planning my IT

my bible in this trip is Lonely Planet's southeast asia on a shoestring. it took me days to read through the material, sneaking a peek while waiting for the lights, technicals and art department to finish their set-ups on location (planning my vacation while working is a pleasant pasttime).

here is what the book looks like after i marked all relevant info for my trip:

it took me several times to finalize my itinerary. it started like this:

after 6 more drafts, it now looks like this:

i still don't have places to sleep in. that's next on my research.

"i see you!"

monday, sept 20, 2010


with anxious heart, i went to rockwell, and looked for Asian Eye Insitute's building. i checked in at 1230pm, for my pre-ops; the surgery isn't until 415pm.their floor looked sophisticated and sterile, but with a welcoming feel. their friendly staff did the exact same test i did during screening a couple of days before, to "double-check" their computation for my eye correction. i didn't realize that my eyes moved so much when i thought they were still, i had to re-do tests because of it.


      "blink...blink...open...wider...wider...steady...don't move...don't move...we detected movement. again," said the staff.


     in my mind, i was saying:


      "ang hapdi kayang magbuka ng mata ng ganong katagal?! natutuyo! wag kang gagalaw...tingin sa pulang tuldok...damn! uulit na naman?!"


finally after the test, i was ushered to the changing room, and wore a lab gown over my clothes.then they made me sit on a luxurious lazy boy, put a fleece blanket over my legs, and propped my feet up.


      "did you shampoo your hair today, as advised?"     "yes."
     
      "did you put any make-up on?"      "no."
   
      "did you put on deodorant?"       "no."


they told me not to wear deodorant on the day of surgery, apparently because their sensitive machines will detect it and will not be working as well.i brought wipes just in case my sweat glands work overtime because of nervousness.


they made me take half a pill of a relaxant, so i wouldn't be so jittery on the table.after a few minutes, i was informed that since the operation prior to mine has been cancelled, i'll be next. i had to call my sundo rhona and tell her that i'll finish a lot earlier.


      "what time will you finish?"


      "two o'clock."


      "cherry, it's already 1:30.that fast?"


      "i know. i'll wait for you in the lounge."


at the operating room, i met Dr. Ang, the doc who'll fix my eyes.he sounded jolly and reassuring as he took me step by step on the procedure.


they swabbed my eyes with betadyne, and put some anesthetic drops.they covered the area around my eyes with adhesive paper, then they put a metal thingie called a speculum to keep my eyes open. this was uncomfortable, since i'm kinda chinita and they had to pry my eyes wider. then the second most uncomfortable thing done on me was when they pressed really hard on my eye to apply "a vacuum." my vision turned black, and for a while i couldn't see. i was okay again when they started doing the flap, slicing my corneas.when they flipped the flap open, the red dot i was looking at became like hazy fireworks as my eyes cannot focus.then the laser was applied.although i didn't feel any pain, the smell of burning flesh made me clasp my hands together and silently prayed to God i won't go blind.


then it was over.they washed my eyes, put the flap back on, and just as quickly did my other eye.both eyes took 15 minutes.


i vaguely remember being ushered to another comfy chair.by then my vision was cloudy but pretty clear.i was given instructions, eye drops and a huge pair of goggles.

me with the goggles


         1. keep goggles on during day and night for the first 3 days. (this i found useful
             when i woke up in the middle of the night and my finger is trying to wiggle
             in the goggles to scratch my itchy eyes)


        2. do not wet the eye for 3 days; that meant no shampooing.
             (which meant i'll have greasy hair for 3 days; gross!)


         3. no engaging in sports or do strenuous activities for 1 week.afterwards,
             wear protective eyewear for activities that may predispose the eye
             to injury such as contact sports (like soccer and futsal)
            or sports with objects flying thru the air (like a disc).
             no diving or swimming for a month. BOO!!!


since then i haven't done much, except bike to UP to do some test shots on my new lumix.my vision is very good, but not yet perfect.but i was careful to bike like an old lady and kept it slow.here are some pics:






yum...





 

i still can't believe i can see on my own without glasses. my trip is going to be a blast.

new eyes, new world

there is nothing like capturing a moment you deem interesting, and reliving them long after it's gone. for this trip, no way am i gonna head out without a camera.

two months ago, these are only my criteria for buying one:

    a. it should adequately document my trip (any camera would've sufficed);
               it doesn't have to be a high-end dslr or anything high-tech;
               i'm technologically inept anyways.
               i haven't touched an SLR in years. amature!
    b. (more importantly) it should have an optional hardcase, when i go diving
              (so people can actually relate when i tell them about
               the turtles and the jacks i see in my dives)
 
for weeks, my eyes were set on a canon g10.it's a compact camera w a taste of dslr, but i found its bulkiness a turnoff and a target for "nimble hands."

then i saw something slimmer and it would fit in my pocket more, a canon s90.it's a compact camera w a manual option.

but when my ever-dependable roomie and i went to the shop to make my purchase, my eye fell on a panasonic lumix TZ7, and right next to it is its hardcase.it doesn't have manual option, but i don't think i'll need it in my trip and my future dives.what i need more, is a super zoom and hd video.which it has.and, the hardcase is here and very available for my next purchase.

so i said bye-bye to something close to 20g's and said hi to my new toy. i can't wait to try it out.

but that's only one part of my story.

tomorrow, i'm gonna see the world with new eyes. 

i've grown tired of wearing contact lenses all the time, and fumbling for my eyeglasses every morning; i had to worry about replacing my contacts every few months to avoid eye infection. i had to replace my broken ultra-thin glasses lots of times, so now i switched to a photo-chromic plastic ones, which made me look a dorky librarian. a few months ago, my opthalmologist told me that blood vessels have developed on the surface of my eyeballs from wearing contacts too much, which caused my eyes to redden after a few hours of wearing them.

my options are:

    1) learn to love the dorky librarian look

    2) suck up and endure the hours of agony while wearing contacts

    3) try lasik

lasik is basically a minor eye operation where laser vaporizes corneal tissue to correct my vision. and yeah, they use a razor blade to cut a flap on my eye (wtf right?).

the 1st doctor i asked was against my having it before my trip, just in case my eye is hit and the flap gets dislodged. i decided to get a 2nd opinion, and the doctor told me that it's safe to have it now.

best time is now.i mean tomorrow.i'm gonna have lasik tomorrow.

the next time my friends are gonna see me, i won't be wearing glasses. :) and i'll be doing this trip without glasses or contacts. yahoo!!!! :D

3 weeks to go

i've been dreaming abt going to these magical places named angkor wat, luang prabang, hoi an and chiang mai. exotic places, yet well within reach.

this is the time. i'm going.

i've been hounding friends who travelled to these places, sought their advice, read books, researched. it's exciting to plan my itinerary, to read abt these places, their highlights.there is a certain thrill of going to a place unknown, without knowing their language. fearing of getting lost. worse, getting ripped off. but i'm from manila, so i should know better (or so i say to myself).

so many things to do before i go:

1. get my lasik surgery-there is nothing like opening my eyes and i don't have to grope for my glasses anymore. to be able to soak the beauty of the places i'm gonna see without the help of contact lens.
2. get a proper camera
3. decide what to bring-aside fr my pillow, malong, umbrella, bug spray, sunblock and my rain jacket and clothes, i can't think of anything else to bring.pack light!

i'll be reading more abt my destination this coming weeks.

i do hope the real thing is better than my dreams.