Meeting #3

Woo hoo! Hussain and I worked out another time to meet, and this time it was somewhere other than the Recreation center! I couldn’t stand meeting where it was so loud and distracting. It was really difficult to hear Hussain in this environment as he speaks very softly and never raises his voice. Oddly enough, Hussain never seemed seem to mind the cacophony in the Rec. Maybe it was due to his family environment.

Speaking of which (I know, nice segue right?), He talked a little about his family today. Compared to the first time we met, Hussain was much more talkative, seemed much more relaxed, and was ready to share his experiences with me (Guess talking about the weather can do that to ya). He brought up that his family was very large (Dr. Dan: yes I know that it is a bad word but he used it so I am sorry but I must reference it). He mentioned that some of the families he knows have over 5 wives and 50 children. Naturally I recoiled a little bit and thought of what that must be like. One in fifty children, each with the same father, it seemed impossible.

However, I took a moment to reflect on this. In class we were told to not view things the way they were. We were told to question why we felt a certain way and to understand these feelings. Looking back at this moment, I realize that it seemed weird to me not because I had decided it was odd, but because I had been told it was odd. But, that is a deeper conversation for another time.

Back to the father of 50, he was a very wealthy man and had built his own apartment tower to house each of his families. The tower was divided by floors with each family having their own floor. I was much more content when I heard he was taking care of his families, as I was afraid he simply had sired a lot of children with no means of supporting them. That being said, this was a point where I truly began to grasp how different our worldviews are.

At this point Hussain seemed to shy away, I must have seemed too shocked by the story; I really hoped I hadn’t offended him. The next few minutes involved me trying to reconcile my ideas with Hussain’s. After a while I mentioned that my mother was in a family of 9 children and he seemed to perk back up. From this common ground we found it easy to compare how our family lives were fairly similar, if a bit different in ideology.

Productively Doing Nothing

I sat down this Saturday, determined to work on the numerous business projects that have been stressing me out, and found that I really had no motivation whatsoever. My attempt at productivity was quickly cut short by the million other things I could be doing, such as watching cat videos on YouTube, working on my time machine, or learning to play a zither. (Side Note, I believe a zither is a musical instrument but ill check on it)

After struggling for several hours to maintain my focus and be a good, dedicated student, I finally submitted to my slacking ID. (Yes! I knew that my psychology course would pay off!) I was, due to overwhelming, unforeseeable, and uncontrollable circumstances, stymied and thrown off from my original goal.

Anyway, the point is that I didn’t get any work done. I took the day off. Instead of worrying about my future career, something that my professors constantly remind me of with their homework assignments, (except for Dr. Williams of course, he always has his students complete meaningful homework assignments / Please don’t fail me!) I succumbed to the depths of despair that is slacking.

But was it really that bad? That is the question I have been asking myself this entire day. Was taking the day off to slake some of my unnecessary desires really a bad thing? As I am sitting here and writing this post, I have come to the realization that the answer is no, slacking off was not a bad thing.

This Sunday has been one of my most productive this school year. I woke up early, got a workout in, did lots of homework, and finished several aspects of the projects that had stressed me out so much the day before. Somehow, everything became manageable. No longer was I distracted and unable to focus. Instead my mind was sharp (admittedly due to having slept a decent amount the night before) and determined to finish my tasks for the day.

By being less productive (honestly that’s unfair, I did absolutely nothing on Saturday), I found that I had become more productive. I think that it all came down to letting my mind relax. Because I was focusing on doing too many different things, I couldn't do any of them. By allowing my mind to zone out and forget, I gained the ability to focus.

P.S. I did some extra research. CONFIRMED  A zither is a musical instrument.

Conversation Partner 2

Recently, I got to meet up with Hussain for the second, and highly anticipated, time. Once again Hussain wanted to meet in the Recreation Center at 2 o’clock on Wednesday at a specific table. Side Note, if there is one word that exemplifies the way Hussain thinks, its consistency. Walking up to meet him I had a severe feeling of Déjà vu. Not only was he studying the same book facing the same direction but he also was dressed in exactly the same clothes. Now, it is most likely an immense coincidence but these details were too funny not to notice (Plus it serves to make my post more dramatic J ) ( I also just learned that you are able to use smiley faces in blog posts)

Thinking this was as good a place to start as any, I decided to ask him about it. Laughing it off, he mentioned that he honestly hadn’t thought about it. Content with his answer, I approached the next most pressing question, “So… crazy weather huh?” Needless to say this struck a chord. Without warning, Hussain launched into a flurry of not so pleasant complaints about Texas weather. As he put it, “One moment it’s too hot, the next it is too cold! Why doesn’t it make up its mind?” Nodding in solemn agreement, I continued to complain about Texas’ hyperactive weather.

This was the “tipping point.” I know it sounds ridiculous and improbable but my one comment about the weather was the first time Hussain and I seemed to connect. Now I don’t mean that we were destined to meet or anything like that, but talking about the weather was the first true step we had taken to understand one another. In a way, our small talk led to a big change.

Moving past the small talk, we went on to discuss his county, Saudi Arabia, further. He mentioned that the population of his country was very young. The recent growth in Saudi Arabia, fueled by the massive oil wells found along the coasts, has led to an influx of Arabian immigrants. Unfortunately, there is really no other industry in Saudi Arabia other than oil, which is in itself highly automated and requires extensive training from its workers. In order to accommodate these new citizens and provide them with jobs, the Saudi government has expanded immensely. Hussain guessed that nearly half the total industry in his country is government owned and operated.

He went on to talk about how much he envies America for its more open style of government. In fact, I found myself attacking the US, while he attempted to defend it! This was an odd role reversal and made me reconsider my views on the US government. I am not saying that I should discount what I disagree with in our government, but I should appreciate the positive things within our government more.

After a few more minutes of talking, we decided to split up and meet again sometime this week.

Song Psychology

As I walked to psychology class last Wednesday, I buried my head in my hands and told myself that this class would be different. This time there would be no boring slideshow telling me the names of people that I could care less about, doing things that I could care less about, and having “amazing revelations” that I could care less about. Today would be a day of enlightenment and true learning, a day that would spur glorious discourse on the human condition! At least, so I hoped.

It quickly became apparent that this would not be the case. As I slumped down into my seat and saw the oh too familiar flicker of light as the projector growled into life, I quickly realized this day would be no different from any other. We would sit. We would listen (for some this entailed leaning backwards with eyes wide shut, so as to simulate sleep). We would take notes. We would leave. This was the order we had followed since the beginning of the semester and, I’m convinced, had been handed down to man from a higher power so that we could bore others into submission.

Yet unbeknownst to me, the day was not lost. Near the middle of class, a faint glimmer of hope began to peek through the cracks of boredom and spread its warm glow of promise upon the frozen heart of my expectations. The teacher approached the room and asked, “What song describes your life?” Well obviously, this sort of open ended question baffled the majority of the class and we collectively sat in stunned silence, at least until one brave soul stepped forward to claim the mantle of psychology champion. “All By Myself!” he proudly proclaimed, as the class lurched forward in laughter. The teacher, amused by the comment, decided to encourage more students to yell out their songs.

Needless to say, class quickly degenerated into a mass of students each attempting to outdo each other with ridiculous song puns and sexual innuendo. The teacher, glad to see everyone participating, did little to curb our enthusiasm (yes I know that’s an improv show reference).

By the end of class, I was smiling from ear to ear and eager to return that Friday. I can honestly say that it was one of the best classes I have had at TCU and I hope to have many more like it.

iFound my iPhone

Going into class on Thursday afternoon I had no idea that I would soon be subjected to some of the worst mental torture imaginable, at least to a tech guy with no mobile connection to the internet. A friend in the class thought it would be funny to take my phone and give it to another person to hide. Unfortunately, they both forgot and I spent the next 4 days phone-less.

Now you may say that this is nothing in the grand scheme of things, to which I retort, "Don't lie to yourself!" but losing a phone for that period of time can leave a person isolated from the digital world in a way that greatly affects his or her life. I too thought that losing my phone would be no big deal and assumed that I would continue on as if nothing happened. Besides, I had already gone tech-less for 6 long hours for another course this semester; however, I soon realized that there is a great difference to being disconnected and being cut off. While going on a tech "fast" it was only mildly uncomfortable, going phone-less, even though it was only one piece of technology, was much worse!

With no way to communicate quickly or efficiently, I was forced to rely on others for information. I was so used to being in control of my information intake that this came as a major shock. Not only that but there was the nagging realization that no one cared and even fewer recognized I was “disconnected” during this time period. With no way to talk to anyone it was easy to feel that no one was watching. This was a great way to put perspective on my digital life. I don't consider myself a person who lives for attention or recognition, but I quickly realized that on some level I use my digital life as a support for my reality. It really put in perspective just how reliant on technology I am and, in the end, how little I really affect others in the digital media space.

The situation was not all bad, however, as I realized that I relaxed significantly more during this time and I worried very little about many of the trivialities brought on by a life connected to technology. I no longer worried about constant information updates and this allowed me to reflect more on my day. I noticed that this extra time to reflect allowed me to put the events of the day into perspective and, consequently, not rely on the opinions of others. The days also seemed to progress slower and I tended to be much more productive.

While I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about losing my phone, this was a valuable experience to me. Beyond the 6 hour "tech-less" prompt I completed earlier in the year, I learned a lot more from my time without my phone. I was forced to adapt and to see just how much the tech world affects everyday life, for both the good and the bad.​