Update to the Eye Surgery post

Well, I was finally able to get the VHS tape converted to DVD thanks to Mark and David. (Thanks a ton, guys!) Anyway, it took some more finagling to get it ripped onto the computer in a format that would allow some basic editing so it wasn't so long and boring. Then I had to convert it again to a format that would allow me to upload it to YouTube. Anyway, it's done. I hope you guys all find it interesting. Click this link to see the post again and watch the show. Don't forget the popcorn!

Wall-E

At the Alameda County Fair, Romney and I ran across a booth that made all kinds of movie characters out of metal scraps. They had Michael Jackson (which we got for Romney's brother, Taylor's, birthday), Yoda, Predator, Alien, Iron Man, and tons of others. However, our favorite was Wall-E. We got it for 50% off as my parents had become friends with the vendor. Anyway, here are photos of our Wall-E.

The Alameda County Fair

Another thing that kept us busy for a while was the Alameda County Fair. My parents were heading there to sell their Kangoo Jumps and Good Vibrations massagers/exercisers. They asked if Romney and I would be willing to come help them for a long weekend if they paid our airfare. We talked it over and decided that we would go on the 4th of July weekend since that would probably be the busiest weekend of the fair and that's when we'd be of most help. However, we also decided that since Romney didn't have very many vacation days and is trying to save up for our Christmas trip to her parents' home in Visalia this coming December, she would go home on the following Tuesday whereas I would stay most of another week. That way, I would be there two weekends, pretty much through the end of the fair.

The fair itself was kind of a disappointment. My parents had been told before going that the San Francisco Bay area was one of the least effected areas of California because of the number of people with really good jobs, so the fair hadn't been hurting the past few years as might be expected for California's state of its economy. However, the attendance at the fair this year was pretty low. And those who did come had their hands in the pockets as they walked around, stopping at no particular booths.

Romney and I have been married for three years now and not once had we been separated. We were a little nervous that we'd decided to let a week be the duration of our first separation (rather than just a night or two). But we were committed to helping my parents. I must admit, it was pretty difficult. I shamelessly admit that I am rather attached to her and I believe her to me as well. However, I must give credit to where it's due: Romney had the harder end of the bargain. Her parents drove up to spend a day and a half with us and ended up driving her to the airport on their way back home. So Romney had to say goodbye to me and then to them at the airport, board a plane by herself, and then walk into an empty apartment and spend each night by herself for most of a week. On the other hand, I was with my parents the whole time, busy working 12 hour days in the fair, keeping myself occupied the whole time. She's such an angel.

My eyes are burning! (Updated with video)

First, I know it's been a long time since I've posted anything. I have been really busy lately for multiple reasons, several of which I will post about shortly. But I have some really exciting news I'd like to share with everyone (and no, Romney is not pregnant!) I officially need glasses and contacts no longer.

I decided that it was about time I had LASIK eye surgery. I am at an age where I would be able to benefit the longest from doing it. In other words, you have to make sure your eyes are not still changing (specifically getting worse) which they say is usually by your late 20s or early 30s. Mine haven't changed in several years of going to see the optometrist. So, if I have it now, I shouldn't need glasses again until my eyes deteriorate from old age, if even then. Perhaps all I'll ever need is reading glasses. So I should get a good 20 or more years out of the surgery.

The surgery was on Thursday morning. I went in for an hour and a half but the actually surgery lasted only 20 minutes or so. I had them tape it but need to get it digitized so I can upload it here, so it will be coming soon. They started off numbing my eye with eye drops. Then they lifted up my eyelids to fit a ring around my eyeball that would vacuum suck my eyeball a little bit, lifting it out of my socket slightly. This then allowed the first laser to create bubbles between the top layer of skin and the cornea, ultimately separating them. Then, an incision is cut in the shape of a C that allows the top layer of skin to be pulled back, exposing the cornea. After this part, they put me under the actual LASIK machine that zapped sections of the cornea in a very precise pattern, burning the cornea into the right shape to give me corrected vision. (If you want more scientific details on all this, I can give more or you can Google it). The most interesting part of the surgery for me as the patient was the fact that during this minute of burning on both eyes, I could smell burnt flesh. Lastly, the surgeon laid the flap of skin back down over the eye and smoothed it down. That was it. I was done! Although my vision was foggy from the thick eye drops she put in my eye, right away I could see as if I had contacts in.

I went home and about half an hour after the surgery the numbness started wearing off. I started to feel a burning sensation in my eyes and couldn't keep them open. Even closed they burned and watered like mad. I had been warned about this and told that it's best to go home and sleep it off. So they gave me a set of goggles I had to use all day and sleep with for the next week and one pill to help me sleep as soon as I got home. I ended up taking a 5-hour nap but, when I woke up, my eyes were fine. So yesterday I stayed home from work to further recover but I was fine the whole day. I went back in for a one day post-op visit and they looked at the flap to make sure it was still straight and not wrinkled. They tested my vision and I am now at 20/15, which means that when someone with average eyes can see something at 15 feet, I an be as far back as 20 feet and still see it, so better than average. HA! It's a miracle!



So I've posted a video of my procedure and you can see them lift up the flap and zap my eyeball. Romney was viewing the whole procedure from out in the hall through a viewing window. I was excited to get the video converted so I could see what my own surgery looked like. Any questions or comments, let me know in the comments below.

The Breaults visit Hawaii

Kim and I met when I signed up to go to BYU's London Study Abroad program back in 2003. Since then, we both went back to Provo and graduated and then I took off to Hawaii while she took off to Washington, DC. She came to visit Hawaii a few years ago and then came back with her mom later. So this was her third visit, although this time with her husband, Joe!

While they were here, we were able to meet up one evening to catchup. Romney and I took them to one of our favorite places: Menchies. It's a frozen yogurt bar where you have a large cup and can walk up to several frozen yogurt dispensers and put how much of whatever you want into your cup. Then you go to the toppings bar and do the same. Unfortunately, that's when your cup is weighed and you are charged according to how heavy it is. It's all the fad here lately with dozens of shops opening up all over Oahu. They had never been to one before so it was a nice surprise for them. Here's proof of our outing.



Kim and Joe, it was fun having you here in Hawaii again! Hope you liked it as much as we do.

Chinese New Year in Downtown (Chinatown) Honolulu

This Valentine's Day actually coincides with the Chinese New Year this year. Romney's family here in Hawaii will be doing a get-together the day before. Since we now live downtown, our neighbors, the Alexanders, invited us to go walk around with them to see all the Chinese festivities going on in Chinatown. Enjoy the clips below.

New Apartment

Romney and I moved at the end of November to a new apartment. We are still in Honolulu, just closer to our jobs. We were also ready for a change of scene and felt that Downtown Honolulu was a great way to see some change. There are lots of galleries down here and they do a free admissions once a month. I can now walk to work; it's like four blocks to the Archives. We pay about $100 more a month but we get a larger apartment (still a one-bedroom but more area), secured entry and parking, a swimming pool, and we are on the 26th floor so our view is spectacular. We are happy with our move and are glad to be done with the other place. Here is a short video of the sunrise on Christmas Eve from our living room windows. (I accidentally bumped the camera so ignore the sudden change in the horizon.)