April 15, 2012

• eyes-- status update

  Thursday (day 2 post surgery) started out wonderfully. I felt OK, so I popped into Turkish class and surprised everyone. Then I stopped into work (only because it was next door and I wanted to pick up Buket for lunch). Went out to lunch with Buket, got a smoothie, listened to some more of my novel on CD. I even got some flowers from my aunt, which was such a nice surprise.

  I was feeling so loved and good about everything that I got cocky. "Those cry-babies on the internet," I thought, "if this is as bad as it gets, why was I so stressed?" Then right around 6pm the dreaded "3rd day" hit me. My eyes couldn't focus and stung like I had just poured a bottle of shampoo in each one. I was rendered useless. I couldn't even look in my fridge it was so bright. I sat in the dark with tears streaming out of my closed eyes. Pain medicine didn't touch it. By the time Kyohei got home, I had him fish out whatever alcohol was in the fridge. I drained 1/2 a bottle of wine, took 2 Tylenol PMs and headed to bed. I could hardly even eat.

  I woke up around lunch time on Day 3 (Friday the 13th) feeling much the same. Kyohei made an eye-drop, Jimmy John's and Sam Adams run for me. A super ARIGATOU to him! If Sam Adams, Roy Orbison and this White Russian Guy can get me through heartaches, why not eye aches? I drank allllllllll day. It was like a blind, painful St. Patrick's Day, alone in my room dancing to Frank Sinatra and talking on the phone. Come to think of it, not a bad day afterall.

  By 7:30pm I was feeling OKish, so I put on some clothes, tied my hair back, put my biggest blackest shades on and headed over to campus to catch the orchestra performance. I was glad I did, it was beautiful. I was too restless afterwards to just sit at home. I rendezvoused with some other friends and went dancing. It actually seemed cool at the time to have a valid excuse to wear sunglasses at night. I vaguely remember meeting a startlingly attractive Japanese man and trying to convince him to go on the 88 temple pilgrimage (wth is wrong with me?). Through the blinding pain and blinding amounts of alcohol the night still feels like a distant dream.

  DAY 4: I woke up Saturday feeling hungover, but fine. Just like that the eye pain was gone! You just never know what to expect, I guess. I went and hung out at T&A's house, the art festival and went out again afterwards. I wonder if I shouldn't try to spend a night at home someday? The guy at the door of the club said, "Hey, good to see you again, you were here last night, right?" "No," I said with a wink, "Wasn't me."

  Day 5: Back to work at the flowershop today. Things are still pretty bright and a little blurry from time to time, but manageable. I'm excited to get the hard contacts out tomorrow morning. Then the real healing begins!

  • 3:36 pm
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