at least you have your health

when i was a freshman i got really sick and lost my voice for about a week. i couldn't talk at all, and i got around it by writing "i lost my voice, i can't talk!" on the back of my hand and showing it to people. it was funny to see people's reactions. it was also interesting because when i couldn't talk, people seemed to forget that i could hear, and they'd say things in front of me that they wouldn't usually say. it was also nice that my Matlab TA felt so bad for me that he helped me write my entire program and i got out of lab really early. : )

as inconveinient as it was not being able to verbally communicate, as annoying as it was having everyone around me try and guess what i was thinking, it was also kind of nice. the pressure of interacting was totally off of my shoulders. it was up to everybody else to keep the conversation running. when things got boring, it was not my fault in the least. i never felt guilty about sitting back and watching everyone else talk.

sometimes i wish i could go back to that. it would be nice to not be obligated to talk to everyone. of course, i couldn't turn it off and on; talk to my buddy and then write "sorry, too sick to talk" on my hand when someone i don't know very well comes along. and i'm not sure i'm ready to take on the coughing, sleepless nights, and general pain and misery that came with being so sick.

i guess that leaves me to sharpening my chit-chat sword and learning some one-liners. yay.