Can You Hear Me?

Many control rooms ago, I had to read the lips of a pre-recorded character on screen in order to cue the lines of the character who was being recorded live. While the situation was one born out of a series of mishaps and technical problems, it was not so different from any number of odd, "I've never done that before, but I'll try" situations that came up back then.

Why would an event from so long ago come to mind now? Well, it turns out that lip-reading television is not just an important line on a resume (no, it is NOT really on my resume). It is also a very useful skill when you forget to take your headphones to the gym. And so it was, as I was deciding what would be most interesting in silence--a procedural or a cupcake competition--that I hearkened back to that day of reading lips on control room monitors.

I remember back then coming out of my day exhausted, but unbelievably exhilarated about my having been able to do what others thought was impossible. I remember clearly the feeling of power in believing I could do it, simply because it needed to be done. And this week, as I took my last steps on the elliptical in my silent workout, I couldn't help feeling a similar kind of power. I had considered not exercising at all when I discovered I'd forgotten the headphones. But when, instead, I went with the attitude that the gym should be done, headphones or not, I discovered--or perhaps rediscovered--a talent I'd forgotten. Turns out that I can still read lips (or at least faces). And that that I can pedal through, even when faced with the "I've never done it before's" of life.