So. I had a ridiculously busy weekend. Busy day today at work, too. Then someone was all, “Can you help Undergrad with Experiments this afternoon and teach him Techniques?”
Sure.
My mouth had other ideas.
I’ve been dealing all afternoon with stutter issues where I have the word, and I know the word, and I just can’t get it out.
Frustrating.
Today, I can make words happen… if I’m not looking at the person I’m speaking to and I talk at about half my normal speed, with… some… very unnatural… pauses… inserted. And, um. Lots of, um. Ums.
Undergrad is nice and understanding about it. Not certain whether he realizes how much of my energy is going towards getting words out today, but he didn’t tell me to spit it out or make fun when I dropped articles because why say “the valve” when saying “valve” is easier and gets the point across and words are like fighting through moleasses today?
(my mouth throws tantrums like a petulant toddler sometimes)
If I get a smartphone or tablet, I might install a text-to-voice system if my stutter plays up again when trying to teach. Because I was concentrating so much on speaking, I made a few oversights that could have been dangerous if he didn’t have the insight to ask me about them. Eeek.
Note to self: Next time coming off a busy weekend with guests and shopping and eating out and also 4 straight nights of <6 hrs sleep, make excuses to avoid teaching duties.
ischemgeek 
Eeek!
Frustrating. Glad you had an undergrad who worked with it.
Yeah… Undergrad, as it turns out, is friends with a dude with a severe stutter (much, much worse than mine, though also more consistent, so his friend can always tell how much trouble he’ll have. Mine’s more intermittent), so he knows the drill of how to help someone with it (supplying troublesome words yes, playing 20 questions or yelling at me to spit it out no).
Wow. Perfect example of what a difference acceptance and understanding can make. Good for him!