As I sit here in my hostel in Kuala Lumpur I feel like it’s time that I do an update to the blog. There are two significant things that have happened in the last two weeks since I’ve actually added a ‘real’ entry. The first is that I got a new computer and the second is that I am going in for surgery on Wednesday. Both are big to me, but maybe not that big for other people.

Somewhere during our stay in Mui Ne, Vietnam the screen on my computer was broken. Up until a few days ago I didn’t know what I was going to do, buy a new computer or have the old one fixed. The old computer has issues other than the screen so it was a real possibility that I would purchase a new one. I took the computer to a service center and they immediately told me that it was going to be very expensive, probably more than the computer was worth. I still waited for an estimate though, which came up to about $650. They were right. If the computer didn’t have all the other problems I probably would have had it fixed, but the headphone jack sometimes didn’t work, the power cord had to be replaced, and the battery only held about half a charge. There were other problems too, but those were the biggest.

After the news of how much it was going to cost I decided to buy a new computer. As luck would have it, there was a place that sold macs downstairs in the mall, so within a few minutes I was walking home with a new Mac. It’s nice but I wish that I wasn’t forced to buy it.

The first full day after arriving in KL I went to a clinic to get my problem looked at. (Normally, I’d mention the problem here, but it’s kind of personal, nothing really embarrassing, just personal, so forgive me for not telling what it is.) Anyway, I went to the clinic to verify my self-diagnosis and to hopefully get the wheels started on getting it fixed. The consultation went as I expected and I was indeed correct. The doctor gave me some options and more importantly, gave me the number of a specialist that I could talk to. I made the appointment for Saturday.

The specialist I saw was a nice guy and verified everything that the other doctor had said although he went into much more detail. The only real fix for my problem is to have corrective surgery and since I have been preparing myself for this since I first noticed the problem three weeks ago, I agreed to have surgery.

I go in on Wednesday morning for the outpatient procedure. They will administer a general anesthesia and I’ll be stuck primarily in bed for about two weeks, and be limited physically for six weeks.

One of the side benefits of this is that I had to go through some pre operation tests and although there were only three, I seem to be healthy. I also found out that I weigh only 160lbs. The last month or two I’ve would have sworn that I gained weight, but it appears that I lost about five pounds.