Ok so I know we had to post by 5 p.m. and I am way late but I was stuck at work all day so please bear with me. Where do I begin... Well during this experience so far it hasn't been too hard to follow. If it weren't for me working all weekend then I would think otherwise. Friday morning when I woke up it was around 10 o'clock am and I was getting ready for work. I don't watch tv in the morning or anything so staying away from media was easy. Another reason is because my car has no radio and has been like that for about a month now. Driving in silence is something I still haven't gotten used to but I guess for this project it came as an advantage because I wasn't tempted to turn on the radio. Another funny thing was when I got to work the sign I saw in the box office. By the way I work at the Alamo Drafthouse movie theatre in case you were wondering.

This sign is new but isn't it ironic how they put this up and I have to stay away from media anyway?! (ok so I used my phone once just to take this pic because I wanted to post it in this blog... anyway...) Usually I would be on my cell phone playing Angry Birds or something but knowing the consequences, I'm glad it happened this way.

So, I mentioned above how I work at the coolest theatre in town well, honestly I am not a big movie person, so staying away from watching the new releases like Thor, Fast Five, and Something Borrowed, is no bigee. Pfff... like I want to see them anyway. (sarcasm)

I didn't get home till about 9 p.m. that night and all that was on my mind was beer and food. I live with my Fiance so he's the only one I really need to be in contact with anyway.

(chuckling) I feel like I am cheating on this project because things happened to work out so well.

Just Kidding, Okay so not everything was so easy.

I did catch myself slip a few times actually. When I got home from work the TV was already on and I picked up the remote and changed the channel to something that caught my attention. You may laugh but it was Michael Jackson's This is It. It wasn't until a few minutes into it that I realized my time wasn't up yet. I then said out loud, "Oops... I'm not supposed to use media!" I then explained to my fiance the project and you know what he did? He changed the channel to something he knew I hated.

I know there are loop holes but what good are they if it isn't something you enjoy.

(Laugh Out Loud)

Friday, Day 1

I am one of the lucky ones that have no choice but to leave society behind and spend my time exploring nature and hopefully make a few new friends. My experience occurred last weekend. I was invited by my girlfriend’s brother in-law to a three day retreat sponsored by his church. I’m not a very religious person, so I just thought to myself that it’s going to be like a camping trip, but instead of sleeping in tents there will be cottages with bunk beds that will accommodate twelve people. I guess I am also fortunate enough to have my girlfriend’s two older brothers come along. Now I’m not too worried about being deprived of any sort of mass communication, but more focused on what her two brothers are going to do to me in a very remote area of Texas.

As I start reading over the packing list. My eyes immediately focus on the capitalized bold letters that spell out:

WHAT NOT TO BRING:

• iPods, MP3 Players, etc.
• Computers, Laptops, etc.
• Game Boys or similar devices

What am I going to do for three days without any of this stuff? How will I pass the time? Then I said to myself, “Suck it up!”

It’s 11:38 AM on Friday, I’m done packing and I’m waiting for my girlfriend’s brother to pick me up. To pass the time I start to play the new Mortal Kombat game for XBOX 360, getting my butt kicked by the Sonya Blade character. Buy the game if you were into the first two Mortal Kombat games. Actually just buy the game. I hear a knock at the door and I reluctantly turn off the gaming console. I think to myself, I’m already failing at this Media Deprivation Project. I’ll start on the car ride to the retreat.

As we start the drive to Camp Eagle, I pull out my phone and check the time. It’s 1:52 PM on Friday. The total hours in the car would be about two and a half hours, give or take a couple of minutes for restroom breaks and food. Again I pull out my iPhone and scroll through my games. I click on a game called Valor that takes up a lot of your time if you’re really into it. Only because leveling up a building is time sensitive, let’s say I wanted to level up my City Hall to level 1, I would have to wait 2 hours to build up enough resources required to level up my City Hall, then I would have to wait another twenty minutes for the City Hall to be completely built. I am constantly playing that game. If I just let it sit and do nothing. My resources would be maxed out and my building won’t be leveling up. Again as I click all the right buttons to level up my city. I’m thinking to myself again, strike two!!! So to justify what I was doing I tell myself that I’ll put my phone away when I am out of cell phone reception. My phone switches from 3G to Edge, a sign that we are slowly entering an area that is mostly inhabited by wild animals. We have been off of Interstate 10 for about an hour or so and come up to the crossroads of highway 41 and highway 83. On the corner is the Garven Store that has been in business for over 70 years. They do not have Wi-Fi but their Jerky is the best I remember having. I bought almost a pound of Jerky of a few varieties, Venison, Buffalo, and Beef. I did not care too much for the Venison or Buffalo, but their Teriyaki Beef Jerky was really good. As we left the store I check my phone again and finally, “NO SERVICE.”

After a long 8 mile drive on an unpaved road with the visibility of maybe 25 feet due to the dust stirred up by the car in front of us, we reach Camp Eagle at around 5:30 PM. I grab my bags, pick the top bunk, change into my swimming trunks and head for the river. First activity we do is kayak down the river. Then we hiked up the river and explored a cave. During this time I was just enjoying the wilderness and being out there with my friends. On arriving at the camp we meet a guy with a portable XM radio searching for game six of the Spurs/Grizzlies Playoff series. Crap!!! Strike Three!!! As I listen to the final seconds of the game, I disappointingly retire to my cottage, take a shower, climb in my top bunk and set my alarm on my iPhone. I think to myself that tomorrow will be a better day for me and my Media Deprivation Project.

Saturday , Day 1

I woke up pretty late around 1pm, I'm glad I did because that was a good way to pass time! The first thing I usually do when I wake up is watch TV (ESPN). It felt kind of weird not being able to be instantly connected to the sports world. I was bored so I went to my brothers room and me him just began catching up on things since me and him don't talk very much throughout the week. He was playing the Xbox, but I told him if he would turn it off because of this project.

I decided to go to the mall and spend some time there with my friends. Of course, I was surrounded by mass media everywhere and it was very tempting to start using my electronics like an iPod or cellphone. Giving up my cell phone is not that bad because I've spent plenty of long periods without any cell phone use. I also told my friends beforehand that I would not be able to use my cell this weekend. I mostly like to hang out with my cousin so I told him to come over.

I haven't watched any television at all today, I feel somewhat lost. I'm not much a of a news junky though. Like I mentioned earlier, I love sports especially basketball. I plan to watch the playoff games later at a bar or restaurant, there is no way I can miss an important game. I began to wonder how did people live in the past, before television and radio. They were able to live peacefully, but now we live in a fast-paced society. Everyone is connected to each other through various forms of communications. I don't think I'd be able to survive like this for a long time. I'm so accustomed to my lifestyle.

Friday, Day 1

Friday wasn’t to bad I didn’t have school or work so not using my alarm on my phone didn’t feel that different. I got up, ate some breakfast, and then went to the library to study for finals and look over reviews. So not having my phone on me was quite helpful because I’m usually always checking my phone or talking to someone. After I went home, took my dog to the park and gave her a walk. All awhile when this was happening that’s when I started to really dislike not using my phone because I started to notice how hard it is. As well I’m slowly seeing myself doing random activities that I wouldn’t have done. Honestly when I got home from the library I probably would have just watched a movie or be texting my friends and figuring out what my plans are. Instead when I got home I just laid down trying to figure out what to do now cause at this point I was running out of ideas. Sitting next to me I saw tons of books that I honestly haven’t touched in years. I picked up one of them and realized I don’t remember the last time I actually read a book for fun. I used to read all the time one of my favorite authors is actually Jane Austen and luckily I still had some of her books lying around my house. I actually got half way done with the book and then I decided I was going a little crazy from not using my phone, TV, or anything else like listening to music. Fortunately I already had something planned before all this deprivation started. My best friend was having her Art Show downtown and so I got in my car again listening to no music, which was extremely difficult. Once I got there though it was nice to be surrounded by all the people, art, and the best part was they had live music playing so it was nice. I slowly felt so much more appreciative being around the lively atmosphere because with out my phone now I think of how dull my life is just because I depend on that for really any type of entertainment. So after her art show we all went out to eat downtown and seeing everyone use their phone at the table was funny because I would probably would have been on mine. Later I ended going home to one of my friends and when I go to sleep I always fall asleep with music on so not having anything playing had me feeling a little restless. Laying down thinking about my day some parts were frustrating with out a phone but it defiantly wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Day 1 Friday!

I’ve never been so sleepy in my life. I literally had about two hours of sleep because my friend needed me to take her to work at 6 in the morning! I guess it’s my fault though because I chose to stay up all night with her literally doing nothing exciting. On top of all that I didn't even have any gas so I went to the gas station and I realized I only had 5 dollars. Of course it gave me like a gallon something but still that’s basically nothing driving from North Star mall to brooks city base! As my day went by I ended up having to go to work a couple of hours later, I did go without some types of media though. I didn't read the news online because I never do. There are TVs at HEB but its not like I have time to go stand at the deli and watch it while I’m working. Not only that but its rare that I even get time to sit at home and watch TV because I’m always on the go. I think that HEB actually has music playing threw out the whole store but I don’t think anyone can actually hear it because its so loud in there for some reason. After work I decided to go home and try to sit around for a couple of minutes thinking of what I should do. I was so hungry so nothing was open around my house so i was option less so Whataburger it was. I’m not going to lie I think its nearly impossible to go without my cell phone. Even though I don’t respond to half the people that message me doesn’t mean I’m not checking it every couple of minutes. I refuse to answer the phone though so isn't that good?I ended up going to my friend’s house and he played video games for a good while. I don’t think that counts as cheating because I hate video games and I hate watching people play video games so I fell asleep because I was so bored! I woke up pretty upset because my friend literally let me sleep and didn’t wake me up! 4 AM and I had to drive home and once I got here I knocked out! I have tons of things to do this morning! So I was pretty mad that I didn’t wake up early like I planned to. I think its pretty simple to go without media in my life because all I need is my car and my credit card. Well I have to get ready to go buy my mom a dumb Louis V wallet for mother’s day. Talk about leaving me broke and I don't even has gas in my car! I think i'm going to have a dreadful time sitting in the car without the radio though. Im not looking forward to that.

Day 1

Friday wasn't too bad, at work I almost started rambling to guest about whatever I could come up with but overall it went well. I'm going to be honest, I still had to use my phone to wake up, my little hello kitty alarm clock won't do the trick. I need that clock and 5 other alarms on my phone! After waking up for work I had to stay clear of listening to music and putting a movie on for background noise. I was about to but quickly rememberd that silence was going to be keeping me company.  No music in the car on the way to work, which I've done before so it wasn't a big deal. However, once at work, it was a different story. I'm sure many of you have been to Buffalo Wild Wings, and know that it's walls are surrounded with flat T.V screens and music blasting out the juke box. So going into work, I just had to tune out the music, not look at the T.V's and keep busy. My manager asked my friend John and I to go pick a song to put into the juke box and as much as I wanted to suggest one of The Stroke's song, I had to walk away. As far as cellphone use went, I put it on silent so I wouldn't be tempted to text friends whenever I got the chance. I did use my phone to call my friends when we were deciding where to go for the night. Notice, call them not text them. The night time wasn't too bad, yeah we went to places where the had music and t.v's but I just focused on getting that face to face time with friends and having a good time.
So here I come day two, let's see how this goes!

Day 1 (friday)

Well, friday morning I tried to sleep as late as possible to avoid idle time and therefore avoid temptation. I got up and got dressed as usual because that part of my routine never really included any type of media. At ten that morning i got in my truck to go pick up my friend Sam to study for our math test. Driving over to her house without any music was near torture. As we drove over to northwest vista we made small talk which really helped me get through the drive. After studying i dropped her off back at her house and went home to grab my work uniform. On my way to work i usually jam out to psych myself up, but no music, just the drone of the exhaust note and the hum of the tires. About half way to work i finally just started singing to myself. When i got to work they didn't need me on the clock yet so it was either sit in the break room and stare at the wall or sit in my truck. So i dug around in my truck looking for something to read and all i found was a Amsoil synthetic motor oil pamphlet, awesome. After reading through the pamphlet and people watching my manager finally called me over to work. After a few hours of working they told me to take a break. So i hopped in my truck and drove across the street to bill millers got my food to go like always and went back across the street and sat in my truck to eat, with no music. After my half hour break i went back to work until 8 when we close. The drive back home was just as boring as the drive to work. When i got home i quickly ran inside to pack because our family was going to my grandparents house which is an hour away. The drive wasn't that bad because we all talked about "stuff". When we arrived at my grandparents house the news was on like always so i watched what was going on in the world for a little while. After that me and my sister decided to go spotlighting for a little while. When we got back to the house i put away the ranger and we went inside. My sister and I weren't really tired even though it was eleven thirty, and since i couldn't watch tv she obliged to play cards until we decided that we should call it a night. The lack of media throughout the day encouraged me to have more interaction with my friends and family when i was with them, but when i was by myself i wasn't to excited about not listening to music. Not using my phone all day was also a challenge because i kept it in my pocket to check the time and in case of emergency.

Day One-Friday

Not really sure if I'm doing this right, its my first time blogging. Oh well here it goes.

Friday is done and over with. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be considering the fact that since I don't have a car I couldn't leave the house until my dad picked me up to take me to work. As soon as I woke up I put all my handheld electronics in a plastic baggy and put them away. However I did look at my phone once or twice; I would press a few buttons just to light up the screen so I could see if I had any messages, there were a few but I'm waiting till Sunday to answer them all, if they are still relevant by then. I also found myself thinking, "when I'm done cleaning I can go watch some TV or listen to music. Oh, wait I can't," numerous times throughout the day. Another thing I noticed was that I was taking lots of little naps here and there when I wasn't sure what to do. But I did go outside and play with my two dogs for about an hour, I also caught up on some of my homework, and clean the house. I really thought that when I went to work things would get better, because I work at a movie theatre (Alamo Drafthouse). I thought to myself, "Hey, I'll be surrounded by movies and music, its not going to be such a blah day after all." I was wrong. Since Thor has recently come out it was super busy. The only music came from the lobby and I was stuck in the kitchen most of the night, or running in and out of our 6 screens. not cool at all. I found by the end of the day that I was agitated by the fact that I really couldn't listen to music to help relax from a busy day at work or watch a little bit of TV before I went to bed.

I'm hoping today will be better, both my parents are off and can take me out, wherever that may be.

P.S. its so tempting to open another tab and surf the web, or turn the TV on.