My Life... Unplugged

Unplugged

Sarah has started this fantastic project of the month over at Pink of Perfection. This month’s project? To unplug yourself. To endeavor into a 7 Day Media Detox…to “cut out some of the white noise that doesn't really serve to benefit us.” So what ‘white noise’ did I decide to forgo? What was my challenge to myself? I decided to relinquish the iPod for seven days. That may not sound like such a big deal… but as a city dweller and commuter… I was worried. Would I be able to deal with all the crap around me without my aural distraction?

Day one (Thursday)—
I walked out of my gate with a tenuous step. First day… first commute with no iPod. How would it go? As I followed a gaggle of ladies on a walking tour (apparently of the churches in my neighborhood) I listened to their excited chatter. I rounded the corner and heard the sounds of the city: birds, cars, kids yelling, horns, bike bells. I made my way through my neighborhood and down to the train…. where I fiddled for the 11 minutes it took for my train to come, and for the 35 minutes it took to get to my destination.

Day two (Friday)—
I had a shorter commute ahead of me, but I didn’t want a repeat of the previous day’s nervous fiddling. I grabbed a month old copy of Gourmet that had been taunting me from the coffee table. It kept me company on the platform.

Days 3 & 4 (Saturday & Sunday)--
I’m don’t generally listen to my iPod on the weekend so these two days were not all that difficult. Although I did miss my meditation.

Day 5 (Monday) —
Yay it’s Monday! Time to upload my new podcasts… oh crap. No This American Life? No Splendid Table? Aggghhhh. This made me cranky. I left to take my car to the shop with no iPod for the walk home. Grumble, grumble…. A fact I realized because I way more aware of my surroundings? That my neighborhood smells like a port-o-potty.

Day 6 (Tuesday) —
Ok first instinct…. Grab the iPod, head to BART. Ok no… grab the magazine. Instead of reading though, I found myself eavesdropping a lot. I heard all about the girl who never pays for dinner, the fact the Ugly Betty is most certainly on the same night as Grey’s Anatomy and that yes Good Vibrations does have a student discount. As I sat on the train grading papers—where normally Bach or The Gossip would be in my ear—there was only the roar of the train.

Day 7 (Friday) —
This was the first day that I was pretty ok not reaching for the iPod. I wouldn’t say I was broken of my reliance on the device however and I have to say I am glad that this little experiment is over.

I realized how dependent I am on distraction. Standing in line waiting….for 5 minutes… seemed like an eternity without my Coffee Break Spanish. That is something I can, and will, learn to unplug for.

But as I walked around my city the past few days, I came to the realization that mostly the distraction is welcome and many times necessary. The lack of aural engagement forced me to focus on aspects of this city that I abhor such as the fact that drug deals were being made across the street from “Kid Power” park.

I’ve definitely learned to unplug occasionally, but in truth, I think I will keep my iPod blinders on to help me make it through some of the compromises I have taken on to live in this city.


Have you ever thought about unplugging?


Erin