I Suck At Getting New Glasses

A few weeks ago, my eighteen month old ninja daughter (Briana) snatched the glasses off of my face. Within a matter of seconds, she managed to snap the part that goes over your ear off. Unfortunately, I do not have a spare set of eyeglasses. So since that time, I have been wearing those broken glasses, complete with a thick layer of duct tape holding the pieces together. (It's true. Duct tape solves everything.)

I guess you could say that I suck at getting new glasses. After all, the high-flying-ninja-eyeglass-breaking-event was over three weeks ago. All of that changed on Saturday when my new glasses finally arrived. And boy was I excited.

I was particularly excited, not because I wouldn't have to wear duct-taped glasses anymore (although there was some excitement for that), but because I was curious as to how the particular eyeglass would be like since I was ordering them online.

When Briana broke my eyeglasses, I started to think about the ROI involved with purchasing new glasses. For anyone curious, ROI stands for return on investment. ROI is a general financial term that describes the ratio of money gained/lossed to the money invested. And by no means am I a financial person.

Based on my memory (which is spotty at best), the cost of eyeglasses and frames could cost well over $300 at a retail store. So I started to think about what if, after buying a $300 pair of new glasses, my ninja daughter did the same thing again and broke those new glasses. (This is where I add the infamous quote: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.")

Needless to say, it did not make sense to me to spend that much on eyeglasses especially with my curious daughter around. So I did some research into online stores for glasses. I ended up ordering glasses from Goggles4U, which was a reputable place.

And as luck would have it, I still had a copy of my prescription for the glasses that Briana broke. So after browsing through their website, I ordered a pair of glasses on sale for $13.98 ($8.99 plus $4.99 shipping). Sounds sketchy, right? After all, how could glasses be that cheap in comparison to retail stores?

Well, let me tell you... I was pleasantly surprised with the new glasses. I'd definitely order from them again. The new glasses came in a case, complete with a cleaning cloth and a screwdriver key chain. And to boot, the glasses actually looked nice. I was impressed.

Anyway, to celebrate the new glasses, Karen, Briana and I headed over to my favorite sister-in-law's (Janine) to celebrate. Okay, the reason was not to celebrate my glasses. Janine actually invited us over because she was having her BFF (Gretchen) over, as well as my friends (Jen and Bill). It was good seeing everyone. We even joked about fat pictures. It was funny.

I Suck At Breaking Glasses

I suck at breaking glasses. Luckily, my seventeen month daughter (Briana) is not so bad at it. After all, she broke my glasses today.

Like I am apt to do, I was holding Briana in my arms. Like a ninja, she snatched the glasses right off of my face. From there, she started bending the frame. The next thing I know... SNAP! It all happened in mere seconds.

The temple splintered off. For anyone curious, the temple is the part of the eyeglass that is attached to the hinge. It runs along the side of your head and connects to the temple tips which wraps around your ears.

I now have a pair of broken glasses. I considered taping the temple to the hinge with rolls upon rolls of tape, but I don't think it would hold. So I guess I'll be visiting an eyeglass store in the very near future. Laser corrective eye surgery is looking better and better now.

I Suck At Eye Appointments

today, i had an eye appointment. now, i suck at eye appointments. according to my records, i have not had an eye appointment since 2006. (i believe the recommended time frame for eye appointments is every two years according to my optometrist.) it being 2009, i was due for an eye appointment. plus, karen has been nudging me to get an eye exam. awhile ago, the lenses in my glasses started to crack. (it must be the heat from my piercing eyes... or possibly the multiple hits to my head from working on the house.) concerned, karen wanted me to get an eye exam so that i could get a prescription for new lenses.

because it has been awhile since my last eye appointment, the only thing i vaguely remember about an eye exam is sitting with my face in a contraption that blew a puff of air into my eyes. for anyone curious, that was a glaucoma test and the machine used is called a tonometer. the tonometer calculates the intraocular pressure based on the eye's resistance to the puff of air.

anyway, i always thought the tonometer was an odd machine. lucky for me, i didn't have air blown into my eyes this time around. the glaucoma test this time around involved the application of a yellow eye drop and a blue glowing instrument in front of each eye to measure the pressure. it was neat.

probably, the only thing that i did not like about the eye exam today was the slit-lamp examination, which involves the shining of a bright light into your eye while you sit with your face in the contraption. the slit-lamp is basically a microscope that allows the doctor to see a highly magnified image of your eye. the light is so blinding. i actually started to tear. lucky for me, both my eyes have working tear ducts... unlike my friend (hot amy).

all in all, i'm happy with the eye exam. the doctor (dr. hopkins) told me that all i needed was a slight tweak to my prescription, which is not bad. i was fearing that my vision had gotten worse. among the other things dr. hopkins mentioned was that lasik is not a good option for me because my vision is not that bad yet. (i believe she used the term "borderline"... so maybe in a few more years...) so i guess that is good news.

dr. hopkins also suggested that i avoid contacts too... in part because i told her that i have trouble sticking things into my eyes. i have trouble putting eye drops into my eyes. i can only imagine how hard it would be to put contacts into my eyes. but give me a video of an eye surgery, and i'll be there watching it... with popcorn. i sure would love to see the video of my favorite sister-in-law's (janine) eye surgery again. that would be good entertainment.