Well, I guess different doctors do it differently, but I was NOT anesthetized. I was awake so the doc could direct me to look at a little red light, etc. But I felt nothing, and I certainly couldn't see the procedure being done.
Second one was just like the first one. I guess my cataracts weren't that bad, and colors seemed about the same afterwards as before. The main change was that I no longer needed to wear contacts, although I did need a followup (YAG laser) procedure to remove some kind of cloudiness after a month or so. I now need readers, but that's because I didn't want one eye close up and the other one distance vision. If you can handle differential vision, go for it and you probably won't need readers.
The surgery is a breeze - no pain, no strain, no eye patch. Just be ready to use LOTS of eye drops before and after the surgery.