Haze filled days

Air conditions in the Klang Valley has deteriorated so much that pedestrians walking with a mask is no longer a rare sight. Even I myself have to keep reminding myself that I am not in Genting Highlands, and the air that I am breathing in is not fresh.

Yes, I am talking about the haze which hit Klang Valley for the past week, the worst being the yesterday and today. Government has declared that schools in KL will be closed for 2 days. Last I heard, Subang airport is closed as visibility dropped below 200m and Shah Alam and Port Kland have been declared to be in state of emergency. To qualify, your Air Pollution Index (API) needs to be above 500. If what my friend forwarded me is true, i.e. KL's API is above 400, then I am secretly wishing that we hit 500 and be given off for tomorrow. I mean, if we are to suffer, might as well be given offday to stay indoor rather than risk our health and go outdoor. 450 and 500 is not alot of difference, and not like if we inhale the air at API450, we are that much healthier.

Of course, if given a choice, I would want the haze to go away.. This haze is the worst I have seen hitting KL in my enire life.

Rain rain don't go away, come if you may everyday, we all need you for work or play...

A world of new vision...

Been meaning to update my blog with the latest thing in my life...
I went for....... Lasik! What is Lasik, I hear some of you ask, well, to put it in simple enough terms, it's vision correction surgery.

I booked my appointment on 14th July, and for 2 weeks before that, I was not allowed to wear contact lenses as they dry out the eyes and may affect results of examination. There I was, feeling like a high school geek all over again for 2 weeks. What's more, all events of imortance e.g. meeting in HQ, deparmental head meeting, parties, sports activities all had to happen during that week. And I got asked the question of why I was wearing specs on a daily basis. All forms of dodging did not work and I had to tell them that I was considering Lasik.

On 14th July, went to the clinic and waited for my turn to do the eye examination. Process will take about 2-3 hours inclusive of consultation. Wasn't really nervous as my cousin did it about 1 year before that, and have heard many other friends doing it too. Went through a series of tests which includes Topometry test, Cornea thickness and others (don't remember them anymore).. 2 hours and about 5 types of eye drops later, the consultant told me "Good news! Your cornea thickness is good enough so you can do Lasik!" That is hardly good news to me as I have expected to be able to do it and walk out of the clinic clear of my specs! Good news would be more like "You are our monthly lucky draw winner and your operation is FOC" That is good news..

Anyway, after I decided to go ahead with the operation, they put some eye drops to dilate my pupils. And off we went to the operating room. Those who played SIM Hospital will know what I mean when I say the operating room looks exactly like that. Lying on the operating table, I was as calmed as I can be, trying not to fidget nor think about what is about to happen.

I shall not go into details of what the procedure was like. To summarise, they cut my cornea flap open, reshape my cornea using laser (i.e. burn off some cells) so that light can refocus, clean the wound, tip the flap back and voila! Done for one eye, rest for 30 seconds, and it's the other eye's turn. Whole procedure ended in 20 minutes. The moment I stood up and looked through my hazy but clear vision, it was like "wow!" 20 minutes and I am rid of contact lenses and glasses! How wonderful is that? The initial day after the surgery was a bit uncomfortable as your eyes tend to get tired very easily, teary and sensitive to light. But take 2 days of rest and you will be fine. I was driving on my third day! The feeling is like wearing contact lenses all the time, without the hassle of solutions, saline, lenses complications, glasses and others... when I travel now I just love the feeling of not having to remember to bring extra pair of lenses, casing, glasses and all! It is indescribable.. for those who are lucky enough not needing to wear glasses, you will not truly understand how liberating this is.. but it is a marvellous feeling. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to rid of their "inconvenience". Although few thousand dollars poorer, I have not regretted it for 1 second. 2 weeks of inconvenience and couple of thousand is definitely worth it...!

Oh, for those who are curious to know whether I blinked or how I managed not to blinked, do not worry, you have no chance to blink. Nothing some scotch tape, stickers and "eye-jack" wouldn't fixed.. haha...!