Vision follow up

A couple of weeks ago, I went in for an eye exam. It had been three years since my last exam and I knew a new prescription was needed. Here is the post about it.

On Thursday, I got the glasses from the OSU Optometry Clinic. I like them. I see a bit better, but there's still something not right. The best prescription I ever had was in the late eighties in Fredonia. The difference then was amazing, I could see the small price numbers on the shelves in front of the liquor store from the cash register. No optician has come close since.



They're very light and the high index lenses really make the lens much thinner. I'm a -8 to a -9. The technology continues to improve.

Today I received my sunglasses from Zenni.com.



I admit to being a bit confused when I opened the case and saw clear lenses. It took a few minutes to remember I ordered polychromatic lenses, which darken when exposed to UV light. When I took them outside during a short window of winter time sun in Ohio and the lenses darkened I was thrilled. The prescription is filled well, the frames seem sturdy and look good.

This might be a game changer. The glasses from the optometry clinic were $225. Granted the lenses are high index, and I like those, but this was also after insurance kicked in its share.

What came from zenni.com cost $60. Granted the lenses are polycarbonate and they are a bit thicker, in part because the frames are wider but get this - if I wanted transition lenses from the optometry clinic it would have run me $61 extra.

The price difference is quite profound, and with the cost of frames going higher and higher it makes financial sense to purchase through a reputable company. I have friends who buy through zenni.com with no complaints. I would have purchased from Warby Parker but they cannot fill my prescription. If you're going to buy your glasses online, have a current prescription and your pupillary distance, and good luck! I just looked at the site, shopping for another pair.

And good for Bourbon too

I appreciate a good glass with my beverages. Of course, there are times when I'll drink out of anything but when you have a decent drink of something it's pleasing to be drinking it out of a proper glass.

I've had fine wines out of hand blown Riedel crystal glasses and have noted the differences, especially in the aromas. Does a $75 glass make a $100 wine taste better? Not really, but there are flavors and smells that are brighter.

Having a wine glass with a stem is important. Spending money on wine when dining out and getting it in something that resembles a bathroom tumbler is bad form. Sure, I get that a place wants to save money on breakage, but really? I've ranted about this before.

There's a really good newer place downtown called Manifesto Tuscan & Scotch Bar. The food is decent, the ambience interesting and the whisky selection is excellent. I get my whiskies neat, no ice and they serve it in a very appropriate glass called a Glencairn Glass. A few nights ago I ordered a nice Auchentoshan. To open it up a little bit I poured a little bit into it from my water glass. No big deal, I do this all the time. Within seconds there was a manager at table side, with a small water pitcher specifically designed to add water to a whiskey glass I was stunned at the level of detail and service provided. This was done at the Bow Bar in Edinburgh and a few other places in Scotland, but I've never seen it happen here.

Been trying to find one in the city. World Market failed on several occasions, it was ridiculously expensive at Williams/Sonoma. Ok, it was a Riedel and I was not going to spend that much! Finally found one at Crate & Barrel and it passed the test earlier tonight.



It's a good fit in my life, my new whiskey receptacle friend.

Got that Michael Caine Look Going

It took three weeks after the exam, but my reading glasses finally arrived yesterday afternoon. They look just like this, but they're solid black.



It's a pleasant feeling not having to strain my neck looking cockeyed at the screen or putting the glasses on the tip of my nose to be able to read, anything. It's a huge relief at work because I'm dealing with smaller fonts and the numbers I need from books are small also.

I'm very happy that I'm capable of reading books at a decent pace again.



This one's been sitting on my shelf for a few weeks. I got it for my Scottish Wife, but she has not read it yet, so I took it upon myself.

It's not a literary opus, no great work of fiction or memoir, but a series of blog and journal entries Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian made in the mid 2000's. He's a funny, touching and spiritual writer. Even knowing about the Mike Piazza song I did not realize he was a baseball fan.

The strengths of the book are his descriptions of Glasgow. He's embedded in the city. It's more than love. It's his soul, weakness and inspiration. He lives in the area I stayed in during my visit and the number of landmarks he names and spends his time in was an impressive match to many of the places I'd been, and want to go back to so badly.

The is a good amount of music in the book. You get a good, fair impression of the band during the making of albums and touring. He gives fair statements about how tiring and repetitive the business can be.

It's not a memoir, but a chatty look at the life of a working musician during a set time in his life. It's worth seeking out.

Doctor, My Eyes

Went to the optometrist for the first time in three years yesterday. A long overdue visit. Being in front of a computer screen all day and too much of the night means eye strain has taken its toll on my vision.

Went to the same place that is giving my son therapy so I knew most of the people examining me.

I'm still reeling a bit after my optometrist said he could find no indication on my lenses that they were progressive no line bifocals. It took three optometrists to see that they, in fact, were, but very poorly made. Makes sense, since the bifocals really did not seem to make any difference in my vision. Not sure if I can go back and complain, since the place burned down a couple of years ago.

I really do not think I've had a decent prescription that sharpened my vision dramatically since the late eighties. I had an amazing pair of glasses in Fredonia which allowed me to see the prices on the shelves the whole length of the liquor store. Those were two inch high numbers. Best pair of lenses I've had in my 44.5 years of wearing glasses.

Unfortunately, they looked like this.



Ah the eighties. Yes, I've kept most of my old frames going back to high school!

Since then my prescriptions have not been quite right. I even had one company change the size of my frames without my permission. Nice job Tuckerman Optical. One of my former customers at the Holiday Wine Shop was an optometrist and he came close in the mid nineties, but not quite. He's dead now. Then there was the quirky but very cute girl at J.C. Penney at the old Northland Mall...

So I get to hand over my current glasses this afternoon as they'll get sent to the lab. I'm keeping my current frames as I like them and they have the wonderful clip on sunglasses. Should be a week of minor headaches and blurry vision using the last pair of frames. The new lenses should arrive by the middle of next week. They're high index, anti-glare, rolled and polished and the bifocals damn well better work as I'm paying a lot for these!