Wednesday, August 20, 2008

The Eyes Don't Have It

Work went well today, quiet with no major problems and only a small crowd around noon. The absolutely stunning weather (80 degrees and no humidity) probably played a major role. It might be just as well. I had enough trouble with my eye exam.

The exam itself went well enough. I finally went to a brand-new America's Best that opened earlier this year in the shopping center behind the Acme. America's Best takes up the second-largest store next to the free-standing Staples, in the block that also includes Pepboys, a nail salon, a laudromat, and Audubon's post office. I first had a small pre-exam to check if I had any major eye injuries or illnesses. After that, I waited for about fifteen minutes. I sat in the bland waiting area (just metal benches, no reading material or anything) listening to the women gossip until I couldn't stand it, then went in the main lobby/glasses area to look at the newest frames.

Dr. Chang was very nice when I finally got in. After a series of the usual tests (flashing a light in my eyes, having me read letters), she told me most of what I already knew. My eyes are lousy. I have a small stigma in my left eye (which is why the left one is lazy). What I HADN'T known is that they've gotten slightly worse since 2000. THAT hurt. Mom told me my eyes should have stabilized by now!

On the other hand, she also told me I could wear contacts as long as it was a special prescription. THAT, I could handle. I've wanted to try contacts. My sister Rose and my Aunt Terri wear them with no problems. Not only did I think my eyes were too bad for contacts, but I figured they would be a bad idea for me. I'm so clumsy, I assumed I'd break them, or they would be too scratchy and make my eyes water constantly, or they'd never stay in place.

Glasses didn't go nearly as well. Even after choosing an inexpensive pair, my huge lenses were way outside of their sales. The glasses and the special custom prescription lenses would cost over $280 all together...and I've heard that's cheap! I told her we'd probably have to wait for October.

So, no glasses now. I have vacation this month, and I don't know how I'm going to afford bills and my rent and vacation and glasses. It was probably a stupid idea to get an eye exam when I'm still paying for dental appointments. I should have just called the damn union about my insurance. I hate calling people. The union should have just sent me the vision claim I'd asked for instead of a dental claim! And I really, really, REALLY hate asking for money. I haven't done it in years, but it makes me feel like a little kid. I'm proud of my independence. I've spent most of my life having to let people buy me things because I couldn't get a job or money.

I wouldn't have even bothered with an eye exam now, but the glasses I'm wearing now are my old prescription from the mid-late 90s. The frames are in decent shape, but I'm getting really bad double vision, and I have a hard time reading things far away. I'm really worried. I should have done this in March, when I got my check, but I just didn't think. I NEVER think. And when I don't think about things before I do them, I get into trouble.

1 comment:

Linda said...

It's very easy to procrastinate--don't beat yourself up over it. Especially when money is involved. I hate calling people, too, but if you are due any vision benefits from your union, please go ahead and call them. If you think you might get nervous when you are on the phone, write down all the questions you need to ask beforehand. That's what I did when I first started doing purchase orders. I was so worried about phoning people that I didn't start the first one for three weeks! And sorry to say that is a "Mythconception" :-) about eyes or anything always getting better as you get older. My nearsightedness only got worse as I got older, and I developed more allergies. "Grow out of them," my foot! I know it's hard for you to talk to people, but did you discuss payment with the America's Best people? Do they have some type of finance plan you might pay off a little at the time? I know you don't want to get into the credit card racket, but perhaps you could ask your bank for a credit card. I think you could even ask for a card with a very low limit so you wouldn't be tempted to overspend. Then you could pay for the glasses the minimum payment at the time, and if you had more money, or got money for birthday/Christmas, etc., you could toss more in there. There is some type of credit card that is based on your bank account; I don't know what it's called. You can only borrow as much as you have saved or something. Not sure that would work for you. Also helps in developing your credit rating.