Life

But he was able to understand one thing: making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.

- Paulo Coehlo, The Alchemist

Ache

As I've said, being able to see is so amazing. The dryness definitely subsided, but it's not completely gone yet. But I've been getting really bad headaches. Usually in the evenings, and especially when it's very bright outside. I wear my sunglasses all the time and that helps. But the headaches are awful. Hopefully they'll be gone soon too.

I'm glad this week is over. Work just drove me mad. My students are great, but I'm so tired of this administrative nonsense - drivers, incompetent secretaries, contradictory or a complete lack of information. Burası Turkiye. This is Turkey. That's what everyone says when you complain anything. Not really an answer or reason, but ok...

I've noticed that the cats on my street seems to enjoy sleeping in people's flower boxes. So, guess what I'm gonna buy tomorrow? A flower box! I'm going to look for cilantro seeds since I always want cilantro and it's difficult to find. Maybe basil too. Or mint? I'm a habitual plant killer (although we have a small cute cactus-like? one now that I'm trying to not kill - 2 days in, so far, so good. The only problem is that I don't know what it is, so I don't know how to take care of it).

I'm getting spring fever I guess. I need some visitors or something (visit me!) Hopefully my mom will come and we'll go to Cappadocia.

I'm gonna go lay down, this headache is not good....

I broke down

I guess I was doing pretty good with the whole not complaining thing. Maybe I wasn't entirely successful, but I definitely complained less.

Until today.

Today it all came out for some reason. And you know what? It made me feel worse. But it needed to come out so I'll let it come out again here just for good measure. And hopefully it will all be gone after that.

The driver is supposed to pick me up every Tuesday and Thursday outside the Metro station at 10:30. This pickup time has not changed in 3 months. Granted, my student does cancel somewhat frequently, but I always notify the school when he does.

However, the driver, for whatever reason, is never actually there at 10:30. Anywhere between 10:45 and 10:55 he appears, asking if I've been waiting long (um YES!) and looking somewhat surprised at my answer.

Today I waited for 20 minutes in heavy winds which blew around dust and other crap from the disgusting streets (not so good for freshly lasered eyes)...I hid behind my sunglasses, scarf and hoodie.

Then after my lesson, I waited in the heavy rain outside VF for the driver who promised to be there at 1pm. I started checking my watch every minute at 1:10 and then finally around 1:25 he comes walking up asking where I've been. Um, I've been waiting here for 25 minutes I said. He said no you haven't. I drove by and you weren't here so I parked down the street. He was angry that I didn't think that he would park 1/4 mile the street. Silly me!

Then, before my next lesson, I waited again. We have a set "4:05" departure time as there is a group of us going. However, 4:05 gradually become 4:10 and then 4:15, 4:30, etc. I went up to the secretary to complain. She actually got off her ass and found the driver! And we left. But not after I slammed my head on the van door.

I arrived to argue more with the secretary who drives me batty with his lack of English, his "Yes I do" answer to everything, his lies just to piss me off.

Finally I'm home. My body is tired, my eyes are tired and I have to wake up at 7:30am tomorrow and I'll get home at 8pm. All for 4 hours of teaching.

I need a vacation.

Seeing

Being able to see without glasses is quite strange. While my vision it not yet perfect (takes a few weeks for it to stabilize and even after that I may need an enhancement), without my glasses I can see computer clock from across the room, I can see all the dust on the floor (ugh), I can see that the trees are budding.

My eyes are still dry and unfortunately this could continue for a few weeks/months. It's one of the side effects of the surgery. The dryness has greatly improved in the past few days thankfully.

What else? My friend Janine and I went to the big newish mall in Istanbul. It was quite a bizarre experience. It was like being in the US - Gap, Nine West, Banana Republic (coming soon!), etc. Everyone looked rich and American. The food court was obscenely expensive, although we did manage to find some awesome Chinese noodles for an excellent price. I got a pair of sunglasses as protecting my new eyes in both sun and clouds is extremely important.

Yesterday was Easter and I did nothing remotely Easter like. Except think about Easter candy (please send me some!!) and call my dad. I was never a huge Easter fan so my second Easter in Turkey wasn't difficult, I just missed my family.

Ok, enough writing for now, eyes are getting tired. I'll try to write more soon.

I can see!

I can see! In short, it's amazing. I haven't been able to see like this since I was about 7 years old. It's pretty damn awesome. I can't focus on the screen that well yet, so I'll write more later.

Things are happening

Yes, things are happening. Which partly explains my lack of writing in the past few weeks. But only partly.

So, about those things...

1. Tomorrow I'm getting Lasik. I'm not nervous yet, but I'm sure I will be tomorrow. Some of you have expressed concerns about getting it done in a foreign country. After visiting the hospital, those concerns didn't even cross my mind. This hospital is as nice as, if not nicer, than an American hospital. It has crystal chandeliers! Valet parking! (not to mention it's so clean that I would eat off the floor, my doctor has performed over 50,000 operations, attended numerous trainings in the US, etc.) Some of my coworkers have had Lasik done here and everything went smoothly. Plus, its like 60% cheaper than in the US.

2. Youtube is blocked again. It's getting kind of old. Someone made a video which allegedly insults Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (this is illegal in Turkey) and hence, youtube was blocked again. A temporary, yet ineffective way to deal with the problem...

3. There was an earthquake last Wednesday evening. It measured 4.8 and the epicenter was about 40 km away from Istanbul, across the Marmara Sea. Everyone felt it but me. (I guess that means my apartment building is strong?) Scientists had been predicting that a "big one" is on the way (the last "big one" was in 1999), but some are now changing their predictions based on the fault line which caused this one. So no more "big one" according to some. I'll be preparing my "earthquake bag" soon which will include my passport, socks and underwear, water, some food, etc.

4. Many Turkish workers went on strike on Friday to protest a new social security bill that would raise the retirement age from 58 for women and 60 for men to 65 (keep in mind that Turks have a shorter life span than Americans). The bill also includes other things related to disability and maternity leave and more.

So, for 2 hours on Friday the post office, schools, transportation, hospitals (open for emergencies only), municipality offices, etc. where shut. The government criticized the strike as being tyrannous towards the Turkish people for failing to provide them with the necessary services, but did agree to further examine the options. We'll see as to whether this strike will be effective in preventing the bill from being passed.

5. Probably the biggest news item of the week is that the Turkish Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals filed a request to the Constitutional Court that it disband the ruling AK Party. The AK Party is seen by much of Europe and the US as being reformist, but seen by many Turks as plotting to institute Sharia (Islamic) Law in Turkey. Many Turks are staunch secularists and see the AK Party as a threat to the foundations of the Turkish Republic and the principles of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

So, the Prosecutor case is based on "evidence" that the AK Party is a "hot bed for anti-secular activities." The main issue behind this is the recent decision (now being appealed) that would allow headscarfs (although only certain styles) to be worn in university (this reserved a ban of 20 or so years).

Of course, the European Union is going nuts about this one, as they should be. While I do not support any movements towards an Islamic style government here, I do welcome advances in human rights issues. Turkey is continually being talked by various international organizations as not doing enough to promote human rights and allowing covered girls to attend university dressed as they wish is a step in the right direction in my opinion. But, as I am not Turkish, there are many other sides to this issue that I don't and probably will never be able to understand. I don't want to get into them, just wanted to give a brief overview of my opinion.

At the same time, calling for a political party to be disbanded is not a step in the right direction. One article stated that not even the Nazi party was disbanded in Germany as it was determined to be anti-democratic. In Turkey's history, about 16 political parties have been disbanded.

Anyway, I just wanted to give some (hopefully) objective background information on what's going on here. I don't want to be too opinionated about it because I value that people have different opinions.

I saw a really great exhibit on Islamic Art that is on loan from the Louvre. If my pictures came out well, I'll post them soon.

Wish me luck for tomorrow!

For your entertainment

Don't feel much like writing these days. So instead I'll post a few recent pictures. This street is near mine and more beautiful than mine. These cats all hang out in the same place every day where an awesome old lady comes to feed them (maybe it will be me one day). Enjoy.

And remember to subscribe via email or RSS. Thanks.

Note: Having trouble uploading the others. I'll do it tomorrow.

In honor of St. Patrick

In honor of St. Patrick, I will be getting my green eyes lasered! I did my research, e-mailed my doctor several times, talked to a few friends who got it, and made my appointment. March 17 at 12:30! 13 days left of glasses! It's kind of hard to believe.

I'm gonna take 2 days off from work just to be sure. (Apparently I have 12 sick days so might as well make use of them!)

I finally bought a new couch yesterday! It's blue, converts into a bed, and has storage underneath. And I got an awesome handmade bookshelf from Izmir. Super cheap!

Spring is definitely here. Flowers are blooming, you can eat outside everywhere, and if you are a always hot American jackets are no longer necessary. However, Turks are still out in their wool sweaters and winter jackets as they will be until June. My body can just not handle that type of heat, and I despise sweating. But I have become a bit more tolerant of heat which is nice since the summer is rough here. Maybe this summer will be easier.

GO OBAMA!!!!!!

No more glasses?

Today was a beautiful sunny day. Spring is definitely here. Flowers are blooming, the air even smells differently. It's nice. Maybe I am becoming a warmer weather person!

My friend and I went to the eye hospital today for my consultation appointment. I didn't really know what to expect, but I knew that this was a reputable, famous hospital that operates on over 5,000 patients a month. They have a bunch of branches in Turkey and 2 overseas.

The call center promised me that the doctors all spoke English. And yes, he definitely spoke English quite well (aside from "Look rightwards") but the majority of the staff spoke little to no English. Which was quite interesting as I had to go through numerous tests. I had no idea where or when to put my chin on something, when to not blink, or where to look. They super dilated my pupils (on probably the brightest day of the year) which was awful.

Dr. Volkan said that I do qualify for the surgery! I was 90% sure for some reason that I wouldn't qualify. But I do! For InterLase surgery. Still reading up on exactly what that type of surgery is and how it differs from the others, but due to the strength of my prescription (quite strong) this is the best surgery for me.

As I had assume that I wouldn't qualify, I hadn't really been thinking about it recently. But now I'm going to. And I have about 2 weeks to do so since the doctor is going on vacation next week.

I've been wearing glasses since age 8 and contacts since 11 or 12. I have to wear daily contacts (which I never wear anymore) and they cost $2 per day. Being able to see in the shower would be super amazing. As would being able to see all the time!

My friend and I decided to explore this Ottoman castle today (Rumeli Hısarı) on the coast of the Bosphorus in the northern part of Istanbul. It was amazing, the views were beautiful! Of course, I didn't have my camera with me but I will definitely go back very soon. It was so nice, the air was much cleaner there, it was peaceful, wonderful.

We walked along the coast for a few hours and it was great. It reminds me of why I love this city and why I should explore it more.

Ok, time for researching the surgery and planning my landlord's lesson for tomorrow morning.