something other than running - midterms and eyes

i posted a facebook status update earlier in the week that said 'if you want to take your mind of a marathon, study for a midterm.' there are many more ideal ways i'd rather use to take my mind off a marathon, but this is my best choice right now. i guess i could do other things, but then i wouldn't do very well on the midterm i have thursday afternoon, the day before i leave for albany. not a big deal, but it's really taking all my time outside of work and running/training. it's even stealing some my sleep, which is the worst. i like to be in bed early since i get up before most everyone in hattiesburg. the silver lining, we're at the midterm of the semester.

another one of the dilemmas on my mind is my contact lenses. i have to wear hard contact lenses due to some issues i have, but i began having some problems associated with dry eyes which caused some uncomfortable issues. my contacts were burning, developing a film and impossible to wear. we've tried a couple of different things and currently, i'm trying out a special made pair of hard lenses that have a tiny hole drilled in the front middle and a pair of soft. those who wear hard know how wonderful the idea of soft is. my dilemma has many layers. one, the soft lenses are wonderful, but i don't see quite as sharp with them. the hard are pretty comfortable, and i see well with them, but i worry about the same issues happening again with this pair. seems it would be simple to just choose the soft. well, the soft will cost me significantly twice a year, whereas the hard i won't have to pay for. i'm still under a warranty, so i can keep these new ones at no charge and order a new pair later on down the road, like years down the road. so, i'm struggling with what to do. of course i want the soft...

a little more background on the eyes... i have some pretty funky eyes. i have a condition called coloboma. basically it is a situation in which there is a hole in one of the structures of the eye - iris, retina, choroid, or optic disc. it is present at birth and can be caused when a gap called the choroid fissure between two structures in the eye fails to close up before birth. the effects can be mild or severe, depending on the size and the location of the gap. if only a small part of the iris is missing, the vision can be normal. if a larger portion of the retina or optic nerve is missing, vision can be poor and a large part of the visual field missing. colobomas can come with other issues, like smaller eyes, or other vision related issues, or things more severe like malformations in part of the body, such as cleft palates, hearing impairments, growth or development delays, central nervous system abnormalities, decreased vision in bright or extreme lights (this is one of mine), and congenital heart defects. about .5 to .7 out of 10,000 are born with colobomas. what is most unusual is that my sister has the same thing. she and i are both lucky with our problems being very similar, but she does have worse vision than i do.

i am very lucky that my colobomas are mild. i do have a pretty significant astigmatism, and i have congenital cataracts which will need surgery at some point. however, compared to the average person with vision problems, my eyes are pretty good. my colobomas cause my pupils to be shaped like upside down teardrops, almost like cat eyes. another issue i have is the light sensitivity because i have more light entering my eyes that the normal eye. i must have sunglasses when driving, even on cloudy days when a glare is present. i also get quite a few questions from complete strangers. the picture to the right is similar to how mine looks. so if you've ever wondered about my eyes, but were afraid to ask, there you go. and trust me, if we're friends or i know you, it is ok to ask.

i will hopefully do well on my midterm and be on my merry way to albany the next day, with both types of contacts in tow. i have decided to put my decision off until next week. maybe after a good marathon and an A on a midterm (fingers crossed!!!), i will have clarity. ha!