My friends are hilarious.

I wasn't sure what to title this post. It was between the above title and something about it being a very quiet world when you have lost your voice. I opted for flattery.

A few things have happened:
1) My new computer arrived. I feel like I'm cheating on my old one, but since it's been dead for almost 3 weeks now, I should probably get over it and move on. I have learned some level of resilience over the years, but 3 weeks generally isn't long enough. Do keep in mind that I was with that computer for something like 6 years. Of course it doesn't always take half the length of the relationship to get over it, it can take more or, in this care, much much less. Anyway....
2) Having a working computer of my own for the first time in nearly 3 weeks means that I have had time to sift thru a whole lot of email. Carolyn Helmke wrote a magnificent piece of the death of her TV mid-chemo (you can imagine the necessity of getting over that loss within a matter of minutes) and Mitja about having his pants (with wallet and keys) accidentally taken from the YMCA during parent-child swim class (only to be returned hours later: "Hi, this is the YMCA. Hope you've been doing okay without your pants today.") I was reminded of what I told Jared over tea on our first date, "All my friends are hilarious. I don't know why." I guess it's particularly odd since most people don't even get my sense of humor, even close friends.
3) I'm sick, and I've lost my voice. I actually feel fine, but when the phone rings, I am shocked to learn that my attempts at "Hello?" fail utterly. I was just at Valencia Whole Foods (my corner organic grocery) buying tea for colds, juniper, and chocolate and trying desperately to communicate. (The guy wanted to know what the juniper was for, and, well, you can imagine my embarrassment.) At UPS (where I picked up the computer after missing their 3 attempts to deliver it), the woman assured me what while I sounded terrible (she agreed), I looked great. That was cute. So, yeah, I'm a mess. I wonder if I lost my voice because I finally got my computer. I mean, I wonder if I'm in a phase of blocked communication right now, and so the fact that I can communicate online now means that the universe had to block my ability to communicate in some other way. How's that for a wacky New-Age Berkeley theory for you?

I'll stop. I'm almost done with my soy hot coco, and I'll be moving on to Echinacea tea. French class tonight will be interesting since speaking is a big part of it. I'm sure my teacher will understand. In the meantime, I both need to rest, AND I have 3+ weeks of work to catch up on. Ick.