3-yr-old vision
sunday, march 24, 2002


i'm not quite blind, but i might as well be. last night the frame of my glasses broke and i am now wearing a pair that's over 3 years old. this is not fun. they are tinted so the world looks darker than i'm used to (i swear i'm squinting even though i'm trying not to) and the depth perception is way off. i've been wearing them for a few hours now - if they were right i would have adjusted by this time. they aren't right; i'm not adjusted.

my old glasses were these small wire framed things and i really didn't like them much on my face, but i'd really rather be wearing them right now. as much as they hid my eyes, i could at see without feeling like there was a film over my eyes. i can see, i can read, but everything is slightly off. it takes me a minute to focus. and it's a pain in the butt.

if only those were the only problems.

i'm not covered under any vision insurance. the good news is i have unbroken older frames so i can just get the lenses. the bad news is even just purchasing the lenses is going to be expensive. i have a completely outrageous prescription because of being massively nearsighted and having the astigmatism from hell. contacts cost $450, which is why i don't have any contacts. just lenses shouldn't cost me quite that much, but both pairs that i can get relensed are what are called oversized, meaning the lenses are like 2-1/2" x 2" and about 1/4" thick. while they will be cheaper than lenses plus frames, they won't be truly cheap. heck, they won't even fall into the affordable category.

i even tried super glue folks. super glue! the frames broke again when i tried to pop the lenses back in. so, i'm stuck buying new lenses.

i will be able to get them at the beginning of next month since my check from school is supposed to be mailed late this week. but this has totally harpooned our plans for some of that money. i was going to pick up a playstation 2 for the family. expensive, yes, but most games are coming out for ps2 now and it was going to be for all of us. now i can't, unless i give up my class ring and i don't want to do that. i've earned that sucker in the past year alone.

just when you think you've got everything you really need and want covered, something has to go and put holes in all your plans. even if the lenses are cheaper than what i think they'll be, i had everything precisely figured out. even $50 tunnels my plans into desolation.

i suppose i could try to continue using the glasses that are over 3 years old. but i'm going to have to live with this choice for at least another 3 years and it's just too much work trying to see through 3-year-old vision.