Cha Cha's and Explosions

This week has been so interesting. Today I somehow got roped into performing the Cha Cha in a dance competition. HA HA HA!!! I'm still going to try to escape, somehow, before I humiliate myself in front of lots and lots of people. Don't ask me how I got roped into it. Let's just say it involved a beginning dance class and my inability to say no. Hahaha. Oh well. It will be fun...I guess. (Jules has an anxiety attack, stops breathing, falls on the floor and starts convulsing.)

Okay, I'm back. Another interesting occurrence--my family was eating dinner on Sunday night when we heard this strange hissing noise coming from the oven. We thought that was strange, seeing as how the oven was turned off, so my dad opened the oven door...and the heating coil was sparking and then EXPLODED!!! I've never seen an oven explode before. Hahaha. I'm not sure exactly what we did to anger the gods of mechanical objects, but everything mechanical that we own seems to be malfunctioning: cars, ovens...okay, just cars and ovens. :-)

On a brighter note, I got another refund check from school today. Yay! Grand total: 1 whole dollar! Yay! I'm going to go get me a JBC from Wendy's.

Deaf Date

I've had plenty of blind dates, but this was my very first "deaf date." I was supposed to go out with this kid a week ago, but that was when I first lost my voice, so we postponed it. Then I found out about my mandatory three-week vow of silence, but I felt bad to cancel again, so I still went. I took my little pad of paper and just wrote everything. He was a good sport about it, and I think it was a good thing for me because then I didn't keep rambling on and on...like I'm doing now. :-) So, I'm not really interested in the guy. But he's nice and it was fun. And the waitress at California Pizza Kitchen was super nice to me because she thought I was deaf. Hahaha.

Of course, the whole date paled in comparison to last night's pinochle game. ;-) Hahaha. Nick and I actually won! That doesn't happen...and probably will never happen again. It almost made up for Nick mocking me all night. Almost. Oh! And Mel taught me how to make the computer at work talk for me. Maybe I won't have to cheat during my lessons anymore. Here's hoping.

You know, this whole silence thing has given me a new respect for this scene:



Ariel and I have a lot in common...minus the red hair and fins and tiny waist and seashell bra. (Minor, insignificant details.) Okay, so we don't have much in common. It's still a good scene, and it's nice to know that she got her voice back in the end. Not to mention she got a hunka, hunka burnin' love to go with it.

Wow. I'm tired. Time for sleep!

Moral of the Story: Having a handicap isn't all bad, I suppose. ;-)

Quote of the Day: Trust one who has gone through it. --Virgil (70 BC - 19 BC), The Aeneid

Unfashionable me!

(Here's a picture of me with my good ol' squeaky toy hedgehog -- PHIL!!! He's an ugly bugger.)

Fashion makes me laugh. I didn't want to do my hair today, so I borrowed my little sister's headband and wore that. I feel like I'm back in the 80's/ early 90s again! Last time I wore my hair like this, I was really little and my older sister told me my hair looked really ugly and unfashionable, and I went and cried. And now it's back in style! (Well, as close as I can get to being in style, anyway. I doubt anything I wear actually qualifies as "in style) Funny how that happens.

I dropped my acting class yesterday, because I figured there was no point in staying in a class like that if I can't participate. Granted, I would be awesome if we did a pantomime unit, but I don't think that's part of the curriculum at the moment. :-)

By the way, I'm writing a research paper on music during the Holocaust. If any of you happen to know where I can find some primary sources and can help me out a bit, I will love you forever! (Don't hold me to that, please. There are extenuating circumstances.)

Moral of the Story: Fashion is stupid. Wear what you want. (Again, there are extenuating circumstances.)

Quote of the Day: I base my fashion taste on what doesn't itch. Gilda Radner (1946 - 1989)

"MUTE LIKE ME" Update: People are so nice! Some LDC friends dropped me off a package of fun stuff last night in typical "doorbell ditching" style. It made me happy! I feel guilty, though. It's not like I feel terribly sick or anything. I just can't talk! I feel like I'm conning people out of their money... (Jules tries to suppress an evil laugh, but can't.) MWHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! Oh well. :-)

Starburst Rant

Random thought: Why did the makers of Starburst change the flavors in their tropical mix? That was my favorite mix and now they've ruined it! And have you ever noticed that no one ever wants to eat the yellow Starbursts? It doesn't matter if the flavor is lemon or pina colada or whatever, no one ever eats them. Strange.

Well, that's all I really have today. I'll end with my observations for Day 3 of "Mute Like Me."

DAY 3:

--I went back to school and work today. It was so interesting to see how different people reacted to me as they found out what was wrong with me, and watched me try to communicate through my own mixture of pantomime and sign language. (I think I'll dress like a mime tomorrow and just pretend to be in a glass box all day.) Some people laughed, other people felt really sorry for me, and some people just scared the living daylights out of me by telling me horror stories about people they know who've had vocal nodes. Hahaha.

--TEACHING IS HARD TO DO WHEN YOU CAN'T SPEAK. I cheated. Many times. :)
But my favorite reaction was from my 8-year-old student Jordan. I told him that I couldn't talk, so i was just going to have to write to him and tell him what to do. He got a big grin on his face and said, "Oh boy. This is going to be FUN!" I'm glad you're excited, buddy. We'll see what you think three weeks from now.


Moral of the Story: Don't buy the Starburst Tropical Mix. It's depressing.


Quote of the Day:

I think the first virtue is to restrain the tongue; he approaches nearest to gods who knows how to be silent, even though he is in the right.

Cato the Elder (234 BC - 149 BC)

Silent Screaming!!

Well, I finally managed to schedule an appointment for the otolaryngologist (whew-say that one three times fast) on Monday. (I'm just trying to sound smart. An otolaryngologist is an ear, nose, and throat doctor. That's my word of the day!) I've got to tell you, that was not a comfy experience. I'll spare you the gruesome details and just give you the diagnosis: I have vocal nodes. ARGH!!! Those are the nemesis of every singer alive. If you don't know what a vocal node is, here's a picture (these are not my vocal folds, by the way):


Gross. Haha. A vocal node is a callus that occurs on the vocal folds from "vocal abuse." Vocal nodes are really not good, and if they get bad enough some people need surgery (like Julie Andrews, for instance). Luckily, mine are really small, so I'll only have to go on complete vocal rest for three weeks....

WHA...?? THREE WEEKS?!

That's right, ladies and gents. I'm going to have to try my best to be silent for the next three weeks. I have no idea how I'm going to do this, especially since almost everything I do involves talking or singing. You never realize how much you talk during the day until you can't. Oh well. At least this will teach me how to hold my tongue. :-) And I'll let you know how my "Mute Like Me" experience is coming along.

Observations for Days 1 and 2 of the "Mute Like Me" project:
-When you can't talk, people treat you like you're either a) stupid, b) helpless, or c) not there. It's incredibly frustrating.
-It's so hard to get people's attention without using your voice! I've had to resort to carrying a squeaky dog toy with me, and rapidly squeaking it whenever I need to "talk" to somebody. (It's true! The toy is an ugly little hedgehog whom I have lovingly named Phil.)

That's it for now. I hope these next few weeks go by fast....

Moral of the Story: Be kind to the mutes. And if you happen to get sick, for the love of Pete let your voice rest!! Don't try to push through the sickness!!!