Pilot: The Inception

I created this blog around two weeks ago, but have been avoiding the first post, as the first post means the beginning of this Project and subsequent posts and the Work that it entails. Really, any project, no matter how enjoyable or recreational, is work, and when I should be working on something else (i.e. my BA, finding a job, other classes, etc.) but really I'm going out for long dinners with friends and looking up LOST theories, it's maybe a little dangerous to tack on recreational work that distracts me from my actual substantive work.

But if I play my cards right, it won't distract me from the good things, only the bad. Allow me to elaborate.

The project I have in mind is really a series of projects, all lasting three days total. There isn't really a theme to these projects, except to say that they're things I wouldn't normally do. I could limit myself to eating pears for three days. I could listen to Metallica every possible waking moment for three days. I could be superhumanly kind for three days. All of these are things I don't normally do. They could be personal or interactive in nature, dealing in the unusual or extremes. At the end of each day, I will write about the project's effects on that day, and what I've thought about.

The qualification that each miniproject must be three days is, to me, an important one. It is the perfect length of time to dip into an experience, experience it, and phase back out. It is a beginning-middle-end. A day is too short to meaningfully think about whatever I'm doing; a week is too long for the kind of pseudo-arbitrary things I want to do, and also might not be possible for some of the more extreme things. Three days is a substantial bite, not a crumb or a meal.

The point is that I want to push myself to think and feel a little differently. If I did eat only pears for three days, what effect would that have on my life? What would I be thinking about? Maybe I really like Metallica, or maybe their music makes me really angry and listening to it ruins my day. Or maybe in the morning I can't stand it but by the evening I have found an unparalleled love for the group. I won't know until I try. But I can be sure it will have some impact and provoke at least a few new thoughts.

Here are some of my limitations:

• Money. Unfortunately, one of my projects cannot be centered on shopping sprees, as my major investments at this point in time are monthly bills and food. I have a list of things I want to buy when I do have money (some necessary, some for joy) but as it stands I don't have the corporate status to shell out for three days of buying collector's art, say, or three days of exploration on a new continent.
• Health. If I get mono again, or (the better alternative) swine flu, consider the projects on hiatus, unless you want to read about three days of walking like I'm ninety years old.
• Ethics. Penultimate example: I am a vegetarian for a whole slew of ethical reasons. So three days of the Atkins Diet ain't happening. Same with kicking kittens and homeless people. I may experiment with things that could be considered annoying or mean, but I'm not about to seriously violate my moral code. The point is to refresh things a bit, not cause undue suffering in the name of experimentation.

I can't guarantee that this will be exciting. In fact, I can more accurately guarantee that it will be decidedly unexciting, and rather reflective (possibly even meditative). I want to think about things, not collect stories that demonstrate my quirkiness.

Some of my interests include self-improvement, food and body, physical environment, disabilities, extremes, social norms, self-discipline, creativity, religion and spirituality, philosophy, beauty and ugliness, comfort and discomfort, mystery and whimsy, adventure, truth and change.

I reserve the right to use this project for the benefit of my Real Life (i.e. look for three days of non-stop applying for jobs in the near-future).

I invite you to read about and comment on my experiments, which should help me to keep going on them. If you have ideas, let me know. If you want to participate in anything, let me know that too (and then comment or talk to me about how they go).

I start tomorrow.