekend without any type of media, something I never thought I would do, something that just didn't seem possible in a technological society. But I did it, and I'm pretty sure I am one of the few people in our society that can say "I went a whole weekend without TV, internet, games, movies, and phone". It's been interesting to see how I reacted when I couldn't use any of my "Media gadgets", i did many things that surprised me, many things that I never would have caught myself doing anytime soon. 

Sunday was definitely the easiest but the most stressful of all. It was easy because it was the 3rd day and I was already used to it, but it was the most stressful because I was excited for Monday to come! I know I got on some of my friends nerve over the weekend, but luckily I didn't Sunday, since I stayed home with the family and chilled. 

When this experiment started I was pretty sure it was gonna be hell, and sure enough, it was hell the first day. The sudden change got me hard, and seemed like life would be so boring without any media. But as the days went by, I began finding other stuff to do to not get too bored. I would go out more, I would go swimming, I would clean my house, fix what was broken. It all made the day go by faster and not having to think about it. 

I think now that this experiment is over, I'll definitely try to watch less TV, not use the internet as much so I can do more productive stuff for myself and the people around me. I almost feel like a different person, but I'm not, I'm still the same old Josh but I a bit improved in some way.

Neysa Day 3

Yesterday yes definately the easiest day of all 3. I was already in the no media mode, my think mode. I work with girls as their coach. So that morning my main thoughts were completly about them. At work i was again able to listen to music. The atmosphere i work at is a gym, so there is constant music playing in the back. We do not have televisions there so i couldn't watch tv. After, I was able to go back home and shower. Then i had to come back for a meeting. The meeting didnt start for about an hour and a half due to late coaches and students that had been picked up late from practice. So I was wastin my precious time at a gym with music still playing in the back, when i could have been studying like I needed to. So then the meeting was moved to pizza hut. At this point my thoughts were solely about my final. The next dayI still had to study for and make a cheat sheet.(by the way my professor allows cheat sheets for the test). At this facility there was absolutely no types of media around. We ate and talked for hours about the new season and diffrent problems around the gym. The meeting was still going on when i told them I had to leave. I proceeded to starbucks to keep my mind clear so Iwas able to study. With this whole project i have learned that cutting the media out gets alot of things accomplished and I am much more aware of my surroundings and whats happening around me. I was able to focus my time on things that were important instead of just layin around doing nothing. Even watching tv is a waste of time if your not doing something else. Also such as homework or productive things on the computer. I think after this small deprivation I will be more productive with my time utilization, at least for a small time after.

Day 3 - Alina Martinez

Finally! The end has arrived! Actually this media deprivation stuff hasn’t been that bad. I figure, if we survived through 3 days..then we can do it for a lot longer. So today I kept myself pretty busy too. I was at work from 7 am to 4pm. Which scared me a little; I was afraid I wasn’t gonna make it make it in time to write my blog! So work went smoothly without my cell phone around. This time I actually left it at home. I think this project has actually helped me a little as far as my OCD goes. I don’t really need my cell phone there al the time like I thought I did. I started to not notice that it wasn’t even there for a while. On the other hand however, since I have an iphone, there was about a billion other things I wanted to use it for. I missed using my yellow pages app to look for stuff I needed to find asap during work. And sometimes work can get pretty slow and I needed to watch youtube videos to get me through the day. In that aspect, I did kinda miss my cell phone. Like today, I really needed to find the happy hour time for sushi zushi..but I couldn’t. That ended badly as well cause we ended up paying full price for sushi at kona! So while I was slightly entertained at work, I had nothing to keep me going at home. I got home and found myself almost walking in circles with nothing to do. My phone was in a drawer, my laptop was off, my tv was off, and my stereo was too. After I finished my blog for that day, I attempted to take a nap without my tv on. As usual, I ended up staying up and thinking. This happens to me in the car too. I guess it does to everyone. I just think about everything. I start to analyze everything going on in my life. There never goes well so I just got up and smoked probably one too many cigarettes outside. The sunset was out so it was really quite beautiful outside. Luckily a little after that it was time for dinner with some co-workers..again. So I was off to entertain myself for another night with my dented wallet..haha! Without all this media in my life..it made me realize a few things about myself. I definitely need noise to fall asleep, I could not survive longer than these 3 days without music, and I definitely do not need my phone. Without all this media being a part of my daily life, I started to notice a few of the little things I stopped doing. Instead of going home to watch tv and fall asleep like usual, I started going out to have dinner or drinks with friends and co-workers. I had almost forgotten how great a simple dinner night with great people was like. It may have cost me a big more but it was well worth it!
Day 3 starts out at twelve midnight at the club. This is ok since there is a loop in the class. So the night is like every other night out drinks until two then head home. The difference on the way home was no music not a bad thing at all. Instead of music I just talked to my girlfriend. Arrived at home to make some food whatever I had since the grocery store visit was still a couple of days away. The night finished around four hitting the pillow like no other that was the first time in about two months that I have really been out. The next morning was early not because of anything important it was more of being hung-over stumbling around at eight to get some water and since we were not allowed to watch TV which is my usually regimen I just hit the pillow even harder. Waking up around two and starting on this dam blog among other things I had to finish Sunday. Man procrastination is a killer having over two weeks to work on something and trying to do it in five hours is not fun for the most part. Started to make some eggs and bacon no TV which is not bad just a little boring. Eating talking to someone more is not bad I would be bad if there was nothing to talk about. Started to do some work and that’s when we both cracked my girlfriend and I. we are the recent owners of a Netflix account and there has been movies looking at us since Friday just sitting there. As I pass by they say Hello they also say Money since there is a fee for these movies we came to the conclusion that if we did not watch a movie it would be throwing money away. Since it was stated that a relationship should not be broken up over this experiment I can say I was forced into watching a movie because if I was not there something something something I can’t remember the words to guilt me into watching but hey it was convincing enough. So that ended the watching TV for my girlfriend who was not a part of the experiment but was a good participant. I on the other hand went to the room after the movie and finished my work. In all this experiment was nice I believe that I may do this again during finals I felt I got more done then the other times in my life. The media takes up parts of my life by being there it’s an excuse not to do something its easy not to do something. One funny thing is that this mourning I forgot to even turn on the radio I parked and still had the radio off its kind of nice without all that noise. I can say for one that when I have things to do I enjoy not being chained up by the media. I don’t know what it would be like having nothing to do because I filled my time with work. I do wonder how different I would have been not having much to do like work or school work. The question is would I be lazy if the experiment was during a time when I had no plans or work. It’s a question that has been answered by others but is it true what they state is the human would be lazy and work is needed if not they would sit around and do nothing. I believe this to be wrong because with this little experiment I did not feel a need to consume my life with thoughtless media. That’s what the media it fills your head with nonsense with media you do nothing for the most part. The media that surrounds our lives is what is there and that’s it either enjoy it or not.

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Day Three

I'm so glad the project is over. I woke up around 1 and as soon as i did i put my favorite song on my laptop because i hadnt heard all freaking weekend and it's been in my head for these past couple days! Well on Sunday I arose from my slumber around 4 again and my mom was cooking a late mexican breakfast for us. When my family eats they usually have a movie on netflix or my cousins are playing the xbox after school. And i had faced away from the big screen and ate my breakfast like a usually would with noise in the background. After i ate i jumped in the shower and when i got out my boyfriend was on the laptop checking his myspace and listening to some music but i asked him to turn off the song even though i was enjoying it. So he kind of helped me through the day without music. As i got ready i wanted to listen to the radio so bad but i knew that i shouldnt or the project wouldnt go right. I didnt have much diffuculty not using a cell phone or any phone at that, simply because i dont have one, and i'm not a texting freak like most girls my age!! the only time i used one was to call my friend about a barbeque we were going to and she needed a ride. so when i left to go pick her up i hesitated to put the radio face on and connect my ipod. my boyfriend was already tired of me having to do the project mostly because when i drive we usually have the music blasting on my speakers. but we didnt the whole ride to brazos & san fernando. in the deep westside haha. me and my friends were all there cooking burgers and hot dogs having a good time drinking some beers and all that good stuff you do at barbeques. Of course there was music in the background and i wasnt about to ask them to turn it off!! We got there around 8, then we left around 12 am. we said our good byes and i was glad to see the time in my car because that finally meant i could jam out and its exactly what i was gonna do regardless the time! i was just feelin a little to good with my bestffriend and boyrfriend in the car they were good times and i'm so glad this is over because sometimes its ackward without music in the car! i'd also like to say that music is the biggest part of media in my life and this showed me how much more i appreciate it and love it.

Day 3 for Adam Coe

So Day three was slightly easier than the rest. i did not think it possible but hey, i did it. a few cell phone calls to make plans, almost no texting. no music tv or viedo games! its a form of torture im sure. I survived and now Im just glad its over. I enjoyed the experiance, and i see how media has changed our lives so dramatically. 30 years ago we wouldnt have had a big problem with a project like this. but today it is like murder! i liked the project, i do not think i will do it again. now i can finally watch tv, talk to people online or texting. i can finally listen to my radio! a truely taxing experiance, but i learned a great deal from it and find that the project was very good for me, as well as most of the class.

Jonathan Swayne blog for sunday May 3, 2009

Day 3 thank god it’s finally over I did not think I was going to make it through the whole thing but I did over the whole 3 days I only listened to music one time and I only watched 1 movie luckily I had stuff to keep my busy most of the time. Yesterday was another easy day just as easy as or easier than day 1 I had allot of things planed whit my quartet so I was not going to use any mass media any way. Woke up around noon went picked up Peter and met Geon and Anthony at the place where we practice and we sung for about 3 hours. After practice we went out to get a late lunch at jims hung out there for about 2 hours played some cards while we ate and drank talked whit the wait staff there we are all regular customers and I have worked there before so we all have allot of friends there. We started talking about the project since it kept us from going to the movies and we all kind of realized that other than the internet none of the mass media has too much a hold on us since we all spend hours making our own music and none of us watch very much TV. I think this project was a good thing it gave me more time overall to do my homework and we practiced twice this week instead of the usually once which was good since it is going to be summer soon and we are going to have a lot of gigs and make some money this summer . the media is important in my life for sure especially the computer one thing I don’t understand is if I am on the computer and not on the internet why is that considered the mass media most of computer hobbies don’t involve the internet and I lost out on those these last three days now I’m all backed up on my coding but all in all I think this was a good experience

LaQuinta Day 3

The last of the experiment. I first want to say that it was very enlightening for me to see just how almost every aspect of our daily lives involves media. Even though I don't need it, I missed it. Yesterday morning, I woke up late trying to help the time go by. I did my morning routine and began to clean and organize my house. Woke up my children so we could go to Sunday Service. Left service went to Napa Auto Parts to buy fuses and tail light bulbs, then went to get Lunch at McDonald's. I went home change some of my fuses and replace the burned out tail lights. I went inside and took a nap. When i woke up i was wondering what time was it and was the deprivation over. I left my bedroom because my husband was watching TV. I did have to use the computer to write an important letter and to catch up with my speech class. This morning when i woke up the TV was on, the kids were playing music, I was on the computer checking emails( found elementary classmates on face book) That was interesting. I went to my sister-in-laws to get out of the house and pick up my curio cabinet. Just trying to keep doing something other than TV. I guess through out it all my biggest challenge was to do with out TV. As i stated before, I don't talk or text on the phone much. I am mainly on the computer to do work and/or take care of financial business . I rarely get on the computer for social pleasure unless I am prompted by and email response. I really can appreciate how far we have come in the technology world. We have a variety of choices to communicate. We have so many ways to stay informed. This is why, even for me, a person who still can't figure out how to use bit torrent, just learning how to use face book and some other media venues, misses the small amount of media that i do know. As i grow to learn more, I experiment more. I took on this project thinking that it would have been easy. My family supported me, but was crying not to do it with me, so I let them off the hook. I tried to think of it like a punishment, being locked up with no privileges. I think i ate more to take up the in between space. I like having the choice of choosing what media I want and when i want it. You know the old saying "you don't miss what you have until it's gone'". I know i missed the TV the most,because i like to watch movies. Fortunately for me, I was able to record the programs I missed. I did spend a lot of time taking care of things that you put off because of watching TV. Now it is time to get caught up on doing absolutely nothing but watching TV.
P.S. I did want to mention i woke up about 1am and watch a movie on demand.(Penelope)Just had to get 1 in. I think I was having withdrawals and needed a fix to rest easy that last night.

Eric Garza - Day Three

Ok so far i think my record is 12 and 3 playing my little brother in chess. What else is there to do? Ive gone to the gym more than i could in the past, and have gone to sleep earlier than i have in the past couple of months and all this is due to the fact that i've taken the multimedia out of my lifestyle for a mere three days. Im shocked at how many other things i can accomplish and how much more energy and focus i have towards finishing up this semester. I finished all of my final projects that were due in all of my classes and even started planning what i want to do during my summer break. I wrote out plenty of ideas for things i would like to do and just need to get the wheels in motion. I went to go visit my mom who wasnt quite as upset as i thought she would be and told her about this project. She said that this project would probably be the one thing that would probably help out a lot of students during finals. I didnt think that by limiting or cutting off my multimedia usage it would boost my focus level and allow me to prioritize my laundry list of goals i wanted to accomplish. I cant wait to try this again soon or challenge someone else to try it. I think my phone bill was due on the first and i usually get a text message reminder that i need to pay it in order to continue service but the project cut right into the thick of things and now i have to wait until today after 5 to find out. My ex-girlfriend came over and she said she tried to call me and left several messages but no luck. She seems like the type of person who would not be able to complete a challenge like this. One thing i have learned is that people panic when they lose that line of communication with the world, and pre programed numbers in your phone are useless if you have no phone. I think having these lines of communication via cell phone, email, etc., are all perks to the electronic age we live in but we shouldnt rely on these things for one day they could fail us. Then what would we do with the incapability to talk to one another over long distances? I drove more but talked less. I did more and stressed little. Most of all, I was out of the loop but got in touch with who I am and whats important in my life - my family, friends and my sanity!

Linda Estrada Finallly day 3

Sunday was not too bad at all, I woke up feeling well rested and was trying to figure out what the day would bring me without media. I still live with my parents and my father was gone for the weekend on a fishing trip, so I asked my mother to accompany me to the grocery store and to get a few other errands done. I work 6 days a week and also go to school so this was nice to spend some quality time with my mom since I dont really get to do so much. During the drive she attempted to turn the radio on, I did stop her which was pretty funny considering she had no idea why. Meanwhile, we kept conversation going about the future, and family. Later on in the evening my mom and I cooked dinner, which I have not really helped with since I was a little girl. My usual routine when I am home is to be in my room on the computer or watching television. So spending time with my mom was defintely nice for a change. I was never really aware of how much technology has pushed us apart. At about 6:00 PM all of my 5 brothers and sisters came over to have dinner with us, we talked about future plans for Mothers Day and my 21st birthday which is coming up the weekend after. I played with my nieces and nephews for a while, when we usually hang out time is spent watching a movie or cartoons. Today though I insisted we go outside, we colored with chalk on the sidewalk and when were through we even turned on the water sprinklers and ran through them to cool off. We had a lot of fun, and they thought of me as the "cool aunt" for the day. This experience was definetely needed, I was a little frusterated the first day, but after it all I would really not mind making some changes in the future. Especially when it comes to how much time I spend on the internet, watching television, or having my ears plugged with earphones connected to my ipod. I will try to keep my life simplified from now on and not depend solely on media to have a good day, or have a good time while hanging out with loved ones.

Day tres

Day Three

Finally, just twenty four more hours and I can go listen to some music, watch television, and play some video games.  But today was probably the hardest day of them all to succeed.  After coming so close to finishing this project you would think that I can stick it out; however, today was my birthday and I lost all intentions of depriving myself from media.  Today was definitely not a successful day attempting to take all media out of my life.  

There was no way that my cell phone was not to be used on this day.  I had endless text messages and phone calls wishing me a happy birthday.  With all this, I couldn’t ignore my phone.  I constantly was failing to not use my cell phone.  I couldn’t ignore my phone as it rang from my endless family members.  This was probably the biggest struggle of my day.  This was also followed by the peer pressure of my friends while riding in my car.

For my 21st birthday, me and my friends decided to go out on the town.  So while driving down town, I had to blast my radio to bring entertainment for all of us.  And once the music was bumping in my ears, I couldn’t find the strength to turn it off.  It was a relief to finally listen to some music.  I’m glad that I don’t have to do this for the rest of my life. And at the club that we went to, obviously there was music playing but it was uncontrolled so I didn’t seem to care as much.  But it was still a relief to hear it anyway.

This project in general definitely showed me that media plays a bigger role in my life than I saw.  Just thinking about this project is simple, but the actual action of depriving myself of media was almost impossible.  I now realize that with my life, I can live without media, but with the lifestyle that I’ve already created, I wouldn’t want to.  I enjoy the entertainment and joy that my forms of media bring to me.

Brian Starr (Day Three)

Day three was not going to be a good day in my mind. I woke up early again to go to work and once again the drive to work is not that bad since I live so close to work. Thinking that I was going to be at work all day like every weekend, I was wrong. Once I walked into work they told me they didn't need me and sent me home. The entire Sunday off and I cant even watch tv! So once I made it home I woke up everyone and went to the pool. At the pool there was music being played by the apartment speakers but I zoned out of that and just focused on partying. My cell phone has been off since Friday and Im really curious to see how many messages are there. Hope my mom isnt scared that something happened to her little boy! Once I was tired of the pool I went back to my apartment and took a long nap. It really sucks not being able to watch tv or surf the net. The day seems longer than normal with no entertainment. Books are not my thing so I didnt even attempt to read something but one thing that did help me pass some time was sadoku. With no media I had no clue about the whole dallas cowboys incedent and about all those people that got hurt. I dont even know whats good with the whole swine flue business. They better find a cure for that stuff fast. Well this media thing did sorta get me in trouble with a certain someone who suprisingly come over and gave me a earfull since I never responded to any of her messages. So after all the arguing and me explaining and apalagizing, I was pretty much forced to take her to dinner and spend a lot of money at the damn tower. Thanks again Mr. Lopez! After dinner we came back and hot tube partied till i was tired. This whole experiment made me realize how much I depend on media in my life. Life is boring with out the things that we used or take advantage of everyday. I hope I never have to do something like this again. Signing Off.....

Brian Starr

Schiber, Day 3+ Conclusions

ITS OVER.....

My final day, Sunday, was by far the hardest of the three days mostly due to the fact I wasn't half as busy as I was on the previous two days. The day started at 1:30 pm with a call from my parents saying their coming home and then we're going out for chinese. I took the time to write the second day reports and then left with them for food. Followed by that we went to the restaurant and then to the mall which had music in the background that I got exposed to but otherwise everything was going fine. Then we went home at around 5pm.

That's when the trouble started.

I literally had nothing to do which for me is just an disaster waiting to happen. I was tired and just wanted to veg making this the first time I missed TV. Intead of droning to random shows I was resorted to spending an half hour in a dazed stupor. After the little rest I was willing to walk to the book store which was about a mile down the road. There I picked up some Terry Prachet books which I truly recomend because they're terribly funny. This kept me distracted and my sister came along so we talked instead of listening to music. Returning home at almost seven o' clock I then decided to head to the local shop where I normally hang out.

At the shop (Gamelot, mentioned at the 1st post its on Huebner and bandera) I met up with a group of friends and went to Jim's for tea and to hang out. We called it quits by eleven due to Jake who was a minor and needed to go home because of his mom. Heading home I was finally fell asleep after almost four hours (insomiac without music here, can't sleep period) ending the three day project.

Conclusions.
I found because of this project that without media to keep me sedate I get very antsy and spend nearly all of my time out of the house. I have to be doing SOMETHING otherwise the lack of entertainment causes me stress. I obsess over everything too much if left with nothing to do. Worse studing is very hard without some background noise to keep me from growing too bored and I'm goint to go most of my studing Monday and Tuesday since I had such diffaculty the last three days. Though spending a day in Dallas might be to blame. The final point is if not for the mini road trip I had scheduled previously I would've had far more trouble with the lack of TV and recreational internet. I spend alot of time in the evenings cruising the web and visiting some forums to chat and discuss anything from hobbies to politics. That said except for Sunday I had very little time for either which helped make this project easier overall. The worse thing with the project is I now have to catch X-men orgins at a decent time sometime this week. Other than that I managed well enough I figure. Certainly not something I'd wish to pledge a month to.

Day 3 Edgar Rodriguez

Its finally over. I can turn on the tv, plug in the laptop, reconnect the xbox. This past weekend just showed me how impatient i can be when i dont have any media-esque distractions. Yesterday i found myself snapping at my friends because the silence was making me really inpatient with myself. A simple question was answered by a snappy remark. I guess i need constant noise and distraction to stay out of the hussle and bussle that is my head, lol. My sunday started off pretty simple, no music, no tv, no video games. I actually found myself cleaning up my room which i only do i guess once every three months. Went to work around three, delivering has gotten to be quite dull without music but with the silence comes a sense of foucus that ive never had on the road before. I always found myself getting distracted by the slightest street sign or a curious pedestrian. Without music in my car i found houses faster, noticed cops on the street quicker, it was quite interesting. I want to talk about video games, i keep mentioning this because i play video games competivily, sometimes for a hefty wager attached. Street Fighter is my game of choice and i am very good at it. I play high stakes money matches and enter tournament frequently. This weekend was not a good day raking in the money. I always have cash with me on the weekends because of this game, this weekend i was as broke as two jokes.....it was terrible.

Jaz Hernandez Day 3

Okay so it is the last day of this media deprivation thing and I'm feeling the effects now. I miss hearing my music went I'm on the way to where ever I go and it really sucks because I had to finish playing the playoffs and I couldn’t us the music to pump me up or anything. I woke up around 8:45 again yesterday because I had my first game at 10 o'clock. So once again I was on my way to my game without any music or anything. It didn’t help because I didn’t want to wake up anyways and the silence wasn’t helping me wake up. I finally got to the field and didn’t want to play at all because I was all kinds of tired and sore from the day before. We were playing football until about 1 or so. We ended up getting third place overall and we lost to the team that won it all so that was okay. I wasn’t tempted by media again until the drive to eat. I still fought my desire to hear music and kept driving tuneless. After I ate I came home and took a shower and a nap. Once I woke up I got to work writing everything that I had to. The temptation came again when I was on the computer and but brother walked in and started playing video games. I was pretty jealous that he was playing and I couldn’t so I told him he had to wait until I was finished writing. I told him why and he said that sucks and walked downstairs to watch TV. He was pretty cool about it surprisingly because he usually does the opposite of what I tell him. I finally finished writing around 7 and then my friend called me to tell me he was coming to get me so I can watch him at his basketball game. So I don’t know if that is against the rules or not but I did use my phone right there. We went to his game and that finished around like 9. We went home after that and everyone was playing video games so I went into the other room with my other friend and just fell asleep until like 1 in the morning then I went home and wrote my work cited page then went to sleep. So I kind of had it easy this project because I was really busy all weekend with football and school work. The temptations were there but I had things to do and that’s what helped me out. This project helped me out I think because the things I wanted to do were off limits and I was able to do the things I needed to do.

Linda Estrada day 2

Saturday.....

Started off bad. I woke up and was already feeling like I was having withdrawl symptoms from music. I woke up too early for work at 7:45 AM and got ready in complete silence. I defintely feel as if silence makes me move slower. All I was hearing were my own thoughts on how much I did not want to go into work, I may have attracted bad energy cause the rest of the morning was spent in a grouchy mood. The night before I lost my cell phone and couldn't find it, I figured that might have been a good thing because I know if I had it I would want to use it. I tried to keep busy at work to try and get time to go by faster. I used different methods to keep my attention. When I got bored, I started to color, clean, and reorganize. On my lunch break I realized that I needed to run to the bank before they closed at 1 PM. When I got into my car I saw that I had no gas, and no money untill I could get to the bank. I was worried that if I ran out of gas on the way to the bank, I would have no cell phone for emergency but tried to look at the bright side of things. I tried to picture myself back when cell phones were not around and thought "what would I have to do in this situation?" So I went as fast as I could to the bank and then to fill up on gas. This incident made me appreciate my cell phone so much more, even though I still had not found it. Later during the day, I went to a birthday party for a younger cousin and there was childrens music playing in the background the entire time. The music was pretty annoying but I was appreciative to hear some kind of melody. Family members were talking about the swine flu, and other current events so I tried to ask as many questions on any updates since Friday morning. After the birthday party I hung out with my in-laws, they wanted to catch a movie but instead we settled for playing pictionary and dominoes. The games turned out to be alot more exciting than I figured them to be. Usually when we get together we play old music records, or suft the internet for movies. So the change of plans allowed us to spend some actual quality time together. I learned a few things about them that I did not know before this night. All in all the morning seemed to drag on but the afternoon and evening was very pleasant without media. I know that my day would have been completely different had I not been doing the deprevation, but I appreciate the good things the black out brought.

Day 3 Michael Petit

I woke up around one in the afternoon. I got dressed and went to work. I couldn't take it anymore I plug in my i pod. I jammed out in the car on the way to work. I was all happy listening to my favorite music in my car. I got to work around two. I went on break around four. I watched TV in the break room. I watched the NBA playoffs. I love sports from football to basketball. It so entertaining watching athletes do amazing things. I clocked back in and went back to work. I got out of work around ten. I went to the gas station and bought some stuff. I went home and took a nap. My friend Steve called me and we went downtown. On the way there we listen to my i pod. I drop off my friend off and went back home. When I got home I crashed out.
Day one was easy for me to stay away from media in my life. When it came to day three I could not help myself to watching TV, listening to my i pod and working on my computer for one of my finals. I never realized how much media is in my life until its not there. I was hard for me to not use the cell phone. The cell phone is something that I think I wouldn't be able to go threw life with out. Music is something else that I couldnt live with out. I love music. I learned that its good to use media in my life but its even better to share with other people. I was forced to go outside and be interactive other individuals I never new before. I was experiencing life other then staying home playing my xbox. I learned that I need to find a balance in life when it comes to media. Too much is bad for one person it isolates them. Too little media in ones life keeps them from connecting with others. I am pretty proud of myself for how long I lasted in this deprivation project. It made me grateful for what I have in life. Instead of always wanting and wondering what I didn't have in life. Thank you Michael Petit

Sunday Deprivation by Adrian Coe

Sunday was so easy compared to Friday and Saturday. Once I wake up I quickly got dressed for the day, I go to church with my folks every week and since we leave so early in the morning it was not hard for me to leave all the media out of my mind. Mr. Lopez gave us the chance of watching the news on television and watching it online in order to stay well informed about this disease going around, but I was not worried about it when I was seeing articles, so going a couple of days with just hearing it from every passing stranger and the friends and coworkers I have who believe this is the end of the end, I don’t need much more information. I’m sure from how many people I hear about from on any day would cover most of the newspaper and online articles about the swine flu. Once I got home from church, it wasn’t long before my brother and I had to go to work… again… work was the same as it always is, music in the backdrop of my wandering ear, and coworkers talking about all the things I get to go without. I wasn’t worried about it though, just had to make through one more night. I really did a good job with my phone today, almost all of my friends realize the project and I did not get a single call and any text messages I was able to ignore until this morning… all forwards anyways… This project wasn’t as bad as I would’ve guess at the beginning, then again, I used to go camping for weekends at a time and week long trips once or twice a year. Don’t get me wrong, I’m most certainly glad that it’s over, but it wasn’t as bad for me with a back ground of going without media for days at a time purely by choice. Well no I get to wait until Wednesday to go into class and discuss my experience of my weekend without the “necessary” forms of media people take for granted daily.
sunday wasn't bad at all for me. i avoided my computer and my ipod just by cleaning my room and doing chores outside. i spent most of my spare time while doing these chores to think on my life and what i want to do with it, i really wish i could have spent some time with my friends but with chores and work to think on i could not. so i just plodded away at my chores. it is a pain not being able to listen to music and play on my computer but it wasn't that long ago that i didn't have an ipod or my own computer so in a way the shift wasn't that bad or even that hard. as for learning things all i really learned was that i think way to damn much lol, that i have a long road ahead of me, strewn with pot holes no doubt. that in the end technology is not important to the greater scheme of things. all technology is, is a distraction from everyday life. i hope others discover this as well it is an interesting prospect. but something that in the end makes little difference in the eyes of the world. i do hope that i have come off with learning more then what i have stated but for now i can't think of anything else well i must go now i am late for work lol see you all in class on wednesday.

Arseny Day 3

so it's finally monday and i'm on the computer, listening to my ipod, with the TV on, checking my MySpace and texting a friend. with the weekend finally over i realize that without media in my life, i have to make up my own entertainment. it's a good thing because with music, movies and the internet around, i became pretty lazy. sunday went by quick and easy and i wasn't really thinking about anything but reading and the fight with my chick the night before. i woke up around 1pm with a hangover from hell because my saturday night didn't end until 8am. normally i would lay around for a while and watch tv until i feel better but i ended up reading a book. i've had it for a while and only got half way through it so getting through the last half took my till about 6. by that time my girlfriend was really mad since i wasn't returning her texts (she's aware of the project and still i'm in the dog house). that made me realize, again, that women are crazy. i mean how would she survive without me being a phone call away? whoever invented text messaging is genious by the way, and i once again realize how much easier it is to communicate.
not being constantly distracted by my phone going off or thinking about what's on TV, helped me focus on the things that need to be done and made me pretty productive this weekend. yesterday evening i went over to my sisters house for a while, just to hang out but her and mom put me to work. since we couldn't have music on, making fun of each other was pretty much all we did while they were shampooing the carpet and i was moving the furniture around.
i decided to hit the hay early, around 1130 just to wake up to a media filled day. never thought i'd say this but thank god it's monday

Melissa Mancilla-post 3

Finally! This project has come to an end. I have my phone on my person and I’m constantly checking it like an anxious schizoid once again. Sunday wasn’t all that bad after all. I ended up going to the park with my friends and exploring different trails I’ve never gone down before. Even though it was ungodly humid, we still covered a lot of ground and got to see a lot of wildlife. We came across a porcupine, the occasional deer, and an array of different birds, each with their unique song, and not a ringtone to be heard. It was rejuvenating as well as liberating.

By the time I got home (around 9 p.m.), I didn’t even realize I had gone a whole car ride without music. The thought of turning on the T.V. never even crossed my mind as I sat down at the computer to slave over an essay. Usually I’d have my iTunes playlist going as well as the T.V. blasting whenever I do anything, but without them I realized how distracting they really are. I got done with my essay twice as fast as I would have with the T.V. on. I ended up turning on the news anyway just to see if swine flu had killed half the nation while I was under my rock. Anderson Cooper mentioned how swine flu is now a pandemic and he estimates it will spread to 50 states very soon. Great. I figured that’s all I needed to know and turned the T.V. off almost as soon as I turned it on.

Maybe I’ve just been stressed over finals so much that they’re dominating my thoughts, or I actually let go of the idea of media dominating my thoughts for a brief moment. I suppose this media deprivation exercise has made me a little bit more focused, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to give it up altogether. I realized that if I can eliminate certain luxuries such as the T.V. or surfing the net while doing homework I probably would never have to procrastinate again, as far as school work goes at least.

Burak Day 3

Finally the media deprivation project is over... The worse part was that the last day was the hardest to bear. I wake up to a call to go over to my parents which i thought was a relief. Was hoping that when I go over there I would be busy and the day would fly. I was so wrong, walking into the front door hearing the t.v blaring the Liverpool vs Newcastle. Which was crushing because I wanted to see the game since the league was nearing to the end of the season. To aovid getting lured into wacthing the game I decided to go outside and help out in the garden. What a day to do that i swear it felt like it was at least a hundred degrees outside. At least it help the time past alittle I guess. After that I sat down and started reading Clive Cusslers "Shock Wave" and fell asleep. To my surprise I woke up and the time was around 7 pm. Was saying to myself great only 5 more hours left and im free from these shackles of this project. Those last 5 hours where a drag. I could not find anything to keep me busy. To my luck my brothers friends came over and they went to the local park to play some basketball so I decide to tag along with them. Preety much after that I literally counted down till it was 12 at night like if it was new year's. Looking back on this project I knida enjoyed it, was something different. I bet it showed everyone how much we rely on media to keep our daliy lives functioning. Over all i have to admit at the start of this I thought this project was silly but in the end of the day I see why it was important that we try it.

Watch out for the Infected.

Yesterday was a breeze, I was already becoming condition to regulations of the project. Sunday for me was spent on the road back the San Antonio. Even though I had stayed up all night celebrating with my primos and new acquaintances, It was my turn to drive. Wow did this suck.

I had got like four hours of sleep then my brother and I hit the road. Leaving Monterrey at around 3:30pm, we headed to Satillo to pick some dry chiles and some tile samples, that our mom told us to get for her since we down in Mexico anyway. We arrive in Satillo only to find that the city was a buzz and not that affected by the apparent flu pandemic. Actually, while my brother and I had some lunch there in Satillo, we were watching the news and it turns out that Mexico had lowered their alert level in Mexico city. Which means Mexico is taking its first steps towards normalcy. So after we had some gringas and taquitos, and got the stuff for our mom, we headed back towards the border.

Getting to the border was a brisk hour and a half drive since I was speeding the whole way. We arrived in Nuevo Laredo around 8:00pm only to find that the border was in a mamamoth-colossel size cluster F!#% the was totally FUBAR. There was all kinds of medical personnel from both countries (US&Mexico) interviewing, and checking every vehicle that was crossing the border. It was good to see the colaboration of both countries to achieve a common goal. Well I was asked to step out of my vehicle because I looked pale. I was pale but only because the previous night I had been drinking heavily for long hours. So they took me into a field-clinic (a tent) and ran my vidals to make sure I was not infected. I felt like I was in a Zombie movie with these medical and Mexican-military all trying to find infected people. I was just waiting for the Zombies to start eating people's faces and hell to break loose! haha It was a interesting experience. So it turned out that I was not infected but a little dehydrated from the alcohol consumption. So I was given a gulcose pill, bottle of water, released and sent on my way.

We did not get across the border until 12:00am in the morning so by this time we ready to round-kick next person in the head that would inhibit our return to San Antonio. Although at least I know that the governments are taking the necessary precautions to keep the masses safe. Since I was busy the whole day I really did not even think I was affected by not being able to use media for recreational purposes. Then again on the car-ride from Laredo to San Antonio I realized that Day 3 was over, and I could listen to music which was great because it kept me awake. We did not arrive in San Antonio until 4:00 in the morning because my brother wanted to stop and eat.( hes a cop and hes always hungry) I am so glad this project is over because I never realized how much music calms me down.

Danielle-Day 3

First off, I am so glad this media deprivation project is over. It has been a looong weekend.
Sunday started off with me waking up unusually early, around 8:45 am. I got up and got ready to go to church, which I hadn't done in a very long time. I'm suprised I didn't melt when I walked in. The drive to church took about 20 minutes, so once again, I sang songs in my head. For some reason, I sang an entire medely of 80s songs, from Billy Idol to Cyndi Lauper.
After church, I was called in to work. For the first time in a long time, I was not dreading going to work, only because at AE, we play a dvd with music, so I'd get a little fill for the 4 hours I had to work. Work seemed to pass by faster than usual, of course only on the day I actually didn't mind being there.
When I got home from work, I wrote my blog for the previous day, however, my sister was in the same room watching tv. Just hearing the tv without actually seeing it, was difficult. I knew there would be no compromising with my sister for her to watch tv elsewhere, so I retreated to my room and decided to work on my creative project for my Am. Lit. class.
After I worked on the project for a while, I actually fell asleep until about almost 9:00. When I woke up from my "nap," I went to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. My mom was watching Housewives, and I desperately wanted to see it too, but I stayed strong, and just continued to make my sandwich and headed back to my room.
I wasn't really that sleepy, since I had just slept for the past 3 hours, so I decided to continue reading Breaking Dawn. At this point, I knew I only had a few more hours until this weekend and tough project would be over, so I smiled to myself, closed my book, and started dreaming.
Overall, I found out that I can live without my phone, without the internet, and without tv, but living without music turned out to be the most difficult challenge. All I can really say is that I'm so glad this project is over! Maybe in the far future, if I want to punish my kids or something, instead of the normal, "you're grounded," I'll simply tell them, "Media deprivation!"

Nick Ibarra Day 3 It's overrr

Alright it’s Monday and I’m listening to music with the T.V on and texting while I write this. So Sunday, was the last day of this project, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Let’s see, I woke up and went to church early, I had to listen to music due to me playing drums for my church and they pulled a fast one on me and wanted to play a new song that I’ve heard once. So I had to put the phones in my ears and study the song for about ten minutes. That’s all I did! Then we played and had the service and everything and it was great. Afterwards I went home after saying no to a Halo tournament that I know I could have won and made easy money, but it’s all good. I would rather be deprived of media and video games any day. Ha-ha
So instead I came home and grabbed a book that I like to read all of the time, it’s called “Captain Underpants and The Attack of The Talking Toilets.” It helped me pass quite a while, I was reading and getting food and doing stuff like that. I also went running and went outside to do yard work with my dad. Surprisingly enough I actually found plenty of stuff to do to keep myself busy when not HAVING to do something.
Overall this project started off with me thinking about it a lot and trying really hard not to doing anything to do with media, music and games. As the weekend went on it was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. It was defiantly an experience and I think the main reason we use media so much in our lives is because it’s so convenient to us. I know that I can live without media, I wouldn’t die but it’s really a huge part of my life for reasons that I’ve committed to. For example, the whole MLG thing and I loving music so much. It’s hard to just cut it off like that. It’s our way of life now and we’ve adapted to it very closely. I think about the old days, like back in the 1920’s, they didn’t have nearly ¾ of the stuff we have today, but they did have stuff to them that was they’re lifestyle and daily activities.
This project was interesting, glad it's over though, it was an experience for me and I kind of don’t want to do it again, ha-ha

Melissa- Day 2

Crappy! The sunday news paper was the only thing I had to look forward to on sunday. I clean our house and do all our laundry on sunday and I usually have the television or the radio on and without one of those two things my day of cleaning dragged on...and on.... and on! Every time we go somewhere, James always wants have the radio on and as much as I would love to keep it on and consider that as being in a place where music cant be avoided. But it can so off went the radio. I also had to switch sides of the bed so I couldnt watch tv when I was going to bed! There are many of times where I am sitting in my car and I take a look around and want to turn the music on, thinking to myself "no one will know", but then I know that there is a lesson to be learned throughout the madness. This experiment is almost over and I am counting down!

Por Fin Dia 3 Julio

Today is a happy day because i just done with day 3, and no only with that but also with the horrible project. I was surprising because i survive with out radio telephone and computer for two days because one day i cant resist to watch a soccer game. But the third day i spended on the computer working in two of my projects, so i was using it for education only. I spend most of the sunday working on my projects using the media to search and typing essays for classes. the day when kind fast, because i didn't put the much of attention now to the media, because i was just thinking on finishing with my projects. so i realize the i was disconnected to the world because i just used my cell just for important calls the one was one of the main things, then it was the music the i didn't used except i just heard it on the-restaurants. This sunday i just used it my cell to call some friends and ask them about school stuff because we are on week finals and i just want to make share i have everything the i need. on the afternoon my parents were watching tv but i didn't put the much of attention because i was concentrated on doing home work. Then i took a break and during my break i just when out side and take my dogs for a walk. But now the sunday ends i m here typing the final day but this time with some music, because i spend must of the time listening to some music while i m working ore doing home work. I also began to answering the missing texting the i didn't response, now i think my life become normal because i m doing the stuff i like to do with media. Like i say the pass tow days i learn some stuff about this project, i know its the now in cant live with out media, but i also lear the media is not everything because sometimes takes you away to be more social with people around you. One more thing the i know its was the we are loosing the communication face to face, now in this days we use the email o txt to tell or sprees what are we feel for some one or how feel. I know the i m attached to media i will try to reduce it more and become more social. This final project was a big experience for me.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Linda Estrada day 1

Today is Friday, my schedule for today is work, have lunch with an old friend, and relax right after that.

When I woke up, I started to get dressed for work. I usually watch the local news around this time while getting ready, but went without the television or music for this morning. It was definetely too quite and it almost scared me a bit just cause I was not used still noise while getting ready. After just a little while I realized I was running late for work. I usually use the news channel on to tell me what time it is in the morning so just this little incident made me realize how reliant I am on television for my day to get started. At work I tried to get through the day as fast as I could but it dragged on which is unusal for a Friday. It could have been because I did not listen to music or go online on the short 30 minute break I had at around 11:30 A.M. so even my break took forever to get through. I was almost hoping for time to go by faster so that I could get back to work, I dont think I have ever felt that way. After getting out of work at about 2:30 P.M. I met up with an old friend and had coffee at a local cafe. We mostly talked about music and movies, I informed her of this media deprivation project and she thought that I was crazy for actually trying to go through with it. She was even trying to tempt me out of going through with the project by inviting me to a movie at the Bijou movie theater that I have really been wanting to see. I sadly declinded but felt better about it afterwards. I went home, took a well needed nap, then awoke and realized I was already having withdrawl symptoms from not being able to watch TV or listen to my ipod. I tried to keep busy and waste time by working on other school projects but got brain fried. A few of my friends came over and we headed over to their new apartment, my boyfriend or I are usually in charge of bring the tunes along but I left mine at home and tried to avoid listening to any music. When we got therer we talked about old memories and discussed what we are planning to do in the next couple of weeks. I am not sure how, but without my saying so, we avoided any media like internet, movies and even music which is very rare in our situation. When I arrived home I thought back on the day and realized how much media is a part of my life. I definetly missed it, but am hoping that maybe the next couple of days will allow me to feel freer and not so reliant on media.

You fight the boredom but it makes no difference - Abigail Day 3

Tonight I turn in early. I have a long day of work tomorrow so if I want this day to be worth the struggle I better write about it now. It was such a long day. I had a worthless meeting too early in the morning for me to even consider it part of my day. Just an annoying gap in between sleep. I came home and I read. All day. That’s all I did; read. I didn’t get far though, in my book, only far enough to find that I wasn’t really interested in continuing. I fixed my room. Well I didn’t , I told my family where to put my stuff (there are advantages to disabilities). I talked some on the phone with the best friend, and text my manager (business related so I figured it was OK). But other than that I pretty much had a book in my hands all day. I should’ve chosen a better book and maybe I wouldn’t be complaining about it now. Really this day was just I had feared, long and boring. It would have been easier if it wasn’t for a lot of reasons. Mainly I blame it on my broken ankle and my confinement to this chair. I could have easily been able to leave the house and go out shopping or to a concert or art gallery under alternative circumstances. Normally that’s what I do on a day off, which really reminds me how much I don’t use the media other than for music and news. Its not so much that I depend on gadgets to get me through life, its what those gadgets provide. The television gives me the news that my attention span can’t grasp from a newspaper, and my mp3 player gives me the music that I need to keep me from becoming schizophrenic. Those were the two things that really took a toll on me. Phone I can live without, radio definitely, and internet I could learn to. I knew from the beginning that being music-less would be pretty hard. But I figured with the distraction of work and reading would suffice. Man, I should have known.

Game Night, Nick Ibarra Day 2 =]

So I woke up Saturday, went to work without dying from not listening to music. I knew that all I had to do was get to work then I was ok, because I can’t listen to music at work. I got off at about 3 o’clock, came home without music which wasn’t hard again. I’m guessing after the fact, you don’t really need it all that much; all you have to do is just entertain yourself.
When I got home, I still wanted to hear music so I got on my drum set and played for an hour or two, it was different without music in my headphones but drums are drums. That night I decided to organize a game night with my family and my sis’s boyfriend and my girlfriend, the more people the more fun. I thought that would be an interesting way to pass time. We started playing at about 6 ‘clock. In between games we cooked dinner, make cookies because they are the best. I tried a few new foods that I haven’t ever tasted before. We did a bunch of different food and games; Life, card games, Taboo, Scene It, just a variety of games. By the time we were finished and tired of playing games, it was nearly midnight. So then my girlfriend and I just sat on my roof and talked for a couple of hours. I don’t know why I like to chill on top of the roof, but it’s fun and different. I think everyone should try it, I recommend it.
I think that I am going to try and read a book or two to help pass the time; I don’t like reading so it’s going to be boring but I am willing to try mostly anything at this vulnerable point. I’m just kidding, so far its not that bad, I think it tests you on how creative you are with what you have.

harold peavy day 2

With the time reaching seven a.m., myself still in blissful slumber, how could I know that would break the rules in my first moments of the day? With work at eight my alarm goes off at seven, simultaneously startling me and exposing my weaknesses. Of course I’m referring to the three six mafia banger we stay high that I have used on my phone as an alarm for years. This is going to be harder than I thought.
I lay in bed until seven forty, pondering what surprises are to follow; I was exposed within seconds of waking. Am I going to be that exposed to media all day? Luckily I will be at work most of the day, my schedule on Fridays and Saturdays is torturous, 8 a.m. to 3:45pm then back at 5:30 until 10:30. Hopefully being contained will give me an edge on following the guidelines. As I make my way to the shower I have to laugh, this is going to be impossible. My brother is asleep on the living room couch, Sports Center blaring, we even watch Television in our sleep at my house. This is sad; my big screen has become my mother’s nursery rhymes, rocking my brother to sleep. I never knew how soothing Chris Berman’s voice could be. Still needing to shower I quickly asses the situation; computers, televisions and gaming systems in every room, even the garage. Living In a house with five guys, there is limitless technological entertainment.
I take a quick shower, change, and off to work. It is seven fifty-nine; luckily work is right down the street and I will probably be the first one there anyway. As I get into my car I remember to turn off my stereo before I can hear any audible noise. A two minute ride to work in silence, and I have survived the morning and even enjoyed my tranquil cruise.
Work is work! Music plays all day and luckily I can’t hear it in the kitchen. Not because I am too concerned with the rules, but rather the music isn’t usually of my taste. 3:45, Survived the front end of work, no slip ups, now it’s time to go to the bank. Haven’t even made a phone call or text, look at received messages, don’t care.
The bank is only ten minutes away, but I now know why as soon as cars were invented people figured out how to put stereos in them. With friends in the car I often opt to chat, turning down or off the radio to converse. Alone, hot, and tired I have been in the car twenty minutes and just pulled up to a teller. As my account is replenished all I want to do is listen to It’s the First of the Month, a payday staple. I refrain and make it home without turning the dial. Don’t know if I could have done it without smokes.
The rest of the day is a breeze, back at home I only have time to change and head back into work. 10:30p.m., sneak out of work early and head home. I had taken a phone call and made plans to go to the bar with a friend. After I quick shower I’m out of the house and with the guys for a long night. About now things gets fuzzy, hope I wasn’t the one driving. One day down, two to go.

May 3rd

So last night i stayed true to the project by not listening to the music as i normally do throughout the day and choosing to stay home while ALL of my frat brothers went to buffalo wild wings to watch the Celtics/Bulls game and the short 2 round "Pacman" fight. I truely would have enjoyed witnessing both of those sporting events, but its somewhat refreshing not sitting infront of a tv for 12 hours watching others make moves in their lives, while you could be making improvements in your own life.
I wouls have to say that television is one of the worst inventions that has plagued society, because we as a people have clearly become so consumed in the trap media produces. People would rather be lazy and rott their brains away infront of the tv for hours and they end up missing out on life and everything it has to offer. It has been proven that the average person spends MORE than HALF their life asleep, so why waste more of your precious life watching tv? Its obviously called the "idiot box" for a reason.

Josh Aldama [Day 2]

So Saturday evening was pretty easy to go without any type of media. I decided to do a lot of cleaning that probably would have never happened if it weren't for this project. But I still had the same problem, the fact that I would just turn the TV on on pure impulse, with out thinking. After turning the TV of I would go and do other stuff to keep my mind off of it, but now I had this huge urge to get on the computer, listen to music and do everything that I'm not supposed to do.

There was one time in the day that was absolute HELL! I had to take a friend to his work for some reason, and he insisted on me to wait in the car. Oh that's no biggie, I was fine with it, but oh boy I was wrong. There is nothing more dreadful than sitting in a car for 20 minutes with no music and no phone. I am not sitting in my car again unless I am driving. And another thing that's been pulling my strings, is the fact of not having my phone on me. Even though I don't use my phone to chat and text chat that much, I feel insecure with out it, Nothing creepy or anything, It's just that I feel secure with it on me. I get paranoid that maybe someone is in deep trouble and they are trying to get a hold of me but I can't hear the ringer because It's to far away from me. I pretty sure for many, walking without your phone could be like not wearing a piece of clothing.  

I've noticed that day 1 was probably the hardest so far. The sudden change of having all this media to basically zero media was pretty traumatizing. But now I'm kinda used to it, not completely, but it's easier to go trough the day with out thinking about it as often as I did on Friday. I am pretty excited to see how all this will affect my life later on. Maybe get something positive out of this, not that there's anything negative about it.  

Day 2 "Apesta" Julio

Por que Por que... I vearly survive day 1 with a lot of effort and then it was day 2. Saturday i wake up early too to do my choirs around the house, and while i doing that i put some music to do it but know with the media project a cant do ti. so made it was weird with out no music. During noon when we were eating are lunch my parents like to watch tv. So i was kind lucky on the moment because seances i star the first day i try to apart from media and just used for school proposes like what i m doing right now typing my blog. But anyways i they were watching tv and then in a commercial they announce the my soccer team from mexico is playing tonight. And i never miss any games from them, because there almost finish with the firs round and see who qualify to the second round.
Then a couple hours before the game my dad was getting ready to watched, but i cant help it because it was going to be a exciting game. so i cant help it i seat to watch the game. after the game finalize i know it the no matter what i do to stay away media i cant, and more when it comes a sport the i love. the first day i make it to survive with out cell and music. But on the second day i cant.. i always try to imagine live centuries ago when it was no media around and see how people life were on the time. now is this century with not just media to study or teach also to entertains, and we used it more for entreatment dent learning. but theirs is moments when we need to disconnected form are media life and see are world how we are destroyed with are media world.
But i m glad there is just one more day to finalize this project the really sucks. But I been learning a lot from it and try to become more social with the people the is around me.

day2

Well seeing that i usually wake up around 4 in the afternoon on the weekends...it's easier for me to get through half the day without music or television or any type of media at that. All i hear in the background is the AC unit and my cousins 4 kids who are here everyday when i wake up. i jump in the shower and after i get out i like to listen to music while i get dressed but i just talked to my boyfriend about the project to resist putting the radio on. we dont have cable at my house so its not hard to not watch tv. well it was around 7 and i got a call from jack in the box asking me to go in when i wasnt even hired yet! which was kind of cool and kind of not because they wanted me to stay til 12 am but i got them to let me go at 10 so i could go out with my friends. anyways they hired me on the spot and i got a job on saturday. after work i got ready to go to the southside with some friends and they had music playing in the background which was to my liking thankfully! after all the only music i heard all day was some rap ringers on my cousins cell haha. I dont have a cell phone by the way so it wasnt hard for me to not use one the only time i did use one was my cousins and it was just to talk to jack in the box and to call my friend so i could know where to pick her up. well we were hangin out at my friends til about 7 in the morning and usually when i drive home from partying i like to jam out really loud in the car but i remembered the project somehow that night and told my boyfriend we couldnt listen to the radio. he got mad at me and we kind of argued over it before we left my friends house but he got over it and we drove all the way home with the wind playing in our ears having conversation about the people who were there. when we got to my side of town we decided to go to get something to eat at ihop where they were playing some kind of soft ugly music which i hate! after a long night we finally made it home safe and without even thinking i just knocked out. i usually like to have the radio on when i sleep but not this time haha. and that was my satuday night without "media"

May 3

Again I didn't have to be up by a certain time so that was good since I'm still not using my alarm! I was really tired because it took me about an extra hour to fall asleep since I didn't have any sound to put me asleep. I eventually grabbed a fan and turned it on hoping that the sound of the fan would put me to sleep. It helped a little. I woke up around noon today, and I was dreading today I had a three hour drive home, which I didn't know if I would survive without any music or phone.
The drive felt so incredibly long, and the fact that I was tired didn't help at all. There was no music, and I did have my phone on just in case of emergency but I didn't talk or text on it at all. The drive home is very boring because it's just a bunch of small towns and country road. Usually it's not that bad because I use the radio to keep me awake and entertained, but without it the whole trip just dragged on. I was so happy when I made it back home because at least there were people to keep me entertained! Then I went to the pool because it was such a gorgeous day, and without media there is nothing to do in my apartment. I found this to be a plus because I rarely do any outside activities! It was very refreshing to just enjoy the outdoors.
Overall I found this experience to be an eye opener. I learned that I let the media dictate a big chunk of my day, and that I depend on it a lot! Cutting music out of my day dramatically changed almost everything I did from waking up, getting ready, driving, even sleeping. And I was constantly fighting the urge to check my phone. I don't think that I could stand living like this everyday, but it was nice to try it for a weekend.
Dee Parks