Reflections on Drift 1

1. Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)

One of the things that bugged me on my Drift 1 was how populated the area was where I was drifting. It was necessary for people to be present for some of the sounds that I recorded but there car noise was everywhere and it seemed almost impossible to get away from. Well car noise was part of the environment that I was in, I wanted to record things that people usually don’t pay attention to instead of the most obvious noises.

I wasn’t overjoyed at how my drift strategy worked out either. I was really excited to see a lot of interesting places that I hadn’t seen before. Unfortunately my drift strategy only kept me going one general direction within the East Side neighborhood. The neighborhoods had interesting sounds at first but then the sounds of each block began to seem the same. Even on my second drift that I went on to try to get some different sounds, was still somewhat disappointing.


2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.

The walk down and then back up Lake Drive felt very peaceful to me. I found that I really liked just walking around without a specific destination or purpose in mind. It was a very therapeutic experience that wasn’t just about getting sounds but clearing my mind as well.

On the second drift that I went out on, I ended up by the bike path. It was the most different place that I came across on either of my walks. It was woody and there were almost no cars or people around (although my microphones still picked up distant car noises). I was able to feel really calm in this place because it is most like where I grew up. It reminded me of how much I miss living in the country and well I enjoy all the opportunities of living in the city, I miss the peace and quite of the woods.


3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)

In the days that followed going on my drift, I found that I really listened to things more whenever I was walking outside. I never use an ipod or listen to anything usually on my way to class but I never listened to my surroundings either. After having gone on the soundwalk and discovering how many things there actual are to listen to, I started to tune myself into those sounds and I am now enjoying my walks more.

On the Drift itself, I found that it was really hard to find continuous noises that could be recorded. Before I went I thought that there were plenty of noises in the city that were recordable. But as I was out there on my Drift I realized that a lot of what I heard didn’t last very long and unless I was recording the whole time, I would miss it. This is what taught me to record more often and longer than you think you need to because you never now what might suddenly happen.


4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.

For one of my recordings I positioned my microphones in a dumpster to see how that would affect the recording. The sound didn’t turn out that great but right at the end of the recording a car came up to the opening of the alley that I was recording in. I don’t know how long it was sitting there because my back was to it but it must have been at least thirty seconds judging by the peeved look on the ladies face. I quickly tried to move out of the way but ended pulling my microphone out of the dumpster and dragging it along the ground. It was an embarrassing experience but it gave me a good laugh to imagine what that lady thought I was doing. I think this experience helped me to be a little less self-conscious the rest of the drift because people didn’t pay that much attention to me as long as I wasn’t directly in their way.