Trapped

As always, a quick eye update first:

I went for the checkup last night, and although things have all healed up, they've now decided that the halo effect might take a couple of months, instead of a couple of weeks, to disappear. Great estimating guys! Still, nothing to do now but wait.

So, on my way to work this morning, I experienced something I'm guessing most, if not all guys have experienced at some time; that moment when you adjust your position slightly, and realise that one of the berries has become pinched in underwear. Normally, an easy problem to rectify, but not so when you're going down the motorway at 70mph.

I was alerted pretty quickly that something was wrong, which demanded my immediate attention, but being in the car, under the seat belt and going at some speed, it was going to take a little more effort. My first attempts and thrusting and gyrating my hips in a Shakira style to jiggle things loose just wasn't going to do it, so no choice, I'd have to go in and take matters into hand.

Again, the seat belt causes an issue here, so I'm struggling with trying to get my hand down my trousers, working round the seat belt and my own belt, but finally manage to reach the source of the problem and untangle the mess.

It's at this point, with a look of content and relief on my face, that I look round to see the Land Rover driving level with me, and a young schoolgirl, looking down at me with my hand down my pants and a smile on my face, with a look of curious disgust on hers. I smile, and the Land Rover quickly pulls ahead, probably as the girl was asking her Mum what I was doing.


All part of the usual shame of driving to work.

Anyway, it's almost the weekend now, and I'll be heading up to Wales for the weekend for some crazy plan involving climbing Snowdon. If I make it back, I expect to be walking with a limp on Monday morning that will have nothing to do with the room I'm sharing with another guy.

Have a good weekend all!

More Memes!

Just as I thought I'd find nothing to fill another post this week, Jenny! came to the rescue by tagging me on a meme. So without further thought; enjoy...


Meme #1:


RULES: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.


What is your name? Loaf


Four letter word: Lamb, Lost, Lewd


Vehicle: Lamborghini, Lexus, Lada

TV Show: Lost, Love Boat, Last of the Summer Wine

City: London, Lisbon, Leningrad

Boy Name: Luke, Lucas, Lenny

Girl Name: Lisa, Laura, Lorraine

Alcoholic Drink: Long Island Iced Tea, Large vokda

Occupation: Lawyer, Limo Driver, Long Haul Pilot

Something you wear: Loafers, Lederhosen, Leggings

Celebrity: Luke Perry (where the hell did that come from??), Lexa Doig, Laura Dern

Food: Lasagne, Linguini, Lamb

Something found in a bathroom: Loofah, Loo Roll, Lillets (not in my bathroom!)

Reason for Being late: Lane Closures, Looting, Leprosy

Cartoon Character: Lenny (Simpsons),

Something You Shout: Loser!, Louder!, Look out!


Meme #2:

Four jobs I have had or currently have in my life (my rise to power):

1. Technical Architect
2. Software Developer
3. Call Center Operator
4. Supermarket Shelf Stacker

Four Countries I have been to in no particular order:

1. America
2. India
3. Hungary
4. Italy

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. A warm sunny beach
2. Pub with friends
3. A jacuzzi with Anne Hatheway
4. In bed with someone

Four foods I like to eat:

1. Chilli
2. Lasagne
3. Pizza
4. Crispy fried duck

Four heroes-past or present:

1. Alan Shore (Boston Legal)
2. Al Bundy (Married with Children)
3. John Locke (Lost)
4. Claire (Heroes)

(is it wrong that I straight off thought of TV characters??)

Four books I have read or are currently reading:

1. Marley and Me (currently)
2. Next
3. Life Expectancy
4. Angels & Demons

Four to Tag :

Cherry
Classy
5 of 9er
The Gancer

Classics

First of all, a quick update on the eyes; they're settling in nicely, although I'm still having to put in drops four times a day, and still have a halo around anything bright. I have however, found a definite upside to this; because anything shiny and bright seems to have a glow to it, looking out for wedding / engagement rings on ladies is even easier. It's like a superpower! Sadly, only another week of it.

So, while resting my eyes, I've been watching a lot of TV (lets not get into he logic behind that decision), and recently saw some classics.

First up is really going back a bit, by watching Breakfast at Tiffanys. Long time since I'd seen that one, but still love it. I must admit to having a bit of a thing for Audrey Hepburn, and she just looks great in this, inspiring that classic picture:

The other film of the weekend, was High Fidelity, which up until now, I'd never seen. I'd often heard of it referred to by friends and quoted as being a 'must see' film, but just never gotten around to it, until it was on a few nights back. I have to say, I love this film, and it's going to move quickly into my top 10 films. If like me, you'd not seen this film before, give it a try, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Which leads me on to my top 5 all time favorite films:

1. Cruel Intentions - I just can't fault this film; every character is perfect, every scene delicious.

2. Back to the Future - It's a childhood favorite, I just can't tire of it!

3. My Fair Lady - Again, an Audrey Hepburn classic.

4. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark - What Christmas is complete without this on in the afternoon?

5. Shawshank Redemption - It's a long one, but you just can't help but feel good at the end.

So readers, what are your all time classics?

New and Improved!

This is it, the big post, the 100th post of this blog! Honestly, I never thought it would keep going this long and was sure I would have given up by now.

[Cue acceptance speech music]

But it's been made possible by all the wonderful and loyal readers who have stuck with me, I love you all! Sob.

Ok, enough of that.

Onto the big news for this post; after a few false starts, I've finally got the eye surgery done!

So, Saturday morning, I was taken to the clinic (taxi laid on for me in leiu of all the cancellations), where I had to go through the usual disclaimer forms. No liability for loss of sight.....won't sue for unexpected results....in the event of your death....the usual stuff.

Then, after being fitted with a tasteful hairnet and booties to put over my shoes, which I'm sure were for the surgons entertainment as much as safety, I was laid out on the table, given the anesthetic drops and rolled under the machine. At this point, I was beginning to wish I'd worn a more absorbant underwear, but hid it well.

The next bit get's a little graphic, but what the hell.

First, they clamp open the eye with something that gave me flashbacks to Clockwork Orange, and put a vaccum on the eye to hold it in place while they cut a flap. This is probbly the most unpleasant part, as it really does feel like your eye is being sucked out, but only lasts 30 seconds, so not too bad. While it's being sucked on, the laser cuts a flap in the surface of the eye, which is then peeled back once the sunction is removed. After that, they rolled me under the laser and start reshaping, at which point I could smell your eye burning. It's somewhat like burnt matches, or for those with more troubled childhoods, like burning ants under a magnifying glass.

The whole thing was over in about 15 minutes, and I have to say, I didn't feel a thing. Although my description of the operation may put some people off, it's a mild discomfort at most, and is over in no time, so if you're thinking of having it done, I'd highly recommend it.

Now, I'm just waiting for them to settle down, and although things are still a little misty, kind of like seeing the world in some cheap soap opera dream sequence, I can see that my sight is already as good as, if not better, than with the glasses, so as you can imagine, I'm happy!

As you can see, they're still looking a little bloodshot, but hopefully that will disappear in a week or two, and then I can post up a more flattering picture!

Counting down

So, less than half a day to go now until my laser surgery on Friday lunchtime, and I'm currently going between being awesomely exited about getting it done, and being slightly freaked out by what's going to happen.

The latter has been increased by the wonder of YouTube, where someone was kind enough to post up a video of their surgery. I know, I shouldn't have gone looking for it, especially the night before the op. My one piece of advice for anyone thinking of getting laser eye surgery, do not look at those videos! It will freak you out.

Anyway, that said, I'm still not put off, as the benefit of no longer wearing glasses far outweighs the treatment, and I just can't wait for that part.

I'll write up how it all went as soon as I'm in a good enough state to stare at a computer screen again, and it also seems fitting that for what will probably be an important post (to me), it will also be my 100th post, so double celebration and drinks all round.

So now, I'm going to try and sleep, and see you all on the other side!

UPDATE

2 hours before the surgery and they've called to say there's a problem with the equipment, so now I've been put back another 24 hours!! Dammit!

Didn't want this to be my next post, as the 100th should be good news, so I'll probably post the next one over the weekend once it's all done.

Obviously a good year

Because I'm to tired to think of something to write about, I'm going to cheat and paste in the results of the What Kind Of Wine Are You test. Which I've also stolen from Jenny's blog. Will try and be more creative tomorrow!

You Are Pinot Noir

Sophisticated and worldly, you probably know more about wine than most drinkers. You have great taste, and you approach all aspects of life with a gourmet attitude. You believe that the little things in life should be cherished and enjoyed... and of the best quality possible. And while you may take more time to eat a meal or tour a city, it's always time well spent. Deep down you are: A seductive charmer Your partying style: Refined. And you would never call it "partying" Your company is enjoyed best with: Stinky expensive cheese

What Kind of Wine Are You?

Seductive charmer eh? I wish!

Farewell...

This week is a sad week for London. This week Miss Recken will be leaving merry old England and heading off back to the delights of Seattle.

Although I'm sure it's by no means the last we'll see of her over here, it's a shame to see her leaving, especially since there's so much she needs to teach me about my countries capital city!

Of course, not one to sneak out without an excuse for a party, there was the obligatory leaving party in London last night, and there certainly was quite a turn out! Normally I'd avoid heading into the city on a weeknight, and the way I'm struggling to get going this morning reminds me why, but this was a special occasion and totally worth it.


Bye Katie, hope we'll be seeing you again sometime!


(I'm sure she'll have some better pictures than this. It's as good as it gets with my camera phone!)

And now the panic...

I want to give fair warning on this post; if you're squeamish about eyes, just skip this one altogether...



So, for those still with us; it's less than a week until the laser eye surgery now, 12.30 on Monday to be exact, and up until now, I thought I'd have no problems with this. I mean I'm not exactly squeamish or have any issues with someone poking around with my eyes, until I started thinking about it while laying awake last night...

It was at this point I realised I'm going to be laying there with my eye held open while they cut a flap in the eye, lift it up, and start burning away with a laser in my eye. So now I'm a little freaked.

This started me thinking about other questions; what can you actually see once they've lifted up the flap on your eye? Will it just go out of focus or black altogether? What do you see when they're reshaping the eye? What does burning eye smell like?

So far, none of this has thankfully been enough to put me off having it done, but still, is there anyone out there who's been through this and can tell me what to expect? Otherwise, I guess I'm the guinea pig and I'll just have to let you all know how it goes next week!