Loving Laryngitis

I've been fighting a cold and over time, my throat has been hurting more and more, until yesterday I basically could not speak. So today I went to the doctor and he confirmed that I have acute laryngitis.

Anyway, the fun part was walking around doing some of my chores without being able to talk.

I went to the social security office to update my home address. Think of it like your local DMV office - you walk in, pick a number, fill out forms, talk to someone. So I walk up to the counter and immediately signal that I have no voice to the lady - and she automatically becomes more caring towards me. SUWEEET - She's gonna hook me up with a number that they'll call sooner than later. I should use this trick more often. I was pleasantly pleased to find that everyone there was caring and patient enough to help me.

Next stop, get some fresh squeezed orange juice to wet the pipes before I go and visit the doc. I go to the least smokiest coffee shop that I can find. For those of you who have been to Spain, you can understand that this is extremely difficult. Anyway, I enter and do the same signal to the coffee guy- that I have no voice. I ask, with the best voice that I can do for "zumo de naranja". The guy looks at me and says very slowly, yet very loudly -- like I'm a retard -- "no te entiendo". Somehow a lady who was sitting much farther away understood me and told him, "she said she wanted zumo de naranja". Anytime this guy had to talk to me, he kept speaking slowly and deliberately, with a loud voice. LOL. I feel bad for mute people, they must have people who react this way all the time. Mute does not equal retard! Now I have a new justice to fight for....