Lost Returns Tonight

Oh man, I've been waiting eight months for tonight! Lost returns tonight at 9. Although it's just a repeat of last season's finale, it'll be a nice improvement to all the other lousy shows on tv. Chrissy's been watching practically every reality show there is. And can you believe Dustin and Colby's new favorite show is Bruno vs. Carrie Ann: Dance Wars??!! They watch so much they even memorized one of the Backstreet Boys songs!

If you've never watched "Lost" before, you can get all caught up with the previous 3 seasons tonight and tomorrow night. There was a great article written up about it in the Chronicle today. Below is an excerpt. You can read the entire article here.

For those of you who haven't invested in the first three seasons of "Lost," it's not too late. Tonight at 9, ABC is going to air the two-hour Season 3 finale, complete with "onscreen facts" dominating the bottom third of your screen, which will set the stage for what is happening and which elements are important.

At 8 p.m. Thursday, ABC will air a one-hour table-setter called "Lost: Past, Present & Future," which should bring everyone up to speed before the kickoff to Season 4.

Three words for Thursday's first episode: Oh. My. God.

Oh man, I can't wait!

Who's your candidate?

I don't know how much you care about politics, but I work with, and carpool with, a bunch of liberal Bush-hating fanatics. They blame the war on him. They blame the housing crisis on him. And they even blame the stock market on him. I guess it makes people feel better to have someone to blame... So now all they talk about (other than their pensions) is the upcoming elections and how desperately they want a Democrat as president to "balance out the power" (even though Congress is already controlled by Democrats). Anyway, they're quite a passionate bunch to say the least. I usually try to zone them out by pumping the music louder on my iPod or pretending to sleep. They probably think I'm ignorant and sheltered because I don't share their passions.

The African-American guy in my carpool likes Hillary. The white guy likes Obama. Go figure... With all the attacks, the posturing, the promises... it's really hard to tell them apart on the issues. One has "vision" while the other has "experience," but in the end, they all promise the same thing, "change." Yeah, like change the subject!

Glassbooth.org
This week a friend introduced me to GlassBooth.org. This is a great website where you can determine for yourself which candidate best represents your values. You rate the issues most important to you and then take a brief survey related to those issues. Based on your answers, it will list the top three candidates that best identify with your beliefs. If you're curious as to why a certain candidate does or does not coincided with your morals, you can click on their name for a list of their views on a given topic, including a list of quotes and how they voted on certain issues in the past.

It only takes a few minutes. But it's worthwhile to find out who you should be voting for regardless of what you hear in the media. If you're a true Democrat or Republican, chances are your candidates will all fall along party lines. But it is still important to see where they stand on specific issues (immigration, Iraq, gay rights, etc.). And who knows, you may be surprised that you're a bit more liberal/conservative than you originally thought!

I Can See! I Can See! Part 2

It's been 16 days since my Lasik surgery and my eyes are getting better by the day. My main complaint is that my eyes constantly feel dry so I need drops every hour or so. I either use the drops or watch an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. That show always makes me cry. I was told that my dry eyes will last about 6 months. So if you see me winking at you, try not to get the wrong idea.

Another complaint is the night vision, especially at bright lights. I drove at night four days after the surgery and there were lots of glare (halos/stars) from the headlights and taillights – like when I get too close to Chrissy and her greasy skin smudges my glasses. But nowadays, the glare has been reduced by 75%. This too should continually improve in the next 6 months.

Last week I went to Daniel for my one week follow-up. He tested me and said I now have 20/15 vision and I can now apply for my pilot's license (no, I don't fly). Then he immediately tried to sell me some $300 Armani sunglasses – haha jk. At the same time I decided to take Dustin in for his first eye exam. Two of his schoolmates already wear glasses, and considering the time he spends in front of the tv, computer, gameboy, etc., I was a little concerned. Surprisingly, he passed the test. He has 20/30 vision, which is actually better than the average 7 year-old. Daniel also says sitting too close to the tv does NOTHING to your vision. There is NO scientific proof that too close or too much tv/computer/videogames leads to any deterioration of vision. None at all. Dr. Dan says, "The only warnings we get is from Chinese moms." So forget buying the big screen tv, just move your couch closer! Wow, what a cost-saver!

On the other hand, bad vision is very much hereditary. If both you and your spouse have bad vision, like -6 or worse, sorry, but your kids are screwed! Also, if both of your maternal grandfathers are color blind, all your male children will be color blind too. Yep, it's true.

So how much does Lasik cost?
The one question that EVERYONE wants to know (but sometimes afraid to ask) is the cost. My coworker went through Kaiser last week and paid $4300. I went through VSP and it's $4200. Daniel gave me a $200 discount which lowered it to $4000, payable to the surgeon (Daniel gets his kickbacks later on). Of course I used my favorite Citibank 5% Cashback credit card so immediately I get $200 back. Furthermore, since I knew exactly how much it would cost back in November 2007, I signed up for Flexible Spending through my employer.

Flexible Spending uses pre-tax dollars toward qualified medical and childcare expenses. So if you're in the 25% tax bracket, you're essentially saving 25% off your expenses. You'll get reimbursed immediately and they average out the deduction for the entire year. For us, it would be $153.84 for 26 pay periods. This is even better than interest-free financing! Because of the $2000 max. in flex spending (each company will vary) we split the amount to both Chrissy's and my employer. I faxed in my paperwork on Wednesday and on Saturday I received my check! Woohoo! The beauty is, I still haven't even received my credit card statement yet! So when it's all said and done, it's under $3000. And because of flex spending, you'll hardly miss the money (unless you're living paycheck to paycheck).

My recommendation
Do it... or at the very least, inquire to see if you are a candidate. If you work out the numbers like I did, money should not be an issue, not to mention the money you'll save annually on new glasses and contacts. My previous post may have made it sound more squeamish than it seems, but that's just my perspective. You may be braver than I. You may not even need that teddy bear! Good thing is that over 90% of the patients never require a secondary or touch-up surgery. So chances are, it's a one-time deal. All I know is that my life has improved in so many ways I can't even describe. Just little things like walking in the rain, wrestling with my kids, spying on my neighbors in the middle of the night... I never realized what a hindrance glasses has been to me. Freedom has never been so sweet! Now I just got to look for my binoculars...

I Can See! I Can See! Part 1

I've been fascinated by the amount of inquiries I've gotten about my Lasik surgery. Practically everyone I've encountered has known of someone who's done it, has done it themselves, or are interested in doing it. Here was my experience.

Wavefront vs. Traditional
There are two main types of Lasik, traditional and custom wavefront. Unlike traditional Lasik, Wavefront Lasik further corrects for other "higher-order" imperfections in the cornea which cause glare, halos, stars, contrast, and night vision problems. It makes a map of the cornea and pinpoints particular areas to correct, whereas traditional Lasik just slices off the top. Wavefront Lasik is also about $400 more per eye. So here's a no-brainer: all doctors recommend Wavefront.

Which Doctor?
I originally planned to use one of the guys I hear on the radio. They offered free exams so why not? Problem is that they are so booked up, you'll be lucky to get an appointment within 7 weeks. So in October while I was waiting for my December appointment, I decided to ask my regular optometrist Daniel for a recommendation. To my pleasant surprise, Daniel actually works with a Lasik specialist, Dr. Mandel, who's an excellent doctor (according to Daniel)! Daniel would take care of all the pre-screening and post-op exams, and I only see Dr. Mandel for the actual surgery. Cool beans!

What makes you a "good" candidate?
Of course I'm a good candidate, why wouldn't I be?? I got the money right?! Well first of all you need to be in good general health. Second, you need to have enough thickness in your cornea to accommodate your correction. So someone with a -8 nearsightedness would need twice as much thickness than someone with -4. And finally, if you have an astigmatism, it may disqualify you also depending on the severity. Fortunately for me, I'm ok on all fronts. His only concern that is when I turn 45 I may need reading glasses, so I'll only be completely glasses-free for a few more years. Yeah I wish I had done it sooner too.

The day
I went to the Horizon Vision Center in San Leandro. There was a huge waiting room with about 20 people. I guess people like to come with their families to cheer them on – I can envision these same people at the plastic surgeon's office. In my case, Chrissy just dropped me off and went shopping. She should have stayed because they even have a window where you can witness everything. They perform anywhere from 15 to 25 surgeries every day.

The staff was quite efficient. I was called in and out 3 times to do various measurements at different stations with different doctors. They all gave me assurances that I was a great candidate, and that I had enough thickness for a -8 procedure even though I was only a -3. I'm sure they were all thinking "easy money on this guy." Then they sent me to the receptionist where I had to pay.

The 4th station was the final call where they started to numb my eye and gave me a valium to relax. I sat there for 30 minutes next to this woman who drove all the way from Turlock (wherever the heck that is) just to see Dr. Mandel because she heard he was the best! Unfortunately he would only operate on one of her eyes because the other lacked the thickness required. But he did tell her that some other doctor would probably do it for her. It's just that he wouldn't. You see, he only accepts low-risk patients (in order to maintain his perfect record. – Hmm, sounds like sandbagging to me.)

The moment of truth
I entered the room and laid on the table. There were about 5 doctors there. They made me hold this stuffed teddy bear for comforting reasons. Um, ok... They tape my eyelids open and inserted that thing you see in the first picture which was rather uncomfortable. The machine then moved into place right above my eye. Then they pressed (rather hard) on my eye with something else and I felt something swipe across. That's when they peeled my flap across like a can a Pringles. And that's when I started to freak out a little. The clear ring of light I was staring at got real blurry as the flap was lifted. Then five seconds later everything went dark. I was blind! I'm like "um, excuse me, but I can't see..." They assured me that it was normal and to calm down. Then shortly after I see a dim blurry flashing orange light. They say to look at it. I hear the tapping sounds of the laser for about 10 seconds and then the flap is folded back into place. They brush around the edges of the flap and the machine moves to the next eye and I remember thinking, "Hey that wasn't that bad, it was really fast too!"

As they started to tape the second eye, I started to recall the part of the video where they say the second eye will always hurt more. Not that it does, but because your mind is preparing you for it. And man, boy did that second eye hurt like crazy! And it lasted twice as long too! (Or so it seemed). Good thing I had my teddy bear!!

The actual surgery lasted about 5 minutes per eye and I was in and out of the office in 2 hours. The valium made me real lightheaded and relaxed. I asked them for another one, "you know, for the road..." They said no.

Recovery
The surgery was at 4 and the car ride home was long and uncomfortable. My eyes were starting to burn and itch and there was nothing I could do since I had to wear these protective shields. They recommended I take some Tylenol and to keep my eyes closed until morning. I wanted to go to bed asap but we had to go pick up both boys from daycare, and then we had to pick up my prescription too. With my eyes closed, it's amazing how well you can focus on sound. That's when I realized how loud my kids are! They're also spoiled and bratty too!

That night I slept until 9:30 when I got up to eat dinner. By that time, about 90% of the pain had subsided. But it was still hard to open my eyes. I was only able to squint in order to see. And other than stepping on a few toys, I was even able to make an accurate visit to the bathroom!

The next morning I was able to see fine. Still hazy, but not blurry. I was able to drive the kids to school and myself to Daniel's for my post-op check-up. I left my covers on as I drove just to get some weird looks from other people.

Oops, this post is quickly getting way too long. I'll continue the story on my next post. Thanks.

The Forty-Something Club

Last Thursday at exactly 24 hours after my lasik surgery (which I'll blog about in detail at a later date), I finally checked email. That's when I see a volley of emails that Goff was in town and the get-together was going to be Friday night (approx. 26 hours away). Woohoo, party time! It's been so long since my last party! I quickly send out emails to assemble all the usual suspects. After everyone RSVP'd, then I asked Chrissy to feed our 13 guests. You see, I ask her last so that way she can't say no. Smart huh?

Normally Chrissy prefers much more advance notice, but she understands that with Goff, you'll rarely get it. Goff would typically call and say, "Hey dude I'm in town, let's get together tomorrow night." I'll say, "No, I'm kinda busy, how about the next night or the night after?" He'll say, "Naw dude, I'm leaving the next day. I've been here all week already." And sure enough, he was leaving the next day.

In years past, we've always hung out at Dave's with Diana and Perry, so this year we decided to host since the house was still fairly clean from our previous parties. For many of them, this was their first visit to our house. Cez was especially excited to be invited. She said something like, "Wow, I feel so privileged! I can't believe we're finally going to be featured on your blog!!"

Jim had a great time too (because he's still childless – until June). We talked about the old days and I brought up the time he and I went cruising near MacArthur and Broadway and how we pulled over to talk to this street-walker and asked her directions to the nearest cash machine... Oh wait, Jim told me not to mention that. Oops sorry, my bad!

Our conversations started with my lasik surgery (everyone I talk to is fascinated), then the conversation lead to other ailments such as back pains, the graying/loss of hair, and then CPAP. I've never heard of CPAP before. It was weird hearing Jim talk about it because I originally thought it was that other pap procedure. Doh! Matt tells me that CPAP is a popular topic among his friends. I guess you don't really bring it up unless you know someone else that had it. Sorta like I have this coworker and this friend that both have UTI. Hmm, maybe I should have them both over for a lively discussion...

So with this particular mix of friends, our house got loud, really loud. So loud I couldn't even hear the kids. The decibel level was clearly higher than any other party we've hosted. Maybe because we were in the dining room where the sound bounces off the walls. Or maybe because we're all over 40 and losing our hearing so we need to yell. Either way there was just so much to talk about. It's obvious as we get older, we quickly build up a portfolio of health issues that we love to share.

At the end of the night, I think I actually started wishing people Happy New Year. This was the first joyous event of the new year for me. With a loving family, lifelong friendships, and 20/20 vision, 2008 is starting to look real good!

Photo Credit: It's so hard to entertain and take photos. So thanks to Matt for being our historian in capturing the moments. Since he's the young'n in our group, we had to give him something to do to keep him busy :)

Funny story, just had to share

My sister-in-law, Melissa is a hairdresser in the City. One of her wealthy clients was getting married this past weekend in Maui and hired her to do her hair. She even paid her airfare to fly her over. So the entire family including my mom went along. They flew out on Wednesday and returned this evening. I just drove my mom home and here's what happened.

The bride-to-be is a med student just about finished with school and comes from a super rich family. The groom is in the Navy and stationed in Hawaii. The parents weren't too happy about their daughter marrying a soldier, but what could they do?

The night before the wedding, the groom was at his bachelor party and was partying very hard. He got drunk, smashed up the restaurant, and got arrested by the police. He apparently was still in custody by the next morning. At 11 a.m. Melissa gets a call from the mom and says that the entire wedding is off. Everything is canceled. My mom was happy because she no longer had to watch the kids. Melissa was happy because she was already paid in advance. But my brother was bummed because he missed a great dinner.

We hear that the mom flew in all the guests and paid for all the accommodations. She spent $100 grand that's mostly non-refundable. But she dodged the bullet because the daughter did not get married after all. Oh well. I guess some things just have a way of working themselves out.

Nervous and scared

Tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon I am scheduled for my Lasik surgery in San Leandro. I've been wanting to do this for years but have been too afraid. In recent years, Grace, Owen and Greg all got it done and wholeheartedly recommend it. This year I decided to not waste any more time and just get it over with. Remember, I'm 40 now so my health can only go downhill. Plus, reading glasses are just around the corner too.

I went through our resident CIBC (now XCI) optometrist Daniel who works with Dr. Mark Mandel – an excellent surgeon he says. They sent me an info packet during the holidays that included an impressive and informative DVD video. The video went into detail about the entire procedure from start to finish and the post-op care too. Of course I only cared about the potential risks (regardless of how rare, or very rare they were) and how I would cope with the recovery. At the end of the video, some apprehension began to set in.

Since the packet arrived during my parties, it was put away when we were cleaning house. Tonight (the night before surgery) I decided to dig it up and read it. That's when I realized there was a prescription for antibiotic eye drops I was supposed to start taking three days ago - uh oh! I called Daniel at 10:30 and he said I'm screwed (well actually I said it, but he didn't disagree). He told me to call Dr. Mandel for a second opinion. So I did. Fortunately Dr. Mandel said it'll be ok, he'll just give me some extra dosage tomorrow. Whew! I'm a little relieved but surely this only adds to my anxiety.

The entire appointment is 3-4 hours. I will have to keep my eyes closed throughout the day and night. No reading, tv or computer for 1-2 days. Luckily, I can still yell at the kids! So I'll be offline for a while. I'll blog about the whole experience next week. In the meantime, please pray for me. Thanks.

Let's Paarrty!! Part Five, New Year's Eve!

Finally I'm catching up on all the parties. As you can see I've been blogging like a madman last week. I hope you've been enjoying the reporting and the photos. These memories I'll cherish forever and I'm glad I have a blog to relive all the events. But it still makes me sad... sad that it's over.

For us, the grand-daddy event of the year must be New Year's Eve. With the exception of last year, we've been hosting NY Eve for the last 12 years. Last year with Justine being only 2 months old, we didn't want to disturb her sleep patterns. So what did we do? We packed her up and moved the party to Fongpay's in Walnut Creek. It was a smaller party because of bad timing. Winnie went into labor and Meghan was born. Even though we were happy and excited for them, we really missed having Oli as our 4th for mahjong! We had to call in my brother-in-law as a sub. It just wasn't the same.

Hard to believe Oli, Ray, Fongpay and I have been playing for 12 years. Mary plays too (we affectionately call her "the landmine" because whoever sits next to her tends to lose), but when she started to date Ted, they began going to LA instead to hang out with better people. This year she's all prego and can't travel. So being the gracious guy that I am, I again extend an invitation to her. She tells me "yeah maybe" and quickly changes the subject.

Steve and Betty also used to play until they abandoned us and moved to Seattle in 2004 (I mean so what if his parents and son are up there...). Despite being forsaken, we still miss them the most. I especially miss trading insults and disgusting anecdotes with Betty! I can still do it over the phone but it's not the same because you can't see their facial reactions. Last week they sent me this photo with their grandchildren. Betty's real happy now that we can call her "grandma-mar" and also because she qualifies for that additional 10% Tuesday discount at Ross :)

So back to this year. We still have our core group of players but with every year we have some new people joining us. It's like an open invitation and we always have extra food on standby. We play MJ, video games, board games, install software... and this year the Mac users outnumbered the peecee losers. Hey that rhymes! – Sorry, no offense, guys.

With every party you have two kinds of friends. The first kind are the ones that always leave first. "The kids need to go to bed..." is the most common excuse. They adhere strictly to their self-imposed rules and structure and their lives are amazingly disciplined. The second kind are the ones that always stay to the end. They hang out, channel surf, reheat the snacks... continually looking for reasons to avoid going home. They lack ambition, have a miserable home-life and their children suffer constantly. I think that would be us.

And then there's Patty. Someone who refuses to leave!

Last year Patty stayed until 3:30. This year they stayed until 12:45 p.m. (um yeah, the next day)! I had to cook breakfast for them and almost lunch too! But regardless of whatever things we've heard and know about her, we still consider her a great friend :) Their kids are smart, funny, and energetic. But Nathan is the most spoiled 9 year-old I know. Can you believe he already has his very own Macbook? Like their parents, they don't need sleep. They would probably STILL be at our house if they didn't have a plane to catch!

The party's over... sniff, sniff
This weekend we packed up our tree and decorations. I think we finally finished off all the leftovers too. Even with three kids, our house just seems so empty and quiet compared to last week. The rain and the cold just adds to the glum feeling as we continue to wind down. Tomorrow we will have to readjust and resume normalcy. The boys are back in school, traffic will be horrible, and all my bosses will return. It makes me wonder, What exactly is so happy about the new year anyway?? I personally find it kind of depressing. No joy here. Oh well, just don't expect me to wish anyone Happy New Year, because I definitely prefer last year.

Let's Paarrty!! Part Four, Saturday Dinner

After Meghan's birthday party, I took Colby home and put him to bed. I was exhausted myself so I took a nap next to him (plus I ate an incredible amount of food at the buffet). With 17 people coming for dinner, I knew I needed to rest while I can. We had a nice long nap. Having a feverish child next to you will beat out any electric blanket! It was raining and 50 degrees outside, but our bed was nice and toasty thanks to Colby!

Because of Ted's turkey and twinkies, we still had a ton of uncooked hotpot food from the night before. Stuff like beef, pork, and shrimp – things that needed to be eaten or frozen. And considering Ray only visits during the holidays, I don't think the food will last in the freezer until next Christmas. So we did what we had to do, have another hotpot party.

Left to right: Kathy, her daughter-in-law Irene, Dan, and Denise. Denise is the mom of Dustin's best friend Robert. She recently discovered my blog and is now unsure how much exposure she should allow her son to our family. I'm guessing there may not be as many playdates for them in the future.

Chrissy was still tired from hosting my family on Christmas, but she figured it would be more comfortable for her to pass out on our sofa rather than someone else's. And since Colby was sick, we would much rather have him puke at home too ...and into his favorite bucket. Poor Colby was puking so much, at the end of the night he had an indentation on his forehead from the rim of the bucket.

So with the absence of Fongpay's family, we had enough food to feed three more families! We invited the Chu's, Lau's, and the Lew's. Because of the buffet, most of us weren't real hungry, they just wanted a place to hang out. So again, we had a lot of food leftover.

The kids played Wii all night. The new hit game was Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Pretty fun game that is actually optimized for both the wiimote and nunchuk. You have to run, jump, swim and throw using various arm motions. There's even fencing, which is probably a preview of how they'll handle future Star Wars Jedi battles! Kids were bouncing all over the place. Speaking of which, Robert arrived with a bruise above his eye. Denise said his dad wacked him with the wiimote. Hey, that's a great explanation to social services if you beat your kid regularly!

Other than the Wii, the evening was pretty mellow. With all the eating and more eating, none of the adults really wanted to move. I was so tired, I can't really remember anymore about that night. All the festive memories just kinda blend together and it's all one big happy blur. It's like a mental hangover. Thanks to those of you who IM'd me this morning. I always enjoy chatting with you and am glad that you too had a nice weekend. Because of you, I was able to stay awake at work, and I was able to type this blog. Peace out, and check back tomorrow for Part Five.

Left to right: Richard (Robert's dad), Suzanne, Winford, Steve and Ray.

Let's Paarrty!! Part Three, Saturday Lunch

Just like the dot-com crash and the housing bubble burst, I knew all this partying would start catching up to me. For sure all these guilt-free and child-free festivities would face some consequences. It's like the zit you get the next day after a bucket of Popeye's chicken, or the bloated feeling you get after too many chili dogs or dairy products. There MUST be a penalty for all this indulgence. I mean, having children and enjoying life without them is like getting away with murder, am I right?

Well on Saturday my punishment was awaiting me. We were going to reunite with the boys at Meghan's first birthday party at Todai restaurant. There I was hoping I would first enjoy a nice sushi/seafood buffet, and then, and only then, would I reclaim my boys. That was the plan. Or so I thought.

On the way there I was really tired from the two parties the day before. As I followed a line of cars leading to a stop sign, I accidentally bumped the guy in front of me. He was driving too hesitantly and wasn't moving along with the rest of the cars. But as my loving and ever-supporting wife would later say, "No, you weren't paying attention." Thanks dear. Fortunately there was no damage, just a dirty look from this bald Chinese guy. So that's how my day began.

As we enter the restaurant, I see my niece and she immediately tells me that Colby is sick and has a fever. Great... this day just gets better... Sure enough, Colby was all slouched and held by Uncle Dan. He was really warm so I held him while we figured out our game plan. Fortunately since we arrived a little later, Dan was almost finished eating. So 15 minutes later he took back Colby so that I can eat.

Colby, being the ever-understanding, sometimes-favorite child of mine, waited until I finished my third plate of food, then told me he needed to throw up. So I took him outside in the rain and puked in a clear plastic bag in front of people eating at the restaurant next door. For that moment, Colby made me feel incredibly proud of him, and all was forgiven! He is such a trooper!

Upon re-entering Todai, Chrissy tells me that the guy I rear-ended is at the party. In fact, he's sitting next to Winnie's dad. Wow... can this day get any worse? And he was sitting right near the food too so I had to walk past him over and over again! I was so afraid Winnie's dad would wave to me and call me over to say hi. In the end I don't think he saw me. Oli tells me he kind of has short term memory loss and a little clueless. See, that would explain to Chrissy that indeed HE was the one not paying attention! Not me!

After lunch, we went home and I carried my sick son into the house. He gave me a reason to slow down and reacquaint my responsibilities as a father. We both took a nice long nap together. Good thing, because in a few hours, 17 people were coming over for dinner...