One day in fifth grade, I arrived to school and couldn’t see anything. My world had suddenly become a blur. The previous day, I had sat at my desk at the back of the classroom, watching the teacher at the blackboard, and all was fine. The next day, no matter how close I got to the blackboard, I couldn’t make out any of the writing on it. That afternoon, I went to the optometrist. For several days afterward, I walked around in an impressionist-style world full of soft edges, until my glasses arrived.

That lasted for 22 years, during which I went through numerous pairs of glasses and contact lenses. Over the years, my vision became worse and worse, to the point where if I wasn’t wearing my glasses or contact lenses, I couldn’t make out shapes, only areas of color. One day I suddenly thought to myself, “If I were kidnapped and my kidnappers took away my glasses, or my contact lenses dried up, then I would have virtually no chance of survival. Even if I were to escape, I probably wouldn’t survive.”

I investigated Lasik surgery and discovered I was a fair candidate. The doctor warned me before the surgery that because my eyesight was so deteriorated, he couldn’t promise that I would have 20/20 vision after the surgery. He also said that once I turned 40, my eyesight would probably degenerate and I would need glasses again. Even with those caveats, I felt the surgery would be worth it.

I woke up the day after the surgery with 20/15 vision. I was ecstatic. I walked around, just staring at things. My favorite thing to do was wake up, keep my eyes shut, then open them quickly, and see how far I could focus on something. I could swim. I could camp. I could see. I could see!

That lasted for almost ten years. Ten, glorious, sight-ful years. Recently, however, I noticed that things were beginning to become slightly blurry. I could still see, but there’s not the crispness that there was before. So I got glasses (again). I’m not quite in the habit of wearing them. So every now and then, I’ll be watching a movie, or walking at night, and remember I have glasses. And it’s such a treat to put them on and have everything be clear once again.

My trip back to San Francisco began at the Savannah airport. All was going smoothly until I was about to exit the TSA security line. One of the agents pulled my backpack and said they needed to run additional tests on it. He asked me not to touch it until he was done. As I was standing there, a woman grabbed her shoes and purse from the conveyor belt (after they had been scanned) and started running towards a gate. She may have had good reason to do so, but the Savannah TSA agents did not like it. They liked it even less when they directed her to stop and she kept running.

Guess what happens in a situation like this?

Total lockdown. An extra six or seven agents appeared out of nowhere. They stopped everything. No conveyor belts moved, no one was allowed to enter or exit the TSA area. I felt as though I were in travel purgatory. A couple of agents found the woman and brought her back to the security area. They then re-scanned her shoes, belt, and purse, bomb-tested several items in her purse, and gave her a pat-down. For about 15 minutes she was the center of attention of all of the TSA agents.

As I watched this, I wondered, “Is this really necessary?” When brought back, the woman apologized over and over. It sounded as though she had gotten separated from her daughter and was running to the gate to find her. Her items had already gone through the scanner when she took them off the conveyor belt. The only difference between her and the other travelers was the speed with which she exited the security area.

My takeaway – no sudden movements when surrounded by TSA agents.

Russia
The colorful onion domes of the Russian Orthodox churches have always fascinated me. In photographs, they seem too perfect to be real. Part of me wants to go during the summer, to experience the legendary white nights of St Petersburg. And part of me feels I can’t really experience Russia unless I go in the midst of winter, among swirling snow storms.

Ireland
Castles, rolling green hills, and Guinness? What’s not to love?

The Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
I’d love to see firsthand the diversity of the wildlife there: turtles, seals, penguins, whales, herons, flamingos, albatross. Some of my absolute favorite vacations have been on islands; I wouldn’t expect this to be any different.

As a way of reflecting on the year, I went through my photos taken in 2010 and chose my top ten (plus one). Click on each photo for a short description of where it was taken and why I like it.

I was a prolific writer when I lived in Korea, not only posting everyday, but sometimes multiple times a day. Back then, when people asked me if I had a blog, I could truthfully say, “Yes.” I considered myself a writer.

And then I moved back to the US. I still wrote, but not as often. When people asked me if I had a blog, I usually replied, “Yeah, but I don’t write as often as I used to.”

And then I stopped writing. I’m not sure why. It just kind of happened. A week, or a month, or a year would go by and I would realize I had not posted anything. I would think of stories I wanted to share, but never got around to putting them to print. And I realized I missed it. A lot.When people asked me if I had a blog, I tried to change the topic, not wanting to admit I hadn’t written in over a year.

This year, I was offered the opportunity to work at Automattic. I loved the work I was doing at Room to Read. I was also intrigued about the opportunity to join Automattic, working with people who are passionate about making the web a better place, particularly for writers through projects like WordPress. Almost all Automatticians have blogs and I was excited about being around people who are passionate about sharing their ideas.

This week, Automattic launched a campaign to support bloggers to write more. Specifically, once a day, or once a week, or a self-set goal. I’m signing up. Care to join me? Yes? Awesome. Find more details here.