So, a new year is upon us. It may even already be a new year where you are. And it will probably be a new year by the time I finish this post. 2010 was pretty good. I started college. And that, I suppose, is a major accomplishment. Here I shall commemorate the most notable music, books, and events that I experienced this year (in no particular order, because then it would take me all of 2011 just to organize them). It feels almost like my whole life has taken place in the last 365.25 days.
Music
Oliver the Penguin's album, "Button Pusher"
Charmaine's album, "Love Reality" (must listen!)
"On a Good Day", "Clear Blue Water", and "If I Could Fly" - OceanLab
"Hide & Seek" - Imogen Heap
"Airplanes" - B.o.B.
Britt Nicole's album, "The Lost Get Found"
"Fireflies" - Owl City
"You Belong With Me" - Taylor Swift
"Miracle" - Matisyahu
"The NaNoWriMo Song" - All Caps
"Touch My Hand" - David Archuleta
Books
"Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder
"It's Really All About God" by Samir Selmanovic
The Genesis Trilogy and "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle
"Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer
"7 Deadly Wonders", "The 6 Sacred Stones", and "The Five Greatest Warriors" by Matthew Reilly
Everything Else
Started college
Finished my first semester of college
Wrote my first story with 10,000 words (next year I WILL finish NaNoWriMo!)
Read the entire archives of xkcd, Unshelved, and pictures for sad children
Made some awesome friends
Went for one week without listening to music
Spent more than one week listening to music
Discovered "The Legend of the Seeker" show and "The Sword of Truth" series, which I want to continue watching/reading next year (thanks, Linda!)
Did some serious self-reflection
I'm looking forward to what comes in 2011! See you all next year!
The End!
I’m ending my experiment today. Huzzah! The main reason is that I’m going to church and can’t avoid music. The secondary reason is that not listening to any music is really boring.
I didn’t go insane. That was mildly disappointing. Oh, well! Now I know that I can survive without music; I’ll just be really bored. Lesson learned. I guess this is like one of those studies where they discover that vitamins really ARE good for you! (Who knew?)
Now… let’s see… what music should I listen to first?
“Safe” – Britt Nicole. Ahhh….
Day 2: Meh.
So, this is my second day without music. I’m not going to count the music that comes blaring into my room from the room next to mine every now and then.
I’m okay.
I'm really not missing music as much as I thought. My earworms are pretty calm; mostly I’ve just been hearing selections from Handel’s Messiah all day, but nothing lately. This isn’t as psychologically straining as I thought it would be.
But, hey! That will just make it easier to go a whole week!
…I do miss my music though. :(
Day 1: The Quiet
So, today is my first day without music (see last post). I’m already missing it badly. Not so badly that I’d listen to country music if it was the only thing available, of course. I’ve decided on some further rules, so here is the updated list:
- Do not listen to music.
- Do not go anywhere where you know music will be played, and if you are around music, if possible, leave.
- Do not sing or hum.
- If someone in the room next to you is playing music loudly while you are trying to sleep, it does not count.
- No television, radio dramas, or anything like that, unless you skip the musical parts (a.k.a. all of it).
- No recorded soundscapes (like http://www.rainymood.com).
I’ve deleted my shortcuts and bookmarks to music players so that I’m not tempted to click them out of habit. So far my earworms (see last post for definition) have been really random. They aren’t as intense as when I’ve listened to music in the last few hours.
Right now the silence is distracting (as compared to earlier today, when it was irritating). As long as I can finish this paper that’s due tomorrow, I’ll be fine!
I Will Regret This When I Lose My Mind
Never mind, I already regret it! Nevertheless, I shall go on.
You see, I’ve decided to try a little experiment (and by “little”, I mean “terrifyingly large”). If you know me, you may know that I listen to music. A lot. I’m listening to music right now, in fact. It’s quite nice. Today, however, I am listening to music a bit more cherishingly. This is because, beginning tomorrow, I will not listen to music for an entire week.
I’m doing this for several reasons. First, because I am probably not in my right mind. Second, because I want to examine the psychological effects of music deprivation. This will be a supervised experiment; my roommate is a psychology major, so I’m sure he does this sort of thing all the time, right?
My main concern is that I will go crazy. That is a distinct possibility. Then again, I already am crazy! That makes it less worrisome. I’m also interested in seeing how my studies are affected. I am almost always listening to something while I study.
The most interesting part for me will be the effect on my earworms. Earworms are the songs that get stuck in your head. I have chronic earworms. I literally always have one, except when I stayed up really late, and then I just had static, which kind of scared me. If I remove all musical stimulation, will my earworms die, or will they grow more intense as I crave music?
I’m hoping that I’ll be able to go the whole week. If I feel lightheaded and start to gnaw on my arm, I’ll stop the experiment. I’ll also post periodic updates so that you’ll all know that I have not lost my ability to think and express thoughts in writing.
So, feel free to give advice on how not to lose my mind. Unless, that is, you want me to lose my mind, in which case, you are not a nice person and that makes me sad inside. :(
You see, I’ve decided to try a little experiment (and by “little”, I mean “terrifyingly large”). If you know me, you may know that I listen to music. A lot. I’m listening to music right now, in fact. It’s quite nice. Today, however, I am listening to music a bit more cherishingly. This is because, beginning tomorrow, I will not listen to music for an entire week.
I’m doing this for several reasons. First, because I am probably not in my right mind. Second, because I want to examine the psychological effects of music deprivation. This will be a supervised experiment; my roommate is a psychology major, so I’m sure he does this sort of thing all the time, right?
My main concern is that I will go crazy. That is a distinct possibility. Then again, I already am crazy! That makes it less worrisome. I’m also interested in seeing how my studies are affected. I am almost always listening to something while I study.
The most interesting part for me will be the effect on my earworms. Earworms are the songs that get stuck in your head. I have chronic earworms. I literally always have one, except when I stayed up really late, and then I just had static, which kind of scared me. If I remove all musical stimulation, will my earworms die, or will they grow more intense as I crave music?
I’m hoping that I’ll be able to go the whole week. If I feel lightheaded and start to gnaw on my arm, I’ll stop the experiment. I’ll also post periodic updates so that you’ll all know that I have not lost my ability to think and express thoughts in writing.
So, feel free to give advice on how not to lose my mind. Unless, that is, you want me to lose my mind, in which case, you are not a nice person and that makes me sad inside. :(
Posts
