Back in '05 I began to lose my voice, causing me to design a graphic sweatshirt. The cause of my vocal condition baffled my doctors, who could only attribute my problem to a series of unknown events. A year or two later, after all efforts to recover my ability to speak failed, I decided to go through with a procedure to remove a small polyp from my vocal chords in order to regain my ability to speak clearly again. Despite countless comments from friends and total strangers to keep it the way it was (sounding like Clint Eastwood's voice), I went through surgery to correct it. That was the easy part. The hard part was not speaking for a full month in order to allow my vocal chords the time they needed too heal. During those 30 days, I had to find other means to communicate. My daily routines consisted of trying to ask for directions, explain something to a friend,

and even simple things like ordering a cup of coffee. I was left to use only my hands to communicate. Well, that got old quick, and in this fast pace city I needed people to be more patient with me-, if I even said a word, I faced the possibility of damaging my voice permanently. So I came up with a solution. I would design and print a message on a sweatshirt that would get peoples attention. It said “My voice is temporarily out of service. Please be patient”. I wore it when I was in public, and even carried along a pad to write and draw on, allowing me to keep my mouth shut.

That month felt like an eternity, but needless to say it was a life changing experience that at the very least, has improved my skills at the party game Charades forever.