Part 1 - Talk

1. Talk
2. Get off the Web
3. Get Healthier
4. Leave the House
5. Join some Clubs
6. Say Yes
   
7. Spoil Myself

There are many confusing steps on the Becoming Me list, mostly because I invented it during a boring sales call. I imagine however, that none will confuse those who think they know me more than the first – Talk.

Talking has never been easy for me.
I have a stutter, a small lisp and talk faster than bad news. Generally I write
instead. Writing can be edited and it is easier to appear witty when you’ve rewritten your punch lines.

But in Reading, I was a loud annoying bastard. Overconfident in my importance, I forced my way into conversations, dominated discussions and generally pissed people off. It’s a gift I’ve always had, or did at least, hiding my verbal insecurities by talking loudly enough to sound important. It’s a common trick used by many, most notably George Bush.

All that changed when I met my boyfriend. It became less important to impress people, because hey, I was getting laid! I would spend evenings in a corner talking to him or eating his face. Love was overpowering. I didn’t need anyone, and they’d still be there if I did, possibly with a sharp stick to prod some sense into me.

Overtime I learnt to shut up. It was, although those with teenage children may not believe it, a remarkably easy lesson. I wasn’t special, just one of a couple, the Corbett to his Barker. And I moved to Bristol unable to lead a conversation, function as a single unit or repair the stubble rash on my chin.

In a social society, communication is important for survival and happiness, as well as a good way of getting arrested. If I want to be part of the world again I will have to start acting like it.

Hence my first weeks aim to start talking again –in four stages.

1. To myself
2. To my friends
3. To my Co-workers
4. To new people.

During the next 6 days the blog will be updated with (hopefully) short entries detailing how my various talking adventures are going.

I hope, if nothing else, they will make your laugh at me, although always politely.