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Wearing glasses

I used to have glasses

OmnipresentBack when I was 13 or 14 I had to get glasses. The school did an eye test, and I was found wanting. So off to an eye specialist I went, who prescribed glasses for me.  He told me I had to wear them until I was 18, and then he’d test my eyes again to see how they were doing.

I wore those glasses for about 2-3 months then just stopped wearing them. I decided that I didn’t need them, and that was the end of it.  When I was 18, I had to go to that eye specialist though, and he did another examination.  My eyesight had improved, and he told me that was because of the glasses – it was a good thing that I’d been wearing them for the previous 5 years, he said, otherwise they’d be a lot worse.

I didn’t have the courage at the time to tell him the truth, that my eyes had gotten better without the help of the glasses.  I just accepted it at the time that things could get better without needing aids.

Looks like I might need glasses again

I’m 43 years old now, and my eyes have been fine for the past 30 years (since I was originally diagnosed as needing glasses). No eye strain, no issues, nothing.  Until recently…

I’ve been noticing that focusing on distant objects is becoming a little strained. I don’t mean I strain my eyes, I mean that I can notice the act of focusing, instead of it being an automatic action. Sometimes I even have to force my eyes to focus….

So it occurred to me that the weakness in my eyes when I was a teenager is finally catching up on me.  Not bad though, to go for 30 years without needing glasses, when I was originally diagnosed as needing to.

A few days ago, on the weekend, I booked an eye test at an optometrist for this coming Friday night (late night shopping).  I fully expect to need glasses, and I’m surprised that I’m embracing the idea.

Screen shot 2010-03-09 at 10.37.57 PM

I was checking out the optometrist’s website tonight and found that they have this very cool tool that allows you to upload your own photo, select where the centre of your eyes are, and then it superimposes glasses frames over your photo, so that it looks like you’re wearing them.  This way, you can browse the different frames and select the ones that suit you most, before you even walk in the store.

<— That’s me with the superimposed frames. Those are the ones I’ll probably be ending up with.  Luckily for me my health insurance will cover most of the cost, as they’re not exactly cheap.  (I’ve been spending $100 a month on health insurance over the past few years, about bloody time I made use of it.)

Now, the only issue I’ve got is that I also have very weak eyes, and need sunglasses.  The optometrist have a deal where you get two pairs of glasses for the price of one, which is good, so I’ll have the second pair as prescription sunglasses.  But it means I’ll need to carry around two pairs of glasses at all times.

Does anyone have any tips on how to do this, without looking like an old man carrying two pairs of glasses on cords around my neck?  And no, I’m not interested in contact lenses. I have an aversion to putting shit in my eye, so that’s out of the question.

So please feel free to leave your tips.


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