Silence & 24 Hours

On Monday August 31, I went to the basement of Campus South to read a four page article for my Genetics class. The setting down there is very calm and quiet compared to my apartment that's accompanied by my 5 other roommates. While reading, I payed close attention to what I heard around me for the full 30-40 minutes. The basement is part study area/lounge and part laundromat. A few students were chatting as they waited for the rumbling washers and dryers to finish their cycles. My friend, Steve, was with me at a table doing work of his own. In between the sounds of flipping through our papers, three girls were in the corner of the big lounge room watching Entourage on a laptop. The faint sounds of the show were interspersed with their high-pitched giggles. Steve repeatedly got up from his seat to go to the bathroom, get a drink from the water fountain, and purchase a snack from the vending machine. As he walked back from the machine, he dropped four dimes in change on the table which created a clanging echo throughout the room. At the end of the 30-40 minutes, I was surprised how much I could hear in a quiet setting when I actually pay attention to my surroundings.
The 24 hour clock began at 9am on Monday August 31. Before even leaving my room, I turned on my iPod speakers as I got ready for a shower, and the song that came on was Midwest Swing by St. Lunatics. Great song. In the shower of my Campus South apartment, there is a waterproof radio hanging on the shower head, which is always tuned to a country radio station. Music is a good way to start the day. After my classes ended at 1:00pm up until about 7 o'clock, I heard music on t.v. and on a James Bond video game my roommate was playing. On t.v., coincidentally, James Bond Goldeneye was on and as everyone knows there are the same tones and mysterious tunes in those movies. Also, a Kenny Chesney concert was being broadcast, and I watched that for about 10 minutes. Aside from the usual media sources where music can be heard, I unfortunately overheard my roommate, Sean, singing country music in the kitchen while he made dinner. My other friend, Steve, who I mentioned in the "Silence" paragraph sang a Taylor Swift song while we were studying. Embarassing I know. Looking back on these 24 hours, I can now see how frequently music is incorporated in my life.