Like taking Candy from a Baby: 24 sans technology

This has got to be the worst timing for an assignment based on communication, a day before I did this assignment I bought a T-Mobile Sidekick 2008 and being away from it for an entire 24 hours was sort of like separating a kid from their Christmas presents right after they open them…torture. It has a full qwerty keyboard, camera, unlimited web browsing and MyFaves…basically this thing is a fully loaded communication dynamo. When this was assigned I didn’t have a need for my phone other than to text and call, and my web browsing was circumscribed to the time I was near a computer. No more! Smart phones really do change your life; they’re status symbol, communication device and quasi-necessity all at the same time. While most people are a little over-dramatic about being without their media for a day I rarely watch television and often don’t use my cell phone (pre-Sidekick)…my boyfriend nearly died spending three hours with me as I told him about the no TV, movie, music, computer and cell phone stipulations.

“Eighteen- to 20-year-olds know in their hearts that electronic media are nearly as dear to their lives as physical nourishment. They have vague memories of a time before iTunes, personalized ring tones, Facebook, Google…They have tasted the pleasures brought by binary code, and, like most of us, they're not into deprivation” says Danna Walker, was I living up to her expectations by being bothered and annoyed with not having technology? Should I really be required to know what it is like to live like a Mennonite, and does it add up to being some kind of well-rounded person or is using technology smarter than indulging?

I started the 24 hours technically at 11 pm the night before when I went to sleep after work. I began my day uneasily, waking up at 11am only because the sun was streaming in the window of the guest bedroom of my boyfriend’s house. If I had slept the night in my basement bedroom I probably never would’ve woken up because I only have an alarm clock on my cell phone. To be honest, that was kind of nice but I definitely couldn’t do it everyday. My boyfriend had a real problem with not playing music or watching TV in the morning while I was there and continued to nearly “die” because of this assignment, I didn’t really mind it other than not playing with my new toy. On my way back to my house which is a 30 minute drive from Columbia I nearly fell asleep and was completely bored not listening to music or doing anything just driving the same roads I drive everyday of my life. I finally arrived home to a silent (sadly) home and set about trying to think of something to do next. It seemed as if I was sort of lost for a little bit like there was supposed to be something I was turning on or checking or writing or listening to but all I could hear was my refrigerator roaring into action and faintly the sound of falling raindrops.

I hadn’t fully decided what I would do with my day, but I knew if it was nice outside that I could probably spend the day outside in the state park that is my back yard…luckily for me (not!) it was pouring on Thursday so I had to go to Plan B. I set aside the whole day to get some chores I had wanted to get done finally over with, which mostly included painting my drop ceiling, armoire and desk with sticky, white paint. Honestly, it was boring I couldn’t do anything to distract myself from the time. Again, I found myself really wanting to listen to music…I even tried singing but couldn’t remember all the words. Then it dawned on me, our book had it right if we don’t “think memorable thoughts” how can we remember even words and phrases we hear every day? There never is any dead space as Gene Wiengarten surmises “it can’t be done”. Finally I seemed to slip into my thoughts and detach from the paint and soundlessness and get some actual work done and think clearly. I thought about what I would write about on this blog, perhaps I would write about horror films….you know because the first thing to go is always cell phone service. “It scares people to be without technology” I thought, “doesn’t the killer or the monster always cut the phone line or drag their victim into service-less areas…(which by the way includes my basement)…oh my god what if someone tried to kill me now, should I use my phone or use this as a grand scheme to get an A?!” A door opened and I jumped, thankfully it was not Jack the Ripper and just my mom home early from work at my sister and brother’s high school.

The day actually allowed me to hang out with my mom more than usual, I couldn’t really work on any homework because most of it was computer based so I really had no excuse for doing errands with her other than she couldn’t listen to the radio while we were in the car. This time the fifteen minute drive was far less boring, having someone in the car to talk to and also not having to worry about falling asleep and going off the road into a ditch. One thing I did learn is the value of not relying on technology and instead using one’s brain. When shopping in downtown Westminster (media free and 100’s of years old) my mom disappeared into some store and I had no idea where she was, I automatically reached for my cell phone before realizing I was helpless I had to find her and put my Blues’ Clue’s skills to work. I found her quite quickly and actually didn’t need to waste my cell phone battery on such an easy task, though I know I normally would have.

Later, after arriving home and putting another layer of paint on my furniture my boyfriend arrived at my house mostly annoyed because I hadn’t answered my phone to let him in. Although my parents were sympathetic to this assignment and complied, John really had issues with not having anything “techy” around. “I am a nerd, Kelly” he said “ I have to have my techy stuff otherwise I’ll die”. He got sick of my “boring” quiet and techno-free house and whisked me off for dinner and shopping. Luckily the noisy, music-filled mall was closed so we made a trip to Goodwill where they don’t play any background music and have no televisions. I paid with cash and brought home some new shoes (which I’m wearing today) and a few other articles. Looking for a restaurant was pretty difficult since most of them have music playing so we gave up and just got some chicken nuggets at Westminster Wal-mart which luckily is music free (weird but true) and they don’t play their televisions too loud. We steered clear of the electronics,well…I did…I lost John for awhile to the nymphic call of ipods and stereos. It was 10 pm and we had time to waste…we didn’t know what to do. For the second time that day I felt lost, like I had lost my plane ticket in Amsterdam or something. We sat in the car and talked, not about anything really important like I thought maybe we would. We didn’t come to any breaking point or pivotal point in our relationship or anything but it felt more worthwhile than talking on AIM all night or on the phone. John finally broke down and said that he had to watch a movie or he was going to implode so we watched “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” at 11 pm. So I did it! Other than the occasional note coming from faint background music I remained media free for 24-hours. To be honest, it was boring it was really boring and quiet and I felt useless (despite my white washed furniture…I felt like Huck Finn). But I would much rather do this than be chained to technology the way Weintarden was in his article, I think I would probably throw up or get a very bad migraine. The day was overall, very productive and pretty good, but mostly quiet.