My Voice

My "out there" idea for how I would try to make some money after I left my job was to do voice overs. Hence one of the reasons for my blog title. (That's the literal one; the more figurative relates to finding new bearings after leaving a job at the same organization for nearly 32 years.

I took an adult ed session on voice acting last year and enjoyed it--and thought I'd be good at it. I signed up for a training package that included lessons, on-line resources, recording studio time and ultimately a set of demo disks (based on the studio session). Now I have to figure out how to market myself--something I'm not used to doing, and which isn't easy for me.

But I'm also having difficulty with my voice--I'm getting hoarse really quickly when I talk, and my throat hurts after I sing for even an hour. So I'm reading a book I bought years ago about vocal technique, and am back to basics practicing breath support. I've always had difficulty with my singing voice, even though I have a modest amount of talent. I suspect that I've been singing incorrectly--somehow tightening muscles in my jaw or elsewhere near the vocal chords, and not supporting consistently enough with by diaphragm. So I'm hoping at a minimum that my voice won't wear out as quickly, and am always hopeful that my singing voice will be more consistent.

Anyway, having vocal problems isn't a good start for trying to do voiceover work. But my main concern is that I'll spend a lot of time (and some amount of money) trying to get work and have nothing to show for it. But that's the type of risk I wanted to take. I just need to figure out how to limit the amount of money I invest. The lesson package was not cheap, so I've already invested quite a bit.

So I will chronicle my steps and progress in trying to get voice acting work--starting with trying to get my voice into better shape.

Ring finger jam--with rings

Just as my trigger finger was healing, I jammed my ring finger while spreading 20 bags of mulch in my garden beds. I had my rings on at the time, and didn't think to take them off right away. The jam really hurt, but I kept working. By the time I went back into the house and tried to remove the rings, it was too late--my finger, especially my knuckle--had already swollen. I didn't think too much of it, but tried to put an ice bag on it--didn't work well, because the ice bags are so big. It wasn't until later that night that I remembered--the finger injury kit I bought at the drugstore had a little ice pack in it designed to slip on over a finger. But I needed to freeze it for at least 2 hours before using it, and it was already late at night.

This of course happened to me on a Saturday--I always seem to get injuries on the weekend, when I can't easily check in with a doctor. By Sunday my finger was quite swollen, and I got more and more nervous that they would have to cut my rings off. Not sure why I didn't do research--ice was the right idea, but I also should have kept the finger raised above my heart level--something I will remember in the future. Along with not wearing my rings when I am doing manual labor.

I didn't want to go to the emergency room to have it checked out--I was afraid they would cut off my rings. I didn't want to say anything to my husband--these of course were my wedding ring and a diamond ring. Not my engagement ring--I hardly ever wear that, after a close call where the diamond fell out some years ago. A story in itself --my husband was determined to find the diamond, and did. On the floor of a ski shop where we had been earlier in the day. When he finally asked my how my finger was doing (back to the finger jam story), I said I was worried they might have to cut off the rings. I could tell he was freaked, although tried not to show it. He said he thought the swelling would go down; no need to cut off the rings...

I cooked dinner on Sunday, which I shouldn't have done--I'm sure the cutting and other preparing didn't help the swelling. But it was Palm Sunday, and I bought rack of lamb so I could try a recipe from the WSJ that came from a DC restaurant I haven't been to--the Blue Duck Tavern. The recipe called for marinating the racks overnight (I bought 2 but should only have bought 1 for 3 people), then browning the lamb before cooking it in the oven (in the pan) and marinating it with a mustard sauce. At the same time I cooked asparagus as laid out in the recipe (also cooked in the oven). The recipe was very good, although the lamb was probably rarer than it should have been. My husband only learned to eat food that's less than well done since we've been married. But we all ate it; it definitely was juicy. I'll probably use the recipe again for a special occasion, but cook the lamb a bit longer. My oven usually cooks fast, so I thought I was OK with the minimum time noted in the recipe. I should have used a meat thermometer... Not sure why rack of lamb is considered so fancy--I've never ordered it in a restaurant (too expensive), and have had it only once, I believe--at a ski resort in Quebec called Le Chanteclair. They had gourmet meals every night there. Anyway, my husband asked what exactly is rack of lamb--I said I thought it was just a bunch of lamb chops stuck together. Not sure whether the rack is where the individual chops come from, or whether they come from another part of the lamb. I assume the rack is from the ribs--some of the chops are from the shoulder, I believe.

On Monday my doctor made room at the end of her appointments (she was finishing around noon because she was headed for a Seder that evening). I could move the rings, so she said they didn't need to be cut off--yet. She confirmed that the emergency people probably would have cut them off. She made me a splint (said the one I was wearing--from the drugstore finger kit--was not good. It was straight, which she said could stiffen the joint). She told me to keep my hand raised above my heart, and continue to use ice. If the swelling didn't come down, the rings would need to come off. And she would do a xray to see if any bone had splintered--that apparently sometimes happens with a jam.

I kept my hand up the rest of the day, including at night (she said to prop my hand up on pillows), and used the ice pack the maximum 4 times. Yesterday (Tuesday) morning the finger looked bad--I couldn't really move the rings and the area above them was quite puffy. I used the ice, then decided to take a shower. After I was done, I put hand lotion on, and found that I could move the rings. I got them to the knuckle, and after a few tries finally twisted them over the knuckle and off my swollen hand. Was I relieved! I still spent the entire day with my hand raised--watched movies on TCM since there wasn't much else I could do, and I wasn't feeling well. My husband took the dog to "doggie day out" so I wouldn't have to walk her. (The day before, I ginned up a makeshift sling with a scarf so I could keep my hand up.)

By dinnertime last night, I realized that I didn't really need to keep my hand up any more--the swelling would come down eventually, and the immediate danger of losing my rings was over. So I'm not as concerned about the finger. In fact, I'm using it right now--doing my usual typing. It doesn't hurt at all, but keeps changing color--red, blue, yellowish green... And the lower section, just above where the rings were, is still very puffy.

So I'm off to yoga--free classes this week at the yoga studio, to make up for all the classes that had to be cancelled during the February Snowmageddon. Hopefully, my recovering fingers (trigger and jam) will be OK during downward facing dog...

Trigger Finger Repaired-I hope!

I wish I'd known what I had was Trigger Finger (fixable) and not arthritis (not fixable)--I would have visited a doctor much sooner! The orthopedist confirmed that what I had was TF, and said the conservative approach was to first try cortisone shots. So he gave me a shot at the base of my middle finger, where the misfiring tendon was. That was 2 days ago--I have a pretty large bruise on the palm of my hand where the shot was--and it hurts if I put pressure on it. But my finger joint seems fine.

I think he said that cortisone works for about 40% of people with TF--and they don't have to do anything else! If the joint starts locking again, he'll do a second shot. He said if 2 shots don't work, 22 won't work. So then he would do surgery to (I guess) keep the tendon from catching and preventing the joint from unlocking.

So if you have a finger joint that locks in the bent position--see an orthopedist and get it fixed!

Brittle Nails, Brittle Nerves

Brittle Nails: For some reason my nails have been peeling and nothing I've done has helped heal them. Internet search revealed a bunch of different suggestions--lanolin being the most popular cream; mixed reviews of products such as Hard as Nails. My Mom always swore by gelatin. (Root cause, according to Internet search: aging.) So I asked my dermotologist (when I was there to seek treatment for a skin blotch on my face) what to do. He said nothing taken internally would do any good, since the nail ends that peel are already dead. Thus shooting down the gelatin fix. He said peeling nails are the result of dryness, and suggested that I put petroleum jelly on them.

So I've been putting Vaseline on them ever since--has helped a bit, but I think the cold weather also was a culprit. And I do think nails are better off with polish on them--I was leaving them unpolished, but that seemed to protect them less.

Vaseline is so greasy, I get it on everything (especially the TV remote when I put it on in the evening). But it absorbs more quickly than one might think, and if you wipe it off your palms, it's not as messy. I like the fact that my dermatologist comes up with inexpensive fixes. Before I went to him, I started searching for lanolin cream, until I remebered that I'm horrible allergic to it. I once wore a lambs' wool sweater on a plane flight to Florida; it felt like my back was on fire by the end of the flight, and I couldn't do anything about it (no change of clothes in carry on.)

Brittle Nerves: I thought that getting myself out of an increasingly stressful work situation, plus doing more yoga and meditation would help calm me down. But I can get just as impatient (when waiting for a prescription, for example). So it must be me, not the work. Something I need to continue to focus on and manage.

Trigger Finger

I guess it's inevitable that some of my blog would be about age-related health issues. Here's the latest: for some time the joint in my left middle finger has been stiff--sometimes it would lock, and I'd have to unfold it gently with my right hand. I assumed it was arthritis, and hoped taking glucosamine/chondroatin each day would help, even though a recent study shows that treatment to be little better than the placebo.

Anyway, yesterday I yanked on my dog's leash (to keep him from attacking another dog) and my left finger locked. But I couldn't unlock it, and it hurt so much when I tried that I walked the rest of the way with my finger locked at a 90 degree bent angle. It was scary and painful. So when I got home I asked my son to look up "locked finger joint" (since I couldn't type) and found that what I have is called "trigger finger". Multiple causes, not necessarily arthritis. Happens more frequently in women, and often is the result of repetitive gripping motion. I think it's all the years of gardening (pruning, weeding) that did it for me.

An ice pack finally did the trick--my finger joint unlocked--and I bought a splint per Mayo clinic web site suggestion. But I plan to see an orthopedist to see if I need more extensive treatment--either steroids or surgery.

Seems like since I've stopped working I've had more health problems-dizziness, sinus/cold/allergy (not sure), and now Trigger Finger. I hope it's not because I have more time to notice health issues...

Meditation for relaxation?

I went through the transcendental meditation program about 30 years ago. All I'm left with at this point is a mantra and the notion that I should meditate 20 minutes twice a day. But I've never been able to stick with it--when I was single the cat would bother me; with marriage, a child and fulltime work, I never found time where I wouldn't be disturbed. So now I'm trying again. Starting with 20 minutes once a day.

I've been at it for a few weeks--does anyone else have a hard time sitting still for 20 minutes? Or having one's mind calm down for 20 minutes? I seem to have more, disparate thoughts during those 20 minutes than at any other time. How to clear the gutter of snow and ice; what we need at the store; when will I need to walk the dog--you name it. The guidance is that when you notice that you have a thought, let go of it gently and return to the mantra. But it seems to take me a long time to notice that I'm thinking thoughts, and I'm only able to have the mantra (and only the mantra) for a few seconds at a time.

And then there's the posture--my lower back starts to hurt after a while (that seems to be getting better), and my legs get stiff, so I end up focusing on whether I can stay still or need to recross my legs and/or shift my posture. And I have yet to make it to 20 minutes without looking at the clock--my record was yesterday, when I first looked at the clock after 16 minutes. But then I looked at it every minute--didn't want to go past 20! Today I was back to looking at it when only 12 minutes had gone by.

So does meditation really reduce stress, like the studies say? Guess I'll see...

Do expensive creams work?

I was at Nordstrom's the other day--had to return something. I had planned to just get a credit, but succumbed to my shopaholic urges and bought an expensive eye lotion (Kinerase Extreme Lift). Kinerase products are very expensive, but I use the face creams--a dermatologist once recommended Kinerase as an anti-aging cream when my skin wouldn't tolerate retinol.

So is it worth spending $95 on eye lotion/serum? "Clinically proven to visibly reduce the appearance of crow's feet in 5 minutes...get visibly younger looking eyes without undergoing any procedures... " says the package. I'm trying an experiment--I'm putting the K-Lift around my left eye and drugstore-purchased Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Lifting Treatment around my right. I think the N-gena cost around $20. So far (one day) I don't see any difference. In fact, the left eye area loops droopier, but then it always does. One note in fairness to K-Lift: I needed to use only a tiny drop of K-Lift vs a strip of creamy lotion from the Neutrogena. So not sure what the per application price difference is. (K-Lift is .5 fl oz vs N-gena .43 fl oz.