1. I'm on-time to places! Shocking, I know. But no music means I don't spend ten minutes trying to find the perfect tunes to go with whatever I'm getting ready for, and I don't sing and flit around as I'm getting dressed(yes, I admit, I flit). Now it's much more to-the-point, but not nearly as fun, so don't get too used to it. The moment media month is over I'm putting back on my getting-ready tunes. But hopefully this month will teach me more time-management so that even with music, I can still be (a little more) on-time.
2. My car makes some strange noises. Never could hear them before over the music, and I'm trying not to worry too much about it.
3. Turns out, people are more interesting than Facebook lets on. So now I have a new soapbox: When did I start substituting Facebook for real relationships with people? Before this fast, if I missed someone or thought of them in passing, I checked their page and wrote a fun or sweet comment on their wall. I have actually had moments where I put off actually calling someone because I didn't want to take the time to engage; I wanted to sit on the couch and mindlessly watch TV, so I settled for writing on their wall. This is not real human contact! And it certainly isn't enough to maintain a friendship, not a real one anyways. Real relationships take time and energy, and Facebook has become the friendship fast-food. It's convenient and tasty, but pretty unhealthy. So this month without Facebook has been fantastic-- I have had so many great conversations with people I love, and I've been reminded of why I love them-- not for their status updates, not because they write on my wall, but because they are fun and interesting, and I love actually talking to them…who knew!
4. I think in status updates. Even if the thought isn't originally in update form, I'll revise and condense it down to a status-appropriate style. Like that metaphor from before, "Facebook has become the friendship fast food: convenient and tasty, but terribly unhealthy"-- BRILLIANT Facebook fodder! That would have gotten me a couple comments, or at the very least, several "likes." In the first few days when I realized I no longer had an outlet for my witty one-liners, I had a mega-ego moment where I considered keeping a journal of all my would-be status updates, to be posted in a blog at the end of media month. Yes, because my musings and observations are just that clever and original, it would be cruel to deprive you all for a whole month. This has proven over and over that media month was exactly what I needed.
5. With no music, I am entirely at the mercy of whatever terrible song pops into my head. Top hits include "Arms Wide Open" by Creed, "Genie In a Bottle", and "The Noodle Dance" song from PB&J Otter. Throughout the month, the two constants seem to be Disney songs and songs from Grease. Why? I have no idea. Some mornings I just wake up with a medley of "Summer Lovin'" and "Grease Lightning" stuck in my head.
Truly I can't wait to be able to listen to music again.
6. Without wasting time on Facebook, the internet, and watching movies, I go to bed insanely early. I've never been so well-rested!
7. I really have an odd addiction to checking things. I gave up Facebook, IMDB, Wikipedia, and all the other random sites, but I still have a problem. I check my email two or three times a day, and if there's nothing new in there, I find myself unsatisfied. I'll check my school email next, and if there is still nothing new, I check my bank account.
???
It seems I have an information addiction. An addiction to updates… from email, from school, even bank accounts. I can't help but glance at the Yahoo news headlines as I go to my email (I confess, I've fallen into temptation a few times and clicked on stories [and again, I confess, most of my falls have been for stories/videos involving cute animals, like the dog who fit three tennis balls in his mouth]). So it appears that even this month away from Facebook updates hasn't quite cured me of my incessant need for new information. We'll have to work on that one.
