I’ve had my jaw wired shut for the past week. Needless to say, it makes regular eating and speaking pretty difficult. Things like yawning and coughing are also restricted, so that’s definitely been weird. Going out for anything more than a walk or a medical appointment isn’t an option. And I worry that if I wear headphones of any kind it might mess with the recovery of my jaw bone. Luckily, I’ve been able to afford convenient solutions to this: nutrition drinks, computer and cellphone to communicate through writing, speakers to hear audio from. I guess there aren’t really any solutions I’ve found for the whole yawning and coughing thing, but otherwise technology and science are great.

	But even with these conveniences, they’re still alternatives for what I’m used to. And it’s definitely made me appreciate being able to eat and talk to people a lot more. Hopefully by the time this is posted I’ll have my jaw unwired and I'll be snacking on some mashed potatoes and mac and cheese while waiting on some car repairs. The funny thing is, even with my jaw unwired, I’m sure that I won’t be speaking to anyone at the service center. Or anyone outside of my regular circle of communication. Which makes me think of my relationship with people, especially when it comes to meeting new people or speaking with people who are just acquaintances. And I think it can be summed up as such:

	I really, really enjoy talking about things that are either niche, really boring, or make people uncomfortable. I’m talking about things like the possibilities of why Korean Wave is becoming so popular worldwide, how to craft proper Dungeons and Dragons dungeons that will keep players entertained, or the current tensions between countries and how it’s affecting the global community. Those kinds of things are absolutely awesome and I love hearing what people have to say about them. I’m not really sure why I think it’s so interesting. I just remember not really being interested in small talk when I was expanding my relationships in high school and college. 

        But I guess it might be that I think we all as people are interesting and it’s fun to see what we all think about things that are happening around us. There’s a sort of comfort and excitement that comes into my heart knowing that sort of stuff. It's like knowing the backstory and explanation of a villain at the end of a horror story. It explains the behavior of something that seems so chaotic and seemingly random and makes it less scary. And it gives me something to grasp onto, you can say. And maybe my fascination with these sorts of things is an unending question and answer to some sort of event in my past that’s influenced the way I view and interact with people. Or maybe it’s a preemptive attempt to shield myself from some sort of pain that I’ve previously experienced or fear exists.

        Either way, that’s probably a post for another time. For now, I’m going to end on the note that drinking water is awesome. Especially when you don’t have to drink it through a straw.