Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdmPpGbfbog
Article URL: https://thir.st/blog/celebrity-leader/
For now, here's the chord sheet of my song:
Wednesday, 14 August 2019
All You Want Me To Do
Will be writing my reflections of my song "All You Want Me To Do" sometime this year end after it was first published on Thir.st at the beginning of the year.
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdmPpGbfbog
Article URL: https://thir.st/blog/celebrity-leader/
For now, here's the chord sheet of my song:
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdmPpGbfbog
Article URL: https://thir.st/blog/celebrity-leader/
For now, here's the chord sheet of my song:
Saturday, 16 March 2019
My LASIK Experience
Have been wanting to archive this important memory for a long time now but never got down to doing it until recently because a good friend mine is now considering LASIK and she's asking me a whole bunch of questions. Haha. Thanks Suzie for triggering this post. LEL.
This happened about 2.5 years ago so my memory may have blurred, but my eyesight hasn't - still 20/20 vision yo. HAHA.
I was at Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) 2016 at Suntec City Convention & Exhibition Centre shopping for a dive trip with my dive buddies as usual when I stumbled upon this booth that had almost nothing to do with diving - Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre.
I have always wanted to do LASIK ever since some of my best friends did it. And like them, I narcissistic-ally believe that I look better without specs. HAHA. I readily admit that this is the primary driving force for my decision to undergo LASIK surgery.
The secondary driving force is for me to do LASIK is so that I can indulge in my favourite adventure sports like diving and skiing without the hassle of buying expensive diving masks and ski masks with additional spectacle lenses embedded inside them. And most of the nicer masks don't have the option of adding lenses anyway.
Ok, back to ADEX 2016...So, I had a chat with the people at the booth and they gave me a "free consultation" voucher which would save me a couple of hundred dollars of consultation fees.
THAT WAS THE MAIN BAIT. AND IT WORKED. I FELL FOR THE DAYUM VOUCHER.
So this was basically how and why I settled for Clearvision out of the many other clinics that offer LASIK surgery - because they bothered setting up a booth at ADEX. LOL. So to all the other LASIK clinics out there - do your roadshows, rent a booth space at events! IT WORKS! LEL.
I believe this is the first FAQ I answered: Why you choose Clearvision ah? Simply because they gave me a free consultation voucher at ADEX. Not because I researched all the LASIK clinics and finally found that Clearvision is the best. Nope. Marketing got me.
I went for the consultation session on 16 May 2016 and booked my LASIK surgery 6 months later on 14 Nov 2016. How do I remember those dates so vividly? Because I LASIK-ed my brain and now it has 20/20 memory. LEL. Nope. Because I took a photo of my quotation slip below.
The most important piece of information in this slip is the surgery technique/type they will be using - Epi-LASIK. Clearvision explained the procedure very clearly (pun intended) in their website: http://clearvision.com.sg/epi_lasik/
The second most important piece of information in this slip is the payment mode - They offer a 12-months INTEREST-FREE installment! This means I don't need to cough out $3600 all at once - I can pay $300 every month for a year! And that's precisely what I did.
The third most important piece of information is: the post-operation doctor's consultations within the 1st month ARE FREE.
Up till here I believe I answered the second FAQ: How much you paid for your LASIK ah? I paid $3600 in total. $300/month for a year, interest free.
The consultation lasted about an hour? Or more? I can't remember already. But I remember going through a series of tests where I gotta look into strobing lights and focus, un-focus my eyes at images and stuff. Nothing fun about it. It was really stressful for my eyes. After everything, I was cleared to be suitable for LASIK surgery and also about to clear my wallet of $3600. LOL.
That was May 2016. The surgery date I booked was in November 2016. I kept the slip of paper above for 6 months! See ladies, I'm a keeper LOL💁🏻♂
And I booked November because that was my most free month - where I could afford to take a 1 week+ MC. LOL. Not because they were so fully booked until 6 months later.
Then came November 2016. LASIK SURGERY DAY. I took MRT to the clinic. It was quite a reminiscent ride for me as I thought about how much I'll miss my spectacles :(
DON'T DRIVE there because I drove the first time and THERE'S LIKE ALMOST NO PARKING LOTS nearby!
More importantly, don't drive on your LASIK surgery day because you'll be "blind" after the surgery - you won't be able to drive back unless you got a Batmobile.
I walked apprehensively into Clearvision's clinic. I never knew the clinic's air-conditioning was so powerful until the day of operation. I waited for a good 15-20mins before being called in to be prepped. Guess what I did in those 15-20mins?
Yes, I know. Snapchat is dead. Back in 2016, it was still a thing ok? That was before Instagram came and destroyed their rice bowl. Haha.
Halfway through the reminiscent/narcissistic selfies, a female voice pierced through the hallways of the wintry clinic: "Jonavan Lee Zisheng". My name reverberated in the frigid room and I knew that my time has come.......for another selfie. HAHA.
I look like a surgeon aye? That's the ironic part of it. I'm the surgeon-ee but yet they dress me to look like a surgeon.
The eye-patch on my right eye simply meant that my left eye is gonna get zapped first. I waited long enough to take a nice selfie and even caption it. LOL. Oh that's because they dropped some numbing eye-drops into me eyeballs. It takes some time for it to take effect.
Next thing I knew, I was lying in a operating chair. They clipped some stuff over my eyeballs to hold it in place.
Dr. Tony then instructed "Ok, relax. You look at this light here ok? Relax and keep looking at this light"
My heart was palpitating profusely as I uttered the most nervous "Ok" in my entire life (I think).
I looked at the light and as I looked, suddenly the sharp image of the light in my eye became a bokeh light. I knew there and then that my eyeball had been shot. But I felt nothing. Barely a minute later or less, Dr. Tony was like "Ok done" and he flooded my eyes with some liquid before sticking the "eyeball plaster" over my left eye.
Once that was done, it was time for my next eye to go under the knife - or in this case, go under the laser light. #OkCan.
My right eye was the problem-child. As I looked into the light, my right eye COULD FEEL THE SHOTS!
I FELT PAIN! In reaction to that pain, I began to "squeeze my eye". When your eyeball is held open by some foreign apparatus and you try to close it, the "squeeze eye" phenomenon happens.
At this point, Dr. Tony was like "DON'T SQUEEZE YOUR EYE, RELAX YOUR EYE AND LOOK INTO THE LIGHT"
But I couldn't! My eyeball was feeling it! And I told Dr. Tony. But he was like "I think the numbing eye drop effect may have worn out. But never mind, keep looking into the light. Relax. It'll be over in a few more seconds!"
But I still "squeezed" my eyeball in fear and reaction to the pain and Dr. Tony was shouting "RELAX!" and I'm like "HOW TO RELAX WHEN YOU'RE SHOUTING!" LOL. But no I didn't verbalize that. HAHA.
This went on for a few more times as I forced myself to relax and look at the light.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, Dr. Tony was like "Ok, we're done!"
I'm like "WHEW" and Dr. Tony wasn't done with his discourse.
"Thank goodness the surgery went well even though you kept squeezing your eye." said Dr. Tony in a chastising tone.
I wanted to respond "Oei, your nurse never drop enough numbing eye drop can?" but my eyeballs were injured so it's a bad time to pick a fight. LOL.
I was then led out of the operating theatre and into a very dark room where they sat me down in a nice, comfy armchair. The nurse then came and flooded my eyes with more numbing eye drops and she told me to just close my eyes, sit and wait there and she'll come back to attend to me.
My vision was super blurry and teary. My eyes kept tearing. I think I could've died of dehydration if not for my water parade earlier. LOL.
As I sat there, all was calm, until suddenly, there were jolts of searing pain in my eyes. They came intermittently and without warning. I would suddenly feel this acute pain that jabbed my eyes. But it was a fleeting one. I would tense up in reaction to the pain and it would leave almost immediately after.
This went on for awhile. About 30mins or 1hr later, the nurse came back and dropped medicine into my eyes and those sudden bouts of pain stopped. Whew.
Once a whole round of medicine application was done, she put on a pair of shades for me, passed me a "Post Epi-LASIK surgery care" document and told me to follow it.
What an irony. You're giving me reading material after you just laser blasted my eyeballs? What in the world? Ok, drama aside, she read it out and told me to get my family to help me with it. Haha. Here's the "Post Epi-LASIK surgery care" document:
I was done! I'm given a one-week MC and now I've to cab back. I surprisingly managed to unlock my phone and open my Grab app but I couldn't key in my destination. LOL. So the nurse helped me with that and I was on my way home.
The next few days was hell. My eyeballs kept watering non-stop! I kept sleeping but it didn't really help. Maybe selfie-ing might help?
Nope, selfie-ing didn't help either. HAHA. The thing about having your eyes in an out-of-service mode is...YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING.
If you break your leg or dislocate your shoulder, you can still lie down in the hospital bed, read a book, watch TV or videos on your devices. But when you lose your sight...DAMNNN you can't do no shit yo.
So what I did was listen to music and sleep. Until my MC was used up. Sigh. I had to go back to work.
When I returned to my cubicle in Tampines North CC, I realised my desk area became a temporary store room. LOL.
I was the coolest dude at work I tell ya. Because I had to have my shades on😎 HAHA. This led to everyone asking me "Eh why you wearing shades indoors ah?"
And back then, I was working in People's Association, in Tampines North CC as a constituency manager. So this meant that I had to associate with people - yes, meet a lot of people - organize and attend events. So, my LASIK was the talk of the town that week. LOL.
I had to go back for consultations every week and Dr. Tony would check on my eye: "Rest your chin here and open your eyes" and he would peer into my eyeballs via a huge magnifying glass.
"Good. Your eyes are healing well. Continue to apply your medicine drops and I'll see you next week."
A barely 3-min consultation (excluding the traveling & waiting time) like that would've cost me $50 if not for the free 1-month consultation included in the package.
My eyes stopped watering so much during the middle of 2nd week onwards. The watering stopped after a month or so? I can't remember. But I didn't get perfect eyesight! My sight was still blurry!
On the 3rd or 4th week during the consultation, Dr. Tony removed my "eye plaster". I didn't even know it was still there!
He used some stick to swipe it off my first eye. The first one came out nice and easy. The second one, I kept blinking and reacting to his advances. LOL.
He kept trying to swipe it out but I was too defensive and he got frustrated and took a pair of tweezers and clipped it out. LEL. Fast hands I must say.
After the whole saga Dr. Tony curtly commented "Whoa you so sensitive I don't even know how your LASIK surgery was successful."
I'm like "Jonavan, your eyeballs are still injured, don't pick a fight." HAHA.
The next few weeks was ok already. My eyes no longer watered and I could live normally BUT my eyesight WASN'T PERFECT.
After 2 whole months, my eyesight still wasn't 20/20! I got nervous and began reading forums. I read that some people took 6 months to get their 20/20 eyesight and I'm like GAWD NO. WHY SO LONG?
And some people got their perfect eyesight in like 3 weeks? Life is so unfair. But it all boils down to your body - how fast it heals and stuff?
My perfect eyesight came only about 3 WHOLE MONTHS LATER. DAMMNN. Talk about patience.
And if you're wondering how it happened. Well, it just happened. I woke up one day to realize that "Hey, I can see clearly!" Just like that. Like a miracle.
Yup, 3 years on my eyes still have perfect vision. I see the world clearly now. I dive the oceans with a nice mask and ski them mountains with a nice ski mask as well.
No longer will I need to make expensive custom-made diving/ski masks with degree lenses. Yay!
So if you ask me if the $3600 spent was worth it. I'd say without a shadow of a doubt, YES, it was well worth it.
I would definitely recommend Clearvision because the rates are cheaper than many of my friends' ones. Most of them paid about $4k-ish and I don't think the payment was an interest-free 12-month installment package.
But then again, to each his own. You might have run-ins with Dr. Tony, you might be quoted a higher price since it's 2019 - inflation is a very real thing, you might not get a free consultation, etc.
All in all, I'd say the risk is well worth it. The longer you wait, the lower the risk of having a botched surgery. That's simply because, more patients will undergo LASIK over time and statistically, the good outcomes will overshadow the bad ones bringing the percentage of botched surgeries down. It's just statistics.
And the longer you wait, it also mean that the technology improves so you might be in safer algorithmic hands now.
But the longer you wait also means the later you will receive your perfect eyesight.
I was asking my best friend who did LASIK before me "You do your LASIK so early then next time your eyesight will also deteriorate earlier what"
And he was like "Now is the prime of my life. Do you want perfect eyesight in your late 40s or 50s? Or do you want perfect eyesight in your prime years?"
The statement he made settled my soul. So the more you wait simply means your perfect eyesight is coming at a later stage of your life. And at that stage of your life, will you still be doing diving, skiing and wanting to look pretty/handsome in your photos? I guess not.
Go book your LASIK appointment today!
This happened about 2.5 years ago so my memory may have blurred, but my eyesight hasn't - still 20/20 vision yo. HAHA.
I was at Asia Dive Expo (ADEX) 2016 at Suntec City Convention & Exhibition Centre shopping for a dive trip with my dive buddies as usual when I stumbled upon this booth that had almost nothing to do with diving - Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre.
I have always wanted to do LASIK ever since some of my best friends did it. And like them, I narcissistic-ally believe that I look better without specs. HAHA. I readily admit that this is the primary driving force for my decision to undergo LASIK surgery.
The secondary driving force is for me to do LASIK is so that I can indulge in my favourite adventure sports like diving and skiing without the hassle of buying expensive diving masks and ski masks with additional spectacle lenses embedded inside them. And most of the nicer masks don't have the option of adding lenses anyway.
Ok, back to ADEX 2016...So, I had a chat with the people at the booth and they gave me a "free consultation" voucher which would save me a couple of hundred dollars of consultation fees.
THAT WAS THE MAIN BAIT. AND IT WORKED. I FELL FOR THE DAYUM VOUCHER.
So this was basically how and why I settled for Clearvision out of the many other clinics that offer LASIK surgery - because they bothered setting up a booth at ADEX. LOL. So to all the other LASIK clinics out there - do your roadshows, rent a booth space at events! IT WORKS! LEL.
I believe this is the first FAQ I answered: Why you choose Clearvision ah? Simply because they gave me a free consultation voucher at ADEX. Not because I researched all the LASIK clinics and finally found that Clearvision is the best. Nope. Marketing got me.
I went for the consultation session on 16 May 2016 and booked my LASIK surgery 6 months later on 14 Nov 2016. How do I remember those dates so vividly? Because I LASIK-ed my brain and now it has 20/20 memory. LEL. Nope. Because I took a photo of my quotation slip below.
 |
| Quotation for my LASIK |
The second most important piece of information in this slip is the payment mode - They offer a 12-months INTEREST-FREE installment! This means I don't need to cough out $3600 all at once - I can pay $300 every month for a year! And that's precisely what I did.
The third most important piece of information is: the post-operation doctor's consultations within the 1st month ARE FREE.
Up till here I believe I answered the second FAQ: How much you paid for your LASIK ah? I paid $3600 in total. $300/month for a year, interest free.
The consultation lasted about an hour? Or more? I can't remember already. But I remember going through a series of tests where I gotta look into strobing lights and focus, un-focus my eyes at images and stuff. Nothing fun about it. It was really stressful for my eyes. After everything, I was cleared to be suitable for LASIK surgery and also about to clear my wallet of $3600. LOL.
That was May 2016. The surgery date I booked was in November 2016. I kept the slip of paper above for 6 months! See ladies, I'm a keeper LOL💁🏻♂
And I booked November because that was my most free month - where I could afford to take a 1 week+ MC. LOL. Not because they were so fully booked until 6 months later.
Then came November 2016. LASIK SURGERY DAY. I took MRT to the clinic. It was quite a reminiscent ride for me as I thought about how much I'll miss my spectacles :(
 |
| Pre-LASIK surgery MRT thoughts |
DON'T DRIVE there because I drove the first time and THERE'S LIKE ALMOST NO PARKING LOTS nearby!
More importantly, don't drive on your LASIK surgery day because you'll be "blind" after the surgery - you won't be able to drive back unless you got a Batmobile.
I walked apprehensively into Clearvision's clinic. I never knew the clinic's air-conditioning was so powerful until the day of operation. I waited for a good 15-20mins before being called in to be prepped. Guess what I did in those 15-20mins?
 |
| L. O. L. |
 |
| One of my last photos with my beautiful blue frame specs :'( |
Halfway through the reminiscent/narcissistic selfies, a female voice pierced through the hallways of the wintry clinic: "Jonavan Lee Zisheng". My name reverberated in the frigid room and I knew that my time has come.......for another selfie. HAHA.
 |
| Decked in my LASIK surgery attire |
The eye-patch on my right eye simply meant that my left eye is gonna get zapped first. I waited long enough to take a nice selfie and even caption it. LOL. Oh that's because they dropped some numbing eye-drops into me eyeballs. It takes some time for it to take effect.
Next thing I knew, I was lying in a operating chair. They clipped some stuff over my eyeballs to hold it in place.
Dr. Tony then instructed "Ok, relax. You look at this light here ok? Relax and keep looking at this light"
My heart was palpitating profusely as I uttered the most nervous "Ok" in my entire life (I think).
I looked at the light and as I looked, suddenly the sharp image of the light in my eye became a bokeh light. I knew there and then that my eyeball had been shot. But I felt nothing. Barely a minute later or less, Dr. Tony was like "Ok done" and he flooded my eyes with some liquid before sticking the "eyeball plaster" over my left eye.
Once that was done, it was time for my next eye to go under the knife - or in this case, go under the laser light. #OkCan.
My right eye was the problem-child. As I looked into the light, my right eye COULD FEEL THE SHOTS!
I FELT PAIN! In reaction to that pain, I began to "squeeze my eye". When your eyeball is held open by some foreign apparatus and you try to close it, the "squeeze eye" phenomenon happens.
At this point, Dr. Tony was like "DON'T SQUEEZE YOUR EYE, RELAX YOUR EYE AND LOOK INTO THE LIGHT"
But I couldn't! My eyeball was feeling it! And I told Dr. Tony. But he was like "I think the numbing eye drop effect may have worn out. But never mind, keep looking into the light. Relax. It'll be over in a few more seconds!"
But I still "squeezed" my eyeball in fear and reaction to the pain and Dr. Tony was shouting "RELAX!" and I'm like "HOW TO RELAX WHEN YOU'RE SHOUTING!" LOL. But no I didn't verbalize that. HAHA.
This went on for a few more times as I forced myself to relax and look at the light.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, Dr. Tony was like "Ok, we're done!"
I'm like "WHEW" and Dr. Tony wasn't done with his discourse.
"Thank goodness the surgery went well even though you kept squeezing your eye." said Dr. Tony in a chastising tone.
I wanted to respond "Oei, your nurse never drop enough numbing eye drop can?" but my eyeballs were injured so it's a bad time to pick a fight. LOL.
I was then led out of the operating theatre and into a very dark room where they sat me down in a nice, comfy armchair. The nurse then came and flooded my eyes with more numbing eye drops and she told me to just close my eyes, sit and wait there and she'll come back to attend to me.
My vision was super blurry and teary. My eyes kept tearing. I think I could've died of dehydration if not for my water parade earlier. LOL.
As I sat there, all was calm, until suddenly, there were jolts of searing pain in my eyes. They came intermittently and without warning. I would suddenly feel this acute pain that jabbed my eyes. But it was a fleeting one. I would tense up in reaction to the pain and it would leave almost immediately after.
This went on for awhile. About 30mins or 1hr later, the nurse came back and dropped medicine into my eyes and those sudden bouts of pain stopped. Whew.
Once a whole round of medicine application was done, she put on a pair of shades for me, passed me a "Post Epi-LASIK surgery care" document and told me to follow it.
What an irony. You're giving me reading material after you just laser blasted my eyeballs? What in the world? Ok, drama aside, she read it out and told me to get my family to help me with it. Haha. Here's the "Post Epi-LASIK surgery care" document:
 |
| Clearvision's "Post Epi-LASIK surgery care" document page 1 |
 |
| Clearvision's "Post Epi-LASIK surgery care" document page2 |
 |
| Clearvision's "Post Epi-LASIK surgery care" document page 3 |
The next few days was hell. My eyeballs kept watering non-stop! I kept sleeping but it didn't really help. Maybe selfie-ing might help?
 |
| My super watery eyeballs |
If you break your leg or dislocate your shoulder, you can still lie down in the hospital bed, read a book, watch TV or videos on your devices. But when you lose your sight...DAMNNN you can't do no shit yo.
So what I did was listen to music and sleep. Until my MC was used up. Sigh. I had to go back to work.
When I returned to my cubicle in Tampines North CC, I realised my desk area became a temporary store room. LOL.
 |
| My humble abode in Tampines North CC |
And back then, I was working in People's Association, in Tampines North CC as a constituency manager. So this meant that I had to associate with people - yes, meet a lot of people - organize and attend events. So, my LASIK was the talk of the town that week. LOL.
 |
| LASIK - the perfect excuse to act cool and wear shades indoors and basically everywhere you go. |
"Good. Your eyes are healing well. Continue to apply your medicine drops and I'll see you next week."
A barely 3-min consultation (excluding the traveling & waiting time) like that would've cost me $50 if not for the free 1-month consultation included in the package.
My eyes stopped watering so much during the middle of 2nd week onwards. The watering stopped after a month or so? I can't remember. But I didn't get perfect eyesight! My sight was still blurry!
On the 3rd or 4th week during the consultation, Dr. Tony removed my "eye plaster". I didn't even know it was still there!
He used some stick to swipe it off my first eye. The first one came out nice and easy. The second one, I kept blinking and reacting to his advances. LOL.
He kept trying to swipe it out but I was too defensive and he got frustrated and took a pair of tweezers and clipped it out. LEL. Fast hands I must say.
After the whole saga Dr. Tony curtly commented "Whoa you so sensitive I don't even know how your LASIK surgery was successful."
I'm like "Jonavan, your eyeballs are still injured, don't pick a fight." HAHA.
The next few weeks was ok already. My eyes no longer watered and I could live normally BUT my eyesight WASN'T PERFECT.
After 2 whole months, my eyesight still wasn't 20/20! I got nervous and began reading forums. I read that some people took 6 months to get their 20/20 eyesight and I'm like GAWD NO. WHY SO LONG?
And some people got their perfect eyesight in like 3 weeks? Life is so unfair. But it all boils down to your body - how fast it heals and stuff?
My perfect eyesight came only about 3 WHOLE MONTHS LATER. DAMMNN. Talk about patience.
And if you're wondering how it happened. Well, it just happened. I woke up one day to realize that "Hey, I can see clearly!" Just like that. Like a miracle.
Yup, 3 years on my eyes still have perfect vision. I see the world clearly now. I dive the oceans with a nice mask and ski them mountains with a nice ski mask as well.
No longer will I need to make expensive custom-made diving/ski masks with degree lenses. Yay!
So if you ask me if the $3600 spent was worth it. I'd say without a shadow of a doubt, YES, it was well worth it.
I would definitely recommend Clearvision because the rates are cheaper than many of my friends' ones. Most of them paid about $4k-ish and I don't think the payment was an interest-free 12-month installment package.
But then again, to each his own. You might have run-ins with Dr. Tony, you might be quoted a higher price since it's 2019 - inflation is a very real thing, you might not get a free consultation, etc.
All in all, I'd say the risk is well worth it. The longer you wait, the lower the risk of having a botched surgery. That's simply because, more patients will undergo LASIK over time and statistically, the good outcomes will overshadow the bad ones bringing the percentage of botched surgeries down. It's just statistics.
And the longer you wait, it also mean that the technology improves so you might be in safer algorithmic hands now.
But the longer you wait also means the later you will receive your perfect eyesight.
I was asking my best friend who did LASIK before me "You do your LASIK so early then next time your eyesight will also deteriorate earlier what"
And he was like "Now is the prime of my life. Do you want perfect eyesight in your late 40s or 50s? Or do you want perfect eyesight in your prime years?"
The statement he made settled my soul. So the more you wait simply means your perfect eyesight is coming at a later stage of your life. And at that stage of your life, will you still be doing diving, skiing and wanting to look pretty/handsome in your photos? I guess not.
Go book your LASIK appointment today!
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