Venting
I'm sorry. I just have to vent. I know no one reads my blog but that's okay. As long as I have some outlet for how annoyed I am, I'll feel better...even if it doesn't produce any results (or sympathy).
So...I'm a teacher - have been for 6 years now. I love what I do. I love working with kids. I have friends where I work and enjoy going to work. There are certain aspects of my job that I dislike...the ridiculous amount of paperwork, for example, the "educational programs" that are constantly being thrust on me with no basis in reality that are created by people who haven't set foot in a classroom in years (think George Bush's "no child left behind") and various other annoyances - just like everyone else's job. But what really pisses me off, is my crappy salary. I bust my ass working with those kids and what do I get in return? A salary that WON'T EVEN ALLOW ME TO BUY A ONE BEDROOM CONDO WITHIN A 50 MILE RADIUS OF MY JOB! It's just utterly ridiculous how people in jobs like mine (policemen, firemen, etc) are so underpaid. Yes, teachers do get an extra 6 weeks off a year, but aside from that, our salary is still far below what is needed to live in this area (I live in northern Virginia). My roommate just got a job offer that pays 70,000 a year at an hourly rate of $34/hour. I only get paid around $29/hour. And I'm 4 years older than her! I've been working 4 years longer than her and she now makes over 20,000 more than me. If I got paid her same hourly wage (for sitting in an office and looking over paperwork) I'd be making $8000 more a year!
And, while I'm at it, for all those critics who complain that the reason teachers don't get paid more is because we do get those summers off, I would gladly work over the summer if that's what my job entailed. I didn't choose teaching because I got a built in summer vacation. I chose teaching because I love children and I love education. The reason schools don't go year-round right now is because the government doesn't give us enough money to fund that. My school has applied several times to go year-round but keeps getting turned down because of funding. If it meant a higher salary because I'd be working more hours, I'd do it in a second. Most teachers work in the summer anyway just to make ends meet. Do you know how hard it is to find a summer job? No one wants to hire someone for just 6 weeks. Most teachers work second jobs during the year too. It's a travesty!
You want to talk about the decline of family values and why marriages are falling apart and the concept of a nuclear family is quickly disintegrating? Let's look at the way of life here. In order to afford a home and raise a family, BOTH parents have to work. Two parents who work full time have a hard time being there for their kids and an even harder time being there for each other. Is it any wonder these familes are struggling to stay in tact? Bush bemoans the loss of the idea of the family unit yet he makes it impossible for a family to thrive! Affordable housing is non-existent unless you clear over 100,000 a year and even that will only get you a tiny townhouse. The government has done nothing to help control the housing market that is spiraling out of control and forcing people into massive debt. People do not need 1.5 million dollar luxury homes. People need a roof over their heads at an affordable price. I don't understand why the government can't make some sort of agreement with a builder to provide "normal" houses for people who can't afford and don't want or need master suites, jacuzzis, hot tubs, skylights, 2-story foyers, hard-wood floored, all brick homes. This society is like "gimmie, gimmie, gimmie, I want more" and no one ever stops to think about those of us who don't want more. Who just want enough to be happy. Yet, because everyone else is driving up the market with their spend more than they really have attitude, the rest of us are getting screwed because we're not willing to be house poor.
Clearly my diatribe has gotten out of control but the reality of my paycheck has really hit home this last year since housing prices have gotten completely out of control and have basically put me in a position to never be able to buy. I would like to have stayed home with my kids for a few years or at least work part time once I had children but now I see I'm going to have to give up that dream if I choose to buy a home to raise those children in. It disgusts me the way America has emphasized monetary goods and equated success with money leaving those of us who do good for the sake of doing good to get penalized for our altruism.
Lasik - the second consultation
This is crazy! I went back for that follow-up to my original consultation so they could re-run a couple of the original tests and check on the shape of my eyes and they're still not back to normal! The doctor started with "well, I've got some good news and some disappointing news." Great. Everyone loves to hear that. Turns out that my right eye looks fine. It hasn't changed since the last time I was there so it seems pretty stable. However, my left eye has changed significantly since the last time I was there so obviously that eye still has not settled back into its normal shape! So, I have to go back AGAIN next week! That means, of course, that I have to continue to wear this hideous glasses. I asked if I could just wear one contact in my right eye since that eye was done being tested for now but the doctor said that was a definite big no no. I figured as much.
Next appointment is cheduled for next Thursday in the morning. It'll be another short one just to see if my left eye has stabilized yet. I went ahead and scheduled my eye exam with an eye doctor he recommended (closer to home or else I would have just gone to the Lasik doctor) for next Saturday. I have to be out of my contacts for that exam as well so I figured I might as well do it now since I'll have been out for 2 weeks by that point. It's cool that they're open on Saturday even though it doesn't matter to me since I'm not working next week. They were really friendly too on the phone so so far I'm really happy with my experience even though I do have to keep trekking back to Tyson's Corner! It's worth it to do it right though. I'm glad they're not rushing this.
Lasik - The first consultation
Okay, so, I had my first official consultation at Millennium Laser Eye Center today! The people there were really, really, really nice which made me feel very comfortable. When I got there, all I had to do was undergo a few eye tests on some crazy machines. Nothing difficult, nothing painful. Then, I went into one of the doctor's exam rooms where he did a couple of more tests. All told the testing itself probably only took about 10 minutes, if even. The doctor then reviewed all of my results and let me know if I was a good candidate for Lasik or not and if I was, which type of procedure I qualified for.
The results:
So, it turns out that 3 to 4 days wasn't enough time for me to be out of my contacts because my eyes still hadn't returned to their "normal" shape. Apparantly, the touric lenses I wear really change the shape of my eye more so than regular contact lenses would (I have really bad eyesight plus astigmatism). So, I'm going to have to come back again and have some of the tests repeated. Aside from that, however, here's the rest of the results...
I qualify for intralase which is the new way they cut the eye. Instead of using a razor, which they've done in the past with earlier Lasik procedures, intralase uses a laser. The advantages being that it creates a thinner flap, has few complications, and is more precise. The reason I only qualify for intralase and not the razor cut is because my eyesight is so bad that I need a loooot of layers shaved off in order to correct my vision. That means I don't have many layers of eye tissue to spare therefore, the thinnest flap that is possible needs to be made and the intralase laser makes a thinner flap than the razor. That's cool. That's the procedure I wanted for making the flap anyway.
Now, the bad news...I don't qualify for the new custom wavefront Lasik. This is the Lasik that uses a more detailed map of a person's eye than the conventional Lasik. From what I understand, with conventional Lasik, your current prescription is plugged into the computer and then the laser just does its thing. Whatever is programmed in, goes. With custom wavefront Lasik, however, the numbers are also plugged in and the laser is set to do its thing, however, while it's working on your eye, it also keeps track of the tiny eye movements your eye makes during the surgery and send signals back to the computer to compensate and adjust those original numbers based on those slight movements. It's a slightly more accurate procedure because it maps your eye in more detail than the conventional Lasik. To use an analogy, custom wavefront is like buying a tailor made suit while conventional Lasik is like buying off the rack. The reason I don't qualify for the custom Lasik is because my vision is outside its parameters. In other words, my eyesight is too bad to be corrected by it. The doctor told me it would actually make my vision worse to use custom Lasik. I'm sort of glad I don't qualify, though, because it's $400 more PER EYE to get that done. I should point out, though, that conventional Lasik has a 94% success rate with no enhancements needed while custom Lasik has a 98% succes rate with no enhancements needed. A slight difference but since I don't have a choice, I don't even have to think about those numbers.
So, the doctor was really very patient with me during the entire consultation and answered all my questions and explained everything to me. I felt very comfortable with him and was happy to see that I wasn't being rushed at the door for the next patient. I'm happy, in general, with MLEC. Even though they are super expensive ($2325/eye), you can't trade comfort for cash. I found another place through my insurance that would do it significantly cheaper but I wasn't really happy with the way they did their business. It was wierd...you had to call an answering service that was completely unaffiliated with the eye center to schedule an appointment. The woman could give me the address of the eye center but couldn't give me a phone number. So, I couldn't even speak to someone who worked at that particular eye center till the day I went in for the consultation! Plus, they only do consultations and eye exams at 10 o'clock on Thursdays...so the earliest I could get in for my initial visit was August 18! I booked the exam since I was already on the phone and had given the girl all this information but I also had to put down a $250 deposit to hold the appointment and I realize now, there's just no way I'm going with them. They may cost less but the impersonal treatment and the money upfront is just ridiculous. Plus, I KNOW Millennium Laser Eye Center has a good reputation. They've been around for years and the doctor has done 25,000 surgeries. I feel comfortable knowing that I'm working with the best.
Okay, so I scheduled another appointment for the end of this week since they need to wait for my eyes to completely settle back into their original shape before proceeding. Yipee, I get to wear my glasses for another few days!
Lasik - Scheduling the first consultation
Okay, so, I scheduled the free consultation with Millennium Laser Eye Center for Tuesday, June 28. I could have done it earlier, but you have to be out of your contacts for a few days beforehand so that your eyes can return to their normal shape and I didn't want to wear my glasses in front of my kids (I'm a teacher). Since the last day of school is Friday, June 24, I figure I'll just wear my glasses all weekend and through till Tuesday. That meets the 3-4 day no-contacts requirement. It leaves me having to go to work for one day with my glasses on but I'll survive. It's just a teacher workday so I'm just cleaning my classroom and such anyway.
Lasik?
Okay, so I'm considering undergoing Lasik. Years ago, I was adamant about never having the surgery done because the idea of messing with my eyes wasn't too appealing. I mean, this is my eyesight. If something goes wrong, this is a major thing to lose. But then I started meeting people who had had it done and it started me thinking...maybe I should just do it. I mean, I'm chained to my contacts/glasses right now. Summers suck because I can't go in the water without fear of losing a contact. I can't spontaneously decide to do anything involving staying overnight because I can't sleep in my contacts and if I don't have solution, I can't take them out. Toward the end of every day my eyes are so dry and irritated from my lenses that I feel tired when I'm actually not. Bars are a nightmare because the smoke aggrevates the lenses. Plus, contacts never really corrected my vision as well as glasses simply because they're designed to move on my eye and after every blink, they have to re-adjust which creates blurry spots that leave me squinting to see half the time. Oh, and have you ever gotten an eyelash trapped under a contact lens? Talk about pain. Eye-watering pain as the tiny, little eyelash stabs your eye repeatedly as you frantically try to blink or rub it out. I could definitely live without that experience.
So, anyway, two of the people I know who have had lasik done (or some sort of vision correction surgery) had it done years ago. So, I start to think...I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for the procedure to be "perfected" before I really consider doing it but these people had it done way back before it was as good as it is now and they're fine! They no longer need glasses or contacts and one person even described it as the best thing he's ever done. Plus, I've been reading a lot on the subject and feel more comfortable with all the different types of procedures and such so I feel like I know what I'm getting myself into.
Step 1: On the website for Millennium Laser Eye Center is an online diagnostic tool. You fill out this information and they tell you if you could be a candidate for Lasik. Well, I did it, and, of course, it said that it seems like I'm a good candidate but that what I need to do (obviously) is come in for a free consultation with the doctor. I start to think about it. Well, a few days later, I get this e-mail from someone at MLEC thanking me for taking the online consulation and reminding me that the next step would be to come in for the consultation with the doctor. So, I e-mail back a few questions that I have and I still keep thinking about it. I get another e-mail from MLEC with answers to my questions and another reminder that I should come in for a consultation with the doctor to get a better understanding of what I qualify for and whether or not Lasik is right for me. So, I finally decide...I'm going to do this.
Celebrities who think we care about them and their opinions
Here's what I don't understand...the other day, I'm watching t.v. and I see this promo for an upcoming story that has Patricia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond talking about Terri Shiavo and saying "I think we need to be reeeeally careful when we start talking about taking somebody's life..." or something to that effect. And the announcer's like "see what Patricia Heaton has to say about Terri Shiavo and why her message is so important." What the f*** makes these people think that we care at ALL what Patrician Heaton or any other celebrity has to say?! It'd be one thing if they got someone on with some sort of background in religious ethics or something, but a random t.v. actress? WHO CARES?! They have one job to do...act. They don't need to share their opinions with us about this kind of stuff as if it's such valuable insight. They're just as ignorant as the rest of us when it comes to knowing the details of this case and their opinions are no more informed than ours. I hate when celebrities try to use their status to promote a political or religious agenda.
When will I ever learn?
Damn it! I lost again! I worked my way up from the middle of the pack in our NCAA basketball pool and when stupid-ass Kentucky couldn't make a basket in DOUBLE OVERTIME to save their lives, they ruined my chances of winning!!!!! Now, if Illinois wins, my stupid sister wins the money. If North Carolina wins, one of the 3 people that has them picked to win will come out $230 richer. Why can't I ever catch a break?! What's WORSE is...I'M the one that invited my sister INTO the pool in the first place! If she wasn't involved, I'd be the only one in a position to win if Illinois could pull it out (but to be honest, I really think NC will win...I've seen them play and I think they're better than Illinois. But I'm a girl so what the hell do I know...)
Loser
As expected, I lost my football pool. I always lose. I'm a loser. It all started in Kindergarten when I came in late one day and was hastily told to put my name on a piece of paper for something. I, being 5, was thoroughly confused (and maybe slightly retarded) and just handed back the piece of paper blank. Come to find out, they were holding a drawing in class for the Thanksgiving turkey that we had all worked so hard on by gluing small, colored squares of paper onto a giant piece of posterboard (probably 8.5 x 11...everything seems big to a 5 year old). It actually was a pretty cool turkey. Anyway...they put all the names in a jar and pulled one slip of paper out. IT WAS MINE! IT WAS MINE! But it was blank. *I* knew it was mine because I'm the idiot that put it in with scarcely a pencil mark...but no one else did. And being that I was extremely shy growing up, I sure as hell wasn't going to say anything. So instead, they pulled another name and I lost my turkey. My gambling life has gone downhill from there.
Football
I totally got screwed on my football pool. 1 and 1. Um, yeah, that's going to happen. Whatever.
