Farewell My Contact Lenses

Credit: Flikie Wallpapers

You know how they say “Ignorance is a bliss” like it is a laughing matter. Today, my ignorance may very well cost me my vision. Literally. I have not been aware that I was on the brink of being blind until the last minute!

I have been using contact lenses for a long time, longer than I could remember. The reason is because I have never felt comfortable wearing glasses. They slide down your nose, get foggy whenever the weather’s humid, gross you out when you’re sweaty, and moreover, they can be squashed beneath your body if you accidentally fall asleep without putting them off. For your information, yes, it did happen to me several times. I like being practical, so I like wearing contact lenses.

So many people are afraid of the risks of wearing contact lenses. I remember how freaked out I was when putting them on my eyes for the first time. That was also the moment when I found out that you can touch your eyeballs. Still, one small scratch on your lenses – or even one errand strand of eye lashes, and too long fingernails – can cause irritation and infection, ranging from mere eye itches to fatal blindness. Furthermore, contact lenses are one cause of discomfort, particularly for people with dry eyes.

Experienced contact lenses wearers like me would of course prefer to have a 20/20 vision. Needless to say, I can only hope for some miracle, or the technology of Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) to restore my natural vision, without the interference of glasses anyway.

I am quiet reckless in wearing my lenses. I didn’t consult any eye doctor for the right prescription or for the kind of contact lenses I should use. There are a variety of contact lenses in the world, ranging from whether one has more moisture absorption or less, what color the “iris” is, and what prescription you need. I selected one from a limited variation in the optic near my house. It was grey with the prescription of (-) 1.25.

So far it’s fine. There had been absolutely no problem – very surprising considering that I almost never used any eye drops, even after 7 plus hours of usage!

The problem only came recently. It was a long holiday for Christmas and New Year, approximately 20 days. I was required to attend some events that would have made me uncomfortable wearing glasses for long periods. So I attended while using my contact lenses. They weren’t new, just the pair that I had used for a period of 4 months – although I used it back again after 20 days without contact lenses.

Long story short, blue hazes started to cover my eyes, and the lights had haloes of rainbow around them! What I first thought was the effect of laser lights (the events I attended used a LOT of laser lights), didn’t disappear even though I had arrived home – far away from the influence of laser lights and smokes. What the heck happened?

The blue haze disappeared after I rested my eyes in sleep, sans the contact lenses of course! The next day, I attended the same event. It was all good and clear until the middle of the event, when laser lights and smokes were abound. The lights suddenly had halos again, and I saw blue in practically anything I saw! I started to panic.

My hypotheses at the moment were:

1. The blue of the “iris” – yes, my contact lenses were colored blue – started to seep into my real iris! Oh my!
2. The lenses had been used for too long – well, the instruction said they were for 6 months usage, but it was recommended to remove them after 4 months period.
3. The lenses couldn’t stand laser lights. I thought there was something, some radiation, in those lights that perhaps distorted the chemical composition of the lenses.

Credit: optometry.co.uk

So, I went and disposed the contact lenses. I bought a new one that wasn’t BLUE for a change. In fact, it was gray.

Fast forward to today, which is the first day of school. Obviously, I needed my contact lenses to function maximally. So, I put on my brand new contact lenses.

Voila! There was an opening ceremony. I mindlessly sat on the seat that directly faced the sunlight. The blue haze – even though I noticed it was more gray than blue this time – appeared again. And the halo as expected accompanied the haze. I was, for a lack of a better expression, lost.

My curiosity prompted me to do an internet research. After some painful moments of skimming through online medical papers and “heavy” documents, I found what I was looking for.

“Tight Lens Syndrome”

According to Summit Medical Group (2013), tight lens syndrome is what happens when the soft contact lenses are narrower than the cornea. As the result, it sticks tightly – and uncomfortably – to the cornea, and is very ill-fitted.

The symptoms are as described in my experience: discomfort, blurred vision, rainbows or halos around bright lights. Bingo! My fear is unrealized of me being the only one who’s experiencing this kind of thing.

The problem is that the lens cannot move on the eye. Therefore, there will be a lack of oxygen. Meanwhile, preventing oxygen to come in is the worst possible thing you can do to your eyes, bar stabbing a sharp stick to it, though. The consequence is you developing what is called “Cornea Ulcer”. Basically, your cornea will be scarred, even to the point of being blind!

Horrified, I made a vow to myself to stop using contact lenses, at least until I consult an eye specialist. I would never know that I was on the brink of being blind without knowing this syndrome.

So, what’s the point of my story here? Hopefully, everyone of you will have the initiative to act whenever there is something wrong with your health, no matter how small or dire that “something” is. I get lucky. You have to get lucky too...

Healthy Eyes (Credit: healthandfashion.co.uk)

Aloof and Dignified - Analysing Kryptonian Culture

As I was browsing the Internet today, I saw that many websites hosting what is popular in today’s culture; such as BuzzFeed, Yahoo, and The Daily Beast among others; have been in a race to decide “The Best .... in 2013”, “The Worst .... in 2013”, and even “The Top 10 .... in 2013”, since the start of the year. I get the appeal. The general public adores this kind of thing, me included. Often times, I found my mouse clicking the link just to amuse myself in an otherwise boring day.

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest one in the land?

Going through my exploration, an article on screenrant.com reminds me why 2013 is such a great year for me. Three guesses what. Man of Steel.

Are you in disbelief yet, with your jaw hanging off the floor? Or are you currently laughing out loud at your computer, phone or tablet screen, thereby making you look like a retard to those oblivious folks around you?

It is true that this Zack Snyder’s movie has this girl completely fanboy-ing. I always like the myth of Superman, even though teenagers today prefer edgier superheroes like Iron Man or Captain America. I enjoy a good Marvel vs. DC debate with my sister. She is an avid supporter of Iron Man. She was also completely crazed out when the third Iron Man movie came out last March. I had to be patient enduring all her rants. So, when Man of Steel came out two months later, it was a payback time.

However, this entry will not discuss about whether or not the movie was good or not. There have been many blogs and sites that have done that since its release. No. I am here to write about one personal musing that unexpectedly came into my mind when I was wrapped up in my college search.

Huh? What’s the relation?

I am in a state of unrest, very much afraid, that the choice I will make is the wrong choice. I open my eyes to the world around me. I see that everything is so complex, even down to the smallest people. There are so many kinds of jobs – so many paths to choose in life. What kind of person do I want to be? What do you want to be? That is the ultimate question.

Then I thought, “It would be so much easier if every person had been chosen and briefed for their respective destiny. Time would not be used idly. The person would launch right away toward the road of destiny. Without any fear of getting lost.”

Ultimately, this is exactly what happened in Man of Steel.

Planet Krypton, as depicted in the popular culture

Krypton is the planet where Superman (Clark Kent/Kal-El) came from. Their civilization was captured very interestingly in Man of Steel. It is a civilization more advanced from Earth by thousands of year. Science and technology reign supreme on the planet. In scientific mindset, everything must be done efficiently. It’s no wonder that Kryptonian lifestyle has been engineered to be rather meticulous.

The jarring difference mentioned primarily in the movie is the way babies are born. There is no natural birth on Krypton. Advanced genetic engineering has chosen the best DNA accordingly, forgoing the process of natural selection. A baby is analysed, chosen and tasked with a particular “destiny” according to their best talents. They cannot go outside their designated purpose.

Krypton's Genesis Chamber, where babies are superficially "coded"

As the consequence, there are people like Zod. General Dru-Zod is the villain of the movie. Nevertheless, I can’t help but admire his steadfastness and devotion toward his job, which is ensuring Krypton’s survival – through whatever means, including destroying planet Earth. There are also people like Jor-El, the brilliant scientist. His scientific mind has been nurtured from the beginning. Everyone has their purpose.

Wouldn’t it be great if our Earth is heading toward the future?

Free Will vs. Destiny

Let’s do some hypothesizing here. If everyone was already chosen for one specific purpose, it would create a more efficient human labor. There would be no confusion in choosing what you are going to do. There would be no more wrong university major for the job. Moreover, there could be possibly no more unemployment. Everything would be running in order. The planet could quickly prosper because of it.

Everyone had been trained for their purpose since their childhood. There would be more experts popping up all over the world. Maybe, everyone would be an expert!

On the other side ...

Free will is a special gift from our Creator. A gift not given lightly since only us, humans, who own the gift. It is what differentiate us from animals. Why do we have free will? Humans are known to make mistakes anyway. Isn’t the very purpose of genetic engineering is to remove flaws?

“We’ve had a child, Zod. A boy child. Krypton’s first natural birth in centuries, and he will be free, free to forge his own destiny.” – Jor-El to Zod

“Every child was designed to fulfil a predetermined role in our society; as a worker, a warrior, a leader and so on. Your mother and I believed Krypton lost something precious, the element of choice, of chance. What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended for him or her? What if a child aspired to be something greater?” – Jor-El to Kal-El

Quotes are taken from moviequotesandmore.com

In the end, Krypton, with all of its scientifically advanced culture and superior lifestyle, lost its way. A society known for its aloofness and dignified way of living, no longer knows how to be genuine - expressing warmth, joy, and even pain. The element of choice is both wondrous and terrible. Used correctly, the choice you make will bring you far greater than your wildest dreams. Used irresponsibly, the consequences are dire.

Therefore, I am willing to endure all the confusion that a person has to go through in their life. I know that there’s something out there for me.

Isn’t our aspiration what makes humanity thrive in the first place?

Martin Luther King once said, “I have a dream.” This speech alone went down to history as one of the greatest inspirational speeches in the world. Whenever humanity needs power, you can play back the speech again.

The element of choice is what I look for every morning I get up from my bed – facing the new day with a renewed sense of hope. We thrive in unpredictability because we believe that everything even better than before will follow.

Controlling fate?

Indonesia as the New Silicon Valley – 2014’s Hope

Silicon Valley is a term that most of “worldly” readers here would probably know, but I presume that most of us have not – including me. I did a search to find out why the term “Silicon Valley” came up quite a lot in the process of writing a previous post about entrepreneurship. What I found apparently opened a possibility of another blog entry.

To start with, Silicon Valley is a South Bay Area in San Francisco. It is an area where high-end companies meet and greet, such as Adobe Systems, Apple Inc., eBay, Facebook and Google headquarters. Fascinated yet? Moreover, these IT giants are also accompanied by small start-ups. Now don’t you underestimate these ones because even giants started up small; and these small seeds reduce the possibility of innovation in the country to redundancy. The area also hosts none other than Stanford University, which I’ve heard has a very renowned IT department in the world.

These facts alone are enough to inaugurate Silicon Valley as the metonym for high-tech sector, where the most prominent technology is crafted

South Bay Area in San Francisco

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The "Biggies"

Two things are prominent in Silicon Valley:

• Big and successful corporate bodies.
• Entrepreneurial start-up businesses.

I believe Silicon Valley would not reach its peak of prominence with the big names only. This is what Japan found out the hard way. If you’ve seen my post on December 29^th (Entrepreneurship: The Key to Our Future?), you have certainly known that Japan is experiencing an economic stagnancy and is pedalling its young entrepreneurs to reclaim its past glory.

Japan is not alone on this, though. Due to globalisation, developing countries are now kick-starting their proverbial entrepreneurial butts. And now, there is a hyped news that the town Kamiyama is Japan’s Silicon Valley. The plot twist is that Kamiyama is actually far from a busy metropolitan environment. Perhaps, this is why investors and IT engineers are flocking the space, searching for a more green and natural surroundings.

On the other hand, what about Indonesia? With a good prospect in entrepreneurship, increasing workforce in IT departments, and investors starting to eye the countries, Indonesia may very well have its own Silicon Valley – better yet, become the next Silicon Valley. We certainly will not close our eyes on broader possibilities.

As long as there are aspiring youths in this country, who is determined to see great visions happen, it is a very likely possibility. However, there is a problem that needs to be addressed: the equal development of regions in Indonesia. I don’t see Silicon Valley exist in the crowded capital. Develop other regions. Perhaps the change in scenery toward a more natural environment will prompt more innovation, as in the cases of Kamiyama and the southern area of San Francisco – both are freed from the hustle-bustle of city folks.

The congested city may not be the most fertile soil.

 Compared to.....

A stroll in the park can do miracles for your brain.