10/31/06 - Yeah Baby!!! – There were lots of Halloween events this year. We started a bit early around mid-October with a themed Geocaching party at our house. We enjoyed a bit of poker, some wine, billiards, and several guests even dressed up! We usually try to have one of these Geo-parties every quarter since they are so much fun - that and every one who attends is always in good spirits.
On the following weekend we drove up to Denton for another Halloween Geo-party. This one was held at a Golden Corral and was a more traditional Geo-event. We met a lot of new people at this party and had fun, but it wasn't anything terribly special. We met up with a few other cachers after the party and found a night cache in a nearby park.
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On Sunday we made a quick trip to Byblos Lebanese Restaurant. We don't really visit very often, but we should - Lebanese isn't too far off from Greek food. In fact, several of the dishes are identical in taste and appearance (although they might have a slightly different name). The event of the evening, in addition to the superb food, was a fundraiser for Isis Dance Studio. Belly dancing was the theme and there were several performances throughout the evening.
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Our dining guests for the evening were Christina (Coastalfinds) and her date Chris (new guy; this was our first chance to meet him). Costumes were recommended and since there was a contest I decided to don the Hooter's outfit once more (and even won a few prizes too).
We have a costume contest each year at work and I've made a tradition of dressing up with an extra bit of flair to try and win first place. This year the costume of choice was Austin "Danger" Powers with a homemade costume built by Donna (one of my coworkers). She did an excellent job of sewing together a coat and pants out of some radical material we found. I took 2nd place and a cash prize of $75; 1st place went to the Bride of Frankenstein and 3rd place was for Jack (from Jack in the Box).
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After work I quickly drove home to start pulling out the finishing touches on our house decorations. I usually don't go through much effort on the trick-or-treaters, but for some reason this year I was in the mood (that and we won some decorations from the above mentioned Byblos event). We had lots of trick-or-treaters this year (some even made multiple visits and didn't think we would notice ;) and we uncorked a bottle of Vampire Cabernet Sauvignon to celebrate the evening. All in all this was a very nice Halloween!!
11/01/06 - Feta – Just write "sucker" across my forehead. A little stray cat that was limping was brought in by a client who really does not have the space or money for him. The client put forward some money to help him and signed him over to us. He has a luxated (dislocated) arm that cannot be replaced, even surgically, because of the amount of scar tissue and remodeling the body has done over time. He also limps on the rear limb on the same side. Neither problem seems to slow him down too much, though. He will get up and down just fine from the bed in the guest bedroom (where all new cats get to spend the first few weeks or months as they acclimate to our house). The reason I decided to take him was that he has a serious purr-box. His little motor seems to run all the time when he is relaxed. Because I wanted an original name for a white cat (rather than Fluffy or Snowball), we call him Feta (yes, like the white cheese).
11/01/06 - PRK – I had been planning for nearly a year to have corrective surgery performed on my eyes so that I would (hopefully) no longer require the use of contact lenses or glasses. After researching several options, I chose Tylock Eye Care and Laser Center. I attended a seminar to learn more and decided to go with the latest and greatest, Custom Vue IntraLASIK, using Wavefront technology. A very thorough eye exam was scheduled to see if I was a candidate. At the exam, my eyes were very dry with mild corneal ulcers and had corneal asymmetry. The doctor said the asymmetry could be my normal eye conformation or could be artifact induced by the dryness and ulceration. He prescribed a treatment regimen (including Restasis and artificial tears and gel) with a follow up exam. At the follow up, the ulcers were healed and gone, the eyes were no longer abnormally dry, but the asymmetry was still present. Because of the asymmetry, the LASIK procedure was not necessarily the best option because post-op vision could leave halos, ghosting, and fuzziness. The doctor recommended PRK instead, which is an older procedure with more post-op discomfort and a longer recovery. He said that I would probably be much happier with the quality of vision and would still obtain vision that (hopefully) did not require contacts or glasses. I scheduled for PRK and did it!
Right after surgery - 400 UV protection goggles
The surgery, immediate recovery period, and healing process all went exactly as they predicted. I am 2 months out and can see as well as I could before with contacts! I still have more healing to go but am very satisfied with the results. I love not having to flush cat hair out of my eyes at work (working at a feline exclusive veterinary hospital, you deal with a lot of fur, and it loves to stick to contact lenses!) The doctors (Dr. Wildridge and Dr. Hayes) that perform the exams before and many times after surgery are extremely thorough and communicate very well. The doctor that performs the surgery (Dr. Tylock) obviously does a great job. The staff members are very friendly and explain what to expect and answer lots of questions. I would definitely recommend Tylock Eye Care and Laser Center! Although I still have more healing and a few more exams, I am very happy with my decision and vision!
