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no real order, no confirmation that one might not change in a month or two... : )
*live in a foreign country for at least 6 mos *publish a book of poetry *help get my brother convinced he's better than he thinks he is *direct a summer camp; and make it better than it was *take a leisurely, long vacation to africa *get my parents something they really want but would never get themselves. a big thing. : ) *have my favorite 4 ender books autographed by orson scott card. (really, not even just because of this site. but more because my dad would hit the roof, in a good way...) *have a kid or two or... to love with and learn with, and have them grow up in a home with their whole family around, knowing how cared about and special they are *get a little better at talking about what i'm really feeling without getting shy or embarrassed about it *help my grandfather buy more land at his place to help protect it from development
this was pretty cool to really sit down and think about. thanks for the idea to actually do it! : )
edit: ps didn't see hank's post before i wrote the 6 mos thing - i'm actually looking at getting a visa and that's why i said 6 mos...
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1. Live Abroad for Years 2. Play as a resident Artist, or lecture as a guest professor at a top music school 3. Publish and present papers in interdisciplinary research between English literature and modern music. 4. Write a novel, and a collection of short stories 5. Compose a major piece of music. 6. Save another life. 7. Fall in love with someone who returns my affection, and do something about it. 8. Attend live performances of every Shotakovich, Beethoven, Mahler and Bartók string quartet or Symphony. Attend the major works of Ravel and Debussy. 9. Write a poem that is powerful. 10. Teach. And Learn.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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1. Take architecture classes. 2. See Palmyra, Aleppo, and ancient ruins of temples of every major ancient religion, particularly Mayan, Hindu, Buddhist, and Greek. 3. Get a tattoo, either designed by me, a respected artist, or a close friend, once I have something (an event, an idea, a person, an accomplishment, etc) meaningful enough for me to represent it so permanently. 4. Chop all my hair off. 5. Travel as much as possible, taking as many photos and making as many sketches as possible. 6. Draw more, read more. 7. Learn how to make my grandfather's kibbeh and grapeleaves, and my grandmother's meat sauce. 8. See Brugge. 9. Work closely with a crazy architect. 10. Learn more about the music of the world.
Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
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1) See the Toddling Tornado safely and happily settled in life. 2) Make my wife happy. 3) Sail more. 4) Spend more time in the mountains. 5) Finsh a story (finally) and get it published. 6) Have a regular spot at the local jazz club. 7) Get the Agamuño Beer Company up and running. 8) Power my house from renewables. 9) Build a boat. 10)Sleep more.
I notice that some these may be mutually exclusive (and subject to change )
Posts: 892 | Registered: Oct 2006
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I've done a lot of the stuff on other people's lists. *feels accomplished*
Mine is partial, in no particular order, and off the top of my head: 1) Be a professional musician for some undetermined portion of my life. 2) Become fluent in another language (Spanish is my first choice). 3) Live for an undetermined amount of time in another country (I think it'd be awesome to teach English in South America or Europe somewhere). 4) Get married and have kids. And one day, watch them do the same. 5) Compete in a triathlon. 6) Hike at least a portion of the Appalachian Trail (could also be fulfilled by backpacking through Europe for a month). 7) Live completely off of the grid, completely without money, and be self-sustaining (by either growing or hunting/trapping my own food (or bartering for it)) -- use renewable resources for utilities.
I think that's all I can think of, for now. My current number 1 goal is retirement, and it directly contradicts most, if not all of these other 7 things.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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How bad were your eyes before you got LASIK done? I've read that it works best for people whose eyes aren't that bad to begin with, and my eyesight is quite poor.
My prescription was not THAT bad when I got it done. I couldn't drive without corrective lenses however.
After the surgery I was somewhere between 20/20 and 15/20 with one day where I even tested 10/20. Using the steroids and antibiotic drops they give you afterwards is CRUCIAL. You don't mess around with your eyes as far as I am concerned. I thought I would never see normally again however because my eyes were so whacked out after surgery, but today I see really well, and its been such a boon in my life.
My father on the other hand had quite a thick prescription and opted for the special treatment where they make one eye able to see far distances and the other able to read without reading glasses. At first he cursed the day he went under the laser, but after a few weeks his brain adjusted and he LOVES it now. The brain truely is an amazing thing.
So I do not know if having a lesser prescription helps, I do know having thick corneas is key to the whole procedure. The more they have to work with the better it will turn out. They test thickness before they do anything to your eyes. I had a 95% success ratio, which is as high as it gets apparently. My doctor told me if he was me he would do it, so I did.
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I have thought about it. It would be nice to not have to wear glasses. However, I'm wiggly about anding touching my eyes.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Sorry for the double post, but I want to add to my number 7 that I want it to take place on my own private island.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I've needed glasses since 4th grade, but haven't started wearing them until I needed them for driving. They're a bother and because I'm not used to them, I frequently swipe them off my face because I don't expect them to be there. Not having them would be nice, but I'm completely freaked about the process. I suppose they couldn't/wouldn't give me something to either knock me out or make me not care..
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Ok, there will be a small hospital and rescue facilities on the other side of a hill, but out of view.
Posts: 1762 | Registered: Apr 2006
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Oh Katharina and aiua, unfortunately you do have to remain awake for the LASIK procedure, because the surgeon will ask you to focus on a small light. The good news is that your eye is numbed with drops so your discomfort should be minimal. I personally have never given anesthesia for LASIK, but I have for cataract repairs, with a similar combination of numbing medicines. Most patients don't feel anything or at least don't feel uncomfortable.
That said, before you completely write off the LASIK I'd suggest asking your ophthalmologist about the type of anesthesia they usually provide for it. They may be able to give you at least a mild relaxant/amnestic so you are as comfortable as possible, while being awake.
Posts: 155 | Registered: Jul 2006
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Having to live on a glorified oil platform would be a little tougher, though.
Not to mention they want at least 10 mill for that pile of rust. There're plenty of perfectly good South American islands in the 250K range (www.privateislandsonline.com).
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i made a notebook a few years back of things i wanted to accomplish before i died...there were many more than 10, but here are a few:
1) have children 2) write a novel, get it published 3) be in a professional, paying musical/play 4) visit Europe, Australia, and New Zealand 5) sky Dive/white water raft/bungee jump/handglide 6) learn to play the guitar 7) learn a foreign language 8) live for a while in England or Ireland 9) settle in a quaint New England seaside village/town 10) own as many pets as is humanly (and humanely) possible
Posts: 3516 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Things touching my eyes doesn't bother me at all. Every now and then I'll even try to take my contacts out when I'm not even wearing them (yeah, get a mental picture of THAT) and it doesn't bother me that much.
I just worry that the surgery will make my vision even worse than it already is, or that I'll still have to wear glasses, rendering the surgery moot. If I can't get vision good enough to not need glasses, there's little point in getting it for me. And my prescription right now is quite strong. I think I'm at 6.25 on my contacts prescription.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I just worry that the surgery will make my vision even worse than it already is, or that I'll still have to wear glasses, rendering the surgery moot. If I can't get vision good enough to not need glasses, there's little point in getting it for me. And my prescription right now is quite strong. I think I'm at 6.25 on my contacts prescription.
That is pretty rare with LASIK. Most people are usually quite satisfied. Getting rid of the glasses/contacts is the whole point! I believe you could be asking for your money back if it didn't work that way. I've heard of a couple reports of people seeing halos around lights, etc. But I haven't heard anyone complain of their vision getting worse than it was before. Obviously this is something you should think over and talk about with your ophthalmologist. I'd also suggest talking to people who've had LASIK done themselves if you're thinking about it.
Posts: 155 | Registered: Jul 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I just worry that the surgery will make my vision even worse than it already is, or that I'll still have to wear glasses, rendering the surgery moot. If I can't get vision good enough to not need glasses, there's little point in getting it for me.
That is pretty rare with LASIK.
Interesting. Can you cite studies, please? Because the ones I've read (I'll try to dig up some citations later) indicate that it's not that uncommon. Perhaps you just have a different definition of "pretty rare" -- can you quantify that?
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Thanks, Dark as night. I've wondered but never actually done any research. I'm okay for right now, at least, I'm not suffering enough to want to go through that. :}
Posts: 1215 | Registered: Apr 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Things touching my eyes doesn't bother me at all. Every now and then I'll even try to take my contacts out when I'm not even wearing them (yeah, get a mental picture of THAT) and it doesn't bother me that much.
I just worry that the surgery will make my vision even worse than it already is, or that I'll still have to wear glasses, rendering the surgery moot. If I can't get vision good enough to not need glasses, there's little point in getting it for me. And my prescription right now is quite strong. I think I'm at 6.25 on my contacts prescription.
Lyr, those are my worries as well. You and I are almost in the same boat with this, except I think my vision's currently at about -5.5 or -5.75 (I'm nearsighted). And I've also tried to take my contacts out instead of putting them in, usually in the morning when I'm still half-asleep...yeah, I'd imagine removing your own cornea with your fingers is not doctor-recommended. Posts: 952 | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Valentine014: Wow, JT. You've thought this out, haven't you?
The list was all of the top of my head, but that site is one I've used in the last year or so to kill time occasionally.
Plus, for me a private island is a great place to start daydreaming because there're so many interesting problems to think about (Could I make a homemade wave generator? Build a Swiss Family Robinson style treehouse? Set up and maintain a solar array/wind generator? Modify an icebox to run off of a handcrank (possibly attached to an exercise bike)? Catch enough fish to keep me fed for several months? etc, etc).
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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1) Marry. 2) Publish. 3) Be directly responsible for the success of a product line, or a company. 4) Start a successful, national charity organization. 5) Finance my parents' (luxurious) retirement.
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I just worry that the surgery will make my vision even worse than it already is, or that I'll still have to wear glasses, rendering the surgery moot. If I can't get vision good enough to not need glasses, there's little point in getting it for me.
That is pretty rare with LASIK.
Interesting. Can you cite studies, please? Because the ones I've read (I'll try to dig up some citations later) indicate that it's not that uncommon. Perhaps you just have a different definition of "pretty rare" -- can you quantify that?
Rivka, first of all, you are absolutely correct that everybody's definition of "rare" and "common" is different. I shouldn't have used those terms, especially because I was mainly referring to experiences of my friends and acquaintances who've had LASIK. As I've already said, I personally have neither been involved in, nor had the LASIK procedure myself. My original comment was related to sedation for it, and perhaps I should have left it at that. So I apologize for making such a blanket statement.
At your request I did a thorough literature search, mainly on PubMed, and I've attached several references to abstracts here. As you probably already know, one of the beauties and flaws of Evidence Based Medicine is the fact that sometimes different groups of investigators researching the same subject may not get the same results. You can often find conflicting studies done in large institutions and published by reputable sources. Statistics and results can be presented in various ways and complex methodology may on occasion be confusing to the reader. That said, it is not my wish to discuss the subject on which I am not an expert any further, but these are a couple of article abstracts of large reputable studies that convey the general efficacy and safety of LASIK. I hope you find them as helpful as I did.
The first study compares two groups with LASIK and the second compares LASIK patients to PRK. I'm not sure how either answers my question.
However, the third does . . . but let's see what that abstract says.
quote:At 2 months postoperatively 67% of eyes were within plus or minus 0.5D of attempted correction with 81% within plus or minus 1.0D. At 5 years postoperatively 60% of eyes were within plus or minus 0.5D of attempted correction with 83% within plus or minus 1.0D.
Assuming that the 81% can now get by without glasses (a reasonable guess, although these things are somewhat subjective), that would still be 19% that cannot. And that number only improves very slightly after a few years (and with the number with the "best" change decreasing) . . .
1 chance in 5 of still needing glasses/contacts (which is about what I have heard and read previously) is simply not acceptable odds to me. Especially considering that my degree of nearsightedness and my astigmatism would actually make my personal odds worse. As well as increase my odds of other problematic side effects, like decreased night vision and halos.
1 in 5 also does not meet my personal definition of "rare" -- YMMV.
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I've heard of a couple reports of people seeing halos around lights, etc. But I haven't heard anyone complain of their vision getting worse than it was before. Obviously this is something you should think over and talk about with your ophthalmologist. I'd also suggest talking to people who've had LASIK done themselves if you're thinking about it.
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