Animals in my mouth

INTRODUCING...................

*drum rolls*

*spotlights twirling*

*dum dum.... chaaaaaannnngggggggg*

The animals that stayed in my mouth!!!

First, it was Miss Fox. But she was too loose. She stayed for 1.5 months.

Then came Mr Kangaroo. Sadly, he was too tight. He left after a month.

Finally, Mr Bear! He was just nice. Actually I prefer Mr Kangaroo cause my teeth will achieve the desire results faster, but I've been warned of permanent root resorption by my orthodontist! >.<

Oh, Mr Bear was only needed for 1.5 months too! :)

In case you are wondering what the hell was I saying above. And what the heck are those animals doing there. Well, those are elastic bands that help retract my front teeth to an ideal 2mm gap (technical term called overjet) when measured with teeth clenched together from lower incisors to upper incisors.

Now, the real dilemma of this post is........... what do I do with them, the happy family? I don't wanna throw them away cause it's still a full pack of them remaining! Can I return them? Hmmm...... Anybody wants them?

Oh... and I've got these left too...

They are called interdental brushes! It's to clean those gaps in between your teeth! Very useful to clean in and around your braces! It's RM2.20 per piece. I've got 5 left. That's RM11 worth! Wonder if I can sell it back to my faculty? Hehehe.....

Can someone tell me what I can do with these things??? Any takers? :P

PS: Don't worry bout cleanliness. I am a clean freak myself! :D

Embrace the braces-no-more!

Last Monday, 30th May 2011, marked a historic moment (in my life calendar)! Ok...it wasn't that important anyway. But here goes.......................................................I TOOK OFF MY BRACES!!! Gigi aku dipagar no more!!!! LOL!!! :D :D :D

I wore that dreaded thing for 14 months and it's finally been taken off! You do NOT know how bad I want that thing off! Not only do I need to brush after every meals. my teeth tend to stain more often too! Luckily I have access to the dental chair almost every day and have a partner who is practicing to be a dentist too. She helps me scale my teeth whenever the need arises. Of course, provided I can curi a few minutes of spare time lah. Hahaha!!!

Even though my braces are off now, I can't help but to continue brushing my teeth after every meal before putting on the retainers! Sememangnya a dentist kan? LOL! The first 2 days of wearing the retainers were HELL! Oh, and I need to wear them for 24 hours a day except when eating. I almost cried!!! Literally cried because the pain was so bad! If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you probably read posts on how I hated and regretted putting on braces! Both during and after treatment! Call me ungrateful. But my advice to others who wanna do this, PLEASE think twice! IF you are happy with your current teeth alignment (which is mild and not too bad), FORGET about braces! Why the pain and extra expenses?! It's not cheap ya know! Having it done in a private clinic can easily cost you RM5000 - RM7000! I'm different case lah..... I am a dental student, so I only need to pay a fraction of the amount which is RM750. Still............ if the need is not there, it is therefore NOT NECESSARY! Yes, my teeth are straight now. Yes, I have a more beautiful smile now. But do you know there is a LOT of complications of an orthodontic treatment (alignment of teeth, for layman)??? High chances of caries, that's one. Permanent root resorption, "gummy" smile, yellowish teeth, gum recession are a few others!

Ok..... I shouldn't have said too much or else orthodontists out there will kill me for breaking the "rice bowl". LOL! Like the saying goes, "No pain, no gain!". Or "Beauty comes with a price"! Damn right, I would say!!!

Well, at least the pain is slowly going away now. Thank God! I am just counting the days to get the green light from my orthodontist to stop using my retainers. That's what I do ever since I put braces on, counting the days.................... counting and counting and counting and counting............................. :P

~My Vacuum Formed Retainers (VFR)~

~The after photo (with retainers on)~

DermaGenesis: My Experience - Part 3

Part 3

29 Jan., 09

I was actually looking forward for my 3^rd treatment which is IPL. Cause the doctor promised me a pain free, downtime free and fast session. But he lied….IPL does hurt (a bit). So you see, none of my treatments are actually pain free! It just gets less painful each time but still there’s pain in every session. Sigh…..

Anyway, IPL was fast. It only took like 20 minutes? And you are up and away doing your everyday stuff (like normal). The process include the usual face washing and then my face was being shot with (like said) intense pulse lights which finally was ice gelled. Each shot smells like something burning. I don’t know how to explain it, but at every shot, you will be able to smell as if your skin was being burnt at that very spot it was shot. The pain was there, like I said, pin point….but thank goodness it was brief. Like mili of a second. But enough to make you jump at each shot. Sigh….the price of vanity sure is painful. But what to do? It’s a beauty eat ugly world out there!

-The laser machine- :-O

***********

So, this is basically what I've been through for sake of a more beautiful skin on my face! I hope to say that it takes only 7 treatments to get to the skin I have now...... but the truth is, after this treatment plan, I had had underwent an additional 3 more Fraxal and 1 IPL. The results weren't immediate! I was at first wasn't as satisfied as I thought I would be......

But.....after more than half a year, my skin improves significantly! Apparently, the effect of laser and light therapy doesn't produce immediate effect! You have to wait at least 3 - 6 months to see the real results! Well.... this was actually being said in some articles...so I don't know but I think it's true for me! :)

So, yes.... so I would highly recommend people to go for such treatments and not being conned by expensive, non-scientifically proven, and dangerous beauty centers! Trust me....they do nothing but harm to your skin! Experience speaks for himself!!!

DermaGenesis: My Experience - Part 2

Part 2

11 Jan., 09

I really couldn’t tell how long the subcission’s downtime took. I think it was about 7 days cause I really can’t tell if it was the redness of the needle point made or was it my old scars. All I knew, it was way better now since the horrible 1^st day of subcission made on my face.

Anyway, today is my 2^nd session – Fraxel laser. Before starting, the assistant washed my face twice with a mild cleanser and gently ~ ~ ~ very….gently dabbed it all away. It was so good I tell you….felt almost like a baby touching my face. Soft and gentle…..aaaaahhhhhh……

Ok…so…as I was saying…got washed, dabbed and in came the doctor. He was in his jolly mood as usual. We shake hands, “how are you? I’m fine” for awhile and then on with the treatment. Now, the word “laser” probably is quite scary to some of you. I don’t know….I personally think that laser sounds cool but after going for it, I beg to differ my opinion. The doctor did a few test shot on the side of my jaw (just to see how I react)…….you know what….I don’t know what’s needles are to my skin cause EVERYTIME (oklah…it’s only the 2^nd time) I go for treatment I keep getting the “needle sensation”, if you know what I mean. The laser felt HOOOOOOOTTTTT!!!! It was as though I was shot by countless burning, red hot needles on my face! Now, I’m not exaggerating. It’s true! Perhaps I had a low pain threshold, I don’t know but the laser hurts! Well…..it’s still bearable though. I didn’t start shouting and crying on the “operation bed” (that’s what I called the bed I’m lying on….just to give a little “advanced” feeling to it). Imagine a tiny machine gun that was fired in a straight line and each shot, probably, 10 – 20 burning needles were sent to your skin. It was exactly how this felt. The doctor did half of my face 1^st, then smeared ice cold gel on the area. It was instant relieve man! You know…it’s like going for a 10km run and the very first thing you were given was ice cold water. It’s bliss at that moment! And so the doctor did the second half of my face, put ice gel over it and done. The whole session took bout half an hour. Then, I was left in the room for like 10 minutes with more ice cold gels to cool down my burning skin and was “discharged” from the “operation theatre”. And oh, I was advised by the doctor to use nothing but just moisturizer, sun-block and mild cleanser for the next 5 days.

Now, comes the climax….looking into the mirror. I closed my eyes, stepped in front of one….take a DEEP breath…slowly, open my eyes and……………………………………

…….

…….

…….

….Ok….it was not that bad. My face was fine. No bleeding, no scars, not distorted…..it was just a little redder than usual. But really….there was no change on my face at all besides the burning sensation that still lingers. So, I made a deep sigh of relieve. Thank God. But I warn myself to not be so happy yet! I was told it will form scabs on my face tomorrow. And now…my heart is beating so fast every time I think on how I will look the next morning. Just hope I will be fine. God! PLEASE…..make me look fine tomorrow. If there are going to be scabs, PLEASE make it look not obvious. PLEASE…….*counting the hours for the next day light* Worse to worse…..I’ll have to skip class tomorrow. And this is the price to pay for beauty. Sigh…..

13 Jan., 09

Take a fine sand paper and feel it. Well, that’s exactly how my skin on my face is right now. Ok, it’s the 2^nd day after my Fraxel. So far, there’s nothing UGLY bout my skin. No obvious raised bumps, no redness, no pimples, no scars. The only thing that concerns me is just the roughness of my skin. I was told by the doctor that I will develop scabs throughout my face and that scared the shit out of me. During the last 2 days, I was so nervous on how I look that I couldn’t even sleep well and the 1^st thing that I do when I woke up was to look into the mirror. Hey…I’m not being vain ok. It’s just that…..try to imagine lah…..how would you feel if there’s something seriously wrong with your face and it doesn’t look natural? My classes were commencing throughout the week! I can’t be looking like…..I don’t know…..ugly, maybe, in front of my whole course mates, lecturers and college mates! It would be very traumatic. SO…..THANK GOD that my face looks fine.  Under bright light, there’s nothing wrong with my face. So, the doctor was right…there wasn’t any downtime. But if you notice it very veeeeerrrrryyyyyy closely, you probably can see many tiny-weeny “goosepimples” on my face. I can’t really see it but the friend who knew I went for face treatment said he can see them. Not only when I told him to look very closely and under lighting that contrast my skin tone to my surroundings. So, it’s not noticeable really. Well…..not sure till when will this roughness lingers. All I hope it will turn smooth soon and applying oil (I used “Bio-Oil” instead of moisturizers to give it a little more boost on moisture) on my face doesn’t really look….nice…..cause it’s oily. I even get comments like “why are you sweating?” and I shy away and smiled….”hehe…cause it’s hot! Phew…*takes out handkerchief and dab unseen sweats*”

DermaGenesis: My Experience - Part 1

Now, I've written this post years ago but never had the courage to publish it until now! It is my experience of a journey to beautify my skin (not that it is super beautiful now! But better lah...) at DermaGenesis (now known as Skin Club @ Menara Hap Seng, Kuala Lumpur). Rather than it being chucked and occupying my laptop's hard disc space, I think it is better for me to share it to all of you..... Enjoy! And please... don't squeal! :P


Disclaimer: "DermaGenesis: My Experience" will be broken up into 3 parts and was written few years back. If you found out any disturbing personalities that may or may not depict the current me, please ignore, as it was written in ignorance. And cherish the present, better me! :D *wink*

****************

Part 1

27 Dec., 08

I am a person who likes the finer things in life and looking better is not an option, it is a must. And I can tell you that I am fed up with the way my skin looked. It’s oily, red spots all over and numerous scars on it!!!!! Every morning I look into the mirror, I pray to God to grant me a flawless looking skin, 99% if not 100% flawless…..and this prayer had been my routine ever since my 1^st break out when I was form 4, which is 5 years ago. Once in a while I’ll break down and cry and blame God for what skin He gave me! I’ve tried countless products, facials and medications but my problem lingers like a bad smell after you come out from a smoking restaurant. My skin changes like the tide in the sea. It goes from good to bad to worse; then, to slightly better and better and finally became horrible again! I don’t know bout you guys….but for me, there’s 2 things one should never compromise!!! That is 1) Hair. 2) SKIN!

First impression is important…and heck it sure is!!! Come on, the 1^st thing you look when you see somebody is his/her FACE!!! And how can anyone NOT care bout how he/she looks when you bloody know it that face gives such a lasting impression???

Well, today’s blog is about my experience to a well established, quite famous and a little on the high end treatment centre (note that I use treatment NOT facial centre cause it is done by qualified DOCTORS and NOT stupid beauticians) called DermaGenesis. It is located at Desa Sri Hartamas but will be located to a bigger, better, more luxurious building at Menara Hap Seng in Jalan P. Ramlee, Kuala Lumpur. They provide complete skincare solution; total makeover & facial recontouring; facial lines & wrinkle reduction; permanent hair removal; slimming & spot reduction; cellulite reduction; and anti aging & wellness. The programme that I got my enrolled with is Scar reduction programme for my face. DermaGenesis caters for everyone and treatments are customised according to each individual needs. Mine includes 2 Subcision, 3 Fraxal (laser) and 4 Intense Pulse Light (IPL). These are customized to me after a consultation with the doctor as well as the CEO of DermaGenesis, Dr. Morthi. The types of scar I had was quite a few ice-picks, some box scars and mostly rolled-out scars. None of these are hard yet (thank God) so…the treatments mentioned earlier suited me the best.

Subsicion means the doctor will use a very fine needle to break off fibrotic tissue that holds ice-pick scars (reason why scars are depressed, these fibrotic tissues are holding them down). Of course….this will involve pain and bleeding and produce scabs. Which means there is a few days of down time involved. Fraxal is laser….which is used to stimulate collagen synthesis again at the site of scars. While IPL will remove any unsightly pigmentations, marks, minimize pores and shrink sebaceous glands.

Notice there is NO facials involved? As I’ve said, DermaGenesis is NOT a facial centre. In fact, it is an advanced cosmetic procedure centre. Now….I bet some of you are asking bout the price already. Of course, I was waiting for this too when I 1^st went for the consultation. Well…..it may be a little high for those who are on a tight budget but really…..for such advanced treatment, I consider it to be fairly reasonable. Ok ok…..I’ll quit yakking… My programme costs me RM 1760. Hey hey…. don’t go spraying blood on your computer screen now! Listen….. the usual price is at RM 4050! But I was a given a discount (50%!) and a complimentary IPL….so in the end the total amount that I need to pay was RM 1760. I’ve got to admit, it is a huge amount for a student to fork out but then think again….. what I am doing can be considered as part of cosmetic surgery procedure….. and professional doctors are handling your case with state-of-art machines. So, don’t you think it is quite reasonable?

Anyway…I’ve went for my 1^st session today. Subcision….

Went at 1.30pm, started at 1.45pm. The assistant wiped my face with alcohol at 1^st. Then on with local topical anaesthetic. The doctor came in, took pictures of my face (I’ve always wanted to have a before and after picture taken….Hehe…. :P). Wipe my face with antibiotic creams and spirit and on he goes with his needle…

It hurts I tell you…..but it was bearable. Anyone of you been for facials before? It feels like those stupid beauticians picking your pimples all over again. I even let a tear drop. Paiseh….the doctor was like “are you Ok?” and wiped it off for me. Hey…..at least I didn’t scream in pain….I was holding it. During the consultation, he said it will feel like ant bite but heck! It’s nothing like it!!! It just hurts…. But for the name of beauty….I’ve willing to go for it….

Right….so after 20 minutes, he is done with the poking and I was swept again with some alcohol (I think) and more antibiotic creams, in fear of infections due to the open wounds. I thanked the doctor….went out to the restroom. Pee a little….wash my hands and look up into the mirror…………………………………….

*A whole solid minute of silence*

I stare and stared at myself in the mirror…..I LOOK HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!! There were so many cuts here and there and blood are still oozing out!!! I could almost scream right there and then! My heart broke a little and start taking hand towels and dap onto the blood. My face was lacerated! Well….it’s not THAT bad lah. But still I look like I’ve involved in an accident and glass shreds cuts into my face! “How am I going to step out from the toilet???” And what make things worse was….I need to take public transport back to Seremban!!!!!!!!!! Haha…..it was hell I tell you! Thankfully I had my friend with me and he drove me right at Pasar Seni and from there, I dashed to get into the bus and just stay away from the stares of others. I looked like a monster.. and this is probably the worst day of my life. But my friend did consoled me to not think bout it….it is the end result that you want….not the mid progress that looks good. “In the end, your skin will look flawless….and so I trust him and hang on to my face until I got back home.

Of course, my mom was shocked to see all those scabs on my face. I can tell it in her eyes. She was quite disappointed. She came and asked me why does it looked like this….but I assured her it is normal. Poking needles into your face will DEFINITELY cause bleeding and form scabs. My grandma, however, was pretty calmed bout it. She sees through all those scabs and looked at my scars….and say she can see the results! My scars were not as deep anymore! Of course, that made me happy (at last….SOMEthing for me to feel good). My dad was unhappy of course…..even more angry when he knew the amount I paid to get my face done. Sigh…..but it is MY money! I hardly spent so…this is the 1^st time I spend more than RM 300.

I hope I did the right choice by choosing DermaGenesis….will update more on my skin’s condition next time. I’ve got to wait 3 more weeks for the next treatment – Fraxal. And hopefully I won’t look horrible again.

1 Jan., 09

It’s been 5 days now. My face had improved. I notice my scars are improved but of course, some deeper ones are still visible but have been shallower. Those red marks are slowly fading away. I’ve been very impatient these few days. Every morning, the 1^st thing I do, is to look into the mirror looking at my skin’s condition. Sigh…still got red marks. But look at the bright side! They ARE fading. But slowly…. Very slowly… Holidays are almost over. Hope by the day before I head back, my skin is 90% clear.

Clean ma' teef for mua pleazzz???

Now, I take a solid whole 15 minutes to clean my teeth nowadays! Sometimes even more than that if thorough cleaning is needed!!! Oh God! I've never paid so much attention to my 28 teeth before until I had my braces on and stepping in to dental school! After all..... it is our job to grill our patients to take care of their teeth, so ultimately we can get a lil' concious about our own! Hence the tip top oral cleansing!

My grandmother always scold me whenever I refuse to take any food or sweetened drinks after I had brushed my teeth! And to make things worse, I keep telling her I'm hungry but no, no food for me! I am NOT going to clean my teeth anymore! Note that I clean  my teeth and NOT brush them?

Cause really..... besides the tilting of brush 45 degrees to the straight axis of my tooth and into my gums (so called Roll technique - serious shit! We have name the different kinds of brushing technique in the world!!!); using an interdental brush to clean each bracket embrasure plus the interproximal area; and IF I really feel like it, add on a superfloss before a thorough tongue scrapping AND a mouthwash!!
Now tell me....... isn't teeth cleaning a hell to me these days??

Not surprising for that 15 minutes period regimen huh? And I have to do it EVERY TIME after meals!!!!!!!!!


The next time my grandma nag me again for not eating after brushing, I'll happily reply....

"Can!! But you have to brush and floss my teeth for me!!!" Hehehe~~~

My TALL Theory

I have a theory.....!!!

Well, not really a theory.....but rather a hypothesis!
A hypothesis on how to ensure your children to be tall when they grow up!
This is solely based on my observations on tall people and their childhood behaviour. It seems that there are some sort of relationship...!!!
OK lah.....it is also based on my own childhood behaviour! Teehee~~~
My hypothesis is that, in order to grow up tall, you need plenty of food when you were young (ideally before puberty) so yes....it means getting FAT; PLENTY of sleep and, if you must, good genes also play a minor role!

FAT + LOTSSSSSS OF SLEEP +/- good genes = TALL MAN / WOMAN!!!

+

|

|

|

V

There, there...every hypothesis needs an explanation. When I was bout 6 years old, I was overweight and when I was 12, my weight went up to almost 90kg (the heaviest I ever weigh)! Also, during those days, I sleep a lot! Like a LOOOOOTTTTT! I used to go to bed at 8.30pm every day and waking up at 7am for school. To top it off, there were afternoon naps when I came back from school. During my secondary school days, my sleep hours was reduced by 2 hours. I slept at 10.30pm. Now? I sleep latest at 12am!

The thing about sleep is that, a certain growth hormone is secreted at its peak during deep sleep by your hypothalamus glands and this is what make children to grow tall and strong! 

While being fat means you have lots of nutrient! Which is essential for growth! Of course, you cannot deny that at times, good genes play a part too. But I think it's a minor role! Cause I have seen tall children by short parents.

And another evidence is shown by my own brother, he is 15 now and 10cm shorter than me (by the way, I am 183cm tall)! And when he was young, he was overweight too! Not to mention he sleeps a lot as well back then!

So, you tell me! Is my hypothesis worth considering or not??? 

Of Exams and Body Fat

Woot! Exams are over baby!!! End of year 2!! And *slash slash* still got 3 more years to gooooooooooo~~~ (I'm getting used to the fact that my course is a bloody 5 years one....like it or not....most, if not all, of my friends had graduated before me!) Sigh....

Anyway, I can sleep without having nightmares now and my heart is beating normally again! Phew!!Hoping I can get a few distinctions again this time! *fingers crossed* :)

Went for a self-treat post-exam lunch with a few of my (closer) coursemates immediately after our last paper... Arcade first (yes...I'm 20-ish and I still go to arcade! Apparently it's been YEARS since the last time I stepped into one. Believe me, those games I used to play when I was young(er) are extinct! Arcade games these days are super chun and FUN! LOL!).....lunch and jalan-jalan kat Carrefour.

Stopped by a stall promoting health products on how to lose weight....we got interested and since all we have now is time (and not money)....we decided to entertain them (not that any of us was fat, well......at least not me! Hehehe.....).... Got myself measured for body fat content and actual body age and results weren't that good after all! GASP!

I have a total subcutaneous fat of 21.7%; visceral fat of 6; and my body age was 32 years old! Holy shit! Ideal range for subcutaneous fat is less than 19.0%; 1-4 for visceral fat and of course, the younger body age the better!!! NooOOOoOooOoooooOOOooooo............................................!!!!

I guess I got to start changing my lifestyle and diet from now on! Not to mention exercise more! Or simpler....pay money to join them in their programme.... looks real promising really....got lots of successful testimonials from their customers! *Looks at pictures of guys with 6-pack abs* *Looks at self tummy* Hmmm........it's tempting though. :P

My orthodontic care companions...:)

Ever since I had put on braces, I brush my teeth 5 times a day (out of bed once, after every meal another time and before bed too) and have been taking care of my teeth extra vigilantly by using these care set! Which of course.......costs me more money to buy them! T_T

My beloved care set includes: Colgate Ortho toothbrush; Colgate Phos Flur Anti-cavity Flouride Rinse; and an interdental brush! ^^,

I wonder how long can I keep this up.....brushing and rinsing so many times each day.....Oh well.....wish me luck! ;)

Braced myself for braces

At 10.00pm yesterday, I received a call from a postgraduate Orthodontic student, Dr. Suryati, asking me to come for my first orthodontic treatment today! The call was so sudden that I was totally NOT prepared for it! Both mentally and financially! Though it only costs RM750 for the whole treatment (cause I'm a dental student and we get special discounts as well as to cut queue! =P), considering it's only a few weeks past CNY, my parents mana ada anymore allocation for my beauty treatment???

But she told me I can pay in installment....."for how long also can and pay how much everytime you come, also can". My treatment will be for a year and a half. I didn't really wanted to go for it at first....but I thought to myself.....if not now, when??? My main concerns wasn't aesthetics.....cause my upper teeth is fine, almost perfect allignment! I dare say I have a beautiful smile! My problem lies on my lower teeth....it's crowded and misalligned....it's difficult for me to keep them clean and inaccessibility to my interproximal area of my teeth will cause caries in the future! So, I can say that the main reason I opt for this is for a better oral hygiene....
Future dentist mah.......must have perfect set of teeth! Or so to say........

Dr. Suryati placed brackets on my teeth today - from 2nd premolar to 2nd premolar....both upper and lower jaw. How is it? Pardon me if I'm being too honest......but I F*#KING HATE it!!! It makes my lips look swollen.....and there's this constant, lingering uneasiness feeling like something-got-stuck-in-between-and-on-my-teeth-but-can't-do-anything-cause-if-I-do-the-whole-bloody-brackets-and-wire-will-drop-off! And I can't chew my food!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She put 2 restorations on both my lower molar to raise my occlusion, so that I won't bite on my brackets! And I F*#KING HATE that feeling!!!!! I can't chew....which will lead to can't eat well and much.......which leads to won't feel full......which leads to a grumpy and unhappy me!!!!!!

*sob* I really feel like I wanna cry now.........I do regret doing this.......Just wish I had said NO and live with my original set of teeth.....at least I will be happy and enjoying life as the old William does....... :'(

Fashion wants!!!

I've been surfing online for men's fashion and am hooked on beautiful, really cool looking and according to fashionistas, these are must haves for a decent men's wardrobe. Of course.....these doesn't come in cheap! Sigh...........looks like I need to ikat perut and save up much much more money in order to get these.... :'(

1. A customised blazer

2. Cardigan

3. Vest

4. Leather jacket

5. Skinny ties

6. Boots

7. New pair of shoes

Great.....now I've got so much more needs! Looks like finally becoming a man is not easy! Fashion wise that is! ;P

LASIK me perfect

17th July 2009, marks the date that changed my life after more than 10 years of blurred vision. I had been wearing glasses since I was in Primary 6 and from then, my near-sightedness became increasingly worse. I have changed glasses after glasses, I can still remember my first pair of glasses were made out of plastic and have the resemblence of the one that Harry Potter uses! Slowly, my fashion sense became better as I grow older, I start to go for semi-framed glasses, then finally frameless glasses and into sunglasses design. Contact lens too was part of my life during Secondary 4. I used to dread the idea of stucking something into my eyes and wearing it till it dries them out. But I got used to it, because of vanity. I want to look better without being "four-eyed". Whenever I go for sports, my favourite include swimming and martial arts, I would face the difficulty of seeing things clearly for I was force to remove my glasses so that I can put on my goggles for the former and avoid being crushed for the latter. And now that I am pursuing dentistry, I would require to don a face mask and the problem with face mask is that, whenever you breathe, the water vapour will rise from the mask and fog up your glasses! So, I have to stop intermittently whenever I'm doing something.

And so I made up my mind, to get my eyes fixed for good. No more glasses, no more contact lens, I am going for LASIK. I had had LASIK in mind for quite sometime already. It was in 2008, that I stumbled across a booth fair in my own campus for LASIK and the price caught my attention. Before this, I thought LASIK was very very expensive and I wouldn't afford it until I begin to earn enough when I start to work, which will be forever! But it wasn't so. This particular centre was offering LASIK for the price of RM2,888 for both eyes! Now, I'm not saying it is damn cheap but it is the cheapest in town, and I personally think it is very reasonable (not that I am filthy rich, NO!). Hey! Where else can you get prices like that now???

It took me a year long hiatus before I finally went for the operation yesterday. Money was of course the main problem. Eventhough RM2,888 was reasonable, but my parents don't have enough for me, let alone it being cosmetic purposeses! But recently, my mom had had a small fortune and she finally gave me the green light to go for it, considered it as my 21st birthday gift since it is around the corner, she said. I love her for this! :D

So..........at 5.30pm, I was at the centre (oh by the way, the place is called Advance Vision Eye Specialist Centre, the eye surgeon by the name of Dr Yeoh Phee Liang is a graduate from Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. Check out their website if you are interested: http://www.advancevision.net.my/index.htm ), waiting anxiously to be called into the operation theatre. My vision was being checked and my cornea thinkness was being measured electronically just to be sure that the results were the same with the 1st checking I did last year. Then, they put on a surgical gown on me and a surgical cap too. Eye solutions which are local aneasthesia I suppose, were dropped into my eyes. My eyes went numb almost immediately. Then.....the operation begins!

The operation theatre was simple enough, just a really long bed-like machine with laser at the top of the head rest area. As soon as I was being laid on it, my head was rotated towards the laser, directly underneath it. Now with both my eyes wide open, I was told to stare at a blinking red light, which is obviously the laser!

Honestly, this is the most intimidating part. I mean, you know damn well that THAT red light is laser and you were asked to stare AT it! It's like asking you to step into a fire knowing damn well that the it will burn you alive! You get what I mean? I was scared man! But the doctor warned me to NOT move a muscle as the initial step is the most crucial of the entire LASIK surgery.

My eyelids were taped prior to that and a retractable spring was placed to keep my eyes wide open. Then, solutions were dropped on it, something glasslike was put on top of my eyeball. Then I felt something pushing against my it, loud noise were heard, felt something moved on my eye, my cornea was cut open and the doctor manipulated it for awhile. (This DOES feel scary and uncomfortable. Not painful but it IS uncomfortable.) Laser was then shot, zapping sounds were heard, I smell something burning but amazingly this has NO FEELING at all! Not a single sensation! :D

Finally, my eye was washed with isotonic solution and the doctor dropped some antibiotic into the completed eye before continueing with the other eye using the same procedures. The whole surgery lasted about 15 minutes and I was discharged after taking 2 paracetamol and closing my eyes for 5 minutes! My vision then was 50% cleared.

Immediately after returning to my hostel, I tried to sleep because the anaesthetic was wearing off and I start to feel very uncomfortable and in fact, slight pain in both my eyes. They were slight bloodly liquid oozing out from the corner of my eyes. I took a sleeping pill that the doctor prescribed and had a 10-hour sleep, with protective eye shields on of course, for fear of rubbing my eyes when I am asleep.

Today as I woke up, my vision is 90% clear! I am seeing things in a almost 20/20 vision without my glasses!!! It was like dreaming! I can see fine prints and car number plates clearly several metres away now, and people faces at the end of the hall!!! Now I blog my experience prior to my post-operative checkup. In half an hour time I will be returning to the centre for a review. Now I can proudly say that I can see clearly without my glasses anymore! I have done it, so when will you?? :)

Should I go bald???

I have this rather radical idea in me since last month. I'm bored of my hairstyle, that's what! Who wouldn't, after days and days of putting wax/gel/clay (whatever) to get that desire effect of your crowning glory? Then once it gets unmanagable, off to the barber/hairstylist to get it trimmed. Sometimes, you worry that the barber/hairstylist cut it too short or uneven. If so, you will be embarassed to go out and lather a lot of shampoo in hope to let your hair grow back to your desired length again! Sigh....

So, I thought to myself, "Why not just go bald?". Well, not that I have never go bald before....I did it (forcefully) when I was in NS. Didn't quite like it at first but then my fellow campmates said that it suits me cause apparently, I have 'the head' for it. The thing about being bald is that not everyone can put it well.



According to a website, http://www.zeenews.com/news537318.html,

"""Interestingly, unlike other hair cuts where the shape of the face determines which cut one should opt for, in this case one should know the shape of his head before one goes bald.

"This look goes best with people with an egg-shaped head or a round head. If your head is flat then you should avoid it completely because it can look disastrous," Sylvie maintained.

"Also people should make sure that their head doesn't have any scar marks and is very clean because only then does the style look trendy," Sylvie added.

According to Mumbai-based Bollywood stylist Pompy Hans, apart from the shape of the head, one should also keep one's body structure in mind before going for this look.

"If you are lean then the bald look is a big no-no. One should have broad shoulders and a good body structure to carry off this look with poise and confidence," Hans told IANS over phone from Mumbai. """



And so I went Google-ing (again) for bald, trendy hairstyles and guess who I found? David Beckham! He is one of the well-known celebrities that can put on a bald look well. In fact, he had had a few bald occasions before. And so, here I am, copied a couple of his images for you guys to check it out. And along with that, I also inserted a couple of MY pictures when I was serving NS! My hair was already growing at that time cause it was almost end of training.



Now, what do you guys think??? Should I go bald? Or just a very short buzz with funky lines at the side? Or just have hair for goodness sake?

Or maybe I should wait for Thaipusam. And if others say it sucks, I'll just answer "It's for religious purposes, damn it!" =P

Fat attack!

Ok....I'm off to a bad start! It seems like almost everyone had had enjoyed their CNY holidays and are still in the holiday mood. And it also seems like most (if not all) of us had gotten fat over the new year! Haha.....yeah, I know! It's bad of me to make fun of others. BUT I got fatter as well!
Well, I....know....that I got a bit fatter over the week. But when I attended the 1st lecture, a friend of mine was like...."are you trying to be fatter than so-and-so (who is bigger size than me)?" Got the hint? I mean....I didn't know I got that fat??! Or was it a joke??? I so damn hope it's a joke!
Oh God! This is worrying.....i got to eat less (very very less) from now on. Sigh....vanity sure has a high price to pay.
But seriously.....have I gotten that fat?????