I once was blind...

Well, I can officially see! The surgery went well. Quite truthfully, a lot of it is a blur (no pun intended!). I was given some pills for sedation… and they did a smashing job! I was awake, but I was rather woozy throughout the whole thing. The rest of the day is one big blur as well… I held a phone conversation with my friend Megan some time in the early afternoon, and I called her back in the evening, unsure if I had actually talked to her :) I guess our earlier phone conversation ended with me going, “yeah, I’m not actually following what you’re saying…” and her telling me to get some sleep :) It makes me laugh to think about it.

But how was LASIK eye surgery? Well, from what I do remember, I was very impressed with the whole facility. All of the people working there were really great (you could tell they were used to putting people at ease). There were a lot of us there for surgery that day, and since it’s such a quick procedure, they stacked us in… but it never felt like a cattle call or anything, just a well-oiled machine. At some point while I was waiting for my special pills to take their effect, Dr. Ford, the surgeon, came out and shook hands with each of the people in my group going through the surgery and asked if we had any questions. Nobody was asking any, so I couldn’t help myself. When he got to me, I asked him if he had gotten a good night’s sleep :) Thank goodness, he had!

When I finally stumbled into the surgery room, it all went very quick… this is where my memory starts going fuzzy. I remember lying down in the chair, and then I remember Dr. Ford saying that he liked to start each surgery with a little prayer, and asking would I mind this. I remember being very grateful for him starting with a prayer… it just put me at ease. Then the procedure started. I won’t go into the details of what is done in the surgery, but there was another person in the room who simply stood there and told me what was going on, each step of the way. The whole procedure is so quick—I wasn’t in there for more than 10 minutes. I walked out of the room, they sat me down and put some drops in, and then walked me out to my mother in the waiting room—and that was it!

Of course, the rest of the day I was falling in and out of consciousness… my mom was there to wake me up and hand me drops to put in every half hour or so, and I guess I attempted to talk to some people on the phone (including the funny conversation with Megan), but otherwise I just tried to lay low and heal. The amazing thing is that I could see already when we were leaving the doctor’s office. My vision has fluctuated some, and I’m seeing halos around lights, but I’m told that this should go away after the incisions on my eyes stop being so swollen (sorry, I hope that wasn’t too descript for someone). My eyes are currently a little scratchy, and I’m still taking it easy, but I’m feeling pretty good! What a relief!

A tribute to my dad

Happy Birthday dad! I got your daughter LASIK eye surgery, wasn't I thoughtful?

Before I go in for surgery, I just wanted to take a quick moment to acknowledge the day my father was born. He is truly one of the best men I know, and I have always admired him. He is the perfect combination of humor and seriousness, and his ability for puns is truly frightening. He is respected in all circles of friends that he passes, whether it be through his work as a director at Syntax, his guitar playing with various bands, or his service to the Baha'i Faith.

I love you dad.

Surgery tomorrow!

Well, tomorrow is the big day! I'm going in tomorrow morning for LASIK eye surgery. I am a bit nervous, as many things could go wrong, but I'm also excited. If I can just stay calm, I know I'll live through it... at least I hope I will :)

So I've had to wear my glasses this whole time... since I wrote the entry about "My Complex" back in September. I have gotten used to wearing the glasses, but I've also found them to be a huge pain. I don't exactly feel like that awkward ugly girl anymore when I wear them, but I feel hidden behind them, if this makes any sense. I'll be very glad to shed them tomorrow.

Anyway, those of you who do so, I would greatly appreciate some prayers. I'll update my blog with how it goes... but probably not for a few days :)

I'll "see" you soon (wah, wah, waaah!)!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, for those of you in this part of the world who celebrate it--Happy Thanksgiving! I for one am very fond of this holiday. I have a friend who sent out some funny jokes about Thanksgiving, and here are a few of my favorites (thanks Wayne!):

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead."

Q: Why do Pilgrims pants keep falling down?
A: Because their belt buckles are on their hats!

Q: Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?
A: The outside

Q: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
A: Pilgrims!

Q: If the Pilgrims were alive today, what would they be most famous for?
A: Their AGE

Last two performances!

Well, Friday and Saturday are the last two performances of Kafka Dances. Five weeks have flown by! What's cool is that the final two shows are already sold out! So, those of you in the Anchorage area that still wanted to see the show, I would call Cyrano's and get on their waiting list. They can give you a better idea of whether there is even a chance of getting in. But I'm thrilled that our last two performances will be packed--it's a good way to end the show!

Update: Well, after tonight's (Friday's) show, it seems like people still have a good chance of getting seats--we were sold out in reservations, but there were still seats open tonight--so tomorrow is your last chance!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in November?

My maternal grandfather always got irritated that Christmas decorations and promos started happening before Thanksgiving—he thought that it stole away from the holiday of Thanksgiving, which he really liked.

So it’s two weeks away from Thanksgiving, and I’m already singing Christmas songs! But I can’t help it! I just got cast in Theatre for Young People’s production of I’ll Always Love Christmas, which is a musical review of holiday songs, with a few dance numbers tossed in too. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’ve been having a blast in rehearsals! This being the last show that I’m in before leaving Alaska, I’m just so grateful that I get a chance to play and perform with all my friends! Those of you in the local area should not miss the show—others in lands far away will have to settle with pictures when I get some.

Meanwhile, I’m in the second-to-last weekend of Kafka Dances. It has a run of 5 weeks, which is quite long for the Anchorage area, which typically only has 2 to 3 weeks of a show. But we’ve been having supportive (if not always big) audiences, so it has been quite enjoyable. Once you’ve done a show many times, it’s fun to think of ways to keep it fresh—but it can be a challenge too.

So, singing Christmas songs in November… I think my grandfather would forgive me in this case ☺

An update on car thoughts

I've appreciated everyone's comments! It's funny, when you put something out there, all of sudden options open up that you weren't even considering. I had placed this on my blog, and I had also consulted with family and friends. My mom suddenly had a brilliant idea. I'm still looking into it, but it looks like I might be able to sell my car, and then buy my mother's subaru--it's an outback with all-wheel drive, and it's about 5 years old (after all, Krista, I have to keep the Subaru tradition alive!). My mom is interested in getting a new car, and I would be buying her old one... it's starting to seem like a win-win situation. I still have to look into things, but it's starting to sound like a very good idea. I definitely know the history of the car! Oh, and Carrie, I am looking into seeing if my brother can come with me, even if I ship the car to Seattle and drive from there--I would love for Colin and I to go on a road trip! And I would love seeing all my friends in Seattle! I'll keep you posted for when I'll be there.

Bye for now!

What do you think?

Okay, so here is the debate that is going on in my head:

I’m trying to figure out the best strategy for moving to Minneapolis, and the amount of options seems endless! I’ve decided it’s best for me to have a car while in Minnesota, and I actually own my car here. My car, however, is about 12 years old and does not have all-wheel drive. I’m meeting up with my aunt in Montana to get some of her stuff out of storage there, so all of my plans have that as the destination point, with driving together from Montana to Minnesota. But here are the options—and I’m sure there are even more:

1. Sell my car and fly to Montana: While this does seem easier in some ways, I would then be purchasing a car in MN, which may be just fine, or it may not. It has that unknown factor. Another downside is some of the pluses of option 2.

2. Ship my car to Seattle and drive to Montana: I have found that it’s actually a little bit cheaper to ship my car to Seattle and drive from there, rather than driving straight from Anchorage. The plus to this is that I spend a couple days with my friend Tana, who I’m dying to see, and some other friends that are in the area, then I drive the day trip to Montana and meet up with my aunt. Another plus to this is that I don’t have to worry about purchasing a car. The downside is that my car is old, without all-wheel drive, driving in January, which may be just fine, but I don’t know…

3. Look into getting a used car with all-wheel drive, and proceeding with option 2. This allows me to get rid of the unknown of purchasing a car in MN, and allows me all the pluses of option 2. The downside, of course, is spending more money, which inevitably seems like it will happen.

I’m leaning towards looking at my options for cars here, and seeing what I can afford. Any input from anyone else would be greatly appreciated!