Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Eating

Today while i was eating dinner at work i realized all the different things you do while eating....in public you try to be as clean as possible so you eat really slow and make sure you dont drop anything. In between every few bites i took a sip of water. I watched tv while i ate, you can actually daze off and forget that you are even eating. So there are tons of things to do while eating and those are just a few.

Eating/Tasting Observation

So, today i observed quite a bit while watching my friend eat as well as other people. I told my friend i would be watching her eat so it was kinda weird at first, but when i started looking around more at other people it became easier to focus. I noticed that especially when trying something new people pick at the food, touch their tongue to the food, smell it, and then eat it. I noticed this about myself as well, i smell almost everything before i put it in my mouth, whether or not i have had something before, and when i am done, i still pick at the food or tend to play with it. If they do not like something they make funny faces which is quite amusing. My friend i was watching did a lot of moving of food around on her plate. She was also eating chicken and shes apparently very picky about chicken and so she would cut up a piece of chicken, look at it, spread it apart, look at it again, then eat a baby bite size of that regular size cut piece of chicken. While closely observing other around me, i noticed that alot of people are always picking at their food or moving it around their plate, for what reason, this i do not know! However, for the most part, what i observed most people were engaged in coversation which slowed down their eating. This was interesting, i always feel bad staring at people lol oh well!

Listening

I decided that for my listening activity I would just take a moment out from work to listen. So just for a reference point for all you I have worked as a server at Pizza Hut for 3.5 years so one day when I was rolling silverware I just stayed quiet and listened. I was really amazed at all the sounds that I have failed to notice in my long time working there. I could hear the clanking of the silverware that I was rolling, the sounds of cash registers opening and closing, the telephone ringing, ect. Most of that stuff was normal things that I have to notice. However a few things did happen that probably happen everytime I work but I never notice. I never really noticed how much some parents discipline there child. They tried to do it in a hushed voice as to not draw attention to themselves but that ends up making the child scream and the adult get louder and louder. I also noticed how for some tables in the dining room it was almost like a contest to see how loud you can be. As one person laughs loud another person counters and laughs louder. I started listening to the tone of voice from my fellow employees while they talked to customers in person or on the telephone and noticed how some of them seemed annoyed at the prospect of talking to a person. They took the order, said a hasty hello, and quickly retreated to whatever they were doing. For me this was a real eye opening experience. I have worked there for so long but failed to really be in tune to my surroundings. I think I will try and listen more now.

Listening

Though I walk to and from campus every day, today while strolling along I didn't plug in my ear buds and decided to listen to any and everything I could on the way to campus. At first I really didn't notice any particular sounds. I started to panic and think that the one thing I set out to listen to would be a complete failure. Nevertheless, as I continued listening I was amazed at how many sound really just get filtered out. In fact its truly interesting the things you notice when you take the time to listen. The first sound I noticed was the crunch of snow beneath my feet. I hadn't noticed it earlier because of its continuous and rhythmic nature. Immediately following this discovery I heard a car pass by. The sound of the air passing by created a swooshing sound. Turning onto a busier street more vehicles became noticeable. The heavy sound of a diesel engine brought a school bus shuffling by. I heard someone scrapping snow and ice off their car, and I though they were probably getting ready for work. The school was in sight and I could now hear the sound of the Rec Centers ventilation system blowing in the distance. Someone was parking their car and the soft rumble of their car died, they got out and their door made a slamming sound as they closed it. Their keys jingled as they stuffed it into a purse or bag, and just about that time I reach campus.

Listening

I loved the listening activity we were supposed to do for the next class. I sat in convo and just kind of listened to what was going on around me. The first thing I heard was the conversation happening at the table next to me, which was quite comical... I felt like quite the creepy eavesdropper. So then I realized that there were many other noises going on around me, but that it is difficult to hear them as individual sounds and not just as a whole. For example, I had to focus on tuning out the conversation I was listening to in order to really hear the other noises: the fan that was blowing above the grill corner or the clanging of metal pans as they were changed at the bar, for example. So when you listen, it seems like you have to change your focus kind of like you do when you see, or you can try to focus on nothing and let it all blur together.