PRK, second month, aka i can see clearly now the rain is gone

so its been nearly two months since i went through with PRK surgery on both my eyes.

long gone are the days of constantly putting medicated drops in my eyes. i do occasionally still use rewetting drops as my eyes do get dry. do they get dryer than before my surgery? perhaps, but nothing too noticeable.

pain? after the pain i was experiencing after the first week after the surgery, there is no real pain to speak of. i DID have some sensitivity to sunlight and other bright lights for a couple weeks, but that subsided real fast. i DO wear sunglasses whenever i can when outdoors to protect my newly healing eyes though.

i was, however, very concerned about a vacation i was going on. i spent the first weeks of december in jamaica. it would be the first time i would be outside the the normal safety of home and my office. i would have to be in situations i couldnt plan everything out.

its a bit sunny here in jamaica

what happened? snorkeling, walking up inside a giant waterfall, fishing, swimming... sunny weather... no problem mon.

my vision?  during my one month follow up visit, i tested out at 20/20 and 25/20 vision. my vision does fluctuate still, some days better than others, but it seems to stabilize more and more with each passing day. i also notice a DIRECT correlation between how tired i am, (how much i drink) with how bad my vision is the following day and how much better my vision is with how healthy i am eating and the level of exercise i have done that week. basically, my vision is as good as i feel.

the only things i can really report back about two months after the surgery is that i take 1000mg of vitamin c  (helps the healing process) daily, i have to use rewetting drops and i wear my sunglasses a lot more. thats it.

oh and also that i see perfectly fine without contacts or glasses.....

yes, this has been one of the best decisions i have ever made.

i have one last visit with the doctor at six months. this will be my final check up. they will do a vision test then. seeing that i already have almost 20/20 vision, i am not too concerned about this at all.

first week after PRK, aka dropping them drops

so perhaps i was way too excited after my surgery. i thought, meh, i must be tougher than i thought because this is a breeze. no pain....

day two

i walked into the day after follow up around noon feeling just fine.

a few hours later, im thinking holy crap, this shit does hurt.

that night, i realized that it wasnt going to be a breeze. my eyes started to hurt significantly more than before. i took a couple of advils, i took the nerve medication they gave me and honestly, only a couple glasses of wine seem to help. yeah, terrible i know, so shoot me.

i was very much on the dot with all the medication and antibiotic and anti inflammatory drops i was prescribed, but in hindsight, i did one thing very wrong.

i was told i could use one drop of rewetting drops per four hours to help after the surgery. i shouldve clarified this bit. i can use as many drops as i wanted to. i only used one drop every four hours the first two days and that was my mistake. i started to use the rewetting drops once every 30 minutes and the pain was reduced dramatically.

one note on the rewetting drops. i chose to buy these two small pocket size bottles of SUSTAIN ULTRA eye drops. these are just fine, but, with further research, i found out that the "single use" version of this is better. the bottles have some sort of preservative, even the "sensitive" version has preservatives. the "single use" ones dont. the "single use" ones obviously have more than two drops in them, more like 6...heres something that isnt so obvious, the part you break off, its also a cap. i uses all 6 drops, but dont use these longer than a day. remember, no preservatives. last thing you want is an eye infection because you used old eye drops. also remember, though you have a cap, its not waterproof. it will spill in pocket if not carried properly.

my eyes started to get the "third day PRK haze" one eye more than the other, than both eyes... at one point i couldnt make out thing right in front of me. now i understand when they suggest to do nothing for three days. you will need at least a couple days to recover from the hazy eyes.

i stayed on a strict regiment of all the different eye drops. i made sure to rest up when i could and i no time at all, my eye sight started to get normal again, well normal for being without my contacts or glasses.

a day or two later, my vision was better than before the surgery.

my second follow up, they removed the "bandage" a clear no prescription contact lens and i was right back to recovery mode.

a week later, im looking out my office window and i can see just as good as i could before with my glasses. except for the small hangup about the rewetting drops and the annoying factor when showering (remember you cant rub your eyes), this was easy.

i am very excited

(part three will be after my last follow up appoint, one month from now)

so i got PRK surgery for my eye, aka LASERS!!!

so this will be part one of a three part series.

part one

so ive been wanting to get lasik/laser eye correction for the longest time. of course, i didnt know there was a difference between PRK and the different LASIK surgeries, but for me, what mattered was i would never have to worry about contacts and glasses, i could swim and see, i could wake up in the middle of the night and see perfectly!!

(see PRK for technical information)
(see LASIK for technical information)
*there are videos of the procedures

but of course i had my concerns as well.

the first person i knew who got any type of laser eye correction surgery, i met in 2000. he had the procedure done in the mid 90s. he has trouble seeing at night, he sees halos around lights.

that was enough for me to stop considering this. for a long time.

2010, im getting interested again. i mean, its been long enough for them to tweak it our right? i went for a free consultation at scott hyver. i cant lie, i choose him because i alway heard the commercials on the radio. i also thought about it a slightly different way. he is the most well known doctor for these procedures in the area. he does more of these procedures than anyone else.... and most important for me, even though he might be more expensive than some other places, i know hes not going anywhere. if something goes wrong, he will be here.

so i got my consultation and i learned a lot. apparently, my corneal lens is not the optimal shape and thickness to do LASIK, but i did qualify for PRK. the main difference between to the two? of course you can look at all the technical information i linked above and of course you should contact your local surgeon for specific information, but for me, the main difference?

PRK has about three day down time.

LASIK has no real down time.

PRK they remove a certain layer of something or another and it heals.

LASIK they cut it and reshape it and it heals.

ok got it.  i qualify a PRK. thats what im going for.

two years later i finally got it done.

you go in for a preop, where they dialate your pupils. very familar. they make sure your eyes are healthy enough and you walk out with a prescription for some stuff you will need prior to your surgery.

for me, what i was told to do was

starting a week before, everyday, 1000ml of vitamin c a day and continue for six months.

24 hours before, one drop every four hours of this antibiotic eye drop.

dont wear contacts for 4 day prior.

i aslo picked up something called bromday and an anti imflamitory eye drop, to be used after the surgery.

day of, i walked in at 400pm. they give my some mouth soluable valium type medicine to calm my nerves.

15 minutes later, im walking to prep for surgery.

a few drops are put in my eyes. numbing agents i would assume. then 5 minutes later, im walking into the surgery room.

you lay down on the table.

more drops.

more drops.

more drops.

then the tape and device they use on clockwork orange. basically, its an adjust clamp that keeps your eyes open.

then the part that hurt the most. yes this is the painful part....

cold saline solution. HAHHAHAH yep, that was the most painful part....

the surgeon then uses a tool that remind me of the teeth polishers on your eye. it dulls it up a bit. then he swabs and scraps around a bit. then your aligned with the lasers.... ZAP.... they place a contact lens bandage on and youre all done!

there were times my nerves did get the better of me, but once you relax, theres nothing to it.

i walk out feeling just fine. my vision is a bit blurry, but nothing too bad. infact, i can see better already.

after? im putting in some drops. taking some meds, but all in all..... totally worth it. oh... and i cant rub my eyes for few months, along with being very careful, no contact sports, no trauma to the eyes at all.

with PRK, you are supposed to have three days where you shouldnt be doing much. the third day, your vision gets worse while that certain layer they removed is healing up. for a week, you dont wont be able to use your eye for periods of time, then for up to six months, your vision stablizes.

how do i feel right now? i typed this entire entry with no issues. im doing ok. and im on my way for my day after session with the doc.

OH YEAH and i got these awesome goggles i have to wear for ten nights while i sleep.

congratulations New England Lobster on their new location, restaurant/market, aka i love fresh seafood

so ive been a fan of new england lobster (nel) for a pretty long time now. I was introduced to nel by a friend back in 2006 and ive been picking up live lobsters and dungeness crab from them since. two of my favorite dishes i make are garlic crab and lobster sashimi. while you might be able to find decent live dungeness crab from other sources in the bay area, but i wouldnt trust anyone else to supply the lobster for lobster sashimi other then nel. when dealing with live seafood, turnover is key. they have shipments come in multiple times a week. they supply live lobster and dungeness crabs to many of the supermarkets you see throughout the bay area. they supply the live lobsters and dungeness crab to a whos who list of restaurants in the bay area. thats good enough for me. there old location in south san francisco was a no frills, warehouse/retail location. they opened up a lobster roll cart next to it recently and had great success with it. now, with this new location, they upped the ante. to a totally different game. like total awesomeness.

located at 824 cowan in burlingame, this location is a full on restaurant and a market. today, i was able to get a sneak peak. today was their first day the market was open at their new location. the restaurant, however, will not be open until mid october, but remember, you still can buy your fresh seafood here in the meantime.

street parking is a bit tough here.... no problem,

they got you covered with a nice sized parking lot in back.

on a nice, picturesque bay area day like today, these outdoor seats will be PACKED. think fresh lobster, a nice bottle of sauv blanc, a wonderful group of friends... i cant wait till the restaurant is open.

but of course they got you covered with indoor seating as well when weather doesnt allow for outdoor seating.

theres something really special about a new kitchen.

i think there should be a sign on this. we caught our first lobster on the boat. no really, we did. ok maybe not.

though im really excited to see what they do with their awesome restaurant venue, lets not forget why they made it so far. this is their cold counter.

might as well grab some live kicking dungeness while im here. i grabbed five dungeness from a local market yesterday to make some garlic crab, and while still good, these are obviously better. grabbed five more for more garlic crab tonight.... and its a dollar a pound cheaper than the local asian market?!?!. and you can ask these guys where they were caught and when they were brought in? thats just awesome to be able to do that.

i snuck a peak into the operations side while i was at it too. i mean how can you NOT sneak a peek into a warehouse labeled TANK HOUSE.

thats one big live tank....

happy little lobsters, sorted and ready to go.

 im really happy for the nel guys. i wish nothing but the best for them!

new blog post series announcement.... aka ZAP

wow, its been a REAL long time since i posted anything on here. there has been a lot of post worthy subjects, like the autocross day at laguna seca... but for out of sheer laziness and being so tired all the time, ive totally lamed out on posting things. well, im all juiced again. will give this more effort! that being said, i will be starting a new series of posts on here, ZAP, Zombie Apocalypse Posts. about a decade ago, i started to bring up the idea of prepping because of a zombie apocalypse. people used to look at me like im crazy. well, they looked at me like i crazy most of the time anyways... anyways, now, its all the rage, whether you have shows on natgeo showing how people prep, or companies branding their goods as "zombie", its pretty normal to these days to prep, whether its for a real zombie apocalypse or not. (mind you i live in san francisco. south san francisco is the biotech capital of the world. colma has a dead population of about 2 million. we are just one bad video game plot line away from a full fledged umbrella corp end of the world scenario!) these post will be about the tools of the trade and what you can do to get ready... and a great excuse for me to buy some crap ive always wanted. first up, testing out a camping stove that recharges electronics via usb. coming this weekend!

survivor mud run? aka piece of cake, now to something more challenging

somehow, i convince myself i was in shape at one point in my life. i cant really remember when it was or if i am letting myself get tied up in a distorted sense of who i was, but yes, i was in some sort of shape before. i think.

over the past 5 years, after my 30th birthday, things have been getting bad. a big gut, tired all the time, barely run a mile... if even that.

ive been saying i need to get into shape for way too long. ive been putting this off for way too long. the longer i wait, the harder it will be.

the other sunday, the better half of bbb somehow convinced me, along with a couple other friends of ours, to do a mud run. i was thinking this was going to be hell and theres no way i could do it..... survivor mud run.

before

after the "race" i was reminded why i say this one thing all the time.

after

"youre life doesnt suck, you do"

dont complain. dont make excuse. do it. and do your best. if you fail? who gives a shit. do it again. or do something else.

the survivor mud run is something nearly anyone can do. its a simple 5k run, a FLAT run, with a few very simple, easy obstacles.

the event itself was a fun outing, something out of the ordinary, that made it a fun sunday, but what i took away from it was worth way more.

take that buffalo wing out of your mouth and get the hell off the couch and do something. anything. take the dogs for a run, ride your motorcycle, go make that planter box youve been wanting for months....

stop making excuses.

make your life worth it.

sooooooooo... now, yes, we are considering do this...

tough mudder

this WONT be a nice sunday walk.. this is serious stuff.


first thing on the to do list before this event, lets get some real running shoes and train so you can run 13 miles.

grabbed a pair of decent running shoes last night.

lets see how this goes.

a healthy, tasty alternative to a cream based soup, aka roasted cauliflower soup, kombu, silken tofu edition.

so i used to watch my mom make all sorts of tasty things in her vitamix. shes had one since i was back in the college years and (unfortunately for me) that was a long time ago.

kong bee ji (stewed pork ribs in ground soy beans with kimchee) is one of my favorite dishes. i can only imagine the difference my mother has seen in prepping this dish. its a pretty intensive dish to make right now with her vitamix, but i can only imagine what its like to make this with a stone grinder, manually spinning and grinding the soy beans into a nice puree.

growing up see this, it was only natural for me to evolve and intertwine what ive seen with flavors and techniques i learned along the way.

lets cook....

you know when you cook instant ramen, you boil water.

why use water?

because the instructions said to?

ive always had a problem with people telling me what to do. i will teach you to be as rebellious and anti establishment as i am. i fight the power by not listening to instructions on instant ramen packaging.

kombu broth

buy some dried kombu. rinse off a big chunk. simmer it in a pot of water with some onions, garlic and you have a low calorie flavor booster that will transform simple instant ramen into something thats actually presentable to beyond your 5 year old nephews palate.

for the most part, if water is going into a dish, a broth will make it better.

now that we have that down.... i have been experimenting with things and i came up with this recipe.

low calorie, flavor boosted roasted cauliflower soup.

i rinse off a large piece of kombu. i rinse it off to get the impurities off, the excess salt included. add a quarter of a chopped onion, a couple cloves of garlic and a few dried shiitakes mushrooms. add a couple pinches of salt just to get the flavors blending. i have no idea if this is true or not, but i like to salt throughout the cooking process because i believe it brings out the flavors of each individual ingredient, it highlights each step of the cooking process and you end up with a more balanced flavorful product.

simmer for 10-15 minutes.

take the broth off heat.

caulifower is awesome. i dont know why such amazing vegetables like cauliflower, brocilli and brussel sprouts have such a bad name. i remember growing up and being scared to try these because tv shows i used to watch then, made them out to be such terrible things.... theyre delicious!

i rinse and break up the cauliflower, small inch sized pieces will do. you want to break it up enough to get a nice char on a good portion of the surface area, but you dont want a crumbly burnt mess either. rough chop up some onions, add some peeled garlic cloves (please chop off the little stem area). remember, you want all the items to roast up consistently, so try to make everything about the same size. add all these in a large bowl. add some good olive oil, salt and pepper and coat things evenly.

(note, this time, i added in some leeks, more on this later)

place this all on a flat oven safe surface and roast up these bad boys in a preheated, 400 degree oven. keep an eye on these things. it should take about 8-10 minutes to get a good roast going, but be careful because it can go from a flavoring enhancing technique to an ashy mess real fast! i check once during this time and i move things around, flip over the larger pieces.

while you have the veggies roasting, you cant start to prep the next phase of the process. the kombu broth should have cooled down a bit by now. why is this important? well, depending on what kind of blender you have, adding very hot liquids might not be the best technique.

im using a vitamix, but i have done this with a normal counter top blender as well, and while it will require a bit more work with a regular blender, its nothing too difficult. with a regular blender you will have to stop the blender, mix things around, maybe add more liquid but you will get the idea when you give it a shot yourself.

besides the kombu broth the other secret to this low calorie, low fat, super flavorful recipe... silken tofu. yup. high in protien. low in fat and calories.... this adds a great texture to the party and you wont miss your heavy cream at all. no seriously. this isnt a "diet" recipe that tastes like a half assed crappy version of the original. this is a different technique/recipe for a dish that looks and tastes just as good if not better than its fatty counterpart.

this is half the normal container of silken tofu, about a cup or so. now you can play around with the ratios to your liking.

to give you an idea of how much you can adjust, after this attempt, i realized i didnt like those leeks in this recipe because they burned too fast when roasting and the end product had too much of a leek flavor to it. next time, no leeks.

take a look at the ratios.

its about 1/3 silken tofu to 2/3 roasted cauliflower. i think it should be more like 1/4 silken tofu to 3/4 roasted cauliflower, but whatever. it still ended up good, and playing around with these things is half the fun. besides, you usually learn the most this way.

add in the broth. i added a small amount of the simmered solids from the broth as well... why not!

now i like to add in only a little of the broth at a time.

my finger is at the broth level.

i do this for two reasons, one, i think its easier to blend and its cleaner with less liquid. more importantly, two, as long as it blends, you can always add more broth. i ended up with a way too "watered" down soup my first attempt. you can always add broth, you shouldnt try to take it out by overcooking something.

season with a couple heaping pinches of salt and pepper.

now just blend.

to this i add more broth until i get the consistency i want.

i basically ended up doubling the amount of liquid in the blender.

i poured this out into a pot

the soup has a nice consistency and ive seasoned it enough, but its still not quite there. its was a bit frothy from all the blending so i just grabbed the pot by the handles and shook it around. most of the foam will settle in the middle and you can scoop it right out.

warm/simmer for a tad bit and its done.

i purposely left out ANY kind of measurements in this post because i want you to figure things out on your own. you will see when you need more kombu broth..... take a spoonful and taste to see if you need more salt and pepper.

i dont really want to tell you to do something the exact same way i do it... learn this technique, figure out what you like and adjust it.

you can add a few drop of some good olive oil, some chives..... tada.

pic courtesy of s+s gastro pub

today, we added a small spoonful of truffle caviar.

a low calorie, low fat , highly nutrious soup that EVERYONE will love.

thank me later. buy me a beer.