day 1

my day on Saturday started breaking the rules because im used to plug my phone to the stereo and listen music in Pandora, so i was on my way to work and i decided that it was going to start with this project when i get to work to make it easier for me.

then i got to work and i needed to use the computer to help customers and it was so hard to not use my phone, because i always use my phone to text my friends, be on Facebook, or just play a game on the phone when is slow at work. so i took my phone few times and then realized what i was doing.

then i got out of work and i went home and take a nap because i just slept 4 hours that night, i dont watch to much TV so that was no problem and i didn't use my computer, but i kept forgeting about not using my phone, because using my phone is like a natural reaction for me, is part of me already.

so i started realizing that im already a slave of my phone and that trying to not use my phone was hard, makes me be unbalanced.

then i broke another rule because my friends and i got together to watch a soccer game from mexico, and watching the game made me forget about my phone, because i was to stressed watching the game.

i think that the toughest mass media to not use was my phone, because i use it for everything from texting or calling friends to just play a game when im bored. and it was hard trying to adapt to my daily routine with no computer, or any other type of mass media.

Sunday, Day One

Today was Mother’s day and was probably one of the easier days to choose for restraint from any source of outside media. Nevertheless, it was still quite difficult for me to not watch TV, check on sports through, and check my social media and much more. My entire family revolves around sports and staying up to date on the latest updates for sports in our news. Therefore, staying out of the living room while they were watching the morning news sports as well as games, etc. was very difficult. I am a big golf and basketball avid, and with both sports being played this weekend it made it extremely difficult for me not to watch them. I have to admit I did sit at home and watch both on TV, but I was not on my cell phone like I usually am. I only used it for texting my parents. After I was done watching TV I went to my girlfriend’s house, and on the way over there I turned the radio off. I have to admit that was the most boring car ride I have ever taken. Listening to the engine can get kind of repetitive. However, the bright side to doing so can give you some time for deeper thinking and can help you remember things that may have been pushed to the back of your mind during the earlier days chaos. Once I arrived at my girlfriends house her parents were watching TV, I did ignore the TV and picked up a magazine to go read in the backyard. After spending some time outside not being able to watch TV with them inside, we went to go get something to eat We rode in the car together so this time listening to the stereo was not difficult to restrain from. Car rides are always joyous when there is more than one person in the car and conversation can happen. It was a great car ride with wonderful conversation and no stereo. I refrained from looking at my phone as well throughout the car ride and throughout the remainder of the day. It was very difficult to not look up the stats of the golf tournament or basketball games but in order to feel the way we used to without all sorts of media technology at our finger tips I was willing to step outside of my comfort zone and give it a shot. With all of this said, I never realized how much today’s society relies on all of the mass media until you do a project like this one. Going from having the ability to use your cell phone, watch TV, playing on the computer etc, to not being able to use anything the next day may be a little overwhelming for some, just like it was for me. I feel like I would not be able to adapt to not being able to use everything I am use to using everyday. I have learned that we rely greatly on technology and what it stands for. From news update, to the latest sports scores and staying in contact with our closets friends and family we depend greatly on these forms of media that keep us up to date, all of the time.

Day one

I thought i was going to have a really hard time with this project, because I just got a new cell phone and a kindle on friday, but i was actually so busy filming this entire weekend that i havent had much time to enjoy either of them. I worked from 7-3p on saturday morning and i tried my best not to listen to music while taking up cars (I'm a valet driver) but to no avail. Music is just something i really can't go without. I was able to refrain from staying on my new phone all day by leaving it in the office but my kindle was another story. I had just downloaded Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and I could not put it down. Right after work I had to rush home, grab all my equipment and go straight to the house I am filming a music video for local band Sohns at. We were on set from 4p-12a! This is the first time I've worked with child actors and man is it rough. After leaving the set I came straight home, showered, and went to bed. I was way to tired to read, watch tv, or get on the computer.

Sorry for the late post, I just got home to my computer.

Day 1 Sat.

Saturday started out like any other, except I slept in and woke up late for work. I had to open the store, so any sort of media wasn’t even an option. Whilst speeding to make it on time, I didn’t even turn on the radio. You would think with no radio I would have time for some introspection, but that wasn’t the case. I had the tunnel vision. Being at AutoZone is not a great place to escape mass media. The radio is constantly on. I am answering telephones left and right, and I am receiving text messages from my boss and my boss’s boss. I was supposed to get off work at noon, but one of my fellow co-workers decided his food poisoning was more important than work. While working a double shift it got hauntingly slow. No customers for hours. All this free time gave me the ability to just think. I was wondering what it was going to be like that night. Not being able to use any sort of mass media medium. These mediums include my cellular, my television, my radio, my computer with the internet access, and many more. After my shift ended I was driving around in my car and it really hit home when I was listening to the sound of wind for twenty minutes. I needed something to occupy my time. I decided to go to O.P. Schnabel and ride my bike to burn off all this excess energy. It was odd riding without my iPod, but peaceful at the same time. I took it all in, the sounds of the wind rustling the branches and my tires on the rocky terrain and the scenery was just idyllic. Without the distractions of the outside world I could really appreciate what I had in front of me.

Saturday morning i slept till 10:30. After my morning routine i walked down the hall to the Kitchen/Dining Room to eat breakfast. I was surprised to see that the tv wasn't when i looked into the den but i didn't say anything because knowing my luck as soon as i opened my mouth somebody would have grabbed the remote. After breakfast the family made the thirty second (approximately) drive to the little polish catholic church down the street, the radio was on but i let it slide because it was a good song. When we arrived at the church we began setting up the visitor center to welcome the two car clubs that would be stopping in Panna Maria that day. When they arrived we all took pictures of the classic muscle cars and custom hot rods. This lasted until about 2 in the afternoon. After we closed down the visitor center we went back to the house where me, my Dad and my Grandpa went to work on the tree house that we were refurbishing for my little cousins. After about an hour my grandpa turned on the radio in his truck. I didn't want to put a damper on anything so again i just let it slide. We finally finished the tree house about five in the afternoon. Me and my dad decided we should go shoot trap until dinner was ready so we grabbed the clay target thrower and headed down to the field by the river and shot until about seven thirty. When we got back to the house my grandma had george strait playing and i just thought to myself "what the heck" turned it up a little. about ten minutes later we ate dinner, so it was about 8:30 at this time. I went ahead and turned on the tv to see if there were any basketball games on. After finishing the basketball game my immediate family loaded up the car and headed back home listening to the radio. I still avoided using my cell phone and the computer though.

P.S. sorry its late, we took momma out for dinner and just got home.

Day 1

I never realized how much of my daily life was really revolved around mass media. When given this assignment, I thought of how easy it was going to be since I wasn’t much of a TV person and how my little boy is just such a big distraction. I was definitely wrong especially since my little boy went to his grandmother’s house and I had plenty of time for myself. Since it was Saturday, I didn’t need an alarm or anything to wake me up. I started to get ready and took a shower just like I always do every morning. Then I proceeded to get my little one ready for his visit to grandma’s house. Everything seemed fine, until I was driving home. I usually call my friends on my way back from dropping him off since it’s the few minutes that I have by myself. I also turn on the radio, which I could not do. As soon as I got home, I told myself I was going to work on homework all day long. I sat down in the living room and turned on my computer to begin working. As I was reading my assignment, I realized I wanted some noise so I turned on the TV for some background noise. I didn’t even think about it! I had mentioned this project to my brother and when he walked into the living room, he asked me why the TV was on. It was so funny because it didn’t even click right away. A couple of hours passed and of course while doing my homework, I caught myself clicking on ‘new tab’ on my browser to open up Facebook. I had given up Facebook before and it hadn’t been hard at all but for some reason the fact that I couldn’t get on, made it more tempting. I still refrained. As far as texting goes, I left my phone in my room just so I wouldn’t get on it. I even deleted my Facebook application just so I wouldn’t randomly click it, like I always do even when I just closed the application. Thankfully, it was finally time to pick up my little boy around four, so I left without radio and without phone. It was the most boring ride of my life. When I brought him home, he fell asleep so I, of course, took a nap with him. The rest of the day, I spent outside with him and my parents, and just enjoyed the evening. It’s very rare that I go outside but since TV wasn’t allowed, I figured I might as well. It really was one of the best evenings spent with him, because he was having so much fun. I realized that being outside was way better than being inside even though he had tons of toys. He much rather spend time out on the jungle gym than playing with any of his things inside. Nighttime, was a little harder though. It’s usually my unwinding time where I watch TV after he falls asleep to go to bed. So instead of watching TV, I finished up some homework and went to bed early. I know I definitely had some slip ups. I honestly thought I would slip up with texting but I actually turned on the TV more. The radio while driving was definitely very hard just because the distance I drive to and from his other grandmother’s house is so long. I am more aware now of how much I use mass media.

Saturday, Day 2

Saturday morning my alarm was my dog jumping into my bed. Since she learned how to jump higher than a foot she’s always on the furniture now. All the jumping finally made me get up so I walked over to the kitchen and made myself some breakfast. My dad had the newspaper lying on the table so I decided to read and this was probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve picked up a newspaper to read. Now I may be over exaggerating but it’s defiantly a low count on how many times I read anything like a newspaper for “fun”. Reading through all the sections I learned a thing or two about what is actually going on. After I finished I went to go get ready for the day and passing through the living room and seeing my dad watch TV was probably the highlight of my morning even though it was sports center. Once I got done getting ready my dad and I went on a hike with my God Mother to have some lunch and so I probably spent the rest of the day with them until I had to go into work later that night. Work defiantly kept me busy and unconcerned about my deprivation considering we’re not aloud to use our phones. Luckily though I got out of work early and so driving home yet again with no music was irritating. Though I made it home without cheating and giving into the temptation of just pressing that button to turn on the Radio. Once I got home and changed out of my work clothes my Saturday night was pretty dull. I did the laundry, picked up around the house, and read over something’s for school. After all that I just picked up one my books on the shelves something my dad had by Dean Koontz. Having read a good chunk I slowly started to fall asleep feeling good about my dedication. All in all being surrounded my people all weekend with the busy events already planned helped me and really had me not notice other than when I was driving alone in the car.

Day 2 - Saturday

Once again I wake up pretty late, around 1pm! I stayed out last night with my friends and I did end up watching some television because we wen't to Wingstop. It felt pretty good to be updated with all the basketball games that were going on. I felt like I was dying. I haven't used my computer at all, it's becoming less and less important now that cellphones are so productive. Not checking your phone every 10 minutes feels so calm and peaceful. I did forget to check Blackboard for one of my classes and I missed a deadline for a project. But I guess that was mostly my fault for forgetting.

I have been receiving all my news through word of mouth this weekend. Nothing major has happened, at least not with me.
I will admit that I have checked my phone's text messages twice to look for anything important. Today is mother's day so I did call some relatives and talked to them briefly. There are some family members I must keep in touch with so I had no choice. I realized the best way to keep myself entertained was just to hang out with friends. Time goes by so much faster when you're with them. I can't wait for this to be over so I can get back to my normal technology filled lifestyle.

Day 1: A Day of Discovery

(First off, I wanna get something off my chest: I'm currently wearing headphones and listening to music while typing up this post, mainly so I'm not distracted by my 5-year-old niece who's playing the Wii right in front of me in the living room. Yes, I'm cheating but you know what? I'm okay with that because I didn't listen to any music whatsoever yesterday. Heck, I wasn't even tempted, which was something of a discovery for me. Anyway, onto the blog...)

After a late night with friends (and sleeping in till after noon at a buddy's house) I got home around 1:30PM and went straight to my room. I didn't listen to the radio at all on the way home, so it was a nice, quiet drive, which can be good for the mind every once and awhile. But I conveniently forgot to turn off my mobile notifications for Twitter and ESPN fantasy sports, so I was still getting updates on my iPhone, which was totally breaking the rules, I know. After sending a few tweets (Hey, it was just a few!), I turned off my Twitter notifications but I still forgot to turn off my ESPN fantasy ones, which turned out to be a good thing (more on that later).

I spent the next five hours or so cooped up in my room reading my online students' discussion posts, which centered on Mark Bauerlein's "The Dumbest Generation" book, the same discussion that I conducted with my face-to-face students earlier in the week. As you would imagine, the discussion was heated but in a good, productive way. If anything, Mr. Bauerlein's book, however flawed and misguided it may be, really gets the discussion juices flowing with my Mass Comm students. During that whole time I didn't listen to any music on my laptop, nor did I check my Twitter or Facebook. I did take recreational breaks by reading magazines that I had bought the previous day at the bookstore. In fact, I loaded up on some novels, too, as I plan to do some more leisure reading since that's something I just don't do as much anymore. I will admit, though, that I didn't turn off my notifications for "Words With Friends," so the eight games I had going were also providing me with the occasional "digital diversion" as Mr. Bauerlein would say. What can I say? I'm as weak as any other "digital native" or "digital immigrant" out there.

Getting back to the reason why I was glad I didn't turn off my ESPN fantasy sports notifications: I would've never known that Detroit Tigers pitching ace Justin Verlander was throwing a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays! I had to watch such a historic feat since perfect games are so rare. Perfect games are when the pitcher not only doesn't allow a hit but also doesn't walk or hit a batter, thus retiring 27 straight hitters in a row. So I tuned in to the MLB Network for live coverage and saw Verlander lose his perfect game by walking a batter BUT he still was able to throw a no-hitter, his second (!) of his major league career. What's sort of ironic here is that last year his teammate Armando Galarraga had his perfect game taken away from him by a bad call by the 1st base umpire in the 9th inning. Even the umpire, distraught and fighting back tears, said he blew the call to reporters after the game. Anyway, I would've been kicking myself if I hadn't been able to watch the no-hitter unfold. Besides, I didn't see any of the NBA playoff games that day, so at least I deprived myself of that particular "digital diversion."

As for the nightcap, I decided to have the Pacquiao/Mosley fight at my house and I invited my family and friends. To help subsidize the cost to buy the PPV fight, everyone pitched in some money. I mean, PPVs these days set you back $65! I remember when they were around $45-50, which is still a lot but $65?! Yikes! So there were about 20 people here at my house for the fight, which was pretty good despite there not being as much fireworks as everyone would've liked. Mosley had never been knocked out before (and that stat still holds, by the way), so people shouldn't be too surprised that there weren't a lot of knockdowns. Pacquiao won in an unanimous decision over Mosley who seemed to fight to not get knocked out and was on the defensive the whole fight. After the fight I went over to a friend's house just down the road for a going-away party and ended the night there before returning home and going to bed.

In sum, the thing that struck me the most about my experiences Saturday was that I didn't give in to listening to any music whatsoever. I didn't even forget to turn off my radio whenever I was in the car, which also surprised me since that's usually the first thing that pops up when you start your car. Not me; as soon as I started my car I immediately made sure the radio didn't come on. And when I was on my laptop reading and commenting on my online students' posts not once did I listen to my iTunes or Last.fm libraries, which was very surprising, believe me. That's the "discovery" I made of myself on Saturday: That I wasn't as tempted to listen to music while grading and reading, which is something I do all the time and trust me, it's usually the most difficult type of mass media for me to go without for an extended period of time; well, that and my social media addictions such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, et al.

Saturday, Day 2

I woke up at 7:15AM to my annoying alarm on my iPhone. As I lean over to check to see if my friends are still asleep, I’m surprised that they are already out of bed and ready to eat breakfast. I rush out of bed, change, and unwillingly leave my iPhone buried deep in my suitcase.

Mmmmm! Biscuits and gravy! Scrambled eggs with toast! I can’t remember the last time I actually sat down at a table and had breakfast, especially without my iPhone or the T.V. to steal my attention away while I ate. I realized that a well rounded conversation with other people that brings laughter, deep thought, or positive feedback is a requirement of life. The instant reaction of what you say, as opposed to when someone replies back to a comment you left on the internet, has a much more profound impact on the way that you think and they way you will answer back.

After breakfast we stroll along a beaten path through the mountainside, this path eventually led us to a rock climbing station. As I put on my red safety helmet and blue harness, I think to myself that it would be great to “Google” this event as I have never done it in my life. The thought of trial and error never crossed my mind, as I am used to finding answers or techniques over the internet. Oh well, guess I’ll have to rely on my awesome physical abilities. As the guide secures me on a line, I am beginning to get nervous. I reach for the first crack on the rock wall and start to pull myself up, placing my feet in holes to support my weight. I start to look like Spiderman hanging on for dear life only a mere 3 feet off the ground. It is surprising how well I am doing for the first ten feet. Then I reach a point where the wall starts to get slippery, there are no sturdy spots where I can get a firm grip. My legs are shaking uncontrollably, sweat is getting into my eyes, and now I’m beginning to think that I never really had any awesome physical abilities. I look down and that seals the deal. My heart instantly starts pounding out of my chest and now my hands are starting to get sweaty. I look at my guide and with a great big smile, give him a get me off of this rock look.

We take another stroll through the mountainside and now I’m thinking how great it is to be here. It’s a big change of scenery of my everyday life. I’m not on my iPhone, playing games, or watching television. I quickly realize that being out in the wilderness with no form of mass media doesn’t bother me at all. It’s funny how quickly I have adapted to my surroundings. Maybe it is this easy because I am constantly busy.

We eventually stumble upon a zip line station. I am actually happy to see this station because I’ve done it before. Finally we reach the end of the line and are secured to the zip line. Hearing the sound of the zip line trolley screeching along the wire line brings music to my ears. I feel like I’m gliding across a long valley with no worries in the world. With my arms and legs spread out like a starfish and my head hanging back, I look into the blue sky and enjoy the silence of life for about 30 seconds.

Another hike through the mountainside brings us to a much more exciting event. Skeet Shooting! I look into the distance and see an orange disk spinning in the air. Then immediately after it’s released, the orange disk bursts into pieces. I wait for my turn and while I wait under the hot sun I chug down three bottles of water. I am tired and I have no clue on what to do with my time while I wait to shoot a shotgun. I catch myself reaching into my pocket for my phone. I have forgotten that I buried it deep into my suitcase. But this hot sun is now making me want to go to my air conditioned cottage and play a game on my iPhone. Finally it’s my turn and we each get six shots. I don’t’ even see the first disk fly up in the air. I point and shoot. BANG! My right shoulder is forced back and my eyes are wide open. I’m eagerly searching for the disk. Then I see it floating away in the distance. My guide tells me that I missed high. Shots 2 through 5 are the same. The image of an orange disk slowly floating away from me is seared in my brain. Last shot! PULL! This time I see the disk release. I quickly follow the disk in my sights. BANG! I hear a cheer from behind me and as I open my eyes I see a small piece of the disk change directions and the bigger remaining piece of the orange disk topple over towards the ground. Yes! I finally hit one. One out of six is not bad.

By the time we get back to the camp it’s starting to get dark. They have a coffee shop and my girlfriend’s brother and I decide to get a coffee. While I look over the menu I see that they also have smoothies. After a long day in the sun a smoothie will definitely hit the spot. While we wait for our drinks I spot a Chess board and invite my friend to a game. I quickly beat him in about 5 minutes, our second game another victory in 10 minutes. He says, “One more game.” This time I’m nervous because my luck is bound to run out. I guess I had one more in me because it only took me about another 15 minutes to defeat my opponent. Let the smack talking begin. Then I think wait, I’m in the middle of the wilderness with the closest sign of civilization was that Garven Store 23 miles away.

I had a very eventful day without any sort of mass communication to wastefully occupy my time. Even though I have survived almost 24 hours, I still couldn’t wait till the next day when we would be packing to go home.

I take out my iPhone and put it in my pocket, but turned off. We begin the drive home and make another pit stop at the Garven Store. This time we get ½ pound brisket sandwiches on a sesame seed bun with homemade BBQ sauce. It was so good that I didn’t say a word until I was finished.

I am looking out of the passenger side window watching trees pass by; I spot a radio tower and tell the driver to turn on the radio. Then I see a cell phone tower. I pull out my iPhone. Turn it on to check all of my missed texts, emails, and catch up on my Valor game. For the next couple of hours I’m glued to my phone and distance myself away from reality. It is funny how quickly I adapt to my surroundings and fall back to my everyday habits.

Day 1: Saturday May 7th

I slept in today and did not want to get up knowing what the day had in store. With no T.V. or music to start my day, I started cleaning my apartment. I came across things I had not seen in a long time.I spent about three hours cleaning. It was rewarding to see everything organized. The only sounds I could hear were my air conditioner turning on and off every now and then. It's funny how when you're alone you do not talk for a long time. I am so used to always being with others and hearing music play. Eventually, I opened one of my windows so I could have some background noise. The ambient noises were a relief from the dull silence. Since I had no form of media to entertain me, I decided to create my own. I pulled out my camera and started taking pictures. My cat (Badger) kept me entertained for a while. When he got bored with me I went to go sit out on my balcony. The weather and light was great so I decided to take more pictures of some really loud birds in a tree nearby. Knowing I would not be able to text or call anyone, I had planned accordingly the day prior to have friends come over on Saturday and on Sunday. There was no "I'm on my way" or "I'm here" text. It was torture not knowing when my guests would arrive. Finally, I heard a knock at my door. It was such a relief to hear another voice and actually be able to communicate with someone. My friends and I went for a swim and lounged by the pool. Afterwards we drove in the silent cabin of my car listening to the "hum" of the engine on our way to get some lunch/dinner (linner?). I was so jealous watching my friends faces glow in the dim lit restaurant from the light of their cell phones. The first day was not as hard as I expected. I was extremely productive today. Hopefully I can keep myself as busy the next 24 hours.

Definitely going to the movies tomorrow.

Day Two, Saturday

Saturday wasn't as bad as Friday. Since my mom didn't have to go to work we went shopping and I bought her lunch as an early Mother's Day gift. I did listen to music but that's because my mom didn't want to turn her car radio off. "My car, my rules, my radio," she told me as we left the house. She really got a kick out of me asking her to either change the channel or to turn the radio off. I'm not much of a Bobby Darin fan. It felt so good to finally leave the house and go somewhere other than school or work. By the time we got home I had to get ready for work, so I didn't really have a chance to be tempted by mass media. We weren't too busy at work becuase apparently there was a fight that night and most people were watching the fight instead of going to the movies. Since we didn't have the average Saturday night crowd I was able to enjoy the music playing in the lobby and kitchen, it was much better than the kind of hectic Friday night. All day Friday and Saturday my parents kept the TV off, but when I got home early from work, which was around 11pm they just left the TV on and seemed glad that this was almost over. As excited as I was to see the TV on I wasn't much a big fan of what we were watching and I couldn't change the channel.

It felt so good to get up this Sunday morning turn the TV on and flip nonstop throught the channels for about 5mins. I have noticed that I may depend a little too much on mass media, but I also know that I can do without mass media. It was kind of a relief not having to reply to every text message or to answer the phone whenever it rang. I also felt accomplished having finished my homework before the weekend was over. I'm not sure if I would willing do this again, but I feel proud to say that I can live without mass media.

Day 2

Saturday was a great day, I stayed clear of the mass media. Slept in Saturday morning then worked on some take home finals. After all that, my family and I went downtown for dinner to celebrate my mom and brothers birthday. The restaurant we went to didn't have a lot of T.V's so it was easy to sit away from them. The only music that was playing was that of the mariachi's. Instead of being on my phone while waiting for our table, I kept my phone on silent and in my moms purse. Friends of mine knew about this project so they didn't contact me through text, for once it was phone calls. Downtown was nice because I was able to enjoy the company of those around me and talk with my brother and his girlfriend, they are super funny together. Honestly, I don't really have a problem being without my phone. I would say watching movies in my room has been the hardest for me because I always have a movie playing in the background. So the past two days has been pretty silent in my room, however I do hear my brother and my cousin playing Xbox and that's entertaining!
This project was not as bad as it was played out to be. Yes, this allows more face to face time, and I'm not as cellphone or computer absorbed as I usually was. Taking a break from mass media I think, is good. It's like a breath of fresh air.