Coldsnap, Cold Old Eyes

Wake up, Dad! Outside, outside! Let's go outside!

The stuff that went on throughout this week was almost enough to make me freak out. The exhaustion and insomnia have been also wearing my patience thin. I'd rather not make any bigger drama about it, but most of the problems were a direct result of the arctic air mass that we have been in the grip in for over a week now.



But Ella baby . . .it's -45 out there
with the wind chill.

It's not just cold, it has become psyche-crippling cold. I consider myself to be a reasonably cold-tolerant person, but I I've been feeling like I've been taxed to new limits with it. It's becoming heartbreaking to wake up on each of these mornings to watch my dog's enthusiasm for greeting the day getting instantly crushed once she senses the harsh reality of the weather outside.

I've been getting bored too easily. The measly bit of time off that I've been getting during these bone-chilling days has been squandered on watching some movies, reviewing my paperwork, messing around with new apps on Windows 8, and playing numerous rounds of online backgammon. It's all I'll probably be able to afford to do given that I've had a whack-load of new expenses that appeared at the most inconvenient time, and some more that I may yet be destined for.



Thanks for that lousy news, Dad!
. . . so it's a room full of turds then?



The most daring venture I've done all week was heading downtown for a consultation session about getting LASIK done on my eyes, with the hope of throwing off the fetters of glasses and contact lens for good. The session turned out to be only a disappointing revelation about more complications I'm having with my eye health. It's a dilemma that has been eating at me: whether or not to proceed with it. I'm still eligible for the procedure, but it may be just an exercise of futility given what I could be due for in the long run, which would render a zero sum outcome at such great expense.  I need the final say so from the doctor who will be doing the work, but as it is for now, the risk versus reward balance doesn't work out well enough for me.

I'm glad that I didn't ruin my eyes any worse that day. Dilation drops were given to me for one of the tests, essentially freezing my eyes so that the pupils stayed open. Not only were my eyes unable to react and focus to light, but they had no ability to react and adjust to a sub -40 wind slapping against them when I was coming home. I arrived home, almost blind, feeling like a popsicle was driven into each of my eye sockets.

January has been one long, bitter month. I'm a little more relieved in knowing that this is the last bloody day of it. Only two or so months of winter left to endure.