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. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I HATE GOING TO THE DENTIST!