2 hours to copy four gigs

oops!! Make that three hours!! I finally broke down and yesterday purchased a 500gig external hard drive. Gosh ~ I remember when 500megs cost almost a thousand dollars alone!!!! In trying to manage my image files, I have run out of room everywhere! On my desktop's 160gig HD, I don't have too many corners still available... I had purchased a 350gig external HD in Spain before departing in 2006 and that is now filled, though I have frantically been trying to burn off the files during the last few weeks and months - with little success as each week I shoot more, adding to my backlog and worklist.

Last night it took four hours to format the new HD, then after a reboot it took another three hours to partition it to make organizing the files better and easier. As I type this, I am moving the files slowly over to the 500giger from the 350gig HD, and to move 4gigs it's taking an average of three hours.... grrrr

Luckily, while last weekend attending the opening exhibit at my friend's gallery collectively Grasp when she introduced me to a musical website where you can hear your style of music, all the while remembering your likes and dislikes, then searches for more music that fit your musical likes so you only hear the type of music you enjoy, and those similar. I love it.... The other day I listened to about five hours of flamenco guitar music which I really love, and makes me miss Spain even more. Right now I'm listening to Dido-type music while moving these massive files and am enjoying with immense pleasure the tunes of these different artists with a similar style, many whom I've never known by name but by their music.

Once I get everything moved to the new external HD, I'll format the other external and partition that also, something I've been trying to do but not really, since I have over 280gigs of images on there and I didn't want to risk losing them in the case something happen during the partitioning process....

Suuuuure, all this should keep me again in front of the monitor for about a month at the very least!!!

In the meanwhile, my eyes and vision continue to slowly improve as they heal... I've driven a few times at night now and am happy I can see better in dim light where I am not uncomfortable driving blindly into the darkness as it was that situation previously. I often like to look around ~ for example while stopped at a red light ~ and see distant billboards, buildings etc, to test my vision and how I couldn't see something clearly last week, and now can. I can clearly see 18'x24' billboards a block away well, and other lettering farther as well. "Seeing" is to define the act of seeing sharp focused edges, define the lettering, the message and sharp lines; and the ability to see low-contrast colors as opposed to brighter colors.

Hey!!! Only two and a half hours remaining on the copying to the new HD!!!!

Just a picture captured while around the city as Halloween nears; snapped with my Motorola RZR cell phone camera...

day three test with the new eyes

Well, things are progressing well. If you see any typos, it may be due to my hunt & peck with two fingers (or it could be toes now), my inability to see very close, or my new eyes not focusing well still, or a combination of all the above.

During day two, I had really red and swollen eyes; so bad were my eyes that I thought: booooy, you look more asian now than you ever did in your life! Now, that's having really really swollen eyes! This would happen everytime I applied the lubricating eye drops, which had me thinking: I must be allergic to these eye drops. But I was assured that was virtually impossible.

Due to the clear protective contact lenses, I can't keep my eyes open, which I was told is a normal reaction. I had scheduled my mandatory first follow-up appointment on Friday, two days after the surgery because I wanted the eyes to heal as much as possible so I could drive myself the one hour, 15 minute trip one way to the San Jose clinic.

Imagine this during day three and day of this follow-up: Driving down the freeway toward San Jose, unable to keep my eye lids open, and following any bright big vehicle in front. This worked for a while until that vehicle took an exit... then I had to find some other target to guide me well. The freeway signs passed overhead but I couldn't read them till they were well-past and too late. So, I used the GPS to warn me and that worked great. I arrived at the clinic ahead of time even and there were a LOT of people in the waiting area.... I jad left the apt wearing dark glasses found inside the apt and glad I used them; the bright sunlight was very annoying! I was comforted in seeing all these people waiting were also wearing dark glasses!

For my vision measurement I flunked that right off; I couldn't see anything with either eye but nobody seemed worried. I explained the problem with the tear drops and they said to continue using them. Then I was seen by the doctor and was informed the cuts were healing well, and that was comforting to hear.

The drive home was the same, fighting the traffic with my eyes half-way open. Then the boredom of being at home and resting my eyes ~ trying to keep them shut as much as possible... I never realized how boring it is to sit in bed and listen to CSI reruns instead of watching, but I had to keep my eyes closed. I also lost six pounds so I'm really content at this unrelated change of "lifestyle". hahahaha

As I type this it's a cloudy gray day in San Francisco and I just returned from a short walk of about half a mile. With dark glasses again, I wanted to see how well my eye lids would be while I tried to see in a normal situation. It's been three days since the surgery and I wanted to exercise those eye lids and see how long they would stay open ~ I didn't want to repeat that nightmare half-blind drive to San Jose again! My eyes were okay... the left eye is cut to be far-sighted and would be the eye I've used for viewing through the viewfinder, and the right eye would be for seeing close. But when I closed the right eye, the left eye couldn't focus on anything... while the right eye saw very well. That said and typed, I just turned around and picked up a camera and though the diopter had to be adjusted, I could see well through the viewfinder with my camera eye: the left eye. Now that is a big relief!!

At this rate, I should be able to drive to San Jose to my next appt on Monday without problems and get my new vision into shape soon. I won't take a chance shooting a sunset as that involves looking toward a very bright object, but next week I'll go out and start shooting as a test.

On the other hand, I purchased a copy of the book of Oregon's Lane County because, even if none of my images are featured, it's still a great area that I enjoyed living in, and want a memory other than my many images. I'm also planning to attend the pre-publishing party they are scheduling at a well-known bookstore in November in Eugene... I'd love to meet the other people who contributed ~ there are a lot of gorgeous images displayed at the site and which we all hope will be included in the book!

Months ago I described the opening night of a fitness center where a few of my San Francisco images are framed and displayed there; I just got an email from the owner stating one might be sold soon and to start thinking of bringing by a subsitute. Selling any of my images is good news for me!

One of the greatest things I love about the internet is not only the means of realtime communications between people and the ability to be inside the world's largest library, but for me to listen in realtime the soccer games of the Spanish league, which I am doing now. I don't need eyes to listen to this and it's great to keep in touch with my spanish side... the game is just starting in a few more minutes so.... I and my new eyes bid you adios for now!

UPDATE 2pm: WoW!! I'm looking out the window at some guy illegally parked in my driveway, and I can see he has papers in his hands, and while I cannot read the text in his papers held in his hands, I can SEE the lines of text on those papers from three stories up, and my vision is still blurry!

Is it real or virtual (Eyes)

Well, it's done. I was there at 12,45pm in San Jose to get my eyes done. It consisted of more waiting than the actual operation required. My brother drove me to the center, killed time and came back to pick me up at 2pm. Starting out, I had to watch a DVD explaining the whole procedure, plus definitions of the various type of surgery of the eye. It also explained the risks of having such types of corrective vision procedures and how it might not work, and even in the most rarest cases, destroy your existing vision. I decided to go ahead and do it.

After some waiting, I was finally explained some procedures, and started waiting in a separate waiting room which quickly filled up. The came my turn.... I was first asked to take a small Valium pill and allow it to dissolve in my mouth under the tongue. I never realized how difficult it is to put anything, let alone a small pill, under the tongue! Then came some preparatory eye drops to numb the eye and others. After a few more minutes, I was escorted to a large FREEZING dark room where the procedure would be conducted. More eye drops then lie down. One eye covered while the right eye was prepped: marking of certain points of the eyes then laying down and being subject to a red and green light into the eyes. I guess that was the method in which my eye was to be reshaped, then the eye was rubbed then a slight sensation of scrapping. Not a bit of pain was felt throughout this whole procedure! Once that was completed, as the red light shined into the eye, I could smell the slight odor of burning flesh.... it didn't bother me; I have smelled worst in my life. Another slight movement on the eye surface and that was it. The application of a clear contact lens to protect the surgery then the same procedure was done on the other eye, with the doctor holding my head tightly.

I think the whole procedure took less than five minutes!

I walked out without assistance though was told many were a bit floozy after the procedure. I collected my things then went to meet with my brother who was kind enough to act as my taxi this day.

Enroute SF, bright scenes began to annoy my eyes, though shaded areas gave me relief. I just closed my eyes and kept blinking... Still a few hours later there is NO pain and I can see, though the general sensation is bothersome but not painful, and my vision is like I am wearing glasses that are very oily and smeared. I was surprised right off that I could make out words and freeway signs at several feet away that I wouldn't be able to see in other circumstances, and without glasses.

He had to pick up a computer at a MAC store, and after we arrived, I actually got on a few terminals and left my site of imagery on the screens. I had no problem then seeing the keyboards, the screen or anything. The only thing that bothered me was bright sunlight or points of reflecting light.

My first follow-up is on Friday, then the following Monday and I expect to be driving down to San Jose myself.

I'm happy with the results!!!!

DISCLAIMER: ANY TYPOS ARE DUE TO MY "POOR" VISION ONLY THREE AND A HALF HOUR AFTER THE SURGERY!

Note: I just looked through the viewfinder of my camera and can see adequately well!!! :-)

well, perhaps TWO firsts?

A friend in Eugene, Oregon emailed me about a site where images are being requested for possible inclusion in a nice photography book for the area where I lived for almost a year: Lane County.

I have a lot of images from that area so for the past day have been looking for images from that area; I'd love to have a few of my images in such a nice book about an area of the world that I have really grown to love and miss.

I've already sent out some SPAM emails to Eugene friends to vote for my images. Of course it's a system that requires members of the website to vote for those pictures they like best. The best and most-voted images gets into the book. Probably by next week I'll have all of the images that I want to be considered and voted on, uploaded by that time.

So if you're interested in helping to getting this photographer's stuff into a book, please go by the site and register. Once registered, just drop by my profile and click on the pictures displayed at the very bottom. You can click on each or any of the pictures shown and that opens up to its separate page. On that page, you can comment if you feel like it, then looking to the right margin, you can "love" the image, or (above right) you can "DIG IT"(green) or you can "NIX IT" (red).

Aside from my images, there are some incredible images there, including some of the Northern Lights with great detailed descriptions, and some great stargazing pictures!

On the other hand, I am now preparing to go under the "knife". Next Wednesday, I'll be driving to San Jose to get my eyes operated on, and hopefully I'll be able to begin seeing through the viewfinder of my camera without glasses.

Yes, I say "hopefully" because no matter how many people you might have heard of, or know those who have undergone this type of surgery... each case is unique and what happens is also unique to them. It's like ordering a cake. I might see the cake at a party, I will order them from a album of generic designs, but MY cake is unique and no matter how much people say and how many pictures I'll see, my handmade cake is mine alone, and it's uniquely mine!!

The prospect of seeing without glasses - due to my age I'll still have to use reading glasses for very close distances - will be an interesting experience. I've worn glasses since I was 15 or so, and can't remember too many days where I walked around without glasses and still see clearly.

like my newest bumper sticker?