{"id":1232,"date":"2022-01-12T06:28:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T06:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/?p=1232"},"modified":"2024-08-23T18:50:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T18:50:04","slug":"stop-talking-to-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/stop-talking-to-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Stop Talking To Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<aside class=\"other-formats\">Other formats: <a title=\"Stop Talking To Yourself (PDF)\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/ebooks\/en\/pdf\/stop-talking-to-yourself.pdf\">PDF<\/a> | <a title=\"H\u00e6ttu a\u00f0 tala vi\u00f0 sj\u00e1lfan \u00feig (\u00edslenska)\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/is\/haettu-ad-tala-vid-sjalfan-thig\/\">\u00edslenska<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?resize=1024%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Stop Talking To Yourself \u2014 Illustration by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson\" class=\"wp-image-2078\" style=\"width:256px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?resize=900%2C900&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?resize=500%2C500&amp;ssl=1 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cStop talking to yourself!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I looked over to the sofa where my sister lay on her back with an open book in her lap and a pen in her hand. She shot me a grim look that was no-doubt meant to follow her words through, deep under my skin and into the soul. Her words had no impact on me. They ricocheted off me like waves falling onto a well polished rock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m not talking to myself,\u201d I replied. \u201cNot out loud, at least.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMaybe not out loud in the literal meaning of the words,\u201d she admitted. \u201cBut the body language you express as you pace the room makes it quite clear that you are talking to yourself. And, in fact, at the top of your voice. Quite deafening. I must say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd what if I&#8217;m talking to myself?\u201d I asked and paused my circling of the dining room table so I could better concentrate on the discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s creepy,\u201c she uttered before pausing a second to blow a bubble with her gum. \u201dWhy can&#8217;t you be normal?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Normal. What was that, now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd what do you think you are doing?\u201d I asked back, rolling my eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat does it look like?\u201d she asked and lifted the book she had been writing in before. \u201cI&#8217;m writing in my journal. That is, when I&#8217;m able to concentrate in-between your silent screams.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCan I read?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCan anyone read?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d she replied and quickly closed her book as a precaution and to underline her words. \u201cIt&#8217;s my journal and no one reads it but me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAren&#8217;t you then just as much talking to yourself as I&#8217;m talking to myself?\u201d I asked and continued my journey around the living room table, taking good care to step down correctly so that my feet matched the pattern in the underlying carpet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe&#8217;re definitely not the same,\u201d she sighed. \u201cIt&#8217;s normal to write a journal but it&#8217;s not normal to talk to yourself. Why don&#8217;t you just keep a journal like other civilized people?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She opened her journal again and prepared to go back to her writing. I gave myself time to reflect on how I could reply. Right foot with a five degree outward angle. Left foot with a five degree inward angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI don&#8217;t want to,\u0326\u201d I said finally, after a few seconds contemplation. \u201cI don&#8217;t like to leave a paper-trail. It&#8217;s also more environmentally sustainable to talk to yourself. Lower carbon footprint.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group book-ad has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#000000;background-color:#65aab1\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:33% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=683%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Among Other Things \u2014 Book cover Ana Pi\u00f1eyro\" class=\"wp-image-2143 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=1024%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=1365%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1365w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=900%2C1350&amp;ssl=1 900w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?resize=500%2C750&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/among-other-things.png?w=1600&amp;ssl=1 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Among Other Things<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>This piece of flash fiction appeared in the flash fiction collection Among Other Things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you enjoyed the story, we encourage you to support the publication by buying a copy of the book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Among Other Things<\/em> is available as paperbacks from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Among-Other-Things-B%C3%B6rkur-Sigurbj%C3%B6rnsson\/dp\/993594669X\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/among-other-things-b-rkur-sigurbj-rnsson\/1146128813\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Barnes and Noble<\/a> and e-books from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Among-Other-Things-B%C3%B6rkur-Sigurbj%C3%B6rnsson-ebook\/dp\/B0DC4VDQZC\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kindle Store<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/among-other-things\/id6636554661\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple Books<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/among-other-things-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.storytel.com\/in\/books\/among-other-things-9136592\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Storytel<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also support the author through <a href=\"https:\/\/patreon.com\/UrbanVolcano\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Patreon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/buymeacoffee.com\/borkur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buy Me a Coffee<\/a> or by rating the book on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/217146264-among-other-things\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Goodreads<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-499968f5 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/among-other-things\/\" style=\"border-radius:50px;color:#ffffff;background-color:#000000\">book details<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/aside>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A flash fiction by B\u00f6rkur Sigurbj\u00f6rnsson. Siblings argue about who is talking more to themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-1232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-fiction","tag-human-behavior","col-md-6 col-sm-6"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/stop-talking-to-yourself.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1232"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2172,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232\/revisions\/2172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanvolcano.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}