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I’m thinking of the world in terms of Minecraft now. When Jim tells me to build a fortification, I think of the fortifications within the strongholds. And now that there’s random loud bangs happening every 10 mins around my apartment, I’m thinking there’s tons of creepers outside…probably doesn’t help that it’s nighttime outside.

Sigh. Have converted to the video game side over the summer.

Been playing SOCOM 4 in my video game amblyopia study. Basically, I’m the wimpiest commander anyone has ever seen. Always send in Gold/Blue team in to kill everything for me and I’m usually hiding behind a tree or a wall. Like today’s “boss” fight against a frigate sending missiles into my bunker I basically hid behind a wall when I was supposed to protect my teammate and then I’d watch him die and I’m like …eff.

Basically gotten addicted to LAGTV. Both LAGTV and LAGTV2. Jeff being stupid is funny. He’s such an awesome caster. Somewhat daily dose of SC2, Alan Wake, and Minecraft.

Hm.

Possibly connecting Kix to a job and then possibly connecting Susan to a Fox News internship?! I FEEL LIKE IM SUCH A GREAT ROOMMATE ALREADY!

EDIT: Susan got the internship by natural talent! Congrats to her. But eh, at least I tried being a good roommate? lol

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IM SPENDING SO MUCH TIME AT MY WORKPLACE NOW. Dude, never thought I could walk into Minor so much over the summer. Just finished my visual testing for the research study this week (I can’t believe how difficult some visual tests are for me. Small 3D dots from 3 meters away and contrast testing are IMPOSSIBLE) and starting next week, I’m gonna be playing 3D video games 10 hrs/week :). I have a choice between a lot of okay-looking PS3 games….I’ll look through them next week.

Anyway, today was another epic shadowing day! Lots of LASIK surgeries and a PRK that I wasn’t able to finish watching because I had to run off to my visual testing :(

LASIK is a pretty awesome and pretty basic procedure. Not as invasive as a cataract surgery, but literally just as quick (15 minutes or so).

Here’s the surgery as I remember it:

1. Patient talks to surgeon. Patient gets nerves out of the way by asking any last minute question, pops in a 5mg valium (I think?! I forgot. Dang memory.), closes eyes to let sedation run through body.
2. Patient gets onto the LASIK surgery table. Pads cover the unoperated eye and ears, and patient has hairnet, booties and covers. Wait a few minutes to let sedation fully settle. Patient is not under LASIK machine yet.
3. LASIK machine preps and calibrates by firing random lasers. Closest thing I can compare to the sound/color is like the gas stove sparks that happen right before the flames come on. In fact, it’s pretty much exactly like that. Purple color, spark sounds approximately 8 sparks per second ish. Pretty quick stuff.
4. Doctor starts operation by sliding patient under the laser. The patient is told to stare up at the red light the entire time, so that pupil matches up with laser. Doctor preps by inserting numbing drops, followed by two clear tapes that pull up and down eyelids, followed by a speculum that holds the eyelids even farther apart and open for the remaining part of the operation.
5. Doctor uses this vacuum thing which sucks the eyeball INTO THE SOCKET. This is kind of scary to see, but the doc kinda pushes down on the eyeball with a metal circular thing and then a vacuum is (somehow, though I haven’t quite figured out the physics of this yet) employed to fix the eyeball down so that it doesn’t move much. For the first patient I saw today, she panicked and said it hurt the entire time it happened. After the surgery, the doc said that pain and pressure usually result from anxiety during the operation.
6. Doc puts ink marks on eye to mark edge of cornea, followed by a metal circular tool that has a hinge on it with which a microkeratome (mini slicing blade) can be attached onto it. Once doc makes sure that metal circular tool is aligned with the cornea, he swings microkeratome which slices a perfect circular thin film of cornea which he lifts up (though a portion isn’t sliced which serves as a hinge). This is called the “flap.”
7. Patient is ready for the actual LASIK portion! But before that, he needs to check the interocular pressure.  Doc reminds patient to stare at red light, and tests out the pressure of the eye. I think the ball park number was somewhere around 400 (WHAT UNITS. Gah! I don’t remember them).
8. Doc looks through the microscope and starts laser surgery. Tells them to hold steady and to continue staring at the red light. A sponge q-tip is employed to keep eye in place as well as wipe away any blood from the initial keratome incision.
9. FIRE AWAY!!Basically, the purple flashes start at like 8 flashes per second, and the operation is usually 30 seconds-1 minute for each eye. The worse your eye was (LASIK usually has a range of treating -12 to +5 eyes), the more laser fires needed and the longer the surgery was. It’s a spectacular sight to see, as the machine is SO precise and (funny enough) wisps of fumes go into the suction tube on the side of the microscope. I had always heard from a family friend that being in the room of a LASIK procedure smelled like roasted chicken. But, I guess since the fumes went into a tube that traveled to the depths of intergalactic space, I guess I wasn’t able to smell it. Besides, I had a mask on so it prevented it anyway.
10. Once the flashes finish, all the doc has to do is put a bunch of drops of stuff in and carefully place the flap back onto the space on the eye. He goes onto other eye if needs to be operated on, otherwise patient goes into post-op room where he/she sees doc a few minutes after surgery.
11. Doc checks up on them and uses a microscope to make sure that flaps are in precise place. If there seems to be a crease of some sort, doc gets a sponge q-tip with ophthalmic solution and smooths it out. Doc then gives patient goggles (hehe on one of the typed up procedures on the wall, it said “give patient googles”, which someone had crossed out and wrote goggles” hahahahaha. I thought it was hilarious). Tells patient to keep eyes closed as often as possible for the next 5 hours, and goggles day and night for next 5 days. Try not to rub the eye for ANYTHING.

PRKs are actually really simliar to LASIKs, but more invasive in that he tears the entire epithelium away and then does the LASIK surgery, then covers it with a large contact thing to help the eye heal. Designed for people with flatter or thin corneas, but longer recovery time. 

Check up 1 day after just to make sure there aren’t any post-op immediate irritations, check up on day 4 to make sure that inflammations from any infections pop up (usually pop up on day 3-4), and several times afterward to check up.

Anyway, I ran off after the PRK to do my research eye study thing and then went to the lecture that my doc was teaching at Minor on complications of LASIK (how perfect! Right after I saw the LASIK surgeries too :D) for the 4th years. Got to sit next to some of the 4th years I got to know from last year and ask what their plans were for post-grad :D pretty cool! ^^

I also got to help out with the surgery by handling random vials to the doc and assistants that were helping him out today. Always feel so cool when either I put scrubs on or told to put gloves on so I can help out with something :P haha.

If anybody wants to watch a PRK or LASIK surgery, it’s actually REALLY easy. There’s a huge flat screen with the surgery in HD directed at the windows to allow family members observe from the hallway. Though you don’t have a doctor next to you explaining everything, you can literally stand there at the window like a nobody and just stare at the screen for several surgeries. I’m pretty sure no one at Minor would mind. Just let me know and I’ll let you know when the next surgeries are happening.

I’m at 15 out of 19 units reported and currently at a 3.92. Seriously, highest GPA semester so far. And most units taken in a semester. X_X

I JUST WANT THAT LAST GRADE TO COME OUT FALJEJFAWEFJLKAJFWE.

I am going to act like a TOTAL lost tourist if I honestly have to follow these instructions. I feel like people will trick me out of my money because there’s no way I can “get off” of something called the Le Truck “11.5 km past a village”. And if I get lost, I have no idea who this Justin is. WTF.

—-

“To get from the Airport to the ferry terminal, you must either take a taxi (about 2,500cfp) from the stand in front of the airport, or take the bus (le truck).

Le Truck runs 24 hours/day but is less frequent at night. The cost is 130cfp during the day and 200cfp at night. Large luggage is an additional 100cfp per piece. The bus stop is on the main road: exit the front of the airport terminal and walk through the parking lot and up two flights of stairs. You will see the small stand to the right of the stairs. Cross to the other side of the street as you will need to be picking up a Le Truck heading in the direction of Papeete (which is to your left). The le truck should say Papeete on it. Get off the le truck at the last stop in Papeete on the waterfront road and cross the main boulevard to the port side of the street.  Continue walking in the direction you were traveling and you will eventually see the ferries about 1km down from the last stop.

Car ferries docking at Vaiare Bay in Moorea (about 20 minutes drive from the Gump Station) - Aremiti 5 (express), Aremiti Ferry, Moorea Ferry, Moorea Express (passengers only). Ferries arriving at Vaiare are met by public transportation (Le Truck) at the terminal.  Get off at pk 11.5 km just past the village of Paopao (powpow) on the west side of Cook’s Bay. There is also a taxi stand or you can call Justin, Tel. 774826”

Since Spring break….

Currently watching:

• Trine 2 (2 hours in)
• Alan Wake (0.5 Hours in)

Finished watching:

• FFXIII-2 (22 hours)
• Braid (7 hours)
• Mirror’s Edge (4 hours)
• Doom 2 (2.5 hours)

Given up on:

• Penumbra: Black Plague (6 hours in) — too boring to watch a scary game