No Speak Week
The last time I felt like a Disney princess I was actually at a palace in Vienna, Austria.
On Thursday I'm having surgery. It's VERY minor, especially in comparison to other medical situations I've dealt with :::coughcough-cancer-coughcough:::, so I'm not the least bit phased. In fact, I'm quite excited.
About five years ago I had a job that required me to be on the phone a ton, and the short version is that I just overused and abused my voice both in and out of the office and I didn't have the time to grant myself any kind of voice rest. It resulted in a "new" voice that is a bit raspier than my God-given voice, as well as a dull ache in my throat. It honestly isn't that bad, and it essentially became my new norm.
But recently it's been driving me a little more crazy. I think my breaking point was when I was on the phone with a client and my voice cracked - something I have zero control over. That's when I knew I had to start keeping a pulse on when I could actually get this surgery done. Thankfully a little window of time to take care of it has finally presented itself.
It will be a grand farewell to my pesky rasp, perpetual ache, and voice cracking incidents! It is so crazy to think that people who have met me within the last five years or so have never heard my real voice. My own boyfriend hasn't heard MY voice! None of my friends I've met in Florida (I've lived here for about 3.5 years) have either.
But here is the kicker...
After the surgery, I'm not allowed to talk for one week. Help me Jesus. Those of you who know me at all, know that this will be quite a feat. That being said, I'd love some ideas on three things:
Creative (funnier the better) ways to communicate when I go out and about... keep in mind, it is likely that I'll be bumping into friends I haven't seen in a good while since I'll be home in RVA for the holidays. Whiteboard? Printed thought bubbles?
Movies/TV series that I should binge watch.
Any fun silent activities recommendations.
No Speak Week will be most certainly be entertaining, and perhaps enlightening for this social butterfly. I keep having flashbacks of scenes featuring Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" when she lost her voice - dinglehopper, anyone? However, I really am quite optimistic. This is a surgery commonly performed on singers, so I have no doubt that I will wake up with Adele's voice (and accent). ;)
