Random notes make a post!

[oyceter]

1. I have almost convinced my dad that he wants to give me tiny laptop, since it's not like he uses it anyway. Sadly, tiny laptop's trackpad right click button is broken, which is not good. It works with a mouse, but that will cut down slightly on portability. On the other hand, getting fairly good at typing on it now...


2. Got Lasik on Monday. Currently eyes are a little dry and feel like I have contacts on, but I am still not over the fact that I can open my eyes and see things clearly! (I can't wear contacts.) My face feels so naked!


3. The Blockbuster here has DRAMAS! BWAHAHAHAHA! So far, have watched eps. 1 and 2 of Legend, eps. 1 and 2 of the Taiwan version of Hana Kimi, and ep. 1 of Smiling Pasta. Sadly, Smiling Pasta is the one my mom bought and so far the least good of the bunch. I keep wanting to whack the heroine for playing dumb and cute. On the other hand, the secondary lead heroine seems interesting and wounded. Any recs for tdramas greatly appreciated! I think my mom is very happy that I am watching stuff in Chinese.


4. Watched Warlords, the latest movie with Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Unfortunately, was jetlagged and nearly fell asleep. Also, as everyone changes hairstyles and clothing every three scenes, I kept mixing up Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro's characters, despite knowing full well what they look like. I blame the scruffy facial hair. I think I will buy it anyway, as the rented DVD had English subtitles, so I can sic it on rachelmanija when she visits, as who knows when it will come out in the US!

Comments

[chomiji]

Just like that, you got Lasik?

O.o;

I'm happy that it's working well ... I'm so blasted near sighted that they said I'd still need glasses after Lasik, so I said forget it. Ah, well ... .

[oyceter]

Oh, no!! I've actually been thinking about it seriously for about a year now, and toying with the idea for even longer, so not as sudden as it sounds! I figured now would be a good time, since it's cheaper in Taiwan, and I'm here for long enough for follow-up visits, and I have parents around, so I don't have to take care of everything by myself.

[chomiji]

All of that makes a lot of sense ... I may be looking at cataract surgery in a couple of years, which will have the same effect, more or less. I may need reading glasses at that point, though. Me and Sanzo ... .

XD

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Keep us posted on how the Lasik does for you. I was told I wasn't a good candidate because I have rosacea, which affects the eyes as well as the skin. I'm at the point where I need bifocal lenses anyway. (Sucks getting old)

[oyceter]

Will do!

[oyceter]

Heh, yeah... Oh eyes. Why can you not be perfect forever? Especially since so many of my favorite hobbies rely on you?

[estara.livejournal.com]

The Rose, THE ROSE!!!! Joe Cheng (It started with a kiss), and some more Ella (who's the lead female in the TW Hana Kimi)
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/The_Rose
oh and It Started with a Kiss, too, of course.

But THE ROSE!!! Joe Cheng as Kui *swoon*
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/It_Started_With_A_Kiss

Great for getting rid of eye trouble! I haven't managed to do so since Easter *sigh* - keep it up!

[oyceter]

I saw The Rose at Blockbuster and was going to get it except I already had too much! I didn't know Ella was in it! I am definitely picking it up then; I really like her so far in Hana Kimi.

[estara.livejournal.com]

She's the female lead, actually. And as far as I remember it was her very first TWDorama, too. S.H.E sing the title song, and the other two S.H.E ladies later on also have roles in the series, but aren't part of the main cadre of actors.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Also: the story is manga based, as well: Bara no Tameni
http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=102

[kate_nepveu]

Woo, corrected vision!

[oyceter]

It is SO WEIRD! Like, I can open my eyes and see! Without anything on!

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Envy! I'm at the age where I have to hold things in just the right position just to read them through my glasses.

[oyceter]

My sympathies!

[ellarien]

I have a tiny mouse for my tiny laptop; it weighs about an ounce, has a retractable cord, and lives in its own little pouch. Mostly I don't need it, but I was glad of it in Florida where the humidity didn't seem to agree with the touchpad.

[oyceter]

Ooooooooo. *ponders*

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Tiny laptops take over the world!

[oyceter]

Yay! I am planning on checking out how much they are here as a comparison.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Lasik! Nifty!

[oyceter]

Very much so!

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

From now on, you may call me Smiling Pasta.

Yeah, I heard about that movie and want to see it (though I undoubtedly won't be able to keep anyone straight either.)

[oyceter]

I will attempt to say who is who when we watch it, although given how confused I was, I may just end up confusing you more!

[hysteriachan.livejournal.com]

I am so tempted by Lasik, although I'm basically incapable of having things near my eyes, so I'm terrified that I'd blink at the wrong time (or else need to be sedated to let them pry my eyes open >.>). One of these days I should at least see if I'm eligible, though.

Very glad yours went well, and what little I can imagine of being able to see without glasses is wonderful. Yay!

[oyceter]

Yeah, I was pretty scared too! Thankfully, they tape your eyelids so you can't blink at the wrong time, but I still had to try not to flinch when stuff got near my eyes.

[hysteriachan.livejournal.com]

*shudders* Do they do anything to keep your actual eyeballs from moving? (I'm very serious about probably needing sedatives. Once I had to be send to a specialist to get eyedrops because I couldn't hold still for the optometrist, and the now-husband came to basically hold me down.) And yet I hate wearing glasses and have issues with contacts. -_-

[oyceter]

They do when they're cutting the flap in the cornea, so they can't possibly cut wrong. When the laser itself is being used, they don't, but at that point, your vision is totally blurry b/c of the cornea flap thingum, and you can't feel the laser at all. I actually found that part sort of relaxing, because all you do is stare at a blurry light. The scariest part for me was the cornea flap cutting; once that was done, it was really easy.

[hysteriachan.livejournal.com]

Eep. (I read your longer description further down, too.) I guess I should ask what they actually hold your eyes still with while they're cutting the cornea (and what they do that with). So scary-sounding. But...no glasses...!

[oyceter]

Hee! I ... have no idea re: the cutting, but the holding is with this little ring thing. It's sort of like the test for glaucoma that they do in the US, at least... you can see the ring coming toward your eye but can't actually feel it on your eye.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

The TW Hana Kimi started very fun, but there was a scene I think about 2/3 through that I had serious issues getting past(but no one else seem to) and the ending...wasn't an ending. Legend is fun and pretty good, but I prefer the other sageuks I've seen.

*is jealous over The Warlords*

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I don't recall which scene you're talking about, so either it didn't bother me, or i just don't remember it. Hana Kimi kind of dragged for me too. I much preferred the Japanese version, for all that I liked the main actors almost as much in the Taiwanese version.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I can't remember the spoiler code and my computer is going incredibly slow, so it would take forever to look up, so I'll simply say that it's a scene where he pretends to be drunk and, imo, takes teasing too far, especially in the context of an earlier event.

That said, it seems to be like a part of Meteor Garden(that bothered me much, much more, and I never got past it) where the culture has something of a "no harm, no foul" attitude, and because the show and characters have no problems with it, neither do most fans.

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

Oh, right!

That kind of thing always pisses me off, and I find the best way to get around it is to forget it ever happened. Since the characters always do it's surprisingly easy to pretend it never happened.

(I imagine this is what fans of US soaps do)

I just found Meteor Garden dragged too much.

[rilina.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Lasik! Last time I checked my eyes were getting so bad that I was no longer a good candidate for it, though. Fortunately, I can wear contacts without much difficulty. My brother had it done a couple of years ago and he's been very happy with it.

[oyceter]

Good to hear other people being happy about it! I am mostly doing ok, though hoping the dryness improves soon.

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I need to start watching Legend at some point.

The Rose was really rather awful, and really, really creeped me out. Considering my blase attitude to fictional incest, it's quite surprising, but something about the way it plays out on The Rose just made me uncomfortable.

If you want a fun twdrama, I'd rec Why Why Love. Mike He still can't act, but this is as good as his hair gets in dramas.

[oyceter]

So far, Legend has some interesting women, but the protag is still a guy. Also, the set up has a love triangle, and I am desperately hoping the two main female characters don't end up being rivals. And I've heard it ends up being a plot coupon chase, but will watch for a few more eps because I like the secondary female character a lot.

[keilexandra]

A little early to tell, of course, but I'd be interested in hearing how Lasik works out for you long-term. I've been considering it when I'm old enough (my eyesight is terrible, -7/-7.5) but the possible "rare side effects" are scary. Like, double vision forever? Eek. I'm doing fine with contacts--2-month ones, even, my eyes are apparently non-dry--and alternating with glasses when needed, so dunno if it's worth the risk.

[oyceter]

Will let you know! The people here said it works for eyesight up to -15, so ... no idea. Also, thankfully, I've been having relatively few side effects -- my eyes have been pretty dry, but tolerably so with eyedrops, and I see some of the halos at night, but not to the point in which it impairs my vision.

[keilexandra]

How scary was the actual operation part? I'm terrified I'd blink and get lasered in the eyelid. XD

[oyceter]

Possible medical TMI:

Basically, the operation has three parts: 1) cutting a flap in the tissue above your cornea, 2) actually reshaping your cornea with the laser, and 3) closing the flap. It takes about 20-30 minutes for the entire thing. They don't give general anesthesia, but give you anesthetic eyedrops, and then they make you look at this beeping light the entire time and tell you not to turn your head.

The flap cutting was the scariest part for me; it didn't hurt per se, but I could still feel it and it was uncomfortable. And when they do it, they actually use this thing to hold your eyeball still so you can't move. Oh, and your eyelids are sort of taped open so you can't possibly get lasered in the eyelid (I was scared about that too).

Once the flap is open, everything goes totally blurry, so at that point, I found it really easy to look at the light. I couldn't feel the laser part at all, or when they closed the flap. Afterward, it was a bit uncomfortable and prickly, but after a few hours, the pain is gone, and you just feel something's in your eye for a while (also, your eyes get really dry for a while and you have to use eye drops like mad).

[minnow1212.livejournal.com]

Oooh, congrats on the lasik.

[oyceter]

Thanks!

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

Ohh, will you write about what getting LASIK was like? I want it and yet I am terrified.