No media for Brent : Day 2

Well today wasn't as bad as yesterday, but it still sucks not being able to use my Xbox, internet, or have any general knowledge of what's going on in the world outside of my house and work. I will admit that I have been following the cell phone restrictions somewhat liberally, sometimes talking or texting about things that aren't urgent matters, but other than that I have stuck to the guidelines. I woke up around 11 this morning, and briefly thought "Oh man, I'm gonna go play some Halo Reach Beta", until yet again reality struck, and my hopes were shattered. After that realization I put my head back down into my pillow and went to sleep. I awoke two hours later, and started my boring pre-work period of the day. Figuring that I had little else to do, I decided I would actually cook a meal that wasn't mac and cheese, hot pockets, or Top Ramen. Yes, I was going to do it. I was going to create...HAMBURGER HELPER. I glided through the preparation and cooking process like a professional French chef. Never have I been so pleased with something I have cooked. It was probably the most delicious home made meal I've had in months. After spending far too long cooking my lunch, I spent most of the day cleaning yet again, and getting a little reading time in before work. Sundays at work are usually pretty slow, and today was no different. I spent about 90% of my time there sitting at our table chatting with my friends Brett and Sean until getting off about 45 minutes ago. So now I'm here at my condo, being tempted by all of the fantastic looking bookmarks on my browser. From Facebook to Yahoo, Hulu to Myspace, I feel like a heroin addict staring at a nice bag of juicy black-tar goodness. That reminds me, I missed Breaking Bad tonight. I never miss Breaking Bad. Sigh* Oh well, I guess that will about wrap up what I have to say about my weekend without Media devices. I hope you all had terribly boring weekends as well, and I'll see you guys in class Thursday.

Day Uno!

The first day of media deprivation wasn't too bad although I did slightly use some forms of mass media. It wasn't as hard as it normally would have been for a weekend but I had a lot of things going on Saturday that kept my mind off of using media. I had to wake up at 9 a.m. so I could be ready for work by 11. Normally I listen to music while I'm getting ready but I was pretty cranky from only getting about 3 hours of sleep that I didn't even want to hear music. At work I get to hear country music all day so I wasn't deprived from music at all. I also did have to use my phone but only for the calculator because my drunk customer whom I served too many top shelf margaritas wanted me to calculate my own tip! After I got off of work I rushed home to get ready for the George Strait concert. Actually now that I think about it, I did listen to my Ipod on the way home so there's another rule I broke. Right after I got home and got ready my family and I headed to the Alamodome. While we were stuck in traffic I'm not even going to lie, I updated my Facebook status from my cell phone. After that I followed the project rules well by not using my cell phone, that was mostly due to the fact that my cell phone was dead though. The concert lasted all night long so that was another reason it was made easier for me not to use a lot of other mass medias. After I got home from the concert I would have usually texted my friends to see what our plans were for the rest of the night but I didn't want to break anymore rules. I put my phone on silent and left it in the living room for the rest of the night. That was a huge step for me because I usually sleep with my phone right next to me. So for the most part I think my Saturday was pretty succesful but today won't be as easy. I go into work at 3:30 and usually i text my shift away but today I can't do that. Oh well, wish me luck!

Day 2: Hang with buds, and first tattoo =D

Day 2 got off to a late start, didn't wake up till about 2 o'clock. In the morning me and my buds just chilled, they played halo and other games on the xbox and I just watched. We pretty much ate cookie cake for breakfast sense there was quite a bit left from the previous night. I left at about 4 to my go to my house. While i waas home I just worked on some homework for various other class such as acting and speech. Now earlier in the week I decided that i was going to finally going to get a tattoo that i have been wanting, so today around 6 my bud Scoops(nickname) picked me up and took me to a studio where his friend works. Got that tattoo I wanted, it's red x. It's the symbol of my favorite band Bang Camaro. I totally love how it came out and am currently trying to figure out how to take care of this thing. That's about it. After the tattoo we ate at a chinese restaurant then headed back home. Probably going to turn in for the night, or maybe ill stay up till 12 so I can finally watch LOST on nextflix.

-Alex Casanova

What Day Is This?

When you are so buisy in life that you have no clue what day it is, that is when you are fully aware you have problems. I went to work again today and just got back home to do this depervation project. I am freaking tired but I will say thank you for the project but I hate the writing part. I was able to ignore calls and text messages from a volkswagon full of people. I have been away from this piece of junk computer (other then this), I have made every means to avoid the paper, no news, no magazines, no radio, and no television. Wow; I love it, I feel so relaxed and I just work and build furniture. I am building a little dresser right now in burl wood pine or also known as sebastian georgia wood. My clarity has made my wood projects so tight. I have worked on my truck a little also, she is such a good truck and I can not wait to paint her. Oh, I went bowling and studied for exams. I have like a 3.8 GPA. Hope I keep that this semester. Not one of my classes were a fluff off class and they are kicking my caboose; even Intro to Mass Media. This class has been rockin' and I have loved every minute of learning with you as my peers. This class by far because of you guys' has been such an insperation to this old man. Honestly I think this class would have sucked if it weren't for the people in it. Gotta send a shout out to my group though. Yo, Paul, you the man brother. Stay true to the conspiracy. Caleb, if you were my kids coach they would have the very best. Morgan, I know things are going crazy right now but I am proud of you as though you were my own daughter. Showing some love to Holly for spending time breaking school polocy and smoking on campus with me. Alexia, my sister from another mother. The chick that stares at the clock all class, every class. The film crew, you guys kick booty. You four guy's at that table really inspired me to do more this semester. My home girls next to me that spit that Latina flavor, "Turn the Lights On". Professor Lopez, outstanding educator; I am impressed and I endevour to achieve a small piece of your professionalism and ethics. You truly are a fore front in todays education. Just so you know I posted a blog yesterday thinking it was Sunday. Welcome to my world without any media. I am happy I am without it. Ha Ha, I even ignored my wife all weekend and told her it was because of my project. Yes; Mr. Lopez I am aware you said not to do this but momma isn't going to call 911 to find me. So this is going really good for me.

DAY 1: You Know, I Used To Like Saturdays

Well, Day One's in the books, with Day Two winding down as I type this. You'd think this whole Media Deprivation thing would be cake for me considering this is my FOURTH TIME doing it, but nope! It never gets any easier and you know what? This might've been the hardest one yet, and it was only 48 hours! Heck, I did 72 hours last semester and I don't recall being so tempted, so anxious, and so... WEAK! Yes, even your professor gave into temptation! (Pssst! Don't tell anyone but I currently have my earbuds on and I'm listening to music while I blog and read my students' blogs. Hey, I won't tell if you won't!).

So, yeah Day One... I woke up to a chorus of construction racket going on RIGHT OUTSIDE MY HOUSE. See, they're building a model home right next door and apparently they work on Saturdays. That picture on the left was my view from the living room where I like to work out and enjoy the beautiful scenery outside with my blinds open. Oh joy. So I had to work out without any music (my usual M.O.) or TV playing, which would've cancelled any of that racket outside my house. Yeah, I know: Whahwhahwhahwhah! To add insult to injury my housemate was gone for the day so I had the house all to myself, which under normal circumstances would've been a treat. But oh no, not today! And I could hear EVERYTHING outside: not only the clangs and booms but also the conversations. My Spanish is very shaky (and that's putting it mildly), so I wasn't able to really follow along, but sheesh not the ideal sounds to work out to, you know?

I also had to stay at the house because the AT&T guy was coming to install our new Internet and phone, which had to be done today. So while the AT&T guy was here I made a point to do something I hadn't done in months: read my comics. Yes, your professor is a lifelong comic geek. Hey, they're great reading materials; educational, too. Okay, maybe not so much the educational part but still! Anyway, I caught up on my comic book reading since I couldn't really do anything else. NO, I didn't listen to my iPod while reading my comics... But dammit I wanted to so bad!

After the AT&T guy finished the installation I decided I should get out of the house and do something. I remembered that I had this giftcard to Kohl's and now was as good a time as any to use it and do some shopping; specifically for a pair of black jeans. Simple quest, right? Heh, if only shopping were that simple for yours truly. Since I lived only two minutes away from Kohl's in a car, I figured what the hell -- why not huff it over there instead? I estimated it'd be only about a 12-minute walk, and exercise is always good for you (especially once you hit the ripe old age of 30!).

So I walked to Kohl's in search of a pair of black jeans. It was such a beautiful day, too. It wasn't too hot, and the walk itself felt great. I need to do that more. As for the black jeans quest, well, let's just say that didn't go over so well. After about an hour of trying on several different pairs (and styles), I ended up walking out of Kohl's with a freakin' belt! Yep, a belt. Hey, after my giftcard and the awesome discount (Kohl's is cool like that) I only spent $2.16 of real money for that belt. I kinda needed one, too. Kinda LOL.

Now what to do at night??? Well, I met up with some friends at Chester's Hamburgers for dinner. Yum. But not as "yum" as Chris Madrid's IMHO. It was to celebrate the last Saturday that my buddy Steve and his fiancee will be single. They're getting married next Saturday. I've known Steve since 4th grade (and his fiancee since high school), so I'm really happy for them. Oh, and I got to see the Cavs-Celtics game while at Chester's, which was nice. I'm a big basketball fan so this deprivation was especially tough given the timing with the NBA playoffs going on. Dinner with friends was very enjoyable, but I was disappointed that nobody wanted to keep the night going so there I was with nothing to do the rest of the night...

Until I decided to visit one of my close friends who's nursing a broken leg and ankle (uhh, don't ask!). He lived nearby and, frankly, I didn't want to go home and be tempted to watch TV, listen to music, surf the 'Net, et al. BTW, I haven't listened to any music, not even in my car, which is pretty freakin' tough for me. I did forget for about a minute to turn off my radio earlier in the day but I turned it off immediately after I remembered. I promise.

So I dropped by his house to see how he was doing. He's been holed up in his house for over a month. No work. No going out. No nothing. Since he broke the lower part of his leg and his ankle, he's had to remain bed-ridden and immobile this whole time. Well, as you can imagine, he's watched a lot of TV and played a lot of video games while convalescing. We were hanging out at his house for awhile when he got the itch to get out of the house and do something fun for a change. It's funny because here I was getting out of the house to avoid the mass media temptation and here my buddy was getting out of the house because he was sick and tired of all the mass media he was consuming. We both got a kick out of it.

We made our way to a nearby watering hole, one that we used to frequent back when our schedules allowed us to, and ended the night there amidst some bad karaoke and plenty of merrymaking. Their drink specials were quite nice, considering it was a Saturday night.

But I'm not going to lie -- I did fire up the car stereo on the way home. Hey, I had a long drive ahead of me and I just couldn't stand the silence anymore! Thankfully, I just got my car serviced so there weren't any funny noises I had to endure while driving sans stereo. But enough was enough! I needed some tunes!

Yep, that was only DAY ONE! Oh, day Two. I am NOT looking forward to you!

day one.... o snap!

Yeah so mines a little late because of having to go from church this morning to a lunch meeting then to another church where I work at mixing sound so this is the fastest I could get this up.

Day one of media deprivation pretty much caught me off guard. I normally wake up to music from my laptop in the morning but this weekend I had nothing planed till around 10 so without an alarm wasn’t a big deal since normally I am up by 8:30 so wasn’t a problem. So by ten I had to be at a friends house who needed help moving and this is where I had to cheat a little. He had given me directions the week before on paper but they weren’t to great so I ended up having to call him but I guess that comes under the emergency phone use well at least I hope lol and then music is like everything to me and well I can’t sing so to get in the car and try not to listen to music absolutely killed me. I made it the first 15 mins while driving in my car clean of music but then I had to give in the last 3 mins because it was killing me with no music and no one to talk to so one song to help me get pumped for the day. After reaching my friends house it wasn’t to bad because their was a few of us their helping him move so didn’t need my phone to talk to people or music and that lasted till about 2 but here is where I cheated again. As I was leaving I noticed my tire was low and I ended up with a nail so I had to use my phone again to find a discount tire and to call my boss to let him know I was going to be a tad late because discount tire always takes forever. I made it to the tire place with no music it was a pain but I made it there. So to this point media wasn’t to big of a deal to go without other then the emergency phone call and gps. I had to work later in the evening and when he told us about the project and that it was the weekend all I could think about was how I would make it through work. I work as a pizza delivery guy at Papa Johns. Now it wouldn’t have been such a big deal if I was an insider because there is a no phone policy and also there are people to talk to inside. Once at work I tried to find a driver with a map book thinking at least one might have one I could borrow and turned out no one had one :/ So I ended up cheating again using my gps for the night and yeah I kinda gave in a few times with turning on the radio on a few runs I though I could go without it but when you have those long deliveries it kills to be in dead silence and having to drive and drive all over alone and nothing to do. So after work all I could think about was what would I do without music I would probably go insane as I started to a little with my deliveries being bored out of my mind. After work since I am house sitting next door to my girlfriends house I just walked next door I didn’t have to text her and I told her before hand what my project was so it was cool between us. I walked into the house and her brother was watching tv so we decided to go into her game room and play pool. We played a few games and then go a phone call ( her phone) and a few friends wanted to chill and see a movie. We ended up turning them down and they ended up coming over and playing pool with us and talking which pretty much saved me cause I didn’t need tv or my phone or computer since I was surrounded by friends. So finally I decided I need to hit the sack since I needed to be up by 5:30 so I could head to church early since I was on tech for the morning. Said goodnight to everyone and went back next door and this time didn’t turn the tv on to go to bed like I normally do when I go to sleep so it was kinda eh just laying there and well I decided life would suck soooooo much if I wasn’t allowed to listen to music and well the phone I could also probably not go with out, computer wasn’t to big of a deal for me during the day since I was so busy and wasn’t home to be able to mess with it. In the end I guess I failed day one since I used my phone a few times but only cause emergency and well with the music I just gave in couldn’t take it at all!

I could not resist Mr.Miyagi

Well I woke up this morning to the alarm on my cell phone not being aware of the assignment that started this morning until I got a text message from a friend of mine that I had gone out with the previous night. I did reply back to him because if I didn’t he probably would have felt like a loser. Haha. I did not listen to any music as I got ready for work witch is something I always do. The one thing I notice that I did differently was I got ready a lot faster. I thought to my self I wonder why? Then I snapped ‘DUH I’m not dancing like an idiot in front of the mirror!”
On my way to work I didn’t turn on the radio. I’m the kind of driver that that always has the windows down no matter how the weather may be. The drive to work seemed so much longer that it is with music. I actually got to hear how crappy my car sounds! I really need an oil change! I just found myself super bored! I kept hoping at every red light/ stop sign some one would pull up next to me blasting out their music but, with my luck some person came blasting opera music Which, to me sounded worse then the noises my car was making! I was still texting on the way to work!
Two mass media devices I could not avoid was the TV and radio. At work its required to have them on during store hours. Most of the time at work I changed the channel and watch a little TV when the store was not busy. To that I actually avoided from doing that so kept my self from not going crazy by playing ROCKBAND on my co-workers itouch. I know that’s breaking the rules but its something I would of not done.
Me and a co-worker went to lunch together. I was driving so I had to put some music on just so I can avoid any kind of awkward silence.
After work the first person I called was my best friend if I hadn’t she would have been bitchen. I still had my radio off. I also noticed that when my radio isn’t blasted I go to the speed limit, no I’m a crazy driver I was just something I noticed.
When I got home I did check my Facebook but only really quick I didn’t reply to anyone. I guess it was me just being nosy because my best friend told me about something she saw.
I did take glace at the TV my dad was watching the Karate Kid Pt III. I just had to look only because Mr.Miyagi is the cutest old Asian man in the world.
What I learned today was it was very difficult to do without my phone. Not watching TV is pretty easy for me. Facebook will always be addicting I have to occupy my self with something so I don’t end up breaking a rule which I always do.

My goals for Sunday:
1. cut down on texting
2. try not to talk on the phone
3. read a book haha!
4. do not check FACEBOOK or GAYSPACE (myspace)

The First 24 Hours A Breeze

Wow, it’s Sunday already! I apologize this is such a late blog. I have literally been consumed between working late, finishing up items for my transfer to UTSA, Veteran Affair appointments, and studying for finals. With the end of spring semester and oncoming summer session, not to mention trying to keep up with 18 hours of classes it’s been pretty hectic. It has been so hectic, that I didn’t even have a chance to pay attention to my phone, log online or even use my Ipod.
Needless to say this media deprivation project has been very easy for me considering my schedule.
The funny part of this was up until two hours ago, I didn’t even realize my DSL was down and have been on the phone with some outsourced idiot technician to ping my line and see what is wrong. Wouldn’t you believe that after all this time, my DSL company finally realized they had inadvertently revised my DSL speed which caused mayhem for my modem since Thursday. I had no idea my modem had been blinking red since that time. Well, now that I’m up and running I reflect back onto this project and can easily say it’s not too bad to be withdrawn from the “media” world. I have a television in my apartment and I can’t remember the last time I used it. My computer has solely been used for research papers, end of term papers due and submitting items to the Veterans Affairs. The last time I actually used my phone was to answer my realtor’s phone call about the closing date of my house I’ve purchased and looking at the clock since I don’t wear a watch.
When you think about media and advanced technologies, it has caused some major social culture changes. Many people have become dependent on social media networks such as Facebook and Myspace. It has changed the way people interact with each other. I personally have seen how it has changed the way my friends interact with each other. Before cell phones, wireless internet and all this jazz, my friends and I used to meet up all the time and spend hours catching up. Now people tweet, or blurb on Facebook and I don’t recall the last time we actually have all met up to socialize the way we did. I miss the casual cookouts, kicking back with some drinks, laughing and really spending some face to face time with my good friends. Now my friends actually call, text or email me to find out what I have been up to since I don’t really get into the whole social networking as much as they all do.
The only thing I have missed from this project is my music. Music is a huge factor in my life. I listen to it in my car, when I workout, doing my homework or even killing time. I love finding new music and sharing with my old DJ friends. So the only thing I look forward to at the end of this project is wiping the dust off my Ipod and uploading some great music. Perhaps I should challenge my friends to this type of project. I highly doubt they could perform 30 minutes before giving in!

mr. lopez is trying to corrupt us

why would he give us an internet asignment and expect us not to use facebook.... really mr lopez?...... really?

does he expect us to message each other with carrier pidgeons??

haha


someone plz comment so i can have someone to talk to

First day

Hearing about this project didnt really strike to much of a big change for me, im use to not useing technology all the time so i only had to make a few changes to my day. The day first started by just putting my phone in my pocket, didnt check it cuz i didnt hear it go off and my ipod stayed in my room. Left the house and started my day with out having to check my phone even though it was wtih me all day. It was nice being able to forget about that little need to check my phone every so often. It was odd not having any music for the half of the day but it was fine. When i got home i didt check my home screen on my phone, 4 new messages but i just put in the charger and went to sleep. so the first day went by perrty good with no temptations to check it

Day 1

The first day was very hard for me to not be able to use my phone or get to watch T.V at all and not being able to listen to the radio in my car.
So that Saturday morning I woke up and it was different for me not being able to turn the radio on because when I first wake up I prefer to have some kind of music on in the background while getting up. Then usually I like to turn the T.V on to watch my show SportsCenter to get caught up on everything that happened the day before. But I got the newspaper and for the first time I read the paper and I founded out about all the big things that happened.
That afternoon I went to my friend’s house for a BAR-B-Q. I am not going to lie there were a lot of people using their cell phones and here am I just getting all mad because I can’t use mine to text or call people. So my friends were giving me a hard time about your not able to use your phone. And I have dad turned my phone off because I would have been tempted to use it and call my friends and see what they are doing. But then I stared to be like it alright that I can’t use my phone just gives me a chance to save money.
Then the day started to end and I was doing better than I thought I would be doing all day. But I don’t think day 2 well be easy at all because I am going out of town by myself so I get to be in the can with to radio and not able to call be when I get bored in the car.

ayo technology

the hook in this song describes my view on the mass media vs. real life human interaction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j_sblntjyA

So, I'm sitting at home, wondering how I'm going to go the day without using any form of mass media. By the way my car is in the shop, and my phone has 2% battery left... and i left my charger at work. I have no internet access at home and no cable tv. Im alone with my music, so of course I cheat. I play Bob Marley's "3 birds" to ease my troubled soul, when I get a call from an old high school friend. The time is 10:24.
He tells me I can earn $80 today just for helping him and his family move. So I agree.
As he's coming to pick me up, my phone dies. As I look the door on my way out a sense of uncertainty and paranoia settles in as i contemplate leaving my place of serenity without my own transportation or communication device.

We drive off to the middle of no-where and began lifting insanly heavy boxes, mattress, televisions and refridgerators.
After this 7 hour workout I have a body up to par with the ancient greek gods, but I am exahsted.
Its 8 oclock at night and I am dead to the world. I have my music but thats it. My family, my friends, my boss, my coworkers, and aquaintences who I keep in contact with must be wondering where I am; but I'm not worried at all.
We went to Sultans afterwards and it was one of the most relaxing meals/ smokes I've ever had.
No work, no school, no business, no drama, no errands, no girls, no worries, no boredom. Just a single task and down time away from "reality".

Yes I did cheat with the music, and I dont care, I was never going to give that up.

For everyone struggling, break the rules once and listen to this song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LanCLS_hIo4



(btw this took place on friday, so i think it counts haha lol forgive the txt speech lmao)

whitney blog 1

Doing the media deprivation project has been a little bit of a challenge because the very first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is reach for my phone to see if anyone text me and to send a text to a friend to make plans for the day. Honestly I completely for got for a while that I was suppose to be doing this project. Before I really had time to think about it friends were text messaging me asking what I had planned for Saturday night, and with out thinking I responded back immediately. It was not until I was about to log onto my Facebook page that I remembered that for the next 48 hours I was to remove all forms of mass media. So for all of Saturday I tried to reframe for using my phone, Facebook, or laptop unless I was typing a paper or doing research for class. I didn’t realize that this project would be as hard has its been. I never paid attention to how much I depended on mass media on a daily basis, and how things like browsing the web; social networking sites and text messaging take up so much of my time. When I finally put forth the full effort to not use any form of mass media I was able to do other things like homework, cleaning and organizing. I had a lot more time to do things I needed to do that I have been putting off or procrastinating on doing. Hopefully I can make it the next 24 hours because although I’ve gotten a lot of things done because of the extra time that I have had, I have to say I am gong through withdrawal from text messaging and not being able to check the NFL updates on NFL.com.

NOT WORTH LIVING

As I awoke I knew from the start that it was going to be a tough day. I was just pacing back and forth around my house trying to come up with something to do that didn’t revolt around technology. After 30 minutes in I gave in and called my friend to see what he was up to. Right off the bat he came up with this spontaneous adventure that I knew I couldn’t pass it up. My friend Art came up with an idea to go up to San Marcos and spend the day there. Right when he said San Marcos I knew it was going to be awesome. The drive was pretty boring because we always listen to music so within five minutes in we couldn’t take it so we cranked up the volume and jammed out. As soon as we got to San Marcos we called up my friend who goes to Texas State University and she had an idea to go to Austin for the day. The drive as I knew wasn’t going to go without music so I had no choice. If I had the choice to be playing online games all day I knew I wouldn’t have gone on this trip and I would have been bored out of my mind. Right when we found parking around the University of Texas in Austin we were trying to find a something to do. For some reason I wasn’t expecting to see anybody I knew that went to University of Texas until spotted my friend Derly. After that encounter we met up with some more of my high school friends and they were headed to a protest for the SB 1070 bill. We marched on down Congress street chanting and waving signs. After all of that we came back to Texas State were we just hung outside and talked till three in the morning. And yes I’m still here at Texas State and I can say that I am having a blast without using technology. You cannot trade good conversation with old friends to being isolated at home doing nothing but play games and sleep.

Day 1 - The End of My World

Alright, after getting this whole hand out for the Media Deprivation project I knew it was going to be one of the hardest projects ever. Want me to write some twenty page paper about the bio-mechanics of botany? Done. Do a power point about persuading an audience to do community service? Done.

But take my electronics away for 48 hours?! Not cool.

First a little introduction about myself:

I'm a 20 year old college student that lives life behind a computer screen the majority of the time. I do go out and do social things, but mainly once every couple of months. I attend huge gatherings called Anime Conventions. I am a gamer as well as a woman in love with the Japanese Anime that I drown myself in every day. I choose to associate myself with the same kind of people so that I don't get judged as often as I normally do and in doing this I have shut out the majority of the world to live in my own filled with people that share the same interests as I.

Moving on...

I treated my Friday night almost like a pre-game to the whole project. I woke up early and spent my entire day listening to my iPod, playing my Playstation 3, playing World of Warcraft and surfing my facebook and deviantart accounts obsessively. I also spent the entire day telling all of my friends (through text message) that I would be pretty much dead to the world for the next 48 hours of my weekend.

I thought this whole project was a bad idea and would be the worst to keep up with since my entire life has now become so involved with media. Needless to say, I was a little wrong in my assumption.

I woke up Saturday morning and sighed to myself as I unplugged all of my consoles along with my Television. I had about 30 missed text messages and I checked them all to make sure they weren't important. At this time, I also turned off my mobile Twitter and Facebook so that the only texts I would get would be from friends.

I turned on my computer and forced myself to do nothing but check my email and then shut the system down. It was possibly the hardest thing that began my weekend. I've never realized this before, but my way of having fun had changed so much since I was a child. I remember going outside and running up and down the streets with friends and playing all sorts of crazy games.

But ever since I got my own personal computer it was almost like my world of physical fun came to an immediate end and it became all about the computer screen or the video game character running around on my television. Why did I let myself get like this? I have no idea to this day, but I'll try to understand a bit more later.

My breakfast Saturday morning was silent. I would normally plug my iPod in and my room mate and I would jam out and make our eggs and bacon with some toast, but instead we joked around and actually had a conversation about the project.

As the day went on I began wishing that I'd slept in later because waking up so early only ensured that my whole day would just drag on forever.

Around noon, I grabbed my dog Julius and gave him a nice groom. He's a Yellow Lab and since it's the beginning of the summer season he is beginning to shed a ton of hair all over the place. I brushed him out for almost a complete hour and then proceeded to give him a bath.

After the bath time, I did a little one on one training with Julius before retreating upstairs. Bored out of our minds, my room mate and I talked for a bit about what we did as kids before we both fell asleep out of sheer boredom.

Once I was up and walking around from my nap, I decided I couldn't take it anymore; if I couldn't text or call anyone since it wasn't important, then I wanted to take matters into my own hands.

I logged onto the facebook and posted a status update saying that I would be at my favorite Hookah lounge at 10:30 PM and anyone that wants to hang out is invited. With that posted, I logged off of facebook, trusting that my friends would show up.

Later on in the day, my room mate and I got dressed up and went to the lounge and, sure enough, some of my best friends showed up to have a good time! :D

We talked, laughed, joked, danced and just had a freakin' awesome time during our entire stay. Around 2:30 AM we all decided it was time to book it. We exchanged hugs and got in our cars.

My room mate mentioned being hungry so we decided on Denny's since we had no reason to really go home. Normally we would rush home and jump on World of Warcraft to run raids and instances with our guild, but since the project was going on we really didn't have a reason to go home just yet.

Driving down the highway, my friend Jay was driving next to us since he was at the lounge with us too. I rolled down the window and our shouting conversation went just like this,

"WE'RE GOING TO DENNY'S!"

"I'M GOING!"

So we all met up at Denny's and had our late meals while talking about conspiracy theories.

I looked at my phone and realized it was about 3:50 AM and we decided to get back home as soon as possible.

I came home and crashed in my bed and slept the night away until about 3:48 PM.

I do have to admit that it was really hard to start the day off without my usual media consumption, but choosing to actually leave the house and hang out with friends was almost freeing in a weird sort of way. I felt like the whole project would just shut me out from the world and, for a while, I almost let it do that.

Breaking and logging onto facebook to make that announcement about hanging out was the best rule break I ever decided to make and all of us thought it would be nice to do it more this summer since our semesters are coming to an end.

I still want to figure out exactly when I went from being so physically active to just coming home and being sedentary all the time. I'll have to look more into it, but I think this blog is getting long enough already! xD

Frappes can delicious just as you dreamed. ( saturday post)

I spent the morning part of the day in th forest taking pictures with my cameras. That part was simple. Normally when i go to the woods to shot pictures I turn off my phone however after leaving the woods and moving into my new apartment i found that it was more difficult get things done. I was incredibly bored.  The day progressed and i ended up drinking 4 frappes from McDonalds just so i could get out. Then i rolled on my floor in my apartment. Ultimately this project has left me feeling dull and mindless.  I probably would not feel so uncomfortable if media wasn't surrounding me. If I were stranded on an island then at least i would know that I was on an island but driving around and having all the temptations in my immediate vicinity constantly taunting me is frustrating.  My roomate nick was playing zelda on N64 all night. and i heard the noises from my room. nostalgia to the max and that urge to just go watch him play through the gordons area was extremely powerful. I ended up counting my change which i keep in monty pyton coconuts (pic related) and I have 22.02$. I was so bored I wanted more change to count. One surprising thing i noticed is that my room is trashed. You would think i would clean it up with all my spare time. 

catch you cool cats later can ya digg it?

Day 1

My response to day 1 of being media free: not as bad as I anticipated. My morning routine was uncustomary due to the fact that my sister-in-law and I were doing the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. The entire drive downtown we sat in silence because radio is banned (and we were still half asleep). The race was a great opportunity to be not only in a social setting, but to be part of something that is changing lives. Talking to survivors as well as to families who have lost loved ones, I realized how fragile life is.

I am so caught up in staying current and connected to the digital world, that I often times forget how important spending quality time with my family is. Today I have had the revelation of how much extra time i truly have, and what areas I could devote it.

I had hoped my husband and kids would come on board with going media free, but it seems their addicitions are stronger than mine. I experienced cartoon and video game depravation meltdowns. Those were just from my husband... My children itching to watch their favorite movies and play Wii. Needless to say, I needed a game plan to get us to disconnect and reconnect with one another.

By the time we were settling down for the night, things were falling into place. My husband and I got the kids into bed early and read them each bedtime stories. We had extra time to iron clothes for church the next day and discuss our summer plans. Though he wouldn't admit it, I think my husband was beginning to realize the benefits of this assignment.

We had enjoyed each family members' company that day and created valuable memories. I am searching for ways to implement the lessons I'm learning into our daily lives. Perhaps we will create a "Disconnect Day" for our family to go back to the basics and enjoy the simple things in life; as it should be.

Saturday, May 01, 2010 - Day 1

When I woke up (at about 8-ish), I woke up to music, but sadly it was just the alarm in the hotel of a music station I did not know. Unfortunately I was unable to change the station to something I might like since it was just a need to wake me up and music is on the no-no list. Music… are you serious? Of all things, why take my most cherished pleasure away?

We went to the restaurant in the hotel for breakfast and again, there was music and the TV was on. I tried to enjoy this loop hole but again, I had to listen to what they had on and not something I would like to have heard or watched. I guess it is always like that when you go into a restaurant or bar, but I never noticed it until now. It can be quite annoying to hear something that you wish you could change but cannot. My friend texted me and I replied back letting her know about my project. She insisted that she could text me and all I had to do was not text her back. I’m not sure if that was a loop hole but I let it happen anyway.

I think the worst part about this project is that YOU KNOW you can’t do the things you normally do, and it’s so hard to ignore this idea and think of something else to entertain yourself with.

When we got back to the room to start packing our things, one of the people I was traveling with turned on the TV. They did know that I was not allowed this pleasure today… but it seemed they had forgotten but I did not say anything to instruct them not to. Half way through the show, as I tried not to watch, glancing in my peripheral vision once and a while, they realized my discomfort and asked if they needed to turn it off. I waved it off, and said it was ok secretly saying in my head “please keep it on!” It has only been 4 hours into this project and I’m already feeling the itch to put in my head phones for the sweet sounds of my favorite band, jump on my laptop to check my social networks or play a game on my PSP. I’m already starting to see the cruelty in this project and how much I need these fruitless things in my life.

On the way home from Houston, the radio was off, and we sat in silence as I drove. We started to talk and then that shortly gave in. Finally 21 questions was brought into the sad drive home and then a game of celebrity movie match ups (which is a game of matching a movie with a celebrity and then getting someone else out of that movie and connecting them with another movie and so on). The drive turned out to be fun after all and I learned a great deal about my knowledge of celebrities and the movies they play in.

Finally I got home to an empty house, and of course the first thing I think about is turning on the TV. I stopped myself luckily and I used that precious TV time to unpack my things. I think silence does not go well with me. I found myself getting lost in nothing and wondering why I’m sitting around feeling useless. I knew I would have some time on my hands from not being able to do my usual but not this much! I know I could use it to clean or do something other than what I want to do but I really, REALLY want to do something I can’t do.

My boyfriend came home finally before the remote got the best of me and he already knew of my project and told me he would try to stick with me through it. That did not last long when some friends came by to have some drinks and play some beer pong. I took this as a party so I allowed myself the pleasure of enjoying some music (but it was my boyfriend’s music which is about the same as going to a restaurant…no chance of changing it). This is harder than I thought. Drinking seems to be good way out of this cruel academic project. If I drink enough, maybe I will have a hangover the next day and just sleep. Never would wish that upon myself until now. I must be quite desperate. These 48 hours are really dragging. :(

Day 1

Going into the Media Deprivation project, I figured, “Ah, this is going to be easy. All I’ll need to do is read a couple of books or magazines. It’ll be okay.” I was very wrong.

Usually when I have to work Saturdays, it is pretty slow in the office, so I usually watch a couple of shows like “Cops” and “Family Guy” on the computer to pass the time by, otherwise, time just seems to lag on and on.

Since I had to do this project, I wasn’t able to watch those shows I depended on to pass the time, so I just pretty much sat there, and tried to keep myself busy. I did things like stare at the carpet for a certain amount of time, and then I decided to bounce a little basketball-looking stress ball around. After doing that and other various things, finally, it was time to leave. Thank god! So for the rest of the day, I tried to keep my distance from anything electronic—TV, music, and movies. I told myself, “No matter what, I can’t mess up.” Since I was pretty much bored for the day, I decided to go to sleep. I woke up at about 6:30 PM, and after that, it all went downhill.

My family, who are avid TV watchers, had the television on downstairs, so instead of ignoring it and sticking with the Media Deprivation, I slipped up and started watching TV with them. I was so disappointed with myself. I was doing so well! I kept wondering, “Could I possibly forget about what just happened and start again, or am I screwed?” I guess I’ll just have to see if I could do it on Sunday. This time I really had to try to keep it together and try not to slip up.

Day 1

i would have to say that waking up yesterday was the hardest part. I had to try to start that night that i was out with friends and that was the worst. I had to drive most of the time and driving without music is no fun and its really hard to try to get three of your friends to sit there and not listen to music as well. Getting home was also boring. When i had gotten back i sat in my room and thought what i should do since i couldn't turn on my TV or computer, which i always do when i go home. i came to the conclusion that i was just going to sleep in silence. now waking up was the hardest because when i did around 10 i layed there and pondered what i should do without my see electronics. after laying for a go 30 minutes or so i decided to just go back to sleep which made it so hard to wake up. the only time i broke on sat was to set an alarm so that i would wake up at some point and i looked at a text but did not respond. that's where i went to the pool and just hung out in the sun. after cooking myself for three hours me and my friend who wanted to see if i could do this came up with the great idea to just go to his ranch which i did. what better place to be when you cant use and electronics then a place that doesn't have them. and the last brake i did was music. i couldn't hold all my friends from playing music they would have hung me by my toes. all in all going without these things isn't that difficult to do if you can escape them but I'm interested to see on Sunday is going to go I'm already bored.