cuz i wanted to feel a bit happier, so i had the omakase. i had:

oyster or clam
baby squids
baby abalone
tuna with sauce
baby tuna (i think my favorite for this meal)
japanese mackeral
albacore
spanish mackeral
yellowtail
salmon with kelp
scallop (huge and fresh!)
yellow amberjack
toro (cold, but good)
some seared whitefish
giant clam
giant sweet shrimp thing (really big, but slimy, not in a good way)
halibut fin (so chewy, so interesting!)
uni
salmon roe

i had a beer. everything was great.

alas, i still feel like crap.

Jenni Cheung at 02:18 PM

LASIK EYE CENTER IS AWESOME! (around ktown on wilshire in los angeles)

i'm writing this merely SIX hours after my lasik surgery. i will update if anything changes during the next few weeks.

initial consultation: my appointment was for 4pm, it was supposed to be consultation + possible surgery. i got there at 3:30. i didn't get out till 6:30pm. during the initial parts of the consult with the assistants, i was told that i can't do surgery that day because i was supposed to not have contacts in for 3 days prior. NO ONE TOLD ME THIS. i got a bit bummed, but i got over it. i think the doc got held up by some patients so i had to wait like 1.5 hrs between talking to the assistants and the dr. lee. however, they let me know that and i was able to grab dinner. when i finally saw the doc, he was very thorough in looking at my eyes more under that intense light thing, and telling me about himself and the procedure, and asked if i had any questions. i didn't have that many questions, so i just said i was fine with it. then one of the guys, holiday, took me into the office and told me about price, prep procedure, and was there to answer any more questions. he apologized that i had to wait that long, i said no problem, and we scheduled the appointment for a week later (which was this morning). he's quite helpful and reassuring.

morning of surgery: i followed all the instructions on the paper all week. i got there at 9:05 for my 9:30 appointment. i looked over all the consent forms and signed them. i started to freak out cuz i actually READ all the possible complications. i understand that they have to write it out because they're being responsible, but it freaked me out. holiday talked to me again and taught me how to take care of my eyes after the surgery. he then talked to me about each step that will take place inside the surgery room. i started to get scared again, and i started to tear up. he reassured me more and told me to not cry or the doc won't take me. he said that my bf could be in the room with me if i really wanted to and was really scared.

he rechecked my eyes, and then me and the bfi waited in a patient room until dr. lee came back and rechecked my eyes. i then took the valium.

the surgery: i got into the surgery room at 10. prep was quick. i laid down on the chair, focused on the light above me. the doc positioned the chair, and then taped my head to the chair (it's not painful tape). daniel (one of the assistants) cleaned my eyes and put a lot of drops in each of my eyes. dr. lee taped my left eye shut, then put more drops in my right eye and wiped. he taped my eyes open, put in the metal thing to keep eyes open, then put a suction thing on it, then ZZZZZZ, the cornea got cut. the cornea got lifted and he either put stuff on my eye or just wiped down my eye with a tiny spatula thing. then the lasering proceeded. it was like pop pop pop, and i smell burning tissue, and the little red light i was supposed to be starting at was dancing. it was pretty trippy and interesting. but i was still nervous and i was breathing a bit heavy. they did the same thing to my left eye. they talked me through the entire process (i might have left up some steps), and always reassured me things were going well and told me what was going on.

after the surgery: i was told to come back tomorrow morning for the followup. dr. lee said that he's gonna wipe my eyeballs down tomorrow morning too. i wore my glasses and kept my eyes closed most of the time because it was more comfortable that way. my awesome bf led me out to the car and drove me home. as we drove away, i felt the local anesthetics wearing off. my eyes started to sting and watered like crazy. bf got me lunch, so i ate and took a nap.

i got up around 2:30 to put in the antibiotic and steroid eyedrops. i blinked and looked around. i can see almost as clearly as when i was wearing contacts. i'd say my vision is at about 90%, merely 4 hours after the surgery. my eyes just feel a little sore and a bit strained, but i can see great and they don't itch me. i can see close and far, but closer things take a little more focusing to be clear. i know my vision will only get better over the next week, so i'm very excited!

the logistics: my eyes are kinda bad. 4.25 and 4.5, and slight astigmatism (that didn't really need fixing). i got quoted $1,400 after the "$100 YELP discount" (i wrote that yelp referred me, evidently a lot of people go there after reading these reviews). free consultation, but i had to fill my own prescription for the antibiotic drops (it would be $80 if they provided it).

i'm very happy with it so far and i'm sure it'll only get better as long as i follow directions. the price is awesome, the staff takes the time to answer all your questions and concerns. dr. lee is very efficient and is great at what he does. my recovery might be faster than others cuz it took me barely any time to recover from getting my wisdoms out.

Jenni Cheung at 05:05 PM

good things about being a girl:
free drinks
easier to bum a seat/cigarette/ride
being able to carry a lot of things in a purse

bad things about being a girl:
periods
needing to wear makeup and fix my hair to look super cute
having your buzzed chick friend stumble backwards with her sharp heels into your open toe, trying to walk it off, then only to find out your toe is bleeding because you start feeling a squishy wetness in your shoe

Jenni Cheung at 07:45 PM

that was the highlight of my day. i've been snacking non-stop today and wanted to stick some fruit into that madness, so i ate an anjou pear i bought last week. wow, have i been buying the wrong pears!

usually i buy bartlett pears and they're too firm and the skin is too bitter and i'll take a bite or two and throw it away. but today no. the pear was big, but soft because it was a little over ripened. the skin's acridity was barely noticeable. my teeth sunk into the flesh like it was a wet slippery sweet pillow.

usually when i eat at my desk, i'm also doing something on the computer. but this time, i actually leaned back into my chair and stared entranced at this little piece of heaven i held between my thumb and middle finger.

i haven't eaten a piece of fruit so close to the core in years.

Jenni Cheung at 04:54 PM

i finally got the see the matches!!!!!!

i have missed three opportunities to see them. the first time they were playing at the henry fonda theater opening up for +44 for the music box thing. i was a mess then and i went really late and missed them. the second time i bought tix to see them, thinking they were headlining cuz their name was biggest on my ticket, but it turns out that as i lay dying was headlining, and i had to stand through that screaming nonsense to realize i missed them again. the third time i was gonna catch them at warped tour, but i had to switch my trip around due to some band stuff and i couldn't go to warped tour.

i couldn't let it happen again.

so by some fortuitous force, i decided to check the matches' myspace page like 3 weeks ago. i thought i'd know about their new shows cuz i signed up for the mailing list. but there it is on their myspace: A WHOLE LIST OF SHOW DATES INCLUDING ONES IN HOLLYWOOD! i got so excited. i kept telling the band and the bf, there's no way i'm missing this.

the tix/website says doors at 7:30 shows at 8. i knew they weren't the FIRST band, but i still got there at 8:10ish. i saw the end of we shot the moon, and the whole set of the higher. after the higher ended, i told dan i was going to go towards the front and jump around because i literally haven't done that in two years.

so i had stand at the back "row" of the people that were really into it. there was no way i could inch in any further without seriously pissing people off or having flesh squished up in my face. once the matches came on, people in front of me started putting their hands up and jumping and there's this girl right of me that started to push a lot, i think she was trying to mosh. anyway, i partook. i didn't actively push people, but when i got pushed, i pushed back. i love it, like maintaining a wide base with my stance and jumping up and down and pushing and pumping my fist to the beat. but i felt kind of lame because there was no one behind me that did that. oh well. i had fun. i think i over-exerted myself, because i was wearing my jacket and it was getting sweaty, and afterwards, even though i felt hyper for a few minutes, i quickly felt nauseous and asked to go home.

the matches are so fuckin amazing. so much energy. shawn harris has such an amazing voice. *sigh*

Jenni Cheung at 10:00 AM

i spent $99.95 yesterday on 28 pills and 4 oz of oil. $50 for one month supply of ortho-tricyclen lo and $49.95 on derma smooth (the dermatologist says that i have eczema). i do have prescription coverage on my blue shield, but for non-formulary drugs, its like $50 copay!!! i'm kinda peeved, i didn't know that! last year, i was taking ortho-tricyclen lo too and it was only $20 per month. i think i have to bug my obgyn again to write me another prescription to a cheaper BC pill. oh, maybe i can make a day trip to mexico so i can get cheaper pills that way! this is such a headache. and these costs are not including the time i had to take off work to go to these docs and the $25 visit copays, and for lab tests for whatever tests i need to get done. omg health care is going to be the end of me!

oh and TOMORROW i finally made an appointment to see a glaucoma specialist at the ucla jules stein center. i wonder how much that'll cost. i still have yet to go in for my routine teeth cleaning and i still need to go back to my primary care physician cuz of my anxiety.

i'm just a cornucopia of disorders...

Jenni Cheung at 09:49 AM