"Doctor Doctor. . . . Give me the News!" -Robert Palmer

I'm really sorry I have not kept my promises, but I should get some gladiator pictures soon, and then it's on like donkey kong!!!!



I do how ever have an important matter to discuss. I don't remember what all I've mentioned about issues I'm having with singing and talking sometimes, but for months now I've been going through what I can only describe as a second pruberty because everytime I tried singing songs that should be in my comfortable range. (Or Tesatura for those of you music majors) and all I ended up doing was squeakin' all over the place. It's been uncomfortable to talk, and I have a difficult time communicating in certain tones and during Joseph I had a lot of people ask me if I was sick, or losing my voice. And the last straw was at Karaoke when I brought up my concern with Joey the lady that runs the music and last week during a paticularly horrible rendition of a pink's U + UR Hand, Joey went right over to Michelle and said "She's got to get that looked at there is something wrong there." So the next day I made an appointment.

I went and saw the ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) Doctor, and I was starting to really over think it, and was worried I had Vocal Noduls or even worse . . . .a polyp of some kind, but guess what I found out?

Apparently I have what they call "Silent Gastric Reflux" which is causing my vocal chords to swell!!! Crazy right? I always knew I was a little gasy, but I had no idea it would ruin my singing career!

The Doc. prescribed me some Pepcid, recommended I elevate the head of my bed, lay off the caffeine, and stop eating three hours before I go to bed. And I'll check back in six weeks and see if I've improved.

I wasn't quite sure what to do about my voice as far as talking and singing goes, so i've been doing some research and while I couldn't find anyone with the exact same issue, I came to the realization that my issues are mainly due to my lack of practice, and the other part is the swollen chords. . . . .so I've decided to follow the doctor's orders and a) not talk so much and make sure what I do and say is in a comfortable tone, and b) I need to warm my voice and vocalize just like an athlete warms up to play sports. I found this really cool site, with some great tips, and so hopefully I'll soon be on the road to recovery, because this crappy singing business I was not in love with!I got a little taste of what it's like to be those people that we make fun of at karaoke and on American Idol, and uh. . . me no likey!

The good news is I don't have anything that requires surgery as of yet, because word on the street is that stuff takes forever to recover from, or sometimes damage can be permanent.
So here's hoping in six weeks I'll be back on track!!!!

Sorry this post is so short, but I hope for some exciting stuff tomorrow!!!

Peace!