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.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Day 2 - Alina Martinez
So at this point the absence of music in my life is indefinitely killing me slowly. Today I worked pretty much all day from 1pm to 10pm so I didn’t really miss out on much. However, the drive to and from work was wretched without my daily dose of music. At night I felt I owed it to myself to have a night out with some friends. It was a long day at the day care with two little girls who claimed to be princesses when they were actually wicked little devils. So straight out of work (still in work clothes) I headed straight to a bar. A bar where again, I knew there would be music. I went with some co-workers because they were the only people I had spoken to all day since I had not answered any phone calls. Anyhow, I knew most of my phone calls that day would be completely irrelevant. I spent the night drinking a bit more than I should have. I’m not sure if this is inappropriate, but I find myself a bit intoxicated more often now without the media. It’s weird; you’d think that the media actually encourages people to drink more. But in my case the lack of media actually causes me to drink more in order to keep myself entertained. So apparently alcohol is something really valuable to me when I have nothing else to keep me entertained? I guess it’s just strange to me because I don’t really like going out much. Typically I would have bought a bottle of wine, gone home and soaked in the tub to my Norah Jones cd. Cliché I know, but I find it rather necessary after a long day of work. Anyway, at the end of the night I had my intoxicated self driven home and attempted to fall asleep. Yet another struggle without the media in my life. Again, I spent an extra 2 hours trying to fall asleep without my immaculate flat screen! This all kind of reminds me of the time I went to Concan, TX for 4 days. There was no TV, no internet and definitely no cell phone reception. That wasn’t all too bad because we spent most of the time tanning and we still had music!!
Neysa Day 2
Yesterday was not as bad as the first day. The whole time I was driving without music, I was able to think about many things. So I was more observant I used it to my advantage. With this deprivetion project i have become more aware of my surroundings. For example, When i walk far distances i am not able to use my i pod so i see what is happening around me. I was also able to get alot of studying in. For most of the afternoon i was at school studying for finals. That made me kinda happy that i nothing to distract me, so i had my complete attention on my books. Yesterday morning i was at work and music was blasting. I couldnt have been happier. So i got my fix of music. Since all of my morning and afternoon were busy i had no opportunity to watch television during that period. Later that evening i was out at a few parties and with friends. At the parties there was always music playing so i didnt have much of a problem.
Danielle-Day 2
So Saturday was going to be a breeze without tv, music, or internet....Or so I thought. I woke up around 11ish, and thought I would have tons to do to distract me from not watching tv, or listening to the radio, but let me tell you, I was wrong!
I wasn't scheduled to work, so I wouldn't be able to be distracted that way. So I thought I'd run some errands, get things done. Well it turns out, I didn't have a lot to do. After I ate breakfast, I read the sports section of the paper to see who won between Boston and Chicago. (Oh, by the way, my dad cancelled the newspaper, so it was the last day we recieved it.) My mom wanted me to go to Lowe's with her, but instead, I took my puppy to get his shots. There were no openings, so I just made an appointment for his shots and for him to get fixed. The drive to and from Petsmart was a rather quiet one, I sang songs in my head the whole time.
When I got home, I did some spring cleaning...and it was so hard to do a boring task like that without any music to listen to. I did hear a blurry rendition of oldies that my mom was listening to while she was out back gardening. What seemed like such an easy task to do, a few loads of laundry, organize my closet, turned into an all day affair. I think usually when I clean my room, I do it with ease because I have a lot of songs playing on my laptop. But Saturday, it was a different story. The day dragged on and on.
My phone would beep and beep, text message after text message. I resisted texting back, even though it was really hard. Although, I must admit, I did text back a friend who invited me to watch the fight, just to tell him I couldn't watch the fight or couldn't even text him anymore.
I ended up just staying home instead of going out. When it was around time for me to go to sleep, I thought, "Damn," I usually watch a dvd, and fall asleep to the sound of it playing in the background, but with this media deprivation thing, I just decided to start re-reading the last book in the Twilight series, and I fell fast asleep.
On an ordinary Saturday, if I didn't have to work, I'd just spend the day lounging around, watching tv, and being lazy. So even though it killed me, all day long with no music, no tv, and no phone, I felt like I had a productive day overall. I probably wouldn't have gotten anything done, had I been watching tv all day.
I wasn't scheduled to work, so I wouldn't be able to be distracted that way. So I thought I'd run some errands, get things done. Well it turns out, I didn't have a lot to do. After I ate breakfast, I read the sports section of the paper to see who won between Boston and Chicago. (Oh, by the way, my dad cancelled the newspaper, so it was the last day we recieved it.) My mom wanted me to go to Lowe's with her, but instead, I took my puppy to get his shots. There were no openings, so I just made an appointment for his shots and for him to get fixed. The drive to and from Petsmart was a rather quiet one, I sang songs in my head the whole time.
When I got home, I did some spring cleaning...and it was so hard to do a boring task like that without any music to listen to. I did hear a blurry rendition of oldies that my mom was listening to while she was out back gardening. What seemed like such an easy task to do, a few loads of laundry, organize my closet, turned into an all day affair. I think usually when I clean my room, I do it with ease because I have a lot of songs playing on my laptop. But Saturday, it was a different story. The day dragged on and on.
My phone would beep and beep, text message after text message. I resisted texting back, even though it was really hard. Although, I must admit, I did text back a friend who invited me to watch the fight, just to tell him I couldn't watch the fight or couldn't even text him anymore.
I ended up just staying home instead of going out. When it was around time for me to go to sleep, I thought, "Damn," I usually watch a dvd, and fall asleep to the sound of it playing in the background, but with this media deprivation thing, I just decided to start re-reading the last book in the Twilight series, and I fell fast asleep.
On an ordinary Saturday, if I didn't have to work, I'd just spend the day lounging around, watching tv, and being lazy. So even though it killed me, all day long with no music, no tv, and no phone, I felt like I had a productive day overall. I probably wouldn't have gotten anything done, had I been watching tv all day.
Jonathan Swayne May,2 2009
Day two was considerably worse than day 1. All day on day one I had things planed that could keep my mind off not using any of the mass media on day two this was not the case. Day 2 started out kind of slow got up and got ready to do nothing all day had no plans and all of my friends were going to be at work until around 9 or 10 pm. I had to think of something to do to keep my mind occupied to I decided to edit my final paper for English which was a good thing I changed a few things that should have been changed but that only took me about 1 hour. It was still only 1:00 and I still had hours before any of my friends were going to be available to do anything so i had to figure out something else to do so I decided to cook something so I went to the store got stuff for making chocolate chip cookies came home and made them. After that took my dog for a walk then I will admit i gave up and i watched a movie time just goes by so slow when you are doing absolutely nothing at home by yourself. later that night the lack of mass media was not so bad the stuff that me and my friends do most of the time dose not usually require any type of media other than music and we can always make that ourselves since most of us play an instrument or sing. At about 9:30 we all got together at my house like we do every night and decided to go out to get some food at Jims Most of my friends had not used any for of mass media all day either since they were at work since a short time after most of them got out of bed. after we were done eating at Jims we all came back to my house and played a game of risk and we went over some of the songs we are singing in our quartet in the next few weeks.
Orlando 2
Saturday day 2 of this media depravation as time goes on it seems less and less intense but then you find yourself stuck in your own head. This for me its sucks cause all I’m doing is thinking about anything and everything. When I get to work its heaven for I can stop thinking and just go to work. When I would drive and have the ability to listen to music it was divine not to be in my head. This Saturday I drove my lady to work in the mourning no music she is really cool about this media depravation project she started out not liking it but the day it started she freaked out when the music started playing in the car. She jumped into action switching the power off it was funny to see her geek out like that. So the drive downtown to where she works the drive was boring cause all that women do is wait till the last min to get ready and put on makeup in the car. Really in the mourning making the bed and breakfast is not as important as getting ready for work. Being on time for work is what you should worry about not if the bed is made that’s what I don’t understand. That’s when she freaks out about how late she is that’s just fing ridiculous. The drive back was even harsher it’s around 10 in the morning I’m tired and all I want is to relax to some nice country music. As I’m driving I find it hard not to see the flaws of other drivers the no blinkers to get into the next lane to the waiting till the last second to run over the yellow bumps and nearly kill everybody just so they can exit. The way people drive is as if their lives were at stake the rushing in cases where lanes are being closed and you now the lane your in is closing as the further you go those big orange cans get close and closer to your car but you wait to get over causing a traffic jam till your side mirror clips the orange can. Is that necessary? The arrival home was usually the cold dark apartment no sound just the buzzing of the air condition and the sound of neighbors kids out side having what seems like the time of their lives. What became unusually was the continuous silence of the apartment. Since the previous night was long I fell right back into a slumber of darkness. The awaking was not bad as I felt the time constraints of page one of my journal tales of days with no media. I had to finish fast with the hour of four approaching not only did I have a paper due I also had work at five. That is one thing I have learned I like to take my mind off thing with music it’s a quick fix instead of think about other things. Work was work I’m new to the job so this is learning day four of my new job. Went by quick the next phase of the day was downtown to meet my girlfriend and her friends out. The occasion was a birthday dinner followed by clubs which was great cause there is media at the clubs TV I can watch ESPN while the ladies dance or try to dance this will be going on into Sunday for I like to drink and hang out.
LaQuinta (Day 2)
Day 2 start was not so good. I notice that I slept later than normal. After my morning routine, I made use of my time and started reorganizing my house. I still had plenty of boxes that were not unpacked from the move. Since i had no media wasting or eating up my time, I decided to get busy being productive around the house. I moved boxes out to the garage and stored them away. I rearrange my kitchen cabinets to maximize space. This task took up most of the day. When night fell and the kids were in there rooms with media, my husband in our room with the playoffs on, i was in the family room going through important papers and sorting through a few more boxes.
Over all I did not find the time to read a book or the newspaper. Books have always put me to sleep. I only read the new paper for the funnies to laugh, sales and coupons to shop, some articles of titles that catch my eye and when i need to cut out articles in the sports section when my kids were mention. other than that I don't like to read. I did not even watch the news because it would have been to easy to change the channel to something I really rather watch. Normally, I watch the news in the morning to start my day off ,not to end it. I don't like to here and see bad news before going to bed. It makes me uneasy especially if it is close proximity like the swine flu. I did use the computer for my speech class final assignments. I really and not missing the media to much as i welcome the peace and tranquility. I have so much going on such as retuning home to New Orleans to take my job back, leaving my family behind here in San Antonio( this is the best choice for now). my step dad is in the hospital fighting cancer, my oldest son is graduating from high school , my youngest son have a sports event in Houston this weekend, and my daughter still have to rehabilitate her knee from her ACL surgery. I have enough things going on in my life that i am not dependent on the media. I check in from time to time for updates, but not every minute or hour of the day with some media. I really don't even use the phone that much other than to check in with kids and husband to make sure all is well. I don't have friends,
I have associates and they don't mean that much to waste my daytime minutes on. I have to pay for incoming and outgoing text messages, so I rarely use this function. I mainly use the text function to communicate with my kids they are at school or they need me when I am at school. I can definitely appreciate all of the new and modern advances, but sometimes it is overwhelming to the point that i leave it alone sometimes just to find peace of mind. So, this media deprivation for me is great and helping me to do some much needed work elsewhere.
P.S. I'd also like to share that my family is cooperating so that i wont take it away from them, they keep the doors closed and the volumes low or use their headphones.
Over all I did not find the time to read a book or the newspaper. Books have always put me to sleep. I only read the new paper for the funnies to laugh, sales and coupons to shop, some articles of titles that catch my eye and when i need to cut out articles in the sports section when my kids were mention. other than that I don't like to read. I did not even watch the news because it would have been to easy to change the channel to something I really rather watch. Normally, I watch the news in the morning to start my day off ,not to end it. I don't like to here and see bad news before going to bed. It makes me uneasy especially if it is close proximity like the swine flu. I did use the computer for my speech class final assignments. I really and not missing the media to much as i welcome the peace and tranquility. I have so much going on such as retuning home to New Orleans to take my job back, leaving my family behind here in San Antonio( this is the best choice for now). my step dad is in the hospital fighting cancer, my oldest son is graduating from high school , my youngest son have a sports event in Houston this weekend, and my daughter still have to rehabilitate her knee from her ACL surgery. I have enough things going on in my life that i am not dependent on the media. I check in from time to time for updates, but not every minute or hour of the day with some media. I really don't even use the phone that much other than to check in with kids and husband to make sure all is well. I don't have friends,
I have associates and they don't mean that much to waste my daytime minutes on. I have to pay for incoming and outgoing text messages, so I rarely use this function. I mainly use the text function to communicate with my kids they are at school or they need me when I am at school. I can definitely appreciate all of the new and modern advances, but sometimes it is overwhelming to the point that i leave it alone sometimes just to find peace of mind. So, this media deprivation for me is great and helping me to do some much needed work elsewhere.
P.S. I'd also like to share that my family is cooperating so that i wont take it away from them, they keep the doors closed and the volumes low or use their headphones.
Jaz Hernandez Day 2
Well yesterday was a lot easier for me. I got lucky and was busy all day. I had to wake up at 8:30 in the morning and get ready for my flag football playoffs so I didn’t really have time for media at all. The only opportunity I had was to listen to music on the way but of course I resisted and stayed true to the challenge. I was at the playoffs from 10 to about 3:30 because the playoffs are tournament style. So for most of my day I was not tempted by any mass media at all because I was to busy getting sun burned and playing football. Then after the games I came how in my silent car and took a shower, still no media there. Once I got out I started working on my papers and my blog, then temptation was kicking in. While I was going on the Internet to go to the blog site I was tempted to browse the web and look around a bit. But I got the best of that and followed the rules again. After working on my paper for quite some time I decided to call it a day with schoolwork. My friends came over unexpected, which was really cool because I was just about to go to their house without warning to. So we decided to go eat then go to a party. I was pretty mad around this time because I couldn’t watch the Manny P. fight that was on at the time. I was even more mad when I found out he knocked the other guy out super nasty. That was the hardest part of the day, just having to miss the fight and have other people tell me about it. We finally got to the party and music was playing. So I got to listen to some music by the loophole that if its at a party its okay. I was glad because it was a DJ and he was playing some good stuff. So for the most part I was out of the media world until that party, I hope y’all wont hold that one against me ha-ha.
Day 2. Jenna Denver
Day 2. A lot more difficult than I expected. I was supposed to work a double today, but had so much homework that I called in. Big mistake. It's a lot easier participating in the media deprivation project when I have something to distract me, such as work. So I'm at the gas station, and I stop by the Redbox to look at what movies they have. Go figure, I see a movie I want. I get it. But I have to say, it is still sitting in front of my tv and hasn't been watched. Its a force of habit. I'm used to getting movies on my way home. I guess it will just have to sit there until Monday. Not too much longer...But anway, I accomplished a lot today. I got all my history and government homework done. It feels good to be done with that. If I could have watched a movie, I probably would have done that instead. I started my car today and the radio turned on. I wanted to leave it on, but once again, I hit the power button, and listened to silence. I then got stuck in a traffic jam. Wow, you never realize how important the radio is to you until you get stuck in a thirty minute traffic jam. Good news is, I work tomorrow night. Once I get home, which should be around midnight, I will be able to watch that movie. The lack of a cell phone is getting a little more difficult. I think some of my friends think I'm lying about his project just so I don't have to talk to them. lol. But thats okay, it's nice to not have my cell phone ringing every five minutes. The ringer is turned off for the weekend. One more day. Can't get any worse.
Deanna Briones-Hassuni Day #2
... Is it possible to go insane without something you are used to having everyday? I need to hear more music. Yeah sure, I hear the birds chirp and the wind blow while I'm in my car, but it's getting old. I usually have a cigarette or two while driving somewhere, but lately I don't find myself buying any. Which is a good thing, but at this point I feel so lonely when I get into my car. Some say they have time to think about the great things in life now that media is not allowed, but I must say that I'm one that constantly thinks about great possibilities with or without media. For example, when I watch the news and see such negative insights occurring in other peoples lives, I think of how fortunate and lucky I am. Also, when I hear music I think of the beauty that feelings and emotions bring. Anyways, can you tell I need music to survive? I pulled out my guitar yesterday. It was a little dusty but shockingly still tuned. In no time my friends and I came up with an awesome song. After that, as I was studying for finals, I wanted to hear more music, so I made my boyfriend play his guitar. Of course, I got sidetracked and distracted. My boyfriend and I were a little bored so we grabbed two beers out of the fridge, chugged them, looked at each other with the same thought, and ended up staying up till 5am. I'll let you all figure that one out. As far as not using my phone... that has been a little difficult for me. It seems as though all of my old friends and relatives planned to check to see how I was doing at the same time. I have only replayed to the ones that I know would worry if they didn't hear back from me right away. The funny thing was when I tried to pull this, "Mom, I cannot use my phone this weekend so don't call me," joke. She didn't care if it was a requirement. She needs to know where I'm at regardless of anything. It was worth a try though. I have only used the internet to check my e-mail, bank accounts, and to research for a project. Oh ya and Sara decided to bring the May issue of Cosmopolitan magazine to my house. I started to open it and remembered that I couldn't even look at a magazine. I just wanted to check out the latest trends, but I had to throw the magazine across the room instead. Everyday is getting harder. I started working on a painting. I usually listen to music when I paint, but let's see how this painting turns out.
Day Dos
The day started off pretty good. I learned my lesson from just sitting around at home because that only dragged time on even more. So I planned to go golfing as a way to enjoy my day. This was an excellent idea. Golfing is fun and also time consuming. I was able to get outdoors and enjoy the fresh smell of Texas air. However, there were some minor situations that had me tempted to turn on the radio.
Driving to the golf course at ten o’clock in the morning, my friends were pretty upset with the choice of not listening to music. They attempted to convince me into not following through with the project. So I threw some philosophical ideas at them trying to hint at the importance of bonding. This didn’t go so well, so we all took our own separate cars.
After the golfing trip, I had time alone at my house to just relax. This was hard for me to do, because I felt like Facebook was just calling my name. I kept debating on going online to check everything, or just to even change my status, but I resisted. This whole media deprivation thing is starting to play with my head. I feel like I’m being grounded from the better things in life that brought happiness to me.
Later that night I did get a little taste of media. My friends and family got together to go bowling. This was fun and got me out of the slump at home. Luckily for me, bowling alleys play music to keep their customers entertained. This is where I was so relieved to hear music other than me trying to sing in the car to replace the deprivation. I had a great time bowling and enjoyed getting outdoors to pass the time away.
Overall, day two was a little harder to accomplish because it was the start of the weekend and I had these days off from work. Normally I sit at home and watch television or play video games to get away from the stress of work, school and being in a band. I had an interesting time doing something not normal to my regular days off.
Day 2 Steven Brewer
Day 2 proved to be much more difficult. I went to Gamestop to buy a new video game, only to remember that I couldn't play it. So now I have it sitting here in front of me, taunting me. One more day, and then its over. My cell phone is turned off, I haven't had much of a problem with it. It't the video games and movies that I miss. I imagine times were much more difficult without modern technology. I've made it without my cell phone this far, but it is not something I would want to make a habit of. I can survive without tv and video games, but reading does get boring after a while. Not listening to the radio has also been very difficult. I always have the radio on for background noise, and now the house is just quiet. Day 2 is definetely much more difficult than day one. I thought I would be able to soar through this project with no problems, but I am tempted to play a game, watch a movie, or even just turn the radio on! I wonder how people communicated effieciently without cell phones? Most of my friends live in Mobile, Al, which is where I'm from, and I haven't got to talk to them for the last few days. Can't use myspace, that's off limits, and can't use my cell phone. I think I could live without cell phones though, and possibly without movies. But the radio and video games, thats whats killing me. I occupied my day yesterday by spending some time outside. I worked on painting the porch like I've been meaning to do and went to the park for a little while with the dogs. Getting outside is nice. It gives you time to clear your head and think. It's amazing how different it is without all the modern day background noise in the picture. One more day, and then it's back to how things were.
arseny Day 2
everybody's right so far: day 2 is pretty much day 1. if the city had me working weekends, maybe i wouldn't have so much free time on my hands. my saturday mornings usually start with a pot of coffee, a newspaper and the TV in the background to get rid of the silence. i hate silence and untill this weekend i never knew it could be so loud. being around gunfire and explosions for a while left me with a constant ringing in my ears so having some kind of noise to distract me, became a habit. anyway, i read yesterdays paper from front to back, classifieds and everything so if anybody's looking for a car or a goldfish, i'll point you in the right direction.
for a while there, i was just passing time. instead of texting my neighbors to see what they were doing, i walked over next door. like it was done in the old days. it turned out to be a waste of a trip because they weren't home. it was nice out so i decided to walk down to the creek bed to check the water status.
not being exposed to any media by choice for a few days got me thinking what it would be like if it wasn't a part of our lives at all... like the communication part: i can text someone across the country or email someone across the world, and it only takes seconds. without a computer or a phones it would take days or even months so i'm thinking i found a new appreciation for the speedy means of communication we have available.
about 7:30 yesterday evening i ended up at my friends house since they were having a little party thing going. after some catching up and a few beers casey asked me to put some music on cause she cound't figure out how to work the stereo so i filled her in on my weekends punishment. it was nice to just sit around and talk to people without music blaring but once more people showed up, the radio got fixed and people started dancing around. a party without music doesn't really feel like a party, i don't care who you are or what you say.
to try and keep the project going, i left the party and went to a mud hole to see if anything was going on there. i could hear my friends jamming out to some Aaron Watson from a quater mile away and since i remembered that music is acceptable at social events, i decided to stay and finish off my saturday with a little bit of mud.
for a while there, i was just passing time. instead of texting my neighbors to see what they were doing, i walked over next door. like it was done in the old days. it turned out to be a waste of a trip because they weren't home. it was nice out so i decided to walk down to the creek bed to check the water status.
not being exposed to any media by choice for a few days got me thinking what it would be like if it wasn't a part of our lives at all... like the communication part: i can text someone across the country or email someone across the world, and it only takes seconds. without a computer or a phones it would take days or even months so i'm thinking i found a new appreciation for the speedy means of communication we have available.
about 7:30 yesterday evening i ended up at my friends house since they were having a little party thing going. after some catching up and a few beers casey asked me to put some music on cause she cound't figure out how to work the stereo so i filled her in on my weekends punishment. it was nice to just sit around and talk to people without music blaring but once more people showed up, the radio got fixed and people started dancing around. a party without music doesn't really feel like a party, i don't care who you are or what you say.
to try and keep the project going, i left the party and went to a mud hole to see if anything was going on there. i could hear my friends jamming out to some Aaron Watson from a quater mile away and since i remembered that music is acceptable at social events, i decided to stay and finish off my saturday with a little bit of mud.
Burak Day 2
With the start of day two I was hoping that it would be alittle easier to cope without forms of media. Just like day one there is an eerie silence over the house. No music blaring or my phone on me to talk with friends. It just seems as if were dependent on multiple objects such as phones and computers to run our lives. The worse part of that is they have been deeply rooted into our social lives that we can't remove them entirely. Going to and from work ive gotten use to not having the radio/ipod in and just driving with the windows listening to the urban sprall the roads. However after my shift when I came home I literally thought i was going to lose my mind. It seems as if thers nothing to do without breaking the terms of the little experiment. After sitting around for 30 minutes I decide to pick up a book and started reading. Which I have to admit was a nice change in pace. Its been awhile since ive had a chance to pick up a book from my favorite author and actually had time to read. If anything this little project slowed down my weekend for me. Without all those distractions i kind of like the peace and quite. Later on that night some friends an I decide to go out which was quite funny. I some how convinced them to try going without any form of music in the car. At first they thought it was going to be simple. They broke which was funny after only 30 to 40 minutes of silence they couldnt take it anymore and put the radio on. Do have to admit im starting to like this project more and more as time goes on. At the start i thought this was going to be a awful weekend but with any media it seems to me the weekend has slowed down. Even tho you can read only for so long we only have one more day left. Then we can all return to out normal daily routines and be glad that this project is over.
Taylor Lieber - Day 2
So day two was ok I guess. I am still missing my music very much though. I hate driving in the car without it. I noticed that I'm a lot more irritable with no music in the car, especially if I'm stuck in traffic. Someone cut me off, and I yelled, which I usually try not to do. I haven't really been missing the tv too much, except for at night when I need to fall asleep. Fortunately, there's not a whole lot of shows that I like to watch on the weekends. My shows are all on during the week. I like to get out on the weekends and be just about anywhere but at home. I woke up kind of late again, since I really didn't have to be anywhere. Once again, I took a little longer than usual to get ready to head out the door. I took my mom shopping at Target with me, so at least I had her in the car to talk to. There's never any silence when my mom and I are having a conversation. I bought a shirt that I didn't really need, but oh well. I knew that I would be spending more money this weekend; that's what happens when you get out of the house and do stuff. I am definitely missing my phone more than I thought I would. I don't use it very often to talk, but I text all the time! Since we always want something more when we're not supposed to have it, I found myself looking at my phone more often than normal. I was just looking to check for any missed calls or texts, but I felt like a crazy, obsessive person. If I had missed anything, then I had to fight the temptation to respond. When I got home from the store, I decided to take a short nap. Of course I didn't really need it, but if I'm asleep then I'm not thinking about what I'm missing. Later that evening, I went to the Helotes Cornyval with a couple of friends. I spent money just to stuff my face with all kinds of carnival food. There was a band playing. I didn't really like the songs, but I didn't care. I was just happy to hear music, and beggars can't be choosers. After the cornyval, my friends wanted to watch the boston and chicago game, so I had to go upstairs by myself. I was sort of annoyed, but ok. If the spurs were still playing :-( then I would have had to cheat!! All in all, the day wasn't too bad, but I still can't wait until Monday!
Schiber Day 2
This is the second day without media for me and as I mentioned yesterday my day begin by going to dallas with some friends. It was for a card tournament so we needed to be there at 9am and we left only a half an hour after my previous post at 4.30 am.
Dallas takes nearly four hours of traveling at night and doing this with 4 other people cramped in a car is on its best a truly sorry affair but the lack of radio to keep it quiet make it nearly unbearable. The group was exausted and we took turns sleeping and keeping up randomn conversation. The lack of media for me was the most differcult here as everyone else was able to use their phone/ipod to tune out and take a nap where I had to put myself to sleep with the distracting noise of the road. The trip was unbearable but we made it to Dallas by 9:30 am on time.
At the tournament I don't need any form of media, I don't even listen to musice normally as its distracting and I need to concetrate when playing cards. However the lack of sleep took its toll and I went with three wins and three losses before dropping out and just hanging out with some people I know from out of town. To put this in perspective a good record is six wins and a top eight record is six wins + two draws or more. There are eight rounds total.
The second time this project affected me today was that my friends wanted to see X-men orgins and I was forced to pass. This wasn't as differcult as it may seem though because if you pay attention to this blog I haven't had a good nights sleep since thrusday at the time. Instead we waited for the tournament to wind down and left after knowing who was in the top eight. I knew one of the top eight and couldn't text to see what was happening but my friends happily filled me in on our way back.
Back to San Antonio was nothing more than a repeat of my torment of going to dallas. Its just so boring due to the complete lack of music and the trip took five or six hours due to traffic. There wasn't much of traffic but due to the storm in Dallas their were alot of wrecks. This caused the time differance keeping me even longer in boardroom. I got back at two am and hung out with another group of friends at Ihop doing what I am now; telling them about my day. Course the focus was on the tournament. Then after that I went home.
For the final day I may actually have a normal day so it might be harder to go without media. However its staring now at 1:40 as I slept in, getting back a five am does that. Will I bear not goint to X-men orgins one more day? Will the allure of TV overcome reason? Find out in the final day blog!
Dallas takes nearly four hours of traveling at night and doing this with 4 other people cramped in a car is on its best a truly sorry affair but the lack of radio to keep it quiet make it nearly unbearable. The group was exausted and we took turns sleeping and keeping up randomn conversation. The lack of media for me was the most differcult here as everyone else was able to use their phone/ipod to tune out and take a nap where I had to put myself to sleep with the distracting noise of the road. The trip was unbearable but we made it to Dallas by 9:30 am on time.
At the tournament I don't need any form of media, I don't even listen to musice normally as its distracting and I need to concetrate when playing cards. However the lack of sleep took its toll and I went with three wins and three losses before dropping out and just hanging out with some people I know from out of town. To put this in perspective a good record is six wins and a top eight record is six wins + two draws or more. There are eight rounds total.
The second time this project affected me today was that my friends wanted to see X-men orgins and I was forced to pass. This wasn't as differcult as it may seem though because if you pay attention to this blog I haven't had a good nights sleep since thrusday at the time. Instead we waited for the tournament to wind down and left after knowing who was in the top eight. I knew one of the top eight and couldn't text to see what was happening but my friends happily filled me in on our way back.
Back to San Antonio was nothing more than a repeat of my torment of going to dallas. Its just so boring due to the complete lack of music and the trip took five or six hours due to traffic. There wasn't much of traffic but due to the storm in Dallas their were alot of wrecks. This caused the time differance keeping me even longer in boardroom. I got back at two am and hung out with another group of friends at Ihop doing what I am now; telling them about my day. Course the focus was on the tournament. Then after that I went home.
For the final day I may actually have a normal day so it might be harder to go without media. However its staring now at 1:40 as I slept in, getting back a five am does that. Will I bear not goint to X-men orgins one more day? Will the allure of TV overcome reason? Find out in the final day blog!
Melissa Mancilla-post 2
So it’s getting a little bit more difficult with each passing day. It doesn’t help that every time I go outside my neighbor is singing some of my favorite songs. I’m wondering if it would count as a loophole if I paid him to play his radio outside, but I’m not that desperate yet. Just starting to get irked and feel the withdrawals. Previously I thought I would enjoy these three days, that I’d discover something about myself and my daily routine that would enlighten me so much that it would affect how I lived the rest of my life. All I learned is that when left alone with nothing to hear but my own thoughts I almost begin to show signs of a rabid dog. If music is all that’s keeping me from slipping into insanity then I indeed do need it. For some reason I had thought that after I had accomplished the first day, the rest would be cake. Not so. In fact I woke up in an irritable mood that Frank Sinatra usually cures, but today I had to find another alternative.
What is there to do…I could play checkers with myself…or perhaps talk to my dog, both without the excuse of media deprivation just come across as mental illness, so I suppose I have a reasonably good excuse.
I’ve had to find alternatives for everything. Unlike with junk food I just can’t alleviate my cravings by chewing gum. Music has always served as my remedy to everything. Take away my fix all cure and suddenly I’m not the happy camper I once was only two days ago. The television portion of my life can easily be substituted by a conversation with my mother or reading a good book. I plan to finish some books I’ve never got around to finishing, and this is a good reason to finally do so. Even though as I type this House is on, and I love that show, somehow I think I’ll manage. I’m almost relieved T.V. is gone for the day, since the news is often depressing and commercials are always advertising the new “it” product.
My internet fix will be a little trickier to ease off of. I’ve found that I resort to the computer when I’m extremely bored, so I thought I would keep myself constantly entertained different ways. In a few hours I’m off to the mall with some friends, and given that they don’t bail we should be heading on over to O.P. Schnabel park. The next best thing to ease my nerves is nature, and I never fully take advantage of such a lovely park being only a few minutes away from me.
But even the beginning of today went by much slower than anticipated. Before I had known it, I had spent an hour and forty five minutes staring up at my ceiling. Given a Johnny Depp poster adorns my ceiling (don’t judge me), I still have never zoned out and stared off into space longer than the length of a class period at Northwest Vista. Today I am much more pessimistic about the next 24 hours. When I had told me friends last night what I was doing, they laughed, then realized I was serious, then were deeply sorry I had agreed to subject myself to such a wicked experiment. It’s not that bad I assured them, just a little tough when you realize how vital music is to your everyday life. One of my friends asked me how I would get by without Twitter, to which I laughed from a good healthy place, then became horrified when I realized she wasn’t joking either. Our generation seems dependent on social networking sites to get by each day. As if MySpace wasn’t mindlessly self indulgent enough, Twitter (from what I understand, I refuse to check it out) is a networking site where you post you every action each moment of your life. I’m not knocking Twitter, just amazed at how much people rely on it.
I know I can still make the most of these three days and still salvage some sort of lesson. At least it’s been three days that won’t contribute to my hearing loss, or that won’t increase my chances of cell phone induced brain tumors. No, I’m more likely to go on my own free will now, if it meant a dull existence without the comfort of music to help get me by.
What is there to do…I could play checkers with myself…or perhaps talk to my dog, both without the excuse of media deprivation just come across as mental illness, so I suppose I have a reasonably good excuse.
I’ve had to find alternatives for everything. Unlike with junk food I just can’t alleviate my cravings by chewing gum. Music has always served as my remedy to everything. Take away my fix all cure and suddenly I’m not the happy camper I once was only two days ago. The television portion of my life can easily be substituted by a conversation with my mother or reading a good book. I plan to finish some books I’ve never got around to finishing, and this is a good reason to finally do so. Even though as I type this House is on, and I love that show, somehow I think I’ll manage. I’m almost relieved T.V. is gone for the day, since the news is often depressing and commercials are always advertising the new “it” product.
My internet fix will be a little trickier to ease off of. I’ve found that I resort to the computer when I’m extremely bored, so I thought I would keep myself constantly entertained different ways. In a few hours I’m off to the mall with some friends, and given that they don’t bail we should be heading on over to O.P. Schnabel park. The next best thing to ease my nerves is nature, and I never fully take advantage of such a lovely park being only a few minutes away from me.
But even the beginning of today went by much slower than anticipated. Before I had known it, I had spent an hour and forty five minutes staring up at my ceiling. Given a Johnny Depp poster adorns my ceiling (don’t judge me), I still have never zoned out and stared off into space longer than the length of a class period at Northwest Vista. Today I am much more pessimistic about the next 24 hours. When I had told me friends last night what I was doing, they laughed, then realized I was serious, then were deeply sorry I had agreed to subject myself to such a wicked experiment. It’s not that bad I assured them, just a little tough when you realize how vital music is to your everyday life. One of my friends asked me how I would get by without Twitter, to which I laughed from a good healthy place, then became horrified when I realized she wasn’t joking either. Our generation seems dependent on social networking sites to get by each day. As if MySpace wasn’t mindlessly self indulgent enough, Twitter (from what I understand, I refuse to check it out) is a networking site where you post you every action each moment of your life. I’m not knocking Twitter, just amazed at how much people rely on it.
I know I can still make the most of these three days and still salvage some sort of lesson. At least it’s been three days that won’t contribute to my hearing loss, or that won’t increase my chances of cell phone induced brain tumors. No, I’m more likely to go on my own free will now, if it meant a dull existence without the comfort of music to help get me by.
The Irrationality of Rationality - Day 2 - Angelo Reyes
Day 2 was not much different than day 1. I awoke at ten a.m., again meditated, then a shower. I worked at eleven. On the way to work, I accidentally turned on the radio; I had forgotten about this project for a split second. As soon as I heard a local dj say something about a bar, the memory of this project came back. I slapped myself and turned it off. I sat in silence, once more, pondering the past and the future to come. There's so much to think about when you're not distracted by media. Just thinking about a problem eventually leads to a solution. I solved a couple of things just on the way to work.
Being at work and actually working, and only working, is kind of new to me. Not that I’m a slacker or anything, not always, I just get distracted easily. I guess it’s a byproduct of growing up in a media-engorged society. There is so much distraction in media it’s quite disturbing. I had somewhat of a revelation last night. I was full of insight and clarity and I came to the conclusion that life is all about survival, and to try and make it mean anymore is basically somewhat of a waste of time. The only test that actually matters is that of survival. Nowadays, people are focused so much on convenience and luxury, hoping to extend their life here on earth. Personally, I’m not too much concerned with making my life easy. Life is more fun the harder it is. Just my opinion, but I digress. Work was work, plain and simple. No television, no phone.
I got out of work at eleven and played a bit of soccer with a friend in the parking lot. He put on music and I told him about my project. He turned it off, respectfully, which i was actually glad he did because I’m not too fond of the country music. After thirty minutes of intense soccer-mania, I headed home, drenched in sweat. I decided to exercise more and stop smoking so many damn cigarettes.
At home, I ate a nice and scrumptious meal consisting of tamales and milk. Yum. I usually sit in front of the television when I eat a meal, but last night I sat the kitchen table and just ate. That’s it. That’s all i did. Eat.I noticed that i enjoyed the meal a great deal more than i usually would’ve. I headed off to bed around 1, after a quick shower and another session of meditation. I laid there, surprised at just how much more simple life is when there is no media involved in it. This has been some project.
Being at work and actually working, and only working, is kind of new to me. Not that I’m a slacker or anything, not always, I just get distracted easily. I guess it’s a byproduct of growing up in a media-engorged society. There is so much distraction in media it’s quite disturbing. I had somewhat of a revelation last night. I was full of insight and clarity and I came to the conclusion that life is all about survival, and to try and make it mean anymore is basically somewhat of a waste of time. The only test that actually matters is that of survival. Nowadays, people are focused so much on convenience and luxury, hoping to extend their life here on earth. Personally, I’m not too much concerned with making my life easy. Life is more fun the harder it is. Just my opinion, but I digress. Work was work, plain and simple. No television, no phone.
I got out of work at eleven and played a bit of soccer with a friend in the parking lot. He put on music and I told him about my project. He turned it off, respectfully, which i was actually glad he did because I’m not too fond of the country music. After thirty minutes of intense soccer-mania, I headed home, drenched in sweat. I decided to exercise more and stop smoking so many damn cigarettes.
At home, I ate a nice and scrumptious meal consisting of tamales and milk. Yum. I usually sit in front of the television when I eat a meal, but last night I sat the kitchen table and just ate. That’s it. That’s all i did. Eat.I noticed that i enjoyed the meal a great deal more than i usually would’ve. I headed off to bed around 1, after a quick shower and another session of meditation. I laid there, surprised at just how much more simple life is when there is no media involved in it. This has been some project.
Brick to face dose of reality - Abigail Day 2
Day two passes much like day one only with less to do. I woke up at around ten and got online to blog out the previous day. By the time I was finished it was time to get ready for work. I did so without any sound other than the one car that passes around the corner to do a U-turn. I like the peace and quite, really. But I like it more when I choose to have peace and quite. There are so many things that I have had time to do this weekend that I had to put off because of the project. Not to much of an inconvenience, I can always do them later, but I’m the kind of person that needs to get something going and done right away. I think this project would have been much easier for me if I wasn’t stuck at home at the mercy of whoever has the time and patience to take me out, wheelchair and all. Its more like, I feel bad, I feel like a burden. In the break room yesterday at work, I was in there alone for a few minutes with the television off. A co-worker came in to take her lunch and asked why I was just sitting there and not watching anything. I explained the project and she sat along with me, but I told her she could turn it on but I couldn’t make the choice. It wasn’t hard. I focused on other things. I have more time now to continue reading. Usually I read for about thirty minutes before I go to bed. Now I read rather than watch television or be on the Internet. I write in my journal also, something I haven’t done in a few weeks. Surprisingly I feel less stress. It makes sense if you think about it. This environment of technology serves as a distraction. When its taken away from you, you’re left to deal with your life and everything gets into focus. Like meditation, you become aware of yourself and your surroundings. There are pros and cons to this project. The cons are only cons because of how dependent we’ve become on gadgets made to ‘improve’ our lifestyle. I think this project is taking an unexpected turn.
Day 2 Michael Petit
Saturday I slept in until I had to go to work. I went to work around two. I work at the Burger King on Lackland Airforce Base. On the way there, the silence in the car was the hardest thing though out the whole day. I just cant be comfortable with complete silence. I think the music is what I take for granted. I never knew how much I loved music. All kinds of music from rock to hip-hop. I think am going to start messing around on the turntables again. When I got to work, I was late thirty minutes late. I worked for an hour then went on break. In the break room, I would usually watch TV. I had a headache anyways so I just ate. Silence is good when your having a rough day. I clocked back in and went back to work until ten. I went home after work. I was to tired to want to watch tv or play my xbox. I just texted this girl a couple of times and cashed out on my bed. My day was very boring and tomorrow is going to be the same. I had fun on Friday cause I was off. This project is easy on the days I have to work. When it comes to blogging about what I did its hard. I wished I didn't work so much for so long. I feel like I am wasting my life working so much. I could be out having fun and getting in to trouble. I think am going to quit soon.................
Adam's Saturday Adventure!
Ok, ok, so it is not as good as you would think. I had to work all morning and then after work my sister was having her birth day party. So instead of staying home with five or six little twelve year old girls running about Adrian and I made plans to hang out with my friends Scott and Dara. It was great fun, and there was no media involved. Scott had his earphones in, and knows about the project enough to turn off the car radio for us. After a walk around the base housing area that Scott currently resides in Dara decided she wanted a burger. Then a trip to Burger King ensued. At Burger King our friend John Sircy decided to visit us and chat for a while before he ran to hang with another friend. The whole night was awesome. Dara had to leave around ten. Then we visited our friends Geoff, Richard and Justin, but Justin was asleep. He had work early. So Richard, Geoff, Scott, Adrian and I talked and chilled on the couch. They had a movie going, but we were not about to tell them to turn it off. Then we headed back to our friend Scott’s house and crashed there for the night. I am writing this one a bit earlier than the blog I typed up yesterday because I have work at 3 today.
One thing I realized that during this project is that I focus more on face to face conversations rather than texting or talking on the cell phone. Which I think is so much more personal and fun. It is truly difficult to show emotion in a text, and hard to read a reaction of a person over the cell phone. This project has me getting out there and talking to other people, which I needed sorely. Professor Lopez did give us all permission to watch the news, online or television, about swine flu. I decided that I was not all too concerned about it. I had heard, previous to the beginning of this project, that people with weak, or damaged immune systems are at the most risk. I have a strong immune system.
One thing I realized that during this project is that I focus more on face to face conversations rather than texting or talking on the cell phone. Which I think is so much more personal and fun. It is truly difficult to show emotion in a text, and hard to read a reaction of a person over the cell phone. This project has me getting out there and talking to other people, which I needed sorely. Professor Lopez did give us all permission to watch the news, online or television, about swine flu. I decided that I was not all too concerned about it. I had heard, previous to the beginning of this project, that people with weak, or damaged immune systems are at the most risk. I have a strong immune system.
Adrian's Deprived Saturday
Well Saturday was even easier to deal with the Media deprivation. I had to go into work at nine in the morning. So other than the music playing continuously in the backdrop of my hearing, and the occasional text message from a friend to make plans or cancel old ones, there was not much temptation to deviate from the chosen course. At work though, I had to drive a delivery to some punk teenager’s house because he obviously did not have a car and could not come to the restaurant himself… oh yea anyways, I was driving there and I really wanted to listen to the radio… I mean I REALLY wanted to listen to the radio, but I fought back the urge and started humming random songs that I could remember the tune to. Not watching television was not a problem this time around, I was not tempted at all, which is good, I just might’ve cracked... internet use was quite tempting and I do have to say that I thought about just cracking and then blogging about it just so I could get computer time it, but what does a college student have if he does not have his honor? Well, I would not have much… my point being that I wanted to do this project the right way because I feel honor bound to do so. Got a lot of reading done, and later in the evening had to go to my friend’s house and tutor him for a history test. We ended up goofing off and meeting up with a bunch of friends and walking around, which really helped keep my mind off of all the restrictions forced upon me throughout the duration of the deprivation project. Have not made any phone calls or played any video games, no DVDs, radio, iPod, movie theatre, magazines, internet, so I think I’m doing really well. This project really is not too hard, it is exactly like when I would go camping as a kid, except in a house not a tent and a bed without the lumps from rocks, so it is really just like the best camping trip ever…
it ain't so hard.
it is sad that i forgot to post yesterday so i will do a brief summery of Friday so as to let you all know that i am doing what is necessary, even though it won't get me anything. on Friday i spent most of my day cleaning my room and thinking for me it is something i do normally, lol, but i must admit to stop thinking i would normally turn on my ipod or something like that but i just let my thoughts wander before i went to work around 3 other then that that was my day. now for yesterday i did pretty much the same thing my parents asked me to get my room cleaned so i worked on it. again i did nothing but think about school, about work about life in general about what ever my mind wandered to. i am good at doing that for me about the only thing i really miss about all this is listening to my audio books, but i can live with it i did get a textmessage from a friend but i discreetly told her i can't talk and left it at that. for me media deprivation just brings me back to when i didn't have an ipod and didn't listen much to music, i read a lot of books until a few years back. i don't watch TV and my parents don't ask me to. i rarely us my cell though i must admit i did wish to call a friend this weekend but i don't mind. as for the rest media deprivation isn't so hard i can except it though i must admit it makes life a little boring when you are relegated to being at home to clean i live in Castroville so really there ain't much to do here and i have to work all weekend so there ain't a point to going anywhere. well i must go now have more cleaning to do see you.
Prof. Albert Lopez (DAY 2): The Kind of Day that Makes You Say (Dental) Damn!
Wow, what a day. If it were not for this Media Deprivation experiment I'd be absolutely dreading my trip to the dentist on Saturday, but since I was going to be there all day (more on that later) I looked forward to the visit since I wouldn't be tempted to use any mass media for the better part of four hours. A decent trade-off, I thought: one form of torture for another. But I had no idea what was in store for me at the dentist.
See, I was helping a friend out. My good buddy's brother-in-law needed a particular type of cavity in order to graduate from dental school over at UTHSC, and guess who happened to have that certain type of cavity. Hey, I brush, floss and use Listerine daily but I guess there are some spots you miss from time to time. Anyway, since this was a pro bono dental procedure (I even made a little money out of it, too), I figured what the hell: I'd be helping my friend AND helping myself.
But this was an exam for my buddy's brother-in-law, the final exam to be exact, and that meant due diligence on his part as far as taking care of my tooth and me constantly lying in a dental chair while he and his professors inspected my mouth every step of the way. Oh, and I had to wear a dental dam for over two hours, too! I know they're a lot more flexible than past dental contraptions built to keep your mouth open, but try wearing one that long and tell me how you feel!
Remember, since this was an exam at UTHSC, everything was extended as far as procedure time was concerned. I mean, this procedure (called an "amalgam" by the way) would've taken about an hour at an actual dentist's office. But I was there for almost five hours!
So there I was, along with countless others, getting free dental work done by a dental student trying to graduate. There was no music playing anywhere at UTHSC, no TVs to watch while lying in that uncomfortable chair (the lobby had Fox News on), and no cell phone to check for missed calls or texts (they don't allow any electronic devices on certain floors). Oh, and I had to walk around the dental school looking like this for over 2 hours:
Don't I look like a maniac from one of those Mad Max movies? The Terminator glasses were a nice touch, though--by the way I had to wear them to keep my eyes safe from accidentally getting poked by dental instruments. Trust me, they were necessary. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one who looked like something you'd see in a post-apocalyptic action film.
So I finished up at the dental school around 4:30 and made the long, QUIET trip back home to get some grading done before the Pacquiao/Hatton fight later that evening... Not to mention continue fighting the urge to get online to surf the 'Net.
So yeah I was finally going to indulge in some kind of frivolous mass media: I was going to host a fight party at my house with a bunch of friends coming over to maintain that "social setting" loophole. I have to say, it was great to have friends over after such a long, arduous day at the dentist--especially since this was DAY TWO of the Media Deprivation experiment and I was getting very antsy up to that point.
Too bad the fight wasn't much of a fight. But it's always exciting to see a knockout (Man, did Hatton get his bell rung or what?), and everyone pitched in for the pay per view so it wasn't a total loss on my part. After all, it was nice to finally see some kind of mass media to help soothe my severe withdrawal.
But at the end of the day, with tortuous dental work on one end and prolonged media deprivation on the other, I have to say that a night of partying with friends only exacerbated my weakened, media-deprived state. But I came up with this sweet mantra to help me fall asleep:
ONE MORE DAY. ONE MORE DAY. ONE MORE DAY. ONE MORE DAY. ONE MORE DAY.
Lisa Lozano-Day 2
I’m so glad that this project is almost over. I just get so happy to see my dang background to my laptop. I think it would be ok for me to go without most of the media like TV and computer because at work I realized that it takes up most of my time and I get so tired of it that I just want to hang out and chill once I leave from there. But then again we only watch CNN News and we have a really good firewall that doesn’t allow us to visit any websites beside news so I guess that helps me. But at the same time I see my phone go off still and just wish I could reply. I have been keeping count of all my missed items and so far it’s at 87 missed text messages and 26 missed calls. I never knew how much I use my phone and how much of an impact it is on my life lol. Whoever invented the mobile phones was a genius. This project is almost over and I’m going to be so happy when it is. I don’t ever want to come across another final like this ever in the rest of my school years. I know for a fact that this is definitely one of the most effective finals ever, and I completely hate it. GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
antoine day 2
Saturday was very difficult and I know for a fact will be the hardest day out of the three, but its over now so I'm happy. I normally don't do much on Saturday's during the day except chill at my apartment and watch TV all day. Not watching TV or playing video games made me realize just how long the day is and how many tasks can be done during the day. It always seems like the days go by so fast to me but that was just because I'm busy with work or school or something. I went out and paid some bills, did some cleaning, tried to keep myself busy and in a productive mood but all that only took up a few hours and I didn't take my time doing everything, I did them quickly because I'm so used to not having a large amount of time to get things done. The main obstacle I ran into on Saturday was no TV because that is the main source of media for me on a typical Saturday, radio was a bit hard but me and my roommate were running errands together so I had him to talk to. This project is definitely a learning experience for me due to the fact that I am finally realizing how much media is incorporated in my daily lifestyle and how much my routines depend on some sort of media or my daily rituals are compromised. I will be out and about on Sunday for quite a bit of the day because of church and other things so it shouldn't be that bad, but Saturday messed with my head a little bit, I wanted to give up so bad but I stayed strong, a feel a bit liberated now.
Dia Dos.No Media. Chingos of Tequila.
YEA!blahblahblah I miss using media, music whatever blah blah. I am really starting to believe I never needed this project to encourage me to breakout of my shell, comfort zone, etc. I never really get bored because I see it like this " if you are bored then you are boring."I always like to get out into the world and get into some trouble, mischief, fun. I like to travel even if it just for the weekend. This weekend for example, right now I am typing this from my Mexico lindo, that's right folks all this lack of media drove me to leave the f-ing country! Like 5 minutes ago I was speaking with my new friend Karla(with a K) about school and I just remembered to do this pinche blog so I am using my cousin's uber-chingona cell-phone to write this blog, I am in Monterrey, I am staying with a cousin of mine and I came to attend a wedding, well the reception at least, one of my 5000 cousins got married. So I came down with the family to ol'Monterrey, to attend the Boda(wedding). It was a beautiful wedding, so far everything has been a la toda Madre!, the food, MUSICA, la baile!!,y las Moras de la otra familia!cuidado! jajaja.The reception is still going strong as I type these words down, you us Mexicans we love a party and no flu-pandemic will can stop una buena pachanga!
So the car ride down here was no trouble because I slept and recovered from the previous night while my brother Mario drove. When we arrived I was refreshed and ready to get it while it was hot. The city of Monterrey is much larger than San Antonio, with population of 5million+. The city seemed to be slower than usual as it is always a buzz with the sounds and ambiance that makes Mexico unique. I guess this swine-flu is kinda a big deal here, people are taking it much more seriously than in the US. Almost everyone in the streets was wearing una tapa-voca,those medical masks their English name eludes my tequila-greased mind right now, and the local government is out in full effect with EM Ts and medical personnel on almost every corner handing-out pamplets of information, hand sanitizer, and tapa-bocas to the public. It was a much different Mexico to see from what I am most familiar with.
Although avoiding media here in Mexico is not all that hard because I always find something to do, especially when I am here to the attend certain event, function or family gathering. Really the only from of media you will have trouble avoiding is Music/Radio. Music seems to be everywhere from banda, cumbias, to American-Music it is everywhere here on every street, every tiendita, bodega, mercado all have some or many forms of music playing usually very loud. I have to get back to this reception because there is gonna be some barbacoa estillo de Rancho served for all the borrachos that are still up and partying. I do not think it will be over until the like 9 or 10 am. This weedend trip made this project such a breeze.
Dia Dos fin.
So the car ride down here was no trouble because I slept and recovered from the previous night while my brother Mario drove. When we arrived I was refreshed and ready to get it while it was hot. The city of Monterrey is much larger than San Antonio, with population of 5million+. The city seemed to be slower than usual as it is always a buzz with the sounds and ambiance that makes Mexico unique. I guess this swine-flu is kinda a big deal here, people are taking it much more seriously than in the US. Almost everyone in the streets was wearing una tapa-voca,those medical masks their English name eludes my tequila-greased mind right now, and the local government is out in full effect with EM Ts and medical personnel on almost every corner handing-out pamplets of information, hand sanitizer, and tapa-bocas to the public. It was a much different Mexico to see from what I am most familiar with.
Although avoiding media here in Mexico is not all that hard because I always find something to do, especially when I am here to the attend certain event, function or family gathering. Really the only from of media you will have trouble avoiding is Music/Radio. Music seems to be everywhere from banda, cumbias, to American-Music it is everywhere here on every street, every tiendita, bodega, mercado all have some or many forms of music playing usually very loud. I have to get back to this reception because there is gonna be some barbacoa estillo de Rancho served for all the borrachos that are still up and partying. I do not think it will be over until the like 9 or 10 am. This weedend trip made this project such a breeze.
Dia Dos fin.
Brian Starr (Day two)
So as today started I woke up this morning and jumped on the computer early so i can talk about my first day experience. Soon after I made my blog it was off to work. The drive to work is not hard with no music because it takes me five minutes to work. Once I was at work the only thing to do is listen to the boring music playing and trust me it was boring. I was at work until seven pm and then made it back home. Once I came home my roommates were all at the pool drinking and having a bbq. That took my mind off everything for a couple of hours. We stayed at the pool/hot tub drinking till bout ten pm. Once we came back from the pool they were making dinner and I jumped in the shower. Surprisingly when I got out of the shower there was about ten people over to watch the boxing fight. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't watch the fight but I did. So many people over and all the yelling, i was just to tempted to watch. P.S Manny ko that dude in the second round. Great fight. After the fight was over all the tvs and radios got turned off and my roomates explained my situation to everyone over. Surprisingly everyone was very understanding and was cool with that. So since we didnt have a radio or tv we all decided to play darts and foozball untill we went out to the Hanger (our favorite bar). Since I had already watched the fight on the television, I decided to leave my cell at home and not have it on me at all at the bar. Not having my phone on me was too weird. I felt necked all night. Thank god that the alcholal helped me forget that I didnt have my phone on me. Once I made it back to my house I looked at my phone and saw all the missed calls and missed text messeages and I felt so bad for not responding to any of the messages left to me. Overall the day wasnt that bad thanks to work and drinking with my friends. Sunday will be a challengeing day for me. I hope that the weather is nice so I can chill by the pool and not be tempted to listen to the radio or watch tv. One more day and I can resume my normal life again. Sucks that I cant see if Tiger wins the golf tournement today but Ill steal my neighbors news paper Monday morning to see the results. Please let Sunday go by as fast as today.
Brian Starr
Brian Starr
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