*Lasik. I came to Taiwan on my way to Singapore, and my mom arranged for me to get my eyes Lasik'ed while I'm here. The whole process is a lot less bureaucratic here than it is in the states. Like I got the initial checkup in the morning, and by that night I was having my eyes laser-beamed. And none of that "ennnh, you're not a good candidate, I don't think you should do it" business (; I wasn't that good a candidate, but they went ahead and did it anyways). Anyways, I got the OATz (Optimized Aspherical Transition zone) treatment... whatever that means. But yea, if they find out 10 years down the line that this stuff makes you go blind, my whole mom's side of the family tree is jacked, cuz we all got the same kinda treatment more or less.
The actual laser-beaming process is actually quite painless- just looks & feels like a flashing light. But then afterwards, OOOOOOHHHHH MAN! does it hurt like a mother! It felt like having burning coals pressed against my eyeballs from inside the eyelid. I'm not sure if I eventually passed out from the pain or if I quietly cried myself to sleep, but at any rate, those were definitely some of the most torturous hours I've endured in my recent life.
The Results. I guess I wasn't as excited about getting my eyes done as most people would be. The reason being that from start to finish, this was largely my mom's decision. I suppose if I'd been the one to say I wanted to do this, I would have been much more thrilled. I think the only time I cracked a little smile was during the post-examination, when they told me I was seeing better than [20/20]. I have since noticed that my night vision is kinda jacked up though- I have these humongous halos around any point light sources. (They said it'd be worse for me cuz I was a "bad candidate," but that it'd get better as my eyes healed.) This effect even happens a little bit in daytime, but it's hard to explain- I think they said it's cuz my eyes/brain absorb/interprets too much bright lights, or something or other.
Anyways, I guess it's kinda cool to be able to wake up and be able to see clearly first thing in the morning, but the healing period is particularly annoying. I'm not supposed to rub or touch my eyes for a couple weeks, not supposed to swim or get any water in 'em either- to the point that they discouraged washing of the face (I gave up on that stipulation within a week, hahah), and I'm supposed to wear these protective (chem-lab style) glasses (which I gave up on also, cuz they fog up all the time). They say there's a possibility that young folk who get Lasik might need it done again at some point in their life, especially if they read and use computers a lot (i.e. me, haha); so I guess we'll see in a couple years, eh?
**Self-Consciousness. So before the operation, I had to go a couple weeks without wearing contacts (or at least wearing them as little as possible). So for the first time in years, I was forced to wear glasses out in public. I don't know why this is any kind of big deal to me, but I guess glasses have always been one thing I was very self-conscious about (well, since I got contacts in late 7th grade). Like in college, it would not be uncommon to see me out & about (say, in class) in my pajamas with my hair a mess, but I almost certainly would still have my contacts in. (The state (combedness) of my hair was an important concern for me only between 8th & 12th grade.) I mean, these days, I really try not to focus much on how I look on a day-to-day basis, but I guess the glasses thing was one of those old habits that die hard. I think it's cuz I was just really glad to get rid of glasses when I first got contacts, and that set the tone for the rest of my days. (In elementary school, they called me a 4-eyes and didn't let me & the other glasses kids play football with them during recess. =( Kids can be so cruel!) Well anyways, these past couple weeks, if you saw me around in my glasses, hopefully it was for the last time.
The actual laser-beaming process is actually quite painless- just looks & feels like a flashing light. But then afterwards, OOOOOOHHHHH MAN! does it hurt like a mother! It felt like having burning coals pressed against my eyeballs from inside the eyelid. I'm not sure if I eventually passed out from the pain or if I quietly cried myself to sleep, but at any rate, those were definitely some of the most torturous hours I've endured in my recent life.
The Results. I guess I wasn't as excited about getting my eyes done as most people would be. The reason being that from start to finish, this was largely my mom's decision. I suppose if I'd been the one to say I wanted to do this, I would have been much more thrilled. I think the only time I cracked a little smile was during the post-examination, when they told me I was seeing better than [20/20]. I have since noticed that my night vision is kinda jacked up though- I have these humongous halos around any point light sources. (They said it'd be worse for me cuz I was a "bad candidate," but that it'd get better as my eyes healed.) This effect even happens a little bit in daytime, but it's hard to explain- I think they said it's cuz my eyes/brain absorb/interprets too much bright lights, or something or other.
Anyways, I guess it's kinda cool to be able to wake up and be able to see clearly first thing in the morning, but the healing period is particularly annoying. I'm not supposed to rub or touch my eyes for a couple weeks, not supposed to swim or get any water in 'em either- to the point that they discouraged washing of the face (I gave up on that stipulation within a week, hahah), and I'm supposed to wear these protective (chem-lab style) glasses (which I gave up on also, cuz they fog up all the time). They say there's a possibility that young folk who get Lasik might need it done again at some point in their life, especially if they read and use computers a lot (i.e. me, haha); so I guess we'll see in a couple years, eh?
**Self-Consciousness. So before the operation, I had to go a couple weeks without wearing contacts (or at least wearing them as little as possible). So for the first time in years, I was forced to wear glasses out in public. I don't know why this is any kind of big deal to me, but I guess glasses have always been one thing I was very self-conscious about (well, since I got contacts in late 7th grade). Like in college, it would not be uncommon to see me out & about (say, in class) in my pajamas with my hair a mess, but I almost certainly would still have my contacts in. (The state (combedness) of my hair was an important concern for me only between 8th & 12th grade.) I mean, these days, I really try not to focus much on how I look on a day-to-day basis, but I guess the glasses thing was one of those old habits that die hard. I think it's cuz I was just really glad to get rid of glasses when I first got contacts, and that set the tone for the rest of my days. (In elementary school, they called me a 4-eyes and didn't let me & the other glasses kids play football with them during recess. =( Kids can be so cruel!) Well anyways, these past couple weeks, if you saw me around in my glasses, hopefully it was for the last time.
posted by Dear Daniel at 10:00 PM
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