I like challenges. Let’s look at some challenging things I’ve done in the past:

Set out to qualify for a trivia tournament at a local trivia spot?

I’ve done that plenty of times!

In high school, practice, perform and get a top rating on a solo musical piece at a solo and ensemble festival?

I’ve done that, too!

Quit drinking? Done that, I’m nearly 120 days sober now (cold turkey).

Plan and execute a backpacking trip in the back country?

I’ve done that a few times!

Win first place in a regional trivia tournament?

Sadly, I’ve only done that once. I’ll continue chasing that white whale.

Win a spelling bee? Done that twice.

Quit smoking? Done and done in 2019 (on a second attempt).

Now it’s time for a new challenge!

I want to see how little mobile phone data I can use in a month. No, it’s not for the purpose of winning an argument with my husband. OK, maybe it is (just a little). 😉

Sadly, my workplace does not have working public wi-fi. Which means if I want to do anything besides make phone calls or send texts with my phone while I am at work, it eats up data. And lovely streaming radio is out of the question. Bummer because I just downloaded the iheartradio app! It’s a great substitute for Spotify. I canceled that subscription a few months ago.

I’m not gonna be too hard on myself with this challenge. If I have to use data to look at maps while I am out in the aether, I’ll do it. But I’ll try to stick to just the basics when I’m in the wilds. Just use the phone for photos, texts and calls. Unplugging when you’re on vacation is good, right?

The person who pretends to supervise my team at work yet is not paid accordingly to do so (long story), recently decreed that we are now allowed to use earbuds and earphones at work as long as we’re in a customer free zone. Most of my job is performed in such areas, so that was a definite game changer for me!

This is all because they basically gave up on getting the darn stubborn Gen Z’ers to stop wearing their earbuds. So because the kiddos didn’t feel like following the rules, now I get to listen to my jams at work! 🎧

Instead of using my data sucking phone to play tunes at work, I’ve been using my Sony Walkman music player. No mobile data usage there!

But it has its own challenges. I do have a decent selection of songs in a strange cross section of genres – hard rock, grunge, metal, disco, new wave, classic rock and even a rap song.

Problem is, I don’t want to get tired of my songs. I’ve decided that I’ll occasionally tune into a radio station to mix up my listening routine. I listened to 107.1 FM in Ann Arbor today, which might very well expose me to some more current music in addition to playing some songs with which I am familiar, and like. They seem to play a decent mix.

It was all going great today until that 10,000 Maniacs song came on! 🤮 I just don’t like her voice! Such a “punctured lung” vibe.

No worries, just make the switcheroo from radio to MP3 – how about listening to Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” by Metallica?  🤔

Then about an hour after this, I got bugged by ad after ad after ad, so… back to the downloaded jams then?

I think it will work out well!

I already feel more productive being able to listen to music while I’m working.

This quest to cut down on data usage may have some unexpected benefits! If nothing else, me being exposed to more modern music may help my trivia team on music quiz nights 👍😀