Being Azury

In light of Malaysia’s hottest issues; 1) the shortage of rice supply and 2) the shocking revelation of a
wonder (or threat to some) called BLOG; I think
Malaysians need to thank these couple of ‘wise guy’ for coming up with brilliant
solutions and ideas. 

Wise Guy No.
1: MAKAN KELEDEK, UBI KENTANG GANTI NASI (as reported in today’s Utusan  Malaysia) 

Rakyat Malaysia disaran memakan keledek
dan ubi kentang bagi menggantikan nasi sebagai MAKANAN RUJI. Ketua Pengarah
Tuuuuttt, Mr Wise Guy No. 1 berkata, “Pengambilan ubi-ubi berkenaan sebagai
pengganti beras sesuai dengan TREND makanan masyarakat sekarang. KANAK-KANAK
sekarang juga menggemari KENTANG GORENG serta pelbagai produk daripada ubi
termasuk KEREPEK UBI yang dapat membantu mengubah trend makanan rakyat negara
ini.” 

I have no
idea what’s going on in this fella’s head but clearly, the keywords ‘TREND,
KANAK-KANAK, KENTANG GORENG and KEREPEK UBI’ can only be interpreted as
‘MCDONALD’S FRIES, MISTER POTATO, PRINGLES and CHEESY WEDGES’, to name a few. Potato can be healthy, but not in the form of fried fries and potato chips la. Next time, maybe you should THINK before you TALK? 

Wise Guy No.
2 : MAHASISWA SOKONG WUJUD PENGAJIAN BLOG DI IPTA

 Cadangan Universiti Teknologi Mara
(UiTM) untuk memperkenalkan kursus berkaitan pengajian blog dilihat sebagai
suatu langkah positif ke arah melahirkan lebih ramai penulis blog di negara
kita. Melalui kursus yang ditawarkan ini, sekurang-kurangnya dapat membantu
pengendali blog yang baru dan berkeinginan untuk berkecimpung di arena blog
ini. Walaupun perkembangan blog di negara kita bergerak dengan pantas, namun
begitu ia hanya berlegar di kalangan golongan yang berminat dengan dunia
politik sahaja (Yeah
dude, blogging is all about politics…). Tetapi
kehangatan dunia blogger ini kurang menyerap masuk ke dalam diri mahasiswa,
Kebanyakan daripada mereka masih kurang sedar mengenai kepentingan blog. Hal
demikian kerana kebanyakan daripada mereka tidak mempunyai ilmu dan kepakaran
untuk membina dan mengendalikan blog (Kurang sedar kepentingan blog… kerana
kurang ilmu membina dan mengendali blog? Are you for real??). Sebab itu, saya melihat cadangan
memperkenalkan kursus berkaitan pengajian blog ini suatu cara untuk mengatasi
masalah ini. Perlaksanaannya bukan sekadar dilakukan di Universiti Tuuutttt
bahkan di seluruh universiti dan dijadikan sebagai subjek elektif untuk semua
pelajar.
 
(Panjang
lagi tapi tak larat nak taip, so skip right to the closing) 

Melalui lapangan blog ini, golongan
mahasiswa lebih bebas menulis tanpa terikat dengan etika kewartawanan tertentu
yang diguna pakai oleh media tradisional. – Written by Mr. Wise Guy No.2, Setiausaha, Persatuan
Mahasiswa Islam, Universiti Tuuuuuttttt. 

I feel
really sorry for this particular guy, honestly. First of all, he totally misunderstood
the intention of the Vice Canselor of UiTM. I quote the VC speech from mSTAR Online, 12 May 2008: “Saya rasa Fakulti Komunikasi dan Pengajian Media
bersedia untuk menjalankan kursus ini dan saya menyokong sepenuhnya cadangan
ini kerana sudah sampai masanya kita membantu melahirkan blogger yang
profesional dan beretika. Setiap orang boleh menjadi penulis blog, tetapi kita
tidak boleh menulis sesuka hati dan mesti faham tentang beberapa syarat untuk
menulis termasuk perkataan dari segi etika dan sama ada perkara itu benar atau
tidak benar. Perkara berbentuk negatif ini kita tidak boleh terima”. 

Or in other
word, less Raja Petra? Ooppss, I better not touch about that subject. SENSITIVE! 

Obviously… contrary
to Mr. Wise Guy No. 2’s understanding, the VC was talking about blogging ethics,
not how to blog, and the need to generate more professional and ethical
blogger, not increasing the numbers of bloggers, which is the last
thing our BN government need. Although I personally think it’s absurd to set
up a dedicated course to address this issue, my point is gua bengang betul bila
orang macam mamat universiti ni bagi cadangan merepek-repek dalam newspaper! Yang
ko cerita pasal mahasiswa tidak mempunyai ilmu membina blog ape ke he nye yob?
Blog ni macam tulis email la, ko taip ape kebende yang ko nak, letak attachment
kalau perlu, pastu tekan save, siap. Tak payah buat kelas
dik, budak sekolah rendah pun reti set up blog. Aku agak ko ni memang terer
menggoreng la, sebab tu dilantik sebagai Setiausaha Persatuan Mahasiswa
walaupun realitinya, goreng telur pun hangus. Buat malu universiti je.

Dear
readers, kindly inform me if this blogging studies ever materialise. I might be
the student they are looking for, judging from my lack of ethical post today.
But then again, maybe not.. if these ‘wise guys’ can keep their mouths shut and
save their thoughts to themselves. I need a break…

I had smashing
Mother’s Day last week, thanks to my lovely Dania and my fabulous sistas! Dania
made me a mother’s day card at school, together with a cute purple paper basket
filled with candies and plastic blue flower. Err.. as you can see, candies were long gone before photo session.

Obviously the teacher did most of
the works, but it was Dania’s thought and effort that really counts. The whole week she had
been talking endlessly about their mother’s day school project, keep asking me
to guess what was the ‘surprise’ present.. and came back from school on Friday
with stardust all over her face. And how can I forget the look on her sweet
face when she handed over the card and candy basket to me; her eyes were
glowing with pride and excitement and THAT SMILE… Thank you baby!
 
Tapi tak
sempat nak rasa gula-gula tu, habis dikebas oleh Encik Nafis, ayahnya dan Cik
Dania sendiri yang tak habis-habis bertanya, “Bila Mama nak makan gula-gula
mama? Kita boleh share tau, Dania nak makan satu saja!” Hehe.. pandai bargain
ye?

And my
sisters, yes…they surprised me well because I was not expecting anything from
them. Aisya and Budar made their Kak Long emotional with their cute little cup
cakes. Well, they actually bought the cup cakes and only did the decorating..
but then again, the thought and effort was all that matters! Aisya, the sista who can’t
even cook and I believe never even knew the existence of icing sugar, went all
out googling on How To Make Icing and went ingredients shopping. I
can’t believe she actually made it herself because it tasted so good and the
colouring was perfect! Eh, entah2 ko beli kat kedai tak aisya? Whateverlah, it
was the THOUGHT that matters And budar, the ‘heftily paid actuarist’
(keh keh!), paid out for the cakes and decorated it so beautifully! That was
really wonderful guys! You all just made my Mother’s Day the greatest… EVER!! I
love you, and thank you

On the day
of the treatment, I was the third patient in line. There were two very
teenagerish looking Chinese patients before me (I intended to use the word ‘young’
but that made me appear ‘old’, so lets just agree with my selection of words :p)
I was asked to arrive there at 1 pm, so while waiting for my turn, a nurse
named Molly briefly explained the aftercare, dos and don’ts, helped me put on
the surgical gown, cap and foot cover, dilated my eyes and made me feel
comfortable. Around 3 pm, I finally met the doctor; Dr. Zainura. She read
through my test results and checked my eyes, and at the same time explained to
me the procedures and risks involved, also what to expect in the operating
theatre and percentages of things that could go wrong. I initially anticipated
that I could spend more time with her before the surgery, but surprisingly it
was relatively brief and short because she on the other hand, expected that the
counseling session had prepared me well for the surgery. Fortunately I didn’t
have much to ask and I was quite ready myself, or else I would have been very
panicky and anxious. It also seemed like she was rushing the pre-op session a
little bit, probably because she had done it a gazillion times before. Even her
explanation was flowing out of her mouth like a recorded speech! But she looked
very professional and very certain on what she was doing, so that kind of gave
me the assurance and confidence I badly needed. Plus she was also very
pleasant. But frankly, I still feel that they should have let me see the doctor
first before I decided to go for the surgery. Maybe I should have insisted. Oh, I hate regret. Learn from my mistake guys and lets move on. 

In her explanation, the doctor told me that 1% or 3% (I forgot which) of lasik patients will get a prolonged, if not permanent, side effects and complications after 6 months of surgery. 1 out of 200,000 people will suffer from excessive corneal curvature which is caused by thin cornea surface. 100% patient suffered temporary dry eyes and approximately 5% will need enhancement or follow up surgery to ‘touch up’ the previous operation. Normally people with remaining power of 100 after lasik are not encourage for the touch up mainly because enhancement means another surgery, which carries a new set of risks. So which mean to say, avoid it while you can. Although Optimax offers free lifetime enhancement as many time as possible, as long as the eye thickness is sufficient and in my case, the remaining thickness will allow for another 200 power enhancement, hopefully I will never need one.

Before getting in the OT room, the doctor used a topical anesthetic
drops to numb my eyes and make a few marks on the white eye area. Basically I
had to undergo two laser procedures, the first was to create the flap and the
second was to shape the corneal bed. A nurse cleansed and sterilized my eyes,
brought me to the first room which placed the intralase machine and helped me lie
on the OT bed. The room temperature was very cold, even the doctor noticed that I was
shivering; she asked a nurse to cover my body with a blanket. Another nurse covered
my face with a piece of cloth that exposed my eye through the hole in the
middle, then asked me to open my eyes wide and taped my eyelashes to get it out
of the way. After that I couldn’t blink anymore, so it was quite agonizing
having to gaze at the direct bright light before the procedure started. The
doctor then placed an eyelid holder in my eye to prevent blinking. It was
uncomfortable when she inserted the thing in because I can feel the pressure. After
that, the doctor reminded me not to move my eyes, just relax and focus on the target
light at the centre, not the ring of bright lights around it. The target light
was very dim and barely seen, so I have to really focus and keep my eyes
steady. The doctor started the laser which lasted about 15 seconds per eye. My
vision got darker and eventually I can’t see anything until she removed the
eyelid holder. My vision became blur again and she repeated the procedure on another
eye. After completed, the nurse pulled the taped cloth and it felt like I was given
a wax! I thought I lost lots of facial hair that day. 

Afterwards, I
was brought to the second laser machine. Again the nurse put on the cloth,
taped my lashes, placed the eyelid holder and made me stare at the bright light.
This time, the red target light was much clearer. I saw the doctor holding a
needled syringe but I don’t feel anything when she jabbed it in my eyes.  The flap was lifted and when the laser
started, an intense smell of burning hair arouse in the room. I can see the
tiny blue laser light circling slowly around my eye. It only took a few seconds
but it felt like forever because I was trying hard to keep my eye still. The
machine can detect and follow small eyes movement but it will automatically
stop if your eye gets outside the target area. The doctor had warned me earlier
that if the operation was halted middle way, things might get complicated
because the entire test had to be repeated again due to the changes in the eyes
map and contour. After the laser, the flap was flipped back to its original
position. In order to achieve a smooth, crease-free flap, the doctor stroked the
surface of my eye repeatedly in every direction. I guess the best way to
describe it was ‘like spreading icing on a cake with a pair of spatula’. Urgh,
sounded weird but you know what I mean. When the procedure ended at 4pm, my
vision was still blurry, but it was already better than my vision before. 

Overall, the
surgery went well. To tell you the truth, I felt no pain at all. Only a bit of
discomfort when the eyelid holder was placed and also not to forget, the unintentional
‘waxing’ session! ;) 

Wow, this post was longer than I thought and it took me days to complete. But if you’re still interested on this matter or crave for another yawn, please come back later for the final part of Intralasik. Till then, bye!

Based on the
numbers of queries and feedbacks I received on the topic of Lasik, I presume
there must be quite a number of you out there who are contemplating about undergoing
lasik surgery. I have received numerous questions from people around asking
whether it’s painful, what and how it was done, which centre I went to, the
cost, etc. So hopefully by writing this post, I get to share my own lasik experience
with dear readers, and perhaps assist those considering lasik make out their judgment
and decision. Now enough of the introduction and lets get straight to the
point. 

I had my lasik
at Optimax Eye Specialist Centre, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. I think the reason I
chose this place was because Optimax has became sort of synonym with lasik,
been featured before in several magazines and newspapers, and they also claimed
to be the first  in Malaysia to offer advanced eye laser procedures. Well, every laser center claimed that
they’re the best right? But eventually, I made up my mind when Dr. Hamidah, an eye
specialist from Tawakal recommended Optimax to me.    

Prior to the
surgery, I have done one free preliminary eye test at the centre to determine
whether I’m a suitable candidate. I was tested on four machines, each to check
the eye power, corneal thickness, eye pressure and general eye condition. A few
days before the surgery, I underwent another eye check up. This time it was
more thorough, lasted about 3 hours and cost me RM120.00. One of the test
involved dilating the pupils, where they put drops in my eyes and the pupils
will dilate within 15 to 30 minutes. When dilated, near sightings became very
blurry and sensitive to bright lights, and it lasted until I wake up the next
morning. However it didn’t affect far sighting, so I have no problem driving
back after the test. If you’re planning to get your eyes thoroughly check, I
suggest you get it done on a non-working day. I went back to work after the
test and I couldn’t even see the monitor, so I ended up doing nothing for the
rest of the day! Oh, and also stop wearing contact lenses a few weeks before
the test so that the eye will get back to its natural shape. All the tests were
carried out by the center’s optometrist, not by the doctor. So the exact
procedure will only be determined after the doctor evaluates the result of the eye
check up. I forgot to mention that there was a counseling session after the
test, where the optometrist explained the procedures and possible risks using a
flip chart. At the end of the session, I was asked to answer a set of written
question to make sure I understood everything that was explained to me. 

The procedure
prescribed for me was Intralasik for both eyes. It was more expensive compared
to lasik, epi or lasek, but I think it was worth the money spent because intralasik
was the latest and safest technology. Furthermore, the eyes also heal faster. However, there are pros and cons for each procedure,
so one has to make lots of homework before making the call. My references
mainly were these websites: http://www.fda.gov/CDRH/LASIK/,
http://www.optimax.com.my/ and http://www.vista.com.my/, just to name a
few. Oh, and remember last time when I said not everybody have positive
feedback for lasik? Please checkout these websites too, http://www.afterlasik.com/My_Story.html
and http://lasikdisaster.com/index.htm.
Those who had made their decision might think twice after reading it. However as
known, no surgery in this world is free from risk. It’s up to each of us to decide
whether “less than 3%" of patients will have unresolved complications six
months after surgery” (info from CRSQA and my doctor) as acceptable or not.
Some of the known risk are infection and delayed healing, undercorrection or overcorrection, decrease in best-corrected vision, corneal haze, halo
and glare effect, epithelial ingrowths, flap loss or damage, dry eye and
altitude effects, to name a few. 

Besides
reading, I also sought opinion from people who had undergone lasik. In my case
it was my dear grand auntie, Wan Marhamah, who kept persuading me to go for
lasik, and my mom of course, who eventually kinda gave her green light because
she didn’t object after knowing I did the eye test. Now come to the money
matters. Total cost for both eyes were RM5,976.00. Hubby nearly choked, but revived
later when he learnt that Optimax offer 0% interest free installment. He even surprised
me with his 1k sponsorship. Thank you honey! 

Finally not
to forget the most important part; to seek help from the Almighty. No technology will
ever defy His power.

I was approached
by a stranger this afternoon while trying on lipsticks at Guardian store. Not a
very good time to have a conversation I would say, especially when I had over five
shades of lipstick tracings on my hand. The man was neatly dressed in office
attire, but obviously he was not one of the salesmen there. “Cik, saya nampak
cik tadi kat kedai tengah check mata. (I was at England Optical earlier, got my
eye tested.. again. Hehe). Saya nak tanya, cik dah kahwin ke?” I asked him why?
“Sebab cik ni nampak macam kawan saya. Are you married?” I answered yes and he
asked again, “Betul ke cik dah kahwin?” I said, “Ya, kenapa tanya?” He answered
with another question, “Suami cik orang mana?” At that moment I was like… Dude! If you thought you know me, you should asked about me instead, not my
husband. Or if you thought you know my husband, maybe asking his name would
ring the bell. Or worse, if you were hitting on me, I must say that was very lame! But apparently
I kept that thought to myself. “Encik, maaf saya tak kenal encik. Saya tak
perlu jawab la ye”. He looked pissed off and said, “Takkan nak tanya suami
orang mana pun tak boleh?” and he walked away. Gosh, that was weird…

Ok, lets leave that behind and talk about something else. Back to my
England Optical eye check, the result was: Right eye -0.75/-0.25, Left eye
+0.00/-0.25. I’m esctatic! Feel like the world is mine, dah hampir nak peluk akak England Optical tu! Nasib baik tak. Keh keh! ;p

And as
expected, I’m currently experiencing some of the post lasik temporary effect. For
example, constant dry eye and starburst vision at nite, exactly like shown in the picture above (taken from thevisioncommunity.com). Mom said that must be a pretty sight, seeing stars everywhere!
Hehe.. yes mom it is, but it can be pretty disturbing when I’m driving!

Despite all that,
I’m still very grateful and very much humbled by the power of Allah. Thank you for
this vision, it really makes me appreciate life better. Alhamdulillah..

I did
it.
 
Yesterday, I
had my LASER EYE SURGERY. 

It took me
ages to decide whether or not I should undergo the treatment. These past couple
of weeks I just couldn’t get the thought out of my head, so I made loads of
internet browsing, studying the procedures, weighing the risks and reading other
people’s testimonials (Unfortunately not everybody had positive feedback).
However, after a thorough eye examination last Tuesday..  I had a strong feeling that everything’s going
to be OK.  It just felt right, although I
was damn nervous! Finally I decided to book the date of the surgery, which was scheduled
yesterday evening. 

The
procedure I had was called Intra-Lasik. Basically, the doctor used an
intralase laser to create a flap in front of my cornea, folded back the flap,
and then used an excimer laser to reshape the cornea by removing thin layers
from the central region of the corneal bed, which will result in modification
of the cornea curvature. Lebih kurang macam tu lah. The surgery lasted about 30
minutes and ended around 4pm. Amazingly that nite I was already watching Shrek
2… without wearing any glasses or contact lenses! It was truly
unbelievable! Until now I still occasionally thought that I forgot to take out
my contacts. Although the doctor had advised me not to give too much hope for a
20/20 vision, particularly because of my high astigmatism power, I’m already
feeling so much lighter.. as if a burden has been lifted of my shoulder. This
morning, the checkup result was very encouraging. The power of my right eye reduced
from 3.75(myopia)/2.00(astigmatism) to 0/0.25, and left eye reduced from 5.00/2.25
to 0.25/0.50. It may take up to 6 months for the vision to fully stabilize, so
in these few months my power might fluctuate. Hopefully by then, my
vision will stay as good if not better, and free from any complication
or side effect, InsyaAllah. 

So in the
mean time, I’ll just enjoy my newly restored vision. 

I still can’t
believe that I can SEE!