Thursday, April 12, 2012

new glasses = a big smile :)

so today . . .  i got new glasses :)  actually, i got three pair of new glasses :) :) :)

i've had issues with my eyes since i fell and broke my glasses a couple of year ago.  before that, i would get my eyes checked, get a pair of glasses, wear them until i noticed i couldn't see anymore, and then lather, rinse, repeat...

but that cycle was broken when i fell and broke my glasses last year.  my new glasses just didn't seem to work as well as the old ones.  but the problem was, i had my glasses made at a different place than i had the exam.  so, who to blame?  were the glasses made incorrectly?  was the exam faulty? or was the prescription written incorrectly?

 i sort of have my suspicions...

i sort of think that perhaps there was a mistake with the prescription.  but by the time i realized that there was maybe a problem with the glasses and i wasn't just adjusting to a new prescription, it was too late to get anything done.  and i really loved the glasses, so i learned to live with it.  but i was determined that when i was ready for another eye exam, i would get both my exam and glasses at kaiser (where i have insurance.)  then, if there was a problem, i could get help.

so, i made an appointment for an eye exam at the beginning of march.  my plan was to keep my frames (which i love) and just get new lenses.  i had the exam.  i was the first appointment in the morning, because i am convinced that my eyes are worse in the morning.  the doctor said there wasn't much change.  this should have been my first clue that things were not going to go smoothly...  i know i have trouble seeing, especially close up, so when he said there wasn't much change, i should have realized that something was wrong.  but it was early, my brain wasn't really percolating yet, and i needed to get back to work.

i went out to see what it was going to cost to get new lenses, only to discover that my insurance benefit wouldn't kick in until november.  november.  that's seven months away!  and that wasn't the only problem.  the bigger problem was that i only have this one pair of glasses, and since kaiser sends their glasses out for lenses, i would be without any corrective eyewear for two weeks.  which is just impossible.

clearly, i needed a new pair of glasses.  right now.  i took a few minutes to look at kaiser.  i pulled the frames off that i had seen the day before (apparently the woman i helped decided to go another way...)  i asked about the price, and decided nearly $600 was too much for a back up pair of glasses.  because, again, i really like the glasses i have!  i needed another solution...

i scoured the internet.  i checked out target (did you know they have an optical department?  i'm telling you, target has EVERYTHING!)  i found glasses i liked, but the prices were still too high.  and then i saw an ad for glasses at sears. (SEARS has an optical department?!?!?)  it was a screamin' deal for two pair of glasses.  so i went in.  just to check it out...

and i met danielle.  danielle is about 12 years old, and contrary to my previous experiences, didn't wear any glasses at all!  i asked danielle about the special and she explained it to me, finishing with, "look around!  see what you like, and let me know when you are ready for me to figure out the price for you."  ok, i could do that.  because while sears does have an optical department, it is about the size of my bathroom, so it wasn't going to take long...

i was by myself.  shopping for new glasses.  this is usually not a good idea.  except, i have very definite ideas about what i like, so even when someone else is with me, i am pretty much just looking for them to say, "oh yeah, i like those."  danielle was able to fill that need for me, and by the time i was done, she had written up an order for two pair of glasses and a pair of prescription sunglasses (which i have never, ever had before!  good bye fit-overs!) and all for less than it was going to cost me for one pair of glasses at kaiser...

(to be fair, these are not designer frames, and one of them was on clearance.  but i like them.  and did i mention that i also got sunglasses?!?!?  they aren't sparkly.  but, i can take them to the oc swap meet and have the lady who does the very expensive phone covers encrusted with swarovsky crystals add some bling for me.  which is my evil plan for saturday morning... and it is only an evil plan, because i am not telling rollie that i am going.  he has to work on saturday, so he can't go.  and i'm taking diandra, which means it will be fun.  but i don't want rollie to be sitting in meetings, thinking he would rather be with us at the swap meet and feeling all bummed.  so i'm just not going to tell him we are going until we get back.  and that is why i have to label my plan as evil...)

but i had to go home and think it over.  it seemed like a good deal.  and i would finally have an actual pair of prescription sunglasses with non-glare coating on both sides of the lenses--a major benefit when you have to deal with the califoria sunshine nearly every day!  but you know me,  i needed time to percolate, process, and ponder...

which i did, for over a week, until danielle called to remind me that the sale would be ending in two days!  so i quit percolating, processing, and pondering, and talked it over with rollie.  we made a decision (which included the sunglasses-yay!) and the order was placed.  which meant i had to wait.  again.  i am terrible at waiting...

i woke up this morning feeling the anticipation that new glasses always brings.  i went to work, and then i dashed to sears as soon as i clocked out.  danielle wasn't there (which is probably just as well.  she keeps telling me how i HAVE to go see 'the hunger games,' because it is 'the best movie EVER!!')  but i was still able to pick up my new glasses.  all three pair.  and i do think the prescription is better, even if it is only a little bit different...

i certainly hope that these glasses work for me, because once again, i had my eye exam at one place and puchased my glasses at another place.  and i did this mostly because i needed glasses now and kaiser has shut me out until november and sears had such a sweet deal.

but next time... next time i am going to get my act together.  next time i am going to keep track of when my insurance benefits actually benefit me.  next time i'm going to get my exam and my glasses at the same place. next time i will take someone with me to offer a second opinion...

... because now that i have my new glasses at home, i am kind of wondering if a purple sparkly frame was really the best choice...

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