Drift One Assessment

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

The first situation I can describe that aggravated me while doing my drift walks was the interruption of otherwise nice recordings by people asking me what I was doing. It happened several times and ruined a lot of nice sounds because first they would ask what I was doing, then I would explain, and then they would want to talk about it for ten minutes. The whole situation was frustrating the first time, and it only got worse the next fifteen times that followed.

The second most aggravating situation that arose was they blending together of sounds. It was difficult trying to find a place that didn’t always have the constant palpitating hum of the West Allis foundry on 68^th street. So, I suppose the more aggravating thing (not the sound) was being unable at times to isolate one sound clearly because of excess background noise (such as the foundry, people, cars, etc.).

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

At many times during my drift I felt at ease. Part of my strategy allowed for this since my strategy was to allow my ears to act as my eyes. One specific time that I felt at ease was as I recorder the birds chirping. I sat beneath the tree, closed my eyes and attempted to hear the different sounds with the tree. I started at the closest sound to me and worked my way outwards. By the time I was finished I had a ten minute recording because I had lost track of the time.

A second time I felt at ease was when I came across the dirty corner bar recording. I was wandering at for some reason the sound of children’s laughter caught my attention. It made me think of things from my own childhood and I found myself not dwelling on the recording so much as I was dwelling on a simpler time. I thought it was quite funny how a bouncy castle and a game of tag can do that to a person.

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!)

One: I was surprised to realize how much chit chat happens in the streets of West Allis. You simply could not escape it most of the time. It is interesting to me how even natural sound of birds, or crickets, can be paired up with the dull roar of small talk in a city.

Two: I was unaware of how much I hate the low hum of the city until it was amplified in my ears for several hours. I always thought I loved the nuances of a city (especially sounds and smells) but as I recorded my sounds I realized that nothing irritates me more than the blurred droll of the city. Nothing is specific unless it is right in your face and everything causes a headache.

Three: One thing that shocked me about the Farmer’s Market was the different languages being spoken. I was shocked to hear Polish, German, Spanish, English, and Korean all being spoken next to each other. I expected everyone to speaking English, because it is all I had ever heard in West Allis’ Farmer’s Market, but once I truly began to listen (not just hear) I discovered those different languages are present right in my hometown. That was a pleasant surprise though, and most likely the only one I had this drift.

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.

My favorite portion of my drift was recording the Dirty Corner Bar sounds. Not only did I feel happy listening to the children playing but I enjoyed how sharply contrasting the bar was right next to that scene. I enjoyed the feeling of teleporting from one world to another, completely caught off guard by the whole mess. I remember walking through the situation knowing how unusual it was to go from a rated G backyard to a rated R pub.

I came upon a bouncy castle and recorded the sounds of the children playing inside of it for a while. That’s when I realized that the bouncy castle was in the backyard of the corner bar. I could faintly hear the sounds of U2 rocking loud in doors so I slowly walked over. As I came closer to the front of the bar I could hear the seedy world inside unfold. It was weird and silly. I decided to go in and have a drink then continue my walk.

What I like most about this situation is that way it still resonates with me how different two worlds can be even when they are right next to each other. That is something I never realized so easily before.