Sponge Bob Square Pants August 13, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Books & Movies, Humor.trackback
If I’m focused writing, I can tune out extraneous noises ~ screaming jets, barking dogs, even TV.
It’s all White Noise.
Except if Sponge Bob is talking. Hearing Square Pants squawking in the background puts me on Red Alert.
“ACK! Change the channel! Change the channel!”
Aah . . . that’s better!
Are there any noises you find impossible to filter out or work around?
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Spirit Lights The Way 
I must admit Nancy that I love peace and quiet so much … I choose not to have any background noise. When I’m in the flow though its easy for most noise to become “white”.
The one I could never filter out was when we had carpentry work done in the room below my office …. irregular hammer and drills will do it.
Val x
I’m with you, Val. My preference as I move through the day is for quiet. And peace. Inner and outer.
Irregular noises are harder to filter than those that are constant.
We have a tiny yapping dog in our complex. Just goes on and on in spite of having spoken to the owner over and over again. Have tried so hard to filter it out. I’m beginning to think there’s something wrong with me. Beautiful little dog though. 🙂
If I’m already focused, yips and yaps don’t register . . . but if my attention is bouncing around and distracted, yips and yaps can keep me from getting a firm foothold on my thoughts.
Barking dogs are BFF’s arch nemesis. 😎
The thumping base of others music. Teeth dragging across a fork. Yapping dogs. Whining children. Yes, I do believe I need to live on an island all alone!
Aah . . . living beyond the intrusive sounds of others. Bliss!
I know! Alone with just my thoughts…at least for five minutes! Dreamers we are.
It’s great when we can carve out a niche of solitude in the midst of the hectic-paced masses.
Hyper-sensitive to sound – always have been. And if I were trapped in a room with a chewing gum-snapper, there’s no telling what would happen.
Once our attention hones in on the snap of the gum . . . it drones out all else. All we hear is *snap* *pop* *snap* ~ like Chinese Water Torture.
Good question Nancy. I find that during my one day at the newspaper I am totally focused because I have a tight deadline. The other staff sometimes finish their stuff before I do and start chatting and enjoying themselves. I am tempted to join in but I know I have to get my stuff finished 🙂 It is hard to isolate and concentrate at those times.
When I worked in an office, there were so many sounds that none claimed center stage. Like the noises of city living, they faded to the back of my mind.
Now, I wonder if I would be as successful at drowning them out, especially if I’d rather join in the fun than focus on the deadline.
Yes, it is tempting to join the fun but it would be no fun if I didn’t get my work finished 🙂
Delayed gratification ~ deadlines first, then fun.
I can work/write through a lot of different background noises, including TV dialogue. The one thing I can’t work through is actual conversation. If two people are talking near me, I can’t not hear them talking. It’s my biggest distraction.
Good distinction, NT. TV dialogue doesn’t intrude because I know I don’t need to add my two cents to the discussion. But if my nieces or a couple of friends where chatting in the next room, I’d want to hop up and join them.
Exactly!
I used to think I could drown out pretty much everything, but now I realize that the sound of my kids arguing (which has been for hours on end this summer) is enough to send me to crazy town. I can’t think, I can’t focus, it’s exhausting!
I have never tried to write with 3 kids circulating in the background, Jodi. If they were having fun, I’d want to join in. If they were arguing, I’d feel compelled to act as mediator.
Summer breaks for kids are NOT breaks for writing moms.
You said it! I can’t wait for school to start. At least with just one here he can’t argue with anyone but me.
When do you regain your (relative) freedom?
School here starts on Monday, the 18th. In NJ we always started after Labor Day.
An untrained barking dog…ugh!
Barking dogs drive BFF crazy ~> “Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise!” If I’m already in the flow, I’m fine. But if I’m not immersed in the pleasure of writing, barking gets in the way.
WOOF!
When I worked I banned radios in the office. I liked quiet and if someone needed noise to work, they could use ear plugs.
Given various preferences, ear plugs makes sense for crowded office space.
A dripping tap or a tipping door that has not been closed properly drive to distraction. I must complain the house lodger. Wait now….. I live alone.
Now I need to go gather my thoughts….
Bwahaha! Next you’ll be chatting with yourself and finding the chatter a distraction. 😎
Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone, or the men in white coats might appear on my doorstep. 😉
Ooh . . . more Boy Toys for GM. 😛
I’m glad my child is old enough to have outgrown all the kid’s shows and the accompanying voices of irritation. Spongebob is pretty grating but not on the level of Dora the Explorer or JayJay the Jet Plane. I’m still scarred. Meanwhile, my kid doesn’t even remember them. Bah!
You have given me something to add to my gratitude jar today ~ I have no idea what Dora or JayJay sound like. Yay!
The finest example of “ignorance is bliss” you will ever experience.
😉
Of course, the downside of this post is that we’ve revealed our Achilles Heel to the Thought Police.
If ever they need to get us to talk, they now know to turn on Kiddie Shows until we break under the pressure of tiny tinny little voices. 😛
hahahaahaha! I so totally get it! I spent years and years watching Spongebob and wonder now how I stayed sane!
I enjoy watching cartoons (sometimes). The voices in Shrek are awesome. Especially Donkey (Eddie Murphy) ~ “And in the morning we’ll make WAFFLES!”
I don’t know who voices SB/SP, but he’s no smooth talking Donkey.
It depends on what I’m doing, Nancy. But if it’s writing, serious writing, I relish total silence. Sometimes, I’ll enjoy a bit of classical or instrumental music. Most everything else, distracts. In my life, the absence of a TV helps, considerably. 🙂
Yes! Our TV remains silent most of the time. Sponge Bob filtered into my writing space when two nieces were here ~ I realized straight away that I could not write around his voice.
On my own, I prefer to write to the whisper of the wind outside my window.
Nice! 🙂
Ha ha ha. I can work with any kind of noise except familiar sound. Sponge Bob and his kind are no longer familiar. Familiar sounds to me are songs I like for example, or people I care about having a discussion that interests me. But when I really want to put something together, I prefer quiet, if possible.
That would explain why many find it easy to write in the middle of a coffee shop (or Grand Central Station) but not in the middle of their own (familiar) family.
I tend to agree with music too. If I’m not familiar with the lyrics, they fly under my writing radar. But if the song is a fave, I tune in and want to sing along.
My Son playing any Noisestorm track through the tinny speaker on his mobile phone instead of using his headphones really grates! Other than that I can tune out most noises.
It’s a valuable skill to have in a crowded world, Martin!
I am a lover of quiet. When CH is not home or working outside that dang TV is OFF! My brain can’t function when the TV is on. Right now I am trying to catch up on comments and the TV is on and I can barely think. Barking dogs, neighbors riding ATVs or dirt bikes, chain saws set me on edge. I could go on and on. I am very sensitive to noise and I have very good hearing. I hear all. The only noise I like is the music I choose to listen to when I am alone.. 😀 And it is turned down very low. I like this post Nancy.. gave me a chance to vent! Oh, I do love the sounds of birds when I am outside under the oaks but even a phoebe now and then can make me want to curse! And screaming kids… nope. Okay I am done.
Dirt Bikes, ATVs, Chain Saws = NOISE!!! I love listening to birds and frogs and crickets BUT . . . right now the profusion of frogs on our ponds is deafening at night.
Lucky for us, their cacophonic chorus dies down at midnight. They must have a curfew. 😛
I can’t stand Sponge Bob. He’s actually banned from our house (happened many years ago when I sat down and watched an episode with my older son when he was around four. Spongey never came back! I can’t stand any loud/shrill noises, kids arguing or the Suite Life with Zack and Cody. I can watch some kids’ shows, but not that one.
Thank you! I am glad that someone else has the same reaction to Sponge Bob that I have ~ turn that off!!! I expect that I’d feel the same about Zack and Cody.
I’ll keep an ear out and let you know.
The hoonheads and their spinning wheels, loud exhaust pipes and revving engines – *scream*
I’ve never heard that word, “hoonheads.” Off to google.
No luck on google finding “hoonheads” ~ so I’m guessing people with LOUD cars.
I had to laugh at this, Nancy. After keeping Sponge Bob out of our lives for the last few years, the girls are now old enough to occasionally watch it. I sat and watched a couple of episodes and was immediately mesmerized. To my horror, I thought it was funny! LOL! His voice is awful and the story lines are somewhat obnoxious, and I laughed! I’m not nearly as sophisticated as I pretend to be. Hahahaha!
If I had young nieces and nephews, I would watch it with them. Maybe. But I encouraged my nieces (in their teens) to switch to something more age appropriate.
I’m not sophisticated either. I still love Animal House ~> “Do you mind if we dance with your dates?”