Eye Can See Clearly Now
24/May/05 20:51
With my LASIK eye surgery four days old, I cannot
begin to describe how neat it is to not have to wear
glasses or contacts anymore. The concept is still so
new to me that I find myself going through the motion
of removing my specs before showering or going to
bed; it's quite weird.
Silly me - making such a big deal about being nervous before the surgery. There was nothing to it - except when that suction ring sucked my eye so hard that it made me lose my vision momentarily. That was a bit unnerving; however, the microkeratome that cut my corneal flaps was painless. I watched a laser light show, and that was it. No pain, and I could see clearly right away.
The coolest thing of it all is that I got to wear these sexy Power Ranger goggles the first day, and to bed for the first week. I swear, these are probably stylish in L.A. (and the bow is because it was my 26th birthday).
My follow-up exam the next day revealed that I am able to see 20/15, and almost 20/10. Do you know how awesome that is? I was a myope of the 20/400 variety!
So... HIP, HIP, HOORAY! for Dr. Khanna and my new eyes. May I see well forever.
Silly me - making such a big deal about being nervous before the surgery. There was nothing to it - except when that suction ring sucked my eye so hard that it made me lose my vision momentarily. That was a bit unnerving; however, the microkeratome that cut my corneal flaps was painless. I watched a laser light show, and that was it. No pain, and I could see clearly right away.
The coolest thing of it all is that I got to wear these sexy Power Ranger goggles the first day, and to bed for the first week. I swear, these are probably stylish in L.A. (and the bow is because it was my 26th birthday).
My follow-up exam the next day revealed that I am able to see 20/15, and almost 20/10. Do you know how awesome that is? I was a myope of the 20/400 variety!
So... HIP, HIP, HOORAY! for Dr. Khanna and my new eyes. May I see well forever.
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Sail Away, Sail Away, Sail Away
09/May/05 09:31
Day one of a week at sea. I'm riding the USS Ronald
Reagan, CVN-76. I'm an electrical engineer for the
Navy, thus I get to ride Navy ships with some
frequency. Things should be smooth on this one, my
third underway. No more confused wandering through
the labyrinth of passageways. No more having to
shadow the senior guys 24-7. And since I got my
promotion, no more having to eat in the enlisted mess
with the lowly chumps.
If anyone wants to know what it's like to be at sea on a Navy ship, I can tell you about it. Civilians can do pretty much anything they want aboard this ship. It's an aircraft carrier, in which the population of a small city can live. There are a few rules we must follow, but feigned ignorance can get you out of almost any trouble. Never come aboard the ship without a few of the following: iPod, laptop, portable DVD player, magazines, books, or playing cards.
Schedules are very important. You do NOT want to be chowing it up in the mess deck, reading in your rack, or even taking a crap if you're supposed to be somewhere, sometime. Gosh, with 5000 people on this ship at once, timing is what keeps this whole thing going.
As you might imagine, being stuck aboard a Navy ship is nothing like being aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise. There is no shuffleboard, pool, sun deck, shopping, fine dining, casino, day spa, luxury staterooms, or alcohol. So what is there? Well, you can work out if you want to, but the gyms leave something to be desired. The food is actually pretty good, no major complaints there. But the sleeping quarters (called berthing)... that's another story.
60+ guys in one room, with beds (racks) stacked three high, and no more than 24 inches of clearance from your mattress to the ceiling of your rack. It's like a coffin, but at least THAT would be more peaceful than my rack. Our berthing space is immediately below the flight deck, just under the arresting gear. Not only that, but the arresting gear machine rooms are right next door. I cannot sufficiently describe the horrifying noise that is made when an F-18, or worse, an E-2C Hawkeye lands right above your bed. First is the surprising 'crash' into the flightdeck. While the arresting gear is stopping the plane, your ears want to bleed...almost. The arresting gear is actually strong metal cable that is wound up in a sort of pulley assembly. You do not want to hear these noises without ear protection, especially when they do it until midnight. When all is said and done, this ship serves no other purpose than to be a portable airport, 4.5 acres of US sovereign territory, so we must put up with everything the airplanes do.
What else could be so bad? Try the constant fire drills in the middle of the night. Granted, civilians can stay in bed during these, but it certainly lessens the amount of sleep one gets when voices come over the 1-MC announcing "Fire, Fire, Fire. Fire in Propulsion Plant, Reactor #2." Lastly is the ship's maneuvering exercises in the middle of the night. The ship will sail full speed ahead, then all of the sudden try to stop in a short distance. The propellers are reversed, which feels like a violent earthquake. I would estimate a 5.0 of the Richter scale. You also might fall out of your bed if they try a hard turn - these ships can roll 15 degrees! If it weren't for all of those things, you'd get a good night's sleep.
So what the heck is good about riding a ship? Well, for one I get paid some overtime. This should really help me pay the bill for my LASIK surgery on May 20. Also, like I said, the food is pretty good. If your coworkers are nice, you'll probably have a good time. After dinner, someone always puts in a movie, but you're free to do whatever you like.
Even though the flight ops cause a good amount of agony to your ears if you happen to be in certain areas, if you're watching from outside on vulture's row, that's the best seat in the house. You're allowed to take photographs of fighter jets taking off and landing. I must say THAT is very cool. Hardly anybody gets to see that in person. The planes I see are E-2C Hawkeyes, F/A-18E Super Hornets, and S-3s.
If anyone wants to know what it's like to be at sea on a Navy ship, I can tell you about it. Civilians can do pretty much anything they want aboard this ship. It's an aircraft carrier, in which the population of a small city can live. There are a few rules we must follow, but feigned ignorance can get you out of almost any trouble. Never come aboard the ship without a few of the following: iPod, laptop, portable DVD player, magazines, books, or playing cards.
Schedules are very important. You do NOT want to be chowing it up in the mess deck, reading in your rack, or even taking a crap if you're supposed to be somewhere, sometime. Gosh, with 5000 people on this ship at once, timing is what keeps this whole thing going.
As you might imagine, being stuck aboard a Navy ship is nothing like being aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise. There is no shuffleboard, pool, sun deck, shopping, fine dining, casino, day spa, luxury staterooms, or alcohol. So what is there? Well, you can work out if you want to, but the gyms leave something to be desired. The food is actually pretty good, no major complaints there. But the sleeping quarters (called berthing)... that's another story.
60+ guys in one room, with beds (racks) stacked three high, and no more than 24 inches of clearance from your mattress to the ceiling of your rack. It's like a coffin, but at least THAT would be more peaceful than my rack. Our berthing space is immediately below the flight deck, just under the arresting gear. Not only that, but the arresting gear machine rooms are right next door. I cannot sufficiently describe the horrifying noise that is made when an F-18, or worse, an E-2C Hawkeye lands right above your bed. First is the surprising 'crash' into the flightdeck. While the arresting gear is stopping the plane, your ears want to bleed...almost. The arresting gear is actually strong metal cable that is wound up in a sort of pulley assembly. You do not want to hear these noises without ear protection, especially when they do it until midnight. When all is said and done, this ship serves no other purpose than to be a portable airport, 4.5 acres of US sovereign territory, so we must put up with everything the airplanes do.
What else could be so bad? Try the constant fire drills in the middle of the night. Granted, civilians can stay in bed during these, but it certainly lessens the amount of sleep one gets when voices come over the 1-MC announcing "Fire, Fire, Fire. Fire in Propulsion Plant, Reactor #2." Lastly is the ship's maneuvering exercises in the middle of the night. The ship will sail full speed ahead, then all of the sudden try to stop in a short distance. The propellers are reversed, which feels like a violent earthquake. I would estimate a 5.0 of the Richter scale. You also might fall out of your bed if they try a hard turn - these ships can roll 15 degrees! If it weren't for all of those things, you'd get a good night's sleep.
So what the heck is good about riding a ship? Well, for one I get paid some overtime. This should really help me pay the bill for my LASIK surgery on May 20. Also, like I said, the food is pretty good. If your coworkers are nice, you'll probably have a good time. After dinner, someone always puts in a movie, but you're free to do whatever you like.
Even though the flight ops cause a good amount of agony to your ears if you happen to be in certain areas, if you're watching from outside on vulture's row, that's the best seat in the house. You're allowed to take photographs of fighter jets taking off and landing. I must say THAT is very cool. Hardly anybody gets to see that in person. The planes I see are E-2C Hawkeyes, F/A-18E Super Hornets, and S-3s.