Thursday, September 23, 2004

Spectacular Spectacles

Let me start this entry with my MSN Messenger Display Name: "My Future Is So Bright, I Broke My Glasses!"

That was my own OPTIMISTIC way of looking at this catastrophe.

If you know me well enough, you'd know that I am dependent on my Glasses.

I have had Myopia (Near-Sightedness) since my early years in Elementary. By the time I stepped into High School, I was extremely helpless without my Glasses. With the high negativity of my eyes' lenses, I'm essentially blind without my eyeglass.

And today, of all the days, the frame of my eyeglass broke. It was a 3-year old Titanium Frame, which I bought with my First Month's Salary from PeopleSupport. It was my bestfriend for 3 years. I read with it, drove with it, cooked with it, did basically everything with it, even slept with it! Every waking morning, it was the first thing I reached out for. I never open my eyes without my glasses on. The only time I would remove it is when I am in the shower.

The frame broke as I reached for it upon waking this afternoon. The left "arm" snapped off like a dried up twig! Along with the arm, the nylon thread, that held the left lens, also broke. It rendered my glasses utterly useless (except for the right side). For the first time, I panicked! I cannot drive to work without my glasses! I cannot FUNCTION without my glasses! I had to do something!

I remembered that my Aunt and I had agreed to meet to go to the grocery and buy stuff for my Birthday Outing (which was rescheduled from the Original Date) this weekend. I called her and told her the situation. She, then, drove me to SM Southmall to buy a new pair.

On our way to the Mall, I felt extremely dizzy. My eyes could not concentrate on one object. It was as if my eyes were on panic mode. It roamed around, trying to find one clear picture. But, unfortunately, the only objects that I could clearly see were the ones that were half an arm's length away. And the glare of the sun didn't help much. I became car-sick in less than 5 minutes!

Thankfully, I was able to find a great looking pair of eyeglasses from Executive Optical. It had black rims, which made me look more sophisticated and smart. Actually, it made me look like a sophisticated Jessica Zafra. Cool. What I liked most about the new frame was the Clip-On that came with it.

As great as it was, it also came with a great pricetag. Good thing, Executive Optical had a sale. I got it at 25% off, which brought down the price to PhP 2685.00. Still a bit pricey, but if it lasts me another 3 years, it would be well worth it.

I still had another problem. I had to buy lenses for this new frame. I had my eyes refracted while I bought my frames, so I was able to get the prescription. I had to canvass around the mall for the cheapest Ultra-Thin Lenses I could find. Of course, they also had to have my prescription.

Executive Optical sold Ultra-Thin Lenses for PhP 2300.00, but they did not have stocks for my prescription. And I needed them badly! The next best price was with Vision Express. They sold Ultra-Thin Plastic Lenses for PhP 2700.00, and they had available stocks for my prescription. They also were able to fit my lenses to the frame in less than an hour!

Although it made me PhP 5385.00 poorer, nothing will still compare with the great relief I felt when I wore my new specs! It's not because I looked better, but because I had clearer vision. I no longer had to squinch my eyes very hard to focus on things. I no longer had to bump into things and people while walking. AND, I no longer had to get car-sick.

I just wish that one day, I will no longer need eyeglasses to see things better.

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