I have terrible vision. Seriously, without whichever form of corrective lenses I choose to wear, everything is a big fog. I find this extremely disorienting, and so I try to avoid it.
Basically this means that when I put my contact lenses in I try to avoid taking them out for as long as possible. Which in normal people speak would mean they wait till the moment before they jump into bed to take them on. To me, that means I put them in and then two weeks later I throw them away.
Stop, I can hear the gasps from here. I know it's terrible and it's probably really, really bad for my eyes, but whatever, that's what I do. I go to the optometrist as often as I am allowed and she checks my eyes each time for disease, and nothing has shown up so far, so I think the threats of it being harmful are completely exaggerated.
At any rate, recently I noticed that my vision had become very blurry. I didn't really notice it being a gradual change, though I'm sure it was. But, all of a sudden I had a terrible time seeing anything. And trying to wear my glasses? Ha! They are five years old, and didn't help one bit. When I saw Dr. Wilson, she told me that I could still legally drive wearing those glasses because I could still read the proper line on her chart with them, and let me tell you...that is one hell of a scary thought. If everyone in the world is out there driving with vision that bad, I think I should stay off the roads.
So, since my promotion back in February I now have benefits which means that I am able to replace those ancient glasses. I went to see Dr. Wilson the week I was off recovering from my surgery and ordered new glasses (actually, I've been there 4 times to finally get everything sorted out), which arrived last week, and I picked up yesterday.
They're a hell of a lot stronger than my old glasses and they're actually quite a lot stronger than my contacts as well, so it's taking a little bit to get used to. Also, in the past I used to try and pick glasses that would blend in and not be quite as noticable on my face. I went a different way this time around, so I'm still getting used to seeing them there as well.
For now I'm going to have to wear these for a while. I've sent the receipt in to the benefits company to get my refund back for the glasses, and until that cheque shows up, I'm going to have to hold off on ordering new contact lenses. So, hurry up Canada Life Assurance Company (I think that's who it is), I need my contacts so I can start recognizing myself again.
Oh, when I finally get around to taking a picture of the glasses (I can't find one online) I'll add that here, because they really are pretty cool.
Thank God it's Friday and I can fill out the Friday Five, because I'm seriously out of ideas. Having said that, I don't like the questions, because I am not a brand oriented person.
1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
I use Mentadent, which we have to import from the States because it's not sold here. Otherwise, Colgate.
2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
Toilet paper is toilet paper, as long as it's not recycled and only 1 ply, I don't really care.
3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
All brands. I just love shoes and don't restrict myself to only one brand, I can't even think whose name is on the ones I wear most often (to work).
4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Diet Coke. That's it. If I absolutely must, then I'll have Diet Pepsi, but I don't like it one bit.
5. What brand of gum do you chew?
Dentyne Ice usually. There are two flavours which I alternate, Shiver and something else. You know, the kind that burns the inside of your mouth and makes you cry when you start to eat it? Those are the ones I like.
So it's been two weeks since I had surgery.
As I'm sure everyone knows, I wasn't able to eat before the surgery. At least, not without incredible pain. There were actually two things which I could eat that left me mostly pain free. Turkey sandwiches, and fresh pasta with plain tomato sauce. This is what I ate for a month. Eating became something to worry about, which only caused me to feel sick as I was eating, in anticipation of the pain that would come afterwards. Basically I worried so much that my stomach got upset, which would result in me eating less, to avoid the pain later. If I haven't already said it, it really sucked.
If my boss hadn't had to go on vacation I would have had the surgery long before I did. Which would have saved me a whole lot of pain, but...c'est la vie. What's done is done. Though, I do hope she feels guilty. ;)
I was looking at my scars earlier, they've almost healed completely. The main one which they pulled the gallbladder out of is still a bit tender. And there is still a yucky scab on top of it. The other three are all healed up now, which is good.
So, apparently I'm all back to normal now. There are still a few things that I can't eat. Fast food being the most prominent thing. I haven't tried dairy yet, because it was one of the worst things. As in, it made me so sick that I was doubled over in pain, but also so dizzy that sometimes everything went black. I suppose it's not a big surprise that I haven't tried it again recently. In fact, I've been thinking about buying vitamins and forgetting that dairy exsists at all.
So my point (yes, I think I did have one) is that after two weeks things look a whole lot better. And for some reason I'm constantly hungry, it's like I'm a bottomless pit. So much for the weight I lost when I was surviving on nothing but turkey and pasta. I haven't gained it back yet, but at this rate, it won't take long.
Thank God it's Friday, because I've had such a busy week (insert eye rolly icon here). But, Friday means entries without hardly even thinking. Hooray for the Friday Five people. Especially since they decided to give questions that people (ie. me) can answer.
1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?
I don't care, water is water in my opinion. The stuff out of our tap goes through a brita filter before I drink it, when I remember to turn it on that is.
2. What are your favourite flavor of chips?
I like chips. All of them, but if forced to choose I guess I'd say either Ketchup or Dill Pickle. Yes, I know, they're disgusting, and that's why I love them. And to be fair, I don't actually eat chips that much, usually just at the cottage.
3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?
Which do I like to cook the most? Or which do I like to eat the most? There's a difference.
Cooking would probably be chicken breasts because you can marinate them and then grill them and it takes no time at all. Throw some vegetables in the steamer and you're done in 10 minutes.
Eating would probably be spaghetti. Which takes forever to make, but always tastes incredibly good when finished. The only thing is, I always eat too much and then feel like exploding for the next two hours.
4. How do you have your eggs?
I prefer them poached, but if that's not an option scrambled or fried will do.
5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?
My mom made me dinner last night and it was very good.
I'm going up north this weekend. I haven't decided if I'll go tonight or tomorrow. We'll have to see about that. But, anyway, I can't wait because I haven't been there since June last year, and from someone that used to spend as much time as humanly possible there, going almost an entire year without going is just horrible.
Tomorrow morning I have to go and see Dr. Gately again. I suppose the visit will be to check that the incisions are healing properly, and to find out how I'm faring, etc. Which is fine. They had to squeeze me in, which is going to mean that I'll sit there and wait for him to show up again.
I've sat and waited both times I've seen him. He finally showed up to the hospital 45 minutes late for my initial visit with him. My surgery was approximately half an hour late. So, if we're going to follow the pattern, tomorrow I should only have to wait 15 minutes. I guess I can handle that. I'll have to take a book.
But, what I'm mostly excited about is going back to work. You'd think that almost a week off would be a good thing, wouldn't you? A week off would be good, if you could get on a plane and fly to someplace fantastic like say...Greece. However, with appointments here and appointments there, oh, and four holes in my stomach, the whole vacation thing was a bit impossible. What makes things even worse is that I actually had to use my vacation days to recover. So, getting on a plane and flying to someplace fantastic is now impossible.
How sad.
But, going back to work will be good, it'll give me something to do. I doubt I'll be hefting any boxes around for a few days, but I can sell books, and do paperwork. I'm sure they've got lots of paperwork for me to fill out. And it's overdue. In the few days that I've been off I've managed to become completely addicted to Dawsons Creek (damn you TBS!). I've discovered myself crying over season finales of various shows. And I've even cleaned my room. Cleaning my room is uncommon and very upsetting. However, the fact that I was in a panic this morning because I wasn't going to be able to see the Series Finale of Dawsons Creek is what really convinced me it was time to do something again.
Of course reading that title it makes it look like I'm addicted to the stuff or something. That is actually not the case.
On Friday I had my surgery. When I woke up in the recovery room, I can remember two things. Incredible pain, like pain so strong that I think I lept off the stretcher. And the nurse telling me that I'd been out for a really long time.
Thankfully she determined that the pain was severe and went to the drug cupboard and came back with morphine very quickly. That's all I remember for a while. I couldn't see anything because I didn't have my contacts in so everything is even more fuzzy than it already was just from coming out of the anesthetic. My dad came in to see me, and I really don't remember a whole lot of that. I do remember that he was there though.
At some point the nurse came back and again asked me how I was doing and I must have mumbled incoherently about the pain because she gave me more morphine. At that point things start to come into focus a little bit. My mom came in to see me, and I latched onto her hand and didn't let her go. So they didn't make her leave. It was good. Because then while I was doing my incoherent ramblings it was mom that was having to listen to them, and not the nurses.
I don't exactly remember leaving the recovery room, but somehow I ended up back in Same Day Surgery. And we seemed to be there forever. I wanted to go home, but they wouldn't let me. Eventually I got out of bed and ended up sitting in the chair beside it just to prove that I was ready to leave. Mostly because we were concerned about getting to the pharmacy before it closed. I can't imagine how I'd have gotten through that night without any pain killers.
So, now morphine is my friend, as is codiene. :)
I'm starting to feel a bit better anyway. There's still incredible pain, and I realized the hard way last night that I shouldn't be eating, but all in all, I think things are ok. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. Hopefully good enough to stop taking all these painkillers. Because on Tuesday I have to go to the eye doctor, and I don't think they recommend driving while high on tylenol 3's.
Since it's Friday I should probably be filling out the Friday Five like everyone else, is, but I'm not in the mood for that. Even though there are questions that I could answer, unlike all those crappy music questions that have popped up in past weeks.
In an hour and a half I'm leaving for the hospital. I just looked through the instructions they gave me last week, and discovered that I'm to remove all jewlrey, no big deal, I did that last night anyway. I'm supposed to have a shower, which is fine, though I don't really feel like it. I'm lazy, what can I say? And of course, I can't eat.
Of course, not eating is nothing new. I've not had a whole lot to eat for ages now. So really the surgery today is going to be fantastic. Tonight I'll be able to eat. Finally. But, I'm just so hungry now.
I'm not worried, I'm not nervous really. It's all going to be good. The only tiny worry I have is that once they get in there, they'll discover that they can't do it laproscopically and they'll need to go the conventional method which will require 6 weeks off work. I would go crazy with six weeks off work, not to mention that I'd have to file for bankruptcy.
Maybe I'll do the Friday Five anyway.
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
Other people would look at me and think that I was terribly unorganized. I tend to live in chaos and yet I still know exactly where everything is.
At work I need to have order, sometimes it's incredibly difficult to achieve that where I work now, but when I was in an office with a desk of my own that I could organize it was always, always neat and tidy. Though, there were days when there were 4 or so computers sitting on it, all in various stages of broken. But that wasn't messy except for all the cables...
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
I have a calendar that hangs on the wall in my bedroom. I write when I'm working on there, and any appointments I have. That's all I need. I don't carry anything around with me to help me keep track of things. My work hours aren't normal, but they tend not to vary too much from week to week.
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Actually, right now it's more organized than it's been in ages, there are no dishes sitting on it, the DVD's are mostly stacked where they're supposed to be, and all the remote controls are... well, ok, they're spread out all over the place. I also have a stack of papers from the hospital that I was looking through earlier this morning. Once those are picked up everything will be fairly tidy.
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
My CD's are largely kept in alphabetical order, the ones that live in my car aren't, but then that would just be a little too excessive.
My books? They're sorted by type. Mass Market, Trade and Hardcover. Each format has their own shelf, and those books are arranged in alphabetical order, and then if part of a series in order of the series. Yes, it's compulsive, but I work in a bookstore, what else did you expect?
My DVD's aren't in any order in particular, except that I have the ones that come in the big boxy type packages (ala Harry Potter) all together, and the rest are just in whatever order I watched them last.
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
The kitchen! When my mom was away in April I went in there and rearraged the fridge, the freezer and this terrible cupboard that just had everthing thrown in at random. It didn't take a long time really, but I hate cleaning out cupboards.
So, there we have it. Wish me luck this afternoon!
I definitely have some spectacularly stupid moments.
Tonight for instance, was absolutely one of my best. I was to meet Scott at the movie theater which is mostly half way between our houses so we could see a movie. Which I did. I was early, and expected him to be late, so I sat in the car rather than go inside and stand around by myself.
Anyway, I managed to get out of the car and lock my keys inside...in the ignition. Thankfully the car wasn't running, but still, the keys were inside the car, the doors were locked and I was 45 minutes from home.
Why, yes, I am a blonde, why do you ask?
Thankfully for me, Scott is a nice guy and he drove me home to get my spare keys, and then drove me back to unlock my car, at which point I drove us both to a bar somewhere where we had dinner....at 11pm.
All in all, I feel like an idiot....yay me!
I can't think of a single interesting thing that's happened to me lately to write about. So, I think I'll write about the un-interesting things.
It seems as though my mom and I are going to move. I really like the house that we live in now, but if we have to move, it's not a huge deal. So the two of us were driving around looking at things over the weekend. Anything my mom really liked, I really didn't. And anything I liked, it seemed that she didn't. As it stands she'll probably be moving to the states, at which point I'll pay the mortgage and live wherever we end up. So, it's sort of important that I like it. Anyway, before we can really do too much looking, mom will have to sell this house.
So, since I'm thinking about eventually having a mortgage to pay, I'm thinking about my car. My car which I love but which costs me a fortune. It's a lease, and theoretically I'm stuck in it. But, there are ways around everything, aren't there? :) I haven't been to talk to the people at the dealership yet, but I think I will soon. There's a strange noise coming from the front end that needs to be looked at, so perhaps I'll speak to someone while I'm there having that looked at.
My thoughts are, if I could get someone to assume the lease on this car, then I could get something cheaper. I looked at the Chrysler site last night and discovered that I could pay $300 a month for a Neon, and own it eventually. Now, I'm not entirely sure that I want to drive another Neon, but there must be other cars out there that are equally cheap. I really like the big engine in my car because I do tend to drive on the highway a lot, but I guess I could live with a smaller one again. It'd certainly be better on gas.
So, that's what I've been thinking about. Like I said, I love my car and will really miss it, but in the grand scheme of things, it's just a car...there are more important things in life.
I couldn't figure out today why everything was going wrong. I left home to go to work today only to find that every asshole imaginable was on the road. When I got to work I was sent to the bank and the store, and I found that every asshole imaginable was still on the road.
When I got back to work, I discovered that we were moving everything. After two and a half years they've decided to move the self-help section. I will never remember where they've moved it to. At any rate, my afternoon was spent moving books. My knees are killing me.
While I was moving books all over the place, I managed to have all kinds of things happen. Shelves spontaneously jumped off their holders dumping books all over me. Books lept off the shelves to land on my feet, and when they weren't doing that they were just falling over and generally pissing me off.
Then I was receiving books, the box with the invoice in it was on the complete bottom of the pile. When I picked the boxes up that were on top of the box that I needed for some reason the tape decided to let go and they opened up.... When I finally got that sorted out and got to receiving the books, they kept falling off the cart I was putting them onto.
It was the worst day ever.
I've also discovered that I have no sick days left for the year, which is going to mean that I'm going to have to take my vacation days next week while I recover from my surgery. This isn't a huge problem because I really hadn't planned on going away this year anyway. The only thing is, I don't know how many days I get....
*sigh* I hate the full moon.
I'm finding that I'm fairly bored this evening. I don't know why exactly, usually I don't have a problem with finding something online to keep me busy. However, this evening it's not so easy. I suspect that it has something to do with me being home all afternoon with nothing to do but surf aimlessly.
I had another appointment today at the hospital. This time it was my pre-op appointment, which was supposed to take 2 hours. I was there for about half an hour. I waited next to no time in the waiting room, talked to the lady very briefly, she took my blood pressure, had me stand on the scale to figure out what I weigh (I've lost 5 more pounds, yay me!). And then I had to watch a video.
What really makes me laugh is the SARS checkpoint. They've got a shelter set up outside so that before you go into the hospital you have to talk to some people. At the first station you take a form to fill out, I didn't even bother to read it today because I'd read it already on Monday when I was there, so it took me no time to fill it out. The next station you have to talk to someone and tell them where you're going and confirm that you actually have no SARS symptoms. Then they give you some of that really terrible alcohol handwash to use on your hands. After that, they make you wear a sticker which is (I assume) a differernt colour for every day of the week and has the date printed on it.
At any rate, they've changed the time for my surgery and didn't bother to tell me. I mean, really why would you want to let the patient know? Wouldn't you want them to show up on time? I have to be there two hours early, I have to take a robe and slippers with me (?) and I'm supposed to have an overnight bag just in case I need to stay overnight.
Anyway, that's the excitement in my life. If you can call it that.