Drift Assesment

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 situation that particularly aggravated me during my sound walk was the passing cars interrupting with my recordings. I would be in the middle of recording a great sound when a hail of traffic would pass ruining my sound. I would have to wait until traffic was clear to continue my recording.

Another situation that bothered me was when I was recording outside of a middle school. I was trying to record all the gossiping kids after they got out of school, but I kept hearing kids say “what is that guy doing with those headphones on?”. It was comical, but it was not what I was looking for and it put a damper on my recording.

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

The first situation I felt very peaceful on my walk was when I was down by the Milwaukee River. The wind blowing, the sound of the water flowing, and the crickets put me in a very calm at ease place.
I went out recording during the rain one day, and I was in someone’s side yard trying to figure out where a dripping noise was coming from. While I was standing there, there had been no passing people are cars. I felt alone, but at the same time peaceful and the only thing I was focused on was the rain.

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!)
The first surprise I got was out on my sound walk and I was just astonished at the quality of the microphone pickups. I did not expect to be able to hear things so far in the distance that I would normally be able to look at but not hear. I found myself picking up things I didn’t even want in particular, but at the same time I found it interesting. It would also confuse me at some points because I would hear a voice in the distance, but I could not find out where it was coming from.

When I was recording down by the Milwaukee River, I was surprised that the dump truck that I passed so long ago was being included in my recording. I enjoyed hearing the glass bottles dumped into the truck and it added a man element to the nature I was recording.
The thing that surprised me the most on my sound walk was when I followed a chipmunk into these rocks trying to get noises from him. I put my mics close to the stacked rocks and the chipmunk jumped out right in front of my face and ran away. I didn’t get any sound out of it, but I was certainly startled.

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 experience from my drift came when I was in West Virginia recording in the forests by my Uncle’s house. I sat down in the woods with my microphones and took in the noises of the wilderness. When my uncle started to play his dulcimer in the distance, the soothing music added with the critters of the forest put me at peace. I sat there for sometime enjoying heightened feeling I was getting. I think this affected me so much because it was an opportunity for me to get away from everything for a short while.