NoShut.com - General

Getting and Staying Organized

Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:24:54 +0100

Over the last several years of corporate life I�ve worked in multiple groups where tracking time and managing tasks were critical in order to succeed. Someone asked me what my principles for time management were so I have outlined them below.

Alan's Key Concepts of a Organized Life:
1. Maintain one to-do list. Only one. If you must have more than one have a personal and work one, but no more.

2. Copy the to-do list manually every day to a new sheet of paper, prioritizing what needs to be accomplished today or is high priority. I carried a Franklin Covey planner for years and used it every single work day and once before each weekend I would line up my to-do items for that weekend. The idea behind this is to make sure that every single task receives some attention every day so that you can prioritize it correctly. If you do not copy the list manually your brain eventually glosses over tasks resulting in missed deadlines. This may seem minor but is, in my opinion, the most important thing to do other than creating the list in the first place.

3. Do not use a electronic to-do list for at least a year. Electronic to-do lists do not force you to manually copy the tasks each day. Use a sheet of paper or a calendar/planner book. When in a high stress period, switch back to paper even after you have gone electronic, that will assure you are paying the right attention to your tasks.

4. Form the habit. Schedule 15 minutes in your calendar every morning to get organized. Copy the list from one sheet to a new one, re-prioritize and identify what you need to focus on today. Just like any other habit, plan on sticking to it for 60+ days before it becomes second nature. Also, schedule a block of email time each day or allocate the first open 30 minutes of free time to email and catch-up. Do not let email distract you once you are in "task" mode.

5. If it is not on the list, it doesn't exist. Do not try to remember obligations. Let the to-do list be your memory of deliverables. If you obligate to something immediately write it down and re-focus on the task you were working. Your brain will eventually trust the list and your calendar, resulting in less stress and "gotcha" realization moments of things you have forgotten or need to do.

6. 5 Minute rule - if it will take less than five minutes do it now. Do not delay, you will spend more time tracking it than getting the task done.

7. Set priorities, manage to the due date of tasks. I have a short-hand tracking system I use - I use a "~" to mark any task that is in progress or in someone else's hands right now and write their name next to it. I also use upward facing arrows beside tasks to identify the ones that need attention today. I also put a cut line on my to-do list, anything below the line is very low priority and is either 1. Over a week from needing action (in many cases I just put a reminder in my calendar at this point and pull it from my to-do list) or 2. Is a nice-to-have and self-driven rather than a obligation to someone else.

8. Always notify someone if you will be late. Always. It builds trust in others that you know that their tasks are important. Everyone sometimes gets overwhelmed when they miss deadlines, if they know you hold their tasks in high regard when you forget to notify them they will give you the benefit of the doubt.

9. Do not multitask while working on a major item. Focus on one task at a time, let the list be your guide. This ties back to #5 - track tasks on the to-do list, not in your brain. This allows you to focus.

10. When busy schedule "work time" in your calendar as to assure that your time is not monopolized by meetings.

11. If something is reoccurring put it in your calendar. Do not try to remember your obligations, use your tools to track your obligations so that you can focus on the deliverables.

12. Do not use your email inbox as a task tracker. You only have one list, if there is something important in your inbox that will take more than five minutes to complete add it to your list.

13. One tip that may not work for everyone but works well for me is: Keep your inbox clear of cruft. That keeps your inbox from becoming a messy distraction. If I have big projects I create folders and sort the email into those folders. I try to keep my inbox at less than 30 messages by liberally using folders and Outlook/Mac Mail search function.

Essential Tools:
1. A calendar (outlook or iCal is fine for this - it does not need to be paper)
2. Paper and a pen for your to-do list. I used to use a planner but now I tend to use notepads when I need to switch back to manual task tracking.

The process each day:
1. Get organized. First thing each morning, copy the old list to the new list, re-prioritizing and identifying "must do today" items as you copy. Also look at your calendar so that you have a mental image as to what your day looks like, block out time as necessary to focus on "must do today" tasks. I find 15 minutes is a good amount of time for this.

2. Crisis Time. Spend a fixed amount of time dealing with email, voicemail and crisis situations. For me, during the days when I am overwhelmed with tasks it is 30 minutes. Add any items that you need to accomplish to your task list (unless they will take less than five minutes, then do them now).

3. Re-Sync your brain with the list. Look over your task list once more to make sure Crisis Time didn't get you off track.

4. Work off the list. Continue through your day using the task list as a guide to your activities.

That's it. Rinse, repeat for a few months and you should find that your life becomes quite a bit more easy to manage.

Allergy Shots - 1 Year and 3 Months In (Or: Alan's subjective view of Immunotherapy So Far)

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:17:07 +0100

Two years ago I took a risk and had Lasik done. The results were spectacular...
So, when Tanya (my fianc�) and I thought about moving in together there was something that had to be contemplated: I had allergies/asthma and could spend only a few hours in any environment with dogs or cats during any given week. Tanya is a major dog person. Our options could be summarized as: Figure out how to stop Alan from reacting, or get rid of the dogs. The latter was not a happy thing to contemplate, so it was time to see if I could do anything.

I started doing research and discovered a body experiment I could partake in with a couple of potential outcomes:
1. Spend months of your life sitting in doctors offices over 2-5 years with nothing to show for it other than a damaged wallet.
2. Spend months of your life in a doctors office over 2-5 years with some allergy resistance.. and still damaged wallet.
3. Spend months of your life in a doctors office over 2-5 years and be cured of your targeted allergies.. and yes, still a damaged wallet.

After having Lasik done, allergy shots and the potential of changing how your body reacts to allergens seemed like a very worthwhile experiment. My asthma has always caused issues and allergies are something I�ve always fought using antihistamines and the like. The concept of getting rid of my allergies was awesome, and like getting rid of glasses/contacts, is a quality of life improvement worth some risk (if I must rate it - in my case more worthwhile than the Lasik - since glasses didn�t limit me from doing things, but my allergies and asthma did).

If you are not familiar with allergy shots (immunotherapy) the basic concept is this (layman non-doctor explanation):
You are injected on a regular basis (twice a week, then once a week, and now every other week in my case) with the substance you are allergic to (allergen), in doses that are gradually ramped up over time. The hope is that your immune system adapts to the higher level of allergens through production of specific types of antibodies, which block the allergen from having an effect rather than the natural response of someone with allergies, which is to become hypersensitive to the allergen and cause the symptoms we all know and love. The net effect is that you are raising the bar at which your allergies are triggered, eventually to a level where no natural level of the allergen will cause you to react badly. Wikipedia has much more detail than this entry if you want a better explanation.

As for drugs, you are probably going to stay on them for quite awhile. Even allergy shots are not perfect, and the doc made it clear up front that if anything my drug dosages and types would probably increase for the first few years as they tried to control my allergies/asthma while working toward immunity, which they did.

The process is supposed to take 2-5 years although many places recommend staying on �booster� shots. Based around my reading many people quit the shots and years later are still fine from what I�ve read. Mileage may vary. I haven�t made it that far yet, so I can�t testify to the result in my case.

One mistake I made in relation to this blog entry (and wasn�t contemplating at the time) was I didn�t start documenting the Allergy shots until now, which is well after my initial impressions have worn off, so these observation are a bit late and probably a bit skewed....

Things to know about the Allergy Shot experience:
1. Getting started is not cheap - I�ve maxed out my insurance out of pocket the last two years, and will probably continue for at least a few more years. First there are doctor exams, then there are allergy tests (both scratch and blood tests in my case), then there are follow-up appointments, drugs to control your allergies/asthma and the ongoing costs of the shots, which are about $35 every other week for me at this time. My out of pocket cost so far has been at least $4,000 between all components since I showed up for my first exam. Side Note: Thanks to my employer for providing great insurance and being a awesome employer for many years.

2. Allergy shots require commitment. Commitment to see doctors every 3-6 months to grade your progress/adjust medications and 2-5 years of your life of allergy shots themselves - then there is the biggest commitment - time sitting around..

3. Time sitting around - You show up at your docs office, wait for your shot (5-20 minutes typical in my case), then after the shot (takes 5-10 minutes or so to get), you must stick around the doctor�s office for half an hour to make sure you don�t suffer any major effects or go into anaphylactic shock. This means on you are burning close to a hour of time minus travel each time you go in for shots. On a positive note, my doc office has Wifi so that you can bring along your computer and use the Internet or work while waiting.

4. Additional Notes on Time - If you miss a few shots (no two month europe trips in the first few years), they back your dose down and ramp back up, in addition if you have a major reaction, that can also delay your progress. One other schedule impacting item is when moving to new vials of allergen you must ramp-up again over a period of 3 weeks, which means every 2-3 months having to revert to a once-a-week schedule (at least on my current dosage/visit timing).

So how are the shots?
Due to my allergy set (shrubs, trees, grasses, mice, dogs and cats if I remember correctly), they give me two shots each time. One in the back of each arm. The shots are using pediatric needles, so it�s a VERY small prick, most of the time no bleeding, or if so only one or two drops. During the initial ramp-up I had much arm soreness. At a certain point the soreness and swelling reduced, but now that I�m at maximum dosage every shot is followed by arm swelling and minor pain for a few days. It is nothing major, but is a bit of a distraction.

What are the results like after a year+?
A Drug Disclaimer: The antihistamines I�m on haven�t changed much - I�m on the same basic stuff I have been since a few years before the shots, which is a Claritin or Zyrtec generic. In addition I�m on some other drugs/steroids to keep my allergies under control. The asthma meds I�m on have changed dramatically. I�m now on two types of inhaled medicine to control my asthma, one being a emergency inhaler, which I�ve been on for many years and the other being a daily use control inhaler. In October 2009 I started exercising every other day, which I�m happy to say is still occurring. When I started exercising my asthma stepped up so they had to adjust my dosage of my daily inhaler, but my asthma is now is a very good place. Feel free to contact me for additional gory details :^).

So Really - what is it like after a year now that there has been a mega disclaimer?
Huge Improvement. Probably best indicated by example (keep in mind, this is shots + medicine modification):

Before Shots - Emergency Asthma Inhaler + Daily Antihistamine: 2 Hours around dogs and I would have 3-5 days of asthma flare-ups and congestion for at least 8-10 hours, if not a full day. Petting the dogs would result in itchy skin in only a few minutes, heaven forbid I rub my eyes without washing my hands, they will be irritated all day. Visiting anyone�s house with pets and less than perfect house maintenance (LTPHM from here out) or significant airflow would cause reactions in 15-30 minutes, which depending on the situation could cause me to have issues for several days. Inhaler sometimes needed before exercise and before bed.

6ish months - Emergency/Long Term Asthma Meds + Increased Allergy Med Regiment + Shots: I could sit in a room with the dogs for 1-2 hours a few nights in a row, but then had to spend very limited time around them for a few days to let my asthma/allergies calm down. Petting the dogs still resulted in a fairly quick reaction. Most of the time I don�t need my emergency inhaler unless I�ve pushed my luck too much recently with the dogs. LTPHM environments would cause reactions in a few hours, followed by minor annoyance over the next several days such as needing a inhaler that night, and a OTC decongestant to help clean out my system. Not as bad as before. Inhaler still needed sometimes before bed, and often during exercise.

1 Year - Increased Exercise for a few months, no other adjustments: Asthma started kicking up significantly at night, during the day and during exercise. During a doc visit they doubled my daily inhaler dosage. Within a week or two my asthma issues dramatically reduced. On the allergy front I was able to sit in a room with the dogs almost every night without any major issues sharing the same airspace, although close contact, or sitting with the dogs on the same chair still caused problems.

1 Year 3 Months - No additional adjustments: I can spend significant time around the dogs without reaction as long as there is no direct contact. If I sit with them (dog on lap) for more than 5-10 minutes at a time I can still force a allergic reaction, or if I touch on them and don�t wash my hands within 5-10 minutes. I can inhabit the same airspace (same room) with them daily for several hours without any issues. Exercise doesn�t normally require a emergency inhaler, and the vast majority of the time I don�t need to utilize additional decongestants or inhaler before bed.

Summary: Over the last Year my allergies and asthma have improved dramatically. We are not only keeping our two small dogs, we are eyeballing a puppy to be a partner for our younger dog, which a year ago was not even a option. I can still force allergic reactions, but they are no where near as severe as they were, and now living with the dogs is mostly pleasure rather than mostly avoidance and coping. Even better, now I don�t have to think before I visit a new place, such as homes with large dogs or LTPHM - which ever since I was a little kid was always a major consideration. Big quality of life boost. At this time I�m thinking the results are 50% drug adjustments and 50% shots, but I�m already feeling MUCH better about my ability to manage my allergies and asthma. We�ll see how the future develops.

Intent

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 06:51:25 +0100

In both my personal and work life over the years I�ve had a theory about communication - that theory has been that you need to deliver on the intent of the person asking for something, not the specific thing they are asking for.

Example: When your mom said �Clean the floor in your room� when you were a kid - did that really mean clean stuff off the floor, or clean the room? Would she be happy if you piled everything on the bed, or perhaps shoved it into the closet (guilty :^))? No. That is because the intent of her message is different from what she asked for. What she really wanted was for you to clean your room, and taking her literally could backfire.

This same concept applies in business and personal communications. How many times have you asked for something, or been asked for something, then when you deliver the goods the other person isn�t satisfied? It was the concept, the goal, the intent they were seeking, along with all things that go with it - a certain amount of comprehensiveness, ownership, and quality that was not directly spoken to, but was very important to the end product and their satisfaction level with the result. Sometimes it takes effort, and if you are overworked or stressed sometimes delivering anything more than the specific request seems like a pain, but will result in a better product.

So that�s my thought of the day. Understanding and communicating intent and goal, not just the specific deliverables requested when generating, or requesting something will make both parties much more satisfied in the end, even if it means doing a bit more work.

Lasik - 1 Year and 4ish Months In

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:44:57 +0100

After going through the vast majority of this winter there are only a few additional thoughts I have on the lasik experience:

1. When my eyes get tired, they are tired. It�s time to shut them for a bit, otherwise I�m blinking for the rest of the evening and they feel slightly irritated.

2. I still get dry eye occasionally, which rarely (never?) happened before Lasik, but it�s a pretty minor experience. A bit of rest, or hanging out in a slightly humid environment fixes them up pretty quick. One other trick I can use in emergencies is to put a eye drop or two in each eye and close them for five minutes or so, that usually gets them back on track. The one time when the dryness of my eyes is more apparent than others is when driving with the A/C on - airflow on my face without enough humidity will suck the moisture right out of them. It�s quickly remedied by turning off the A/C for a few moments in most cases.

That�s about it. The vast majority of the time I don�t think about my vision or have any issues with it. Still have 20/20 or better and am very satisfied with the experience.

In interest of full disclosure I�ll state that my near-sight vision is a bit worse than it was a few years back, but I started to notice that a bit before the Lasik. That particular issue is a side effect of age, not eye surgery :^). I just need to stop opting for the highest resolution possible in the smallest screen size when buying computer monitors, for day to day reading and non-monitor activities my vision is still great.

Rating of Lasik so far: Absolutely worth it.

For those of you who want a second opinion, there was a article on Lasik in Consumer Reports at some point in the last several months. Here is a link to a tidbit about it: Consumer Reports

10 Months In � The Lasik Experience

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:38:58 +0100

Seeing clearly has changed my life. Reversed childhood trauma from being a geek, caused me to re-live my teenage life with all those girlfriends that I never had, it is the fountain of youth, a winning lottery ticket and the capability to live for all eternity, much like a vampire with a ready supply of victims.

Alright, maybe that is a bit of a exaggeration but the Lasik surgery was still excellent money spent.

The Good News:

-Vision is 20/20. My drivers license now has no restrictions.

-I�ve completely adjusted to not having glasses. No more reaching for them in the morning or feeling naked without them. About 3 months ago I donated all of my used pairs to charity (there are drop boxes in many prescription glasses stores).

-My Televisions/Computer Monitors are still noticeably larger than they were when I was wearing high-diopter glasses. Right now I can see a 46� LCD and it looks at least 5� bigger than it did before vision correction.

-My night vision is about equal to before. I traded big fuzz-ball headlights for slightly different looking snowflake-style headlights. I can see how people would report that their night vision worsened but in my case the degradation was about a equal trade to how it was before the procedure.

The Bad News:

-Occasional Dry Eye � I use drops every 1-2 weeks depending on the weather (read: humidity) and how much I ride my motorcycle or do other high airflow/low humidity activities such as fly on airplanes or drive with air conditioning on high. This isn�t much of a issue or concern, I just carry some instant tears somewhere in one of my bags when I travel or when riding. As of this writing it has been 2+ weeks since I used instant tears.

Normally the dry eye manifests itself as slight discomfort in one or both of my eyes and some blurriness. If one of my eyes has been dry for several hours it won�t focus quite right until I give it a break or lube it.

-I can tell I�ll need reading glasses one day. Before the surgery I was starting to notice it was hard to read small fonts on high-resolution screens (dang all that getting old stuff). After the surgery it�s more noticeable. I�ll contemplate in the future whether to always buy the highest resolution screen possible on new laptops I purchase. Ctrl-+/Command-+ to enlarge fonts in browsers is a godsend.

-My eyes get tired easier than they used to. At a certain point of night I can keep going, but my eyeballs (normally just one of them unless I�m REALLY tired) starts to tell me to shut them for a bit by getting a bit uncomfortable. I can avoid this issue if I can find 10-15 minutes to close my eyes after work. Usually it�s about 10-11PM when they are telling me to go to bed or at least take a break.

The Verdict:

Still some of the best money I�ve spent. After posting the last Lasik post I started assembling a list of the best and worst things I�ve spent money on for another blog post, other than long-term investments such as retirement and buying a home it�s the top of the list of best money spent. In addition, all my childhood emotional scarring has been healed, and that is what really counts :^).

Lasik - 3 Month Check-Up

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:15:03 +0100

Went in for my three month check-up on Wednesday this week, Dr. said my eyes were looking good. As a whole I�m using my eye drops less and less, although I tend to still put drops in three times a day or so, usually when I wake up (flush them out), once often sometime during the day, usually right after work, then before I go to bed. I find that by doing it this way my eyes never get all gunked up.

I still turn off overhead lights while sitting in rooms alone or close blinds (still getting Hermit jokes at work :^)) to keep glare down, but I no longer am irritated by glare, it�s just more comfortable to work without the little glare that is left.

Car defrosters (or any vents that blow air directly onto your face) are perhaps the worst now, they will dry my eyes out really fast. I tend to use vent modes that put air as far away from my head as possible unless it is needed to defrost the main windshield or keep things from fogging up and in that case I�ll do what I can to prevent the air from hitting me in the face.

Eyesight is 20/20ish in one eye and 20/25ish in the other most of the time (seems to shift a bit depending on how moist they are), plenty acceptable. No need for additional correction at this time.

Still happy with the decision to have it done? Yup, still some of the best money I�ve spent. Next year�s event � immunotherapy for all the stuff I�m allergic to (17 of 39 things they tested me for I respond at a moderate or higher level) to try to numb up my allergies and make Alan dog friendly.

One Month Post Lasik

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:09:56 +0100

The summary: Still the best money I�ve ever spent. My life has changed significantly. Weird how little things make all the difference, plus, my TV and monitors all gained significant size now that I�m not looking at them through glasses (they look at least 20% bigger). I�m considering it a free size upgrade with my vision correction.

1 Month Check-Up Exam:
20/20ish. Right eye is a little weaker than the left, but my brain is now doing a much better job of �stitching� the images from my eyes together so that I don�t notice the blur line in my vision and lack of extreme focus in one eye unless I look for it. The last week I haven�t found myself shutting my right eye while looking at things I need to focus on. The doctor said everything looked healthy, next check-up is at 3 months. Mental note � my doctors office has better snacks on Thursday and Friday (surgery day and post-surgery day :P).

Eye health observations:
1. Vision is great most of the day. My eyes still wear out much sooner than they used to when I wore glasses (usually by 6-8PM I need to close my eyes for 10-20 minutes), but my endurance is still improving gradually. Combined vision is around 20/20. I now force myself to read from 1.5+ feet away, occasionally I�ll find myself holding a book like 8� from my face to read and will notice only when my eyes start hurting from trying to focus that close up (prior to the surgery I could only focus from 0-6 inches or so from my eyes).

2. I�m using eyedrops 1-3 times a day right now. The higher the humidity in the places I�m hanging out in the less I need to use them. I�ve been running a humidifier or boiling water the majority of the time when I�m home to keep the humidity up in my house. Note that it is now Alaska in the winter, so I�m lucky to get my house to 35-40%. Only a month ago it was closer to 60% I could sustain.

3. Overhead light glare is still nasty. I keep my office lights off most of the time at work and turn off most overhead lights in the house if I�m just hanging out. My doctor said it would be 3-6 months before that problem would be gone.

4. Night vision isn�t bad, no worse than with contacts, I would say it�s a very similar experience for me. Headlights have big halos but nothing unmanageable.

5. I don�t worry about my eyes anymore, I don�t rub them other than very gently (I don�t know that that will ever change) and use drops to rinse out eyelashes, dust, etc. but it�s clear I no longer need to be overly concerned about watching out to touch them.

6. I wash my face 3-4 times a day, every day. This keeps me from getting stinging in my eyes due to concentrated tear salt over the day.

7. Sunglasses everywhere! I keep sunglasses with me almost all the time. Anytime I�m outdoors during the day or sunset/dusk I�m usually wearing them. This relates to the glare issue above.

Not bad for someone going from 8.5-9.5 diopters in correction to no correction at all.

Alan's Political Meandering over the Presidential Race

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:43:33 +0100

(This is from a email I sent earlier) For those of you who haven't seen The Economist endorsed Obama (I saw this initially on twitter from Josh). Link

I'm a bit shocked to see the Economist endorsing Obama outright, but as a true on-the-fence voter (less so once Palin was nominated as VP candidate - bad choice IMO - I thought she was a great governor, but not qualified to run the country) I had many of the same concerns regarding both candidates that they brought up.

I've spent several hours watching debates, reading about the candidates, comparing their views (sites like procon.org, etc.) and trying to get a good feel but after reading The Economist article I know I'm not alone. I want McCain's experience but could live without the recent overt pandering to the religious right - such as during one of the debates where he not only brought up Abortion, but then pounded it into the ground as something he was firm on. It appeared to me he was trying to rally the religious base, which turned me off since I always saw John McCain as a person of reason, not of party lines.

If the John McCain of the past was running he would have had my vote, but the John McCain currently running feels fake. He's less John McCain and more "I mean change.. as long as it's the party line". Between this, and the Palin choice I think he's compromised too far on his positions and gone from being someone different and refreshing to the same old republican stooge. Early on I saw him getting squishy on his approach and hoped he would do the right things once in office, but now I don't think I can take that chance with his recent messaging.

As for Obama I want to support "Hope" and "Change" but at the same time he doesn't seem to stand on solid ground or want to make commitments regarding what Hope/Change entails when he must take action once in office. Too much feeling, not enough direct statement about what he's going to do. I don't like candidates that will not take positions and Obama hedges too much when answering questions. The biggest one for me is balancing the federal budget. The government will need to continue to pour money into the economy for the next few years to get everything stable but a President Obama should be able to say that by the time he leaves office he will have worked within the government to balance the budget. The biggest issue I see is that many of his views feel good on the surface, but come with very steep price tags with no statement about how he is going to fund them. He states that we need to use a scalpel when determining what costs to eliminate vs. an axe and won't commit to cutting the deficit. How the heck is he going to fund the hundreds of billions in programs he is proposing without taking the money from somewhere else? I dunno, and I suspect that at this point neither does he. Combine this view with having the house/senate be Democrat and you could break the federal piggy bank, nationalize/regulate a ton more services and take away your guns all in the same term.

One thing that has been appealing for me is that Obama has people coming out of the woodwork to support him. With a average contribution of <$100 that is saying something about who and how many people believe in Obama, including according to the polls I have seen the rest of the world. Having a president people and other nations believe in isn't such a bad thing.

So it's a choice for me - vote for someone that I'm hoping will turn back into someone I feel I can trust once he's in office, or get on the Hope and Change bandwagon and see if someone with relatively little experience will grow into a president we can be proud of.

I guess I miss the "Straight talk express" and due to it's absence I'm thinking Obama will get my vote.. -Alan

Post-Lasik Weeks 2-3

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:36:21 +0100

Overall my vision is excellent. Clarity is good and now my dry eye only seems to happen if I spend time in big box stores or staring at things like computer monitors for more than half an hour at a time. I no longer need to be super gentle with my eyes, I now function as I did pre-lasik but try not to rub them very hard or often.

I�ve reached the point where having good vision is natural, although I still reach for my glasses in the morning often. My brain still interprets the correction as some sort of corrective lenses so I find myself wanting to keep old glasses and the like although there isn�t a chance of me ever needing that strong of prescription again (combined correction of 8.5-9.5 diopters in each eye).

Some observations from my Lasik experience:
1. Fix for stinging eyeballs after the last 3-4 days - I found that I was being so careful with my eyes that they were becoming saturated with salt. Start washing your face with your eyes closed (just splash water on your face gently) a few times a day after the first 3 or 4 days or if you get serious stinging that doesn�t seem to be cured by drops.

2. Wear your protective eyewear at night after the first week, I went about 10 days before I broke my glasses but it was clear that it helped keep me from rubbing them. I�ve caught myself a few times since I stopped wearing them.

3. If you are uncomfortable just hanging out in your home boost the humidity a bit. I boil water and run a humidifier regularly. It tends to make my eyes much more comfortable.

To summarize my Lasik experience so far:
The best money I�ve ever spent. Period. Even if it cost twice as much, the best money ever spent, although at double I wouldn�t have ever of spent it to find out. My life has changed - in the shower I now see where the shampoo bottle is, when I get up I can see things on the floor to see if I�m going to trip, I can now look across the room at the cable box for the time when I wake up at night, things more than 4� from my face are in focus (now things 4� from my face are out of focus, takes about 6� to be in focus). For someone who spent their life with terrible vision the quality of life gained is huge.

I placed my head against my camera�s viewfinder today and realized �hey, now I don�t bump my glasses against my camera when looking into the viewfinder�� it�s the little things that make all the difference.

Post-Lasik Days 5-8

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:59:12 +0100

Each day my vision is getting a bit more robust/endurance is better My clarity is good but I�m still getting a lot of halo effects around lights and my sensitivity to glare is huge. Any overhead lights in a room will eventually stress my eyes so even around the house and in my office I am wearing slightly tinted safety glasses, so far I�ve mostly been compared to Elvis or a nightclub attendee :^). The best set I�ve found for around the house use that cut the glare and even out light sources a bit are these: Lowe's Safety Glasses

When I�m outdoors for any length of time during the day I switch to fully tinted wrap-around sunglasses and am now wearing a hat quite a bit of the time, which do the trick.

After about 30-60 minutes of driving I am getting severe pain in my right eye and it starts watering like crazy, when I was at the doctors office he said that was probably due to bruising and muscle/tendon issues. At night it takes a much shorter period than during the day. I've posted a picture Dave took of my eyeball the other day while fooling around if you want to see how much damage was still apparent a week after the procedure: Alan Eyeball

As long as I don�t stare at anything for any length of time, wear glare-reducing glasses, limit my driving and lube my eyes 4-6 times a day I�m in good shape. I could be considered fully functional at this point for daily activities. I think within another 1-2 weeks I�ll be at 100% at this rate.

I am still wearing my red baron/snoopy glasses at night, mostly to keep the moisture close to my eyeballs and keep me from rubbing them. If anything this entire lasik exercise has caused me to dramatically change how I treat my eyes (no more rubbing, etc.).

Am I still happy with my Lasik? Yup, even at retail cost it is still some of the best money spent during my adult life.