Looking forward to making some noise

Losing my voice is such a pain in the proverbial:

I was gutted that I had to miss choir rehearsal last night. One of my new singing friends, Drew, suggested ‘Vocalzone’ lozenges – I’ve never heard of them, but anything was worth a try. They're brilliant, and definitely work better than Strepsils and such like – though, if you’re tempted to try them, be warned: even if you don’t have a blocked nose they’ll make your nose stream and they’ll also make your tongue feel as if someone’s taken a hot iron to it! However, even ‘Vocalzone’ couldn’t coax my throat back in to action, so I just had to sit at home and sulk. It didn't help that Gordon came home raving about what a great time he’d had and how they'd been singing Katy Perry’s  ‘Firework’! If you’re feeling a bit crap about yourself and need a bit of a pick-me-up, this is a great get-up-and-bloody-do-something-about-it-because-you-do-have-it-in-you kind of song. OK, so some of the lyrics are maybe a wee bit naff – but I love it, especially the bits that go:

“Do you ever feel already buried deep?
  Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
  Do you know that there's still a chance for you
 'Cause there's a spark in you?”

Then, after belting out the chorus,

“You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow"

Yup, love that wee song.

Today was the first day of my new course in Edinburgh and not being able to properly join in with the group discussions was really frustrating. I was also a wee bit sad at one point, thinking about how much I’d enjoyed the last module and how much I was missing the great people that I worked with. However, I quickly reminded myself that the reason I’d changed course was so that I could learn alongside a completely different, bigger group – and they do seem like a nice bunch. They know nothing about me as I couldn’t really say much – ah well, maybe that's not such a bad thing!

I’d forgotten, until this morning, that I’m supposed to be working at the hospice tomorrow but I just didn’t have the heart to phone and cancel; it’s such a faff for them to find a last-minute replacement. Fingers, toes and everything else crossed that my voice is back in the morning so that I can answer the phone and greet visitors with, at the very least, an audible ‘Hello’!

So, I’m sooking ‘Vocalzone’ (and can no longer feel my tongue); I’m gargling with salt water (yeuch); I’m drinking green tea with honey (sounds horrible but is actually quite nice) and I’m completely resting my vocal cords by not even trying to whisper. Surely, after all that, my voice will be back to some kind of normality tomorrow? 

It's just the very thought of being able to chat, laugh and sing normally again that's making me feel good tonight!