Lasik Surgery Recap

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The surgery is complete and I am a sighted woman. People have been asking me all day if it feels "cool" to see and I have to laugh a bit. The world looks the same as when I wore contacts so there's no drastic difference... unless I stop to remember I'm NOT wearing contacts.

The surgery itself was fine, although I've come to the sad conculsion I'm a wimp when it comes to pain. You know how you sometimes wonder what your pain tolerance is, and how you might hold up under childbirth or enemy torture? The truth is, I'd spill government secrets at the first hint of pain. Need to know where we keep the nuclear launch codes? Follow me!

So we get there for the surgery and I gulp down my valium. Maybe it had an effect, but I didn't feel much. I think my greatest concern was that Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" was playing in the background when my eye surgery began. Not confidence inspiring. Pink Floyd would have been more apprpriate, given the flashing red and green psychadelic lights that dominated the procedure. My job was to focus on the flashing green light. Except at one point the doctor said, "You're going to lose all sight for just a minute," and then there was blackness, which was fine, until I heard them saying, "Suction, 15 seconds." Thank you, but I don't like to think of my eyeball and suction in the same sentence.

The whole thing probably lasted 10-15 minutes, max. My eyes did burn and tear for several hours and I was senstive to light. (I believe I walked into the dining area where Blair was eating dinner and said something along the lines of "MUST you eat with the lights on?!?") I also had to sleep in goggles, but I took an allergy pill which knocks me out so that really wasn't much of an issue. They said if you're prone to scratching or rubbing your eyes to sleep with the goggles for a week, so I'll try again tonight.

Other than that, I have to put in eyedrops throughout the day and not wear make-up. I saw a friend today and he said, "You look tired." Bite me buddy, that's what lack of under eye concealer will do for a girl.

Overall, I'm thrilled. Sight was great today, drove everywhere, typing on computer now with no trouble. Eyes feel a little tacky, but no aches or pains. Very pleased thus far. Thanks to all of you for the well wishes!!

Lasik Eye Surgery Laminations

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Photo courtesy of WikipediaTomorrow is my Lasik Eye Surgery. I went in today for a pre-surgery check-up, where they sat me in the big chair and pressed the optical refractor (see photo) against my face and proceeded to flip lenses in front of each eye, asking each time, "Which looks clearer? Number one? [FLIP] Or number 2?" "Number 1? [FLIP] Number 2?"

I have always feared this exam, namely because there is no sure way to pass it. Was number one more clear or did I  just imagine that? Can they tell if I'm lying, even if it's unintentional? Did she just have me choose between lenses 3 and 4 because my choice between 1 and 2 was so obviously wrong?

If I was nervous about the exam on a normal day, the stress is quadrulped given that LASER SURGERY will be performed on my eyes tomorrow based on my answers. Holy crap! Is it too late to admit I said #2 looked clearer only because I suspected that was what the lab tech wanted to hear? That I was guessing when I read most of those letters on the bottom line and what I called an E may have really been a fuzzy H or P? That, in reality, I saw no difference between lenses 3 and 4? Dear God... what have I done???

Yeah, I'll be having that valium before my surgery tomorrow. You betcha.

Dena

Dena's Writing Room: The Unveiling

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Note the sour apple green ceilingOn a scale similar to that of the transformation reveal on The Biggest Loser, today's blog proudly brings you (pause for heralding trumpets and distant "hurrah's")... the unveiling of Dena's new writer's room!

As you may recall, our poor woe-begotten writer was feeling less than creative in her beautiful upstairs office, necessitating a change of view and entire room re-do. What used to be the downstairs guest bedroom is now Dena's new writing room. Note the word choice: WRITING room. Not office. Not a place dominated by invoices and paperwork and conference calls (although, as you'll see, those all have their place). Instead, a room meant to provoke thought, inspiration, creativity, and--God willing--a completed novel by year's end.

First on our tour is color. Working off the map, we chose a classic turquoise for the walls and a yellow/sour apple green for the ceiling. [Props to Blair for scraping the popcorn sh** off the ceiling--what were people in the 70's thinking?]

We picked out neutral carpet and brought down the green and purple plaid chair from upstairs with the intention to slip-cover it, but I'm kind of diggin' the contrast so for now, it stays. 

My intent is to fill the room only with things I love that inspire me. A whimsical lamp made by a friend, blown up artwork of my book covers, a cat mat we found almost a year ago that's been sitting in our closet, the pillow my sister gave to me for Christmas one year when she about 8 and I was 14, chimes that used to hang in my grandparents home. If it doesn't make me smile, it doesn't get in the room.

One thing making me smile wide is the desk Blair built for me. There are a number of abandoned thick wooden doors in our attic. Blair took one, sawed it down to size, added legs, stained it, and put a glass top on it. Voila! Instant writer's desk. I'm mad for it.

 And of course my very favorite thing--Lucy cat snoozing in the corner.

Now, back to that office business. The fact is, it doesn't make sense for me to keep a writing room and an office--too much stuff spread over too many areas. My solution is to divide this room into quadrants. The desk Blair made me faces the front window and is the writing desk. NO OFFICE WORK done at this desk. Only pen, paper, laptop, warm light, and coffee mug. Anything else is a distraction.

Behind me, in the corner by the fireplace and side window, will be the office space. I'll set-up a second desk with file cabinets, printer, stapler, three-hole punch... the works. We're still desk shopping at this point, trying to figure out how to best utilize that corner space. An L-shaped desk would be ideal, but there isn't much room between the fireplace and the wall.

There are plans for the room. Blair is going to build me bookshelves next to the writing desk. I'll need to get curtains at some point, although I'm loath to close off any part of the sun and a little nervous that adding them may overhwhelm an already overwhelming room.  But I'm in no rush. Part of what "blocked" me from writing upstairs, I think, was that it was so perfect. Everything in place... an ideal little set-up that I wrote not a creative word in. I had to leave the house and go to Panera for that. When I set up a card table in the front bedroom, surrounded by boxes and beds and unhung pictures... bingo. Words flowed. So I'm being cautious about insisting that everything be in place.

Meanwhile, I am loving the new space.