$280.76 later...

And I have 2 new pairs of glasses! Well, not quite yet, but they will be here in about a week. I was in a pissy mood having to go there yesterday, as my previous post made clear. It was a new doctor, new office, new everything and I didn’t want to 1) pay the hefty price for glasses and sunglasses 2) go to a new doctor 3) really get rid of my glasses, although I did want new ones.

I got there to find the whole office had been re-done and they had a much larger selection of glasses than I was expecting. I also got there early and was trying some on, and actually found quite a few pairs that I actually liked. I took them with me to the eye exam, and the doctor said he was there to reveal all my secrets. I said, “maybe my eyeball secrets, but not my deepest darkest secrets!” There was also a big letter “E” on the wall, and I was soooo hoping he’d ask me what letter was projected on the wall. I had all intentions of saying “yer mom, rated “E” for everyone!” Oh god, how I wanted so badly to say that!!

After my exam, I went into the lobby area to resume looking for glasses. I was waiting for someone to help me, and then someone called my name. I didn’t have my regular glasses on so everything was blurry, but this guy named Justin came over to help me. He said something like, “so you’re here to pick out new glasses, huh?” I mumbled something like, “yeah, but I don’t want to be here and I don’t want to pay a bunch of money for new glasses.” He got my drift that I wasn’t happy, but he was totally cool about it, and he made it fun actually. I told him it was not a fun task picking out new glasses, and then since he was wearing glasses, I said, “do you even have to wear those glasses, or are they ones you are wearing just for show? I have a friend that works at Pearl Vision who doesn’t wear glasses, but she did at work, just to you know…make it more real.” He said, “they’re real…try them on!” and then he handed them over, and before I could even put them on, I could tell he was blind as a bat. hA! I said, “oh wow, yeah, you are a real glasses wear-er and you’re blind!!” Thankfully he laughed at it, I realized it was kinda mean after I said it out loud. I told him I also needed to get sunglasses because my other ones broke in half and I said, “it didn’t even break in the middle, above the nose, where it could be taped and I could look like a nerd. No, it broke in the middle of the frame, above the middle of the lens.” He said, “wow, when you break something, you really do it big.” My motto is, “go big or go home.” I also apologized for my bad attitude towards getting new glasses, it’s just I have a hard time finding ones I like, and I don’t like paying for them. He was nice about it. I first showed him the glasses I currently have, the ones I really like, and still get compliments on, even after having them for so long. He agreed they looked nice on me. I then tried on the pairs for him that I had picked out. It was really weird getting another guys opinion on what looked good on me and what didn’t. He was very nice about it, and he gave me good, honest opinions (I hope at least). I picked out a super cheap pair (only $79!!!) and I agreed they were really plain, but they did look OK. He said they were too plain for me. I tried on another pair and they were way too big for my face. I asked if they came in a smaller size…haha never thought I’d be asking that considering my pant size!!! After checking, he said they didn’t come in a smaller size. 2 down, 5 to go. I tried on the others, and I looked closely at the prices of each. I tried on the more expensive glasses, but then decided they were not worth the $169 and $179. I was down to 2 pairs, both at $119. I liked them equally. I tried them on over and over. The thing about trying on glasses, is that you can’t even see clearly, because you don’t have your regular lenses to see through so it’s hard to tell what really looks good on you. It’s stupid. I really liked a pair by Seventeen….I know, it sounds really young and I felt like I should be 16 years old again in high school wearing them. They had little printed circles on the arm things, and I asked if they made the glasses seem “too young, for a teenager.” He said he honestly hadn’t even noticed that about them. I tried them both on a few more times, and then ended up picking the Seventeen ones.

Then I tried on the 2 pairs of sunglasses that I liked. I am not a fan of the big “bug eye” style glasses, and I told him that, so he’d have an idea of what I wanted before I tried them on. They look stupid on me. So, I put the first pair on, and then I put the second pair on, and he said he liked the first pair better because they sit better on my nose. Hmmmm. I put on the other pair to see what he was talking about and there was a little gap. Sold. They’re a little “bug eyed,” but not really. I think I’ll really like them.

We sat down at the counter so he could put in my order and I told him I was expecting to spend close to $400 out of my pocket for these stupid glasses. He rang up my glasses, and it only ended up being $56.76 out of my pocket!! Sweet success there! Then he started ringing up my sunglasses, and they were on sale, and they came to a total of $224. He said good thing I aimed high on spending $400, because I only ended up spending $280 and that’s always fun when that happens. He swiped my debit card, and another lady said to me, “oh, are those your new glasses?” I was wearing my old ones, my rickety ones, and I said, “no, these are my old ones. I have to replace these.” And she said, “ohhh that’s too bad. Those look so good on you!! They really compliment your face!” She went on for another minute or so about how nice they looked on me, and I said to the Justin guy, “see, this is why I don’t want to replace these. I get quite a few compliments on them still, considering how long I’ve had them!” We sat back down so I could sign my papers and I said quietly to him, “that lady? She is totally my new best friend!” He laughed at me. Oh man, I love when people laugh at my jokes. It feeds me, and I keep going with jokes, and that’s exactly what was happening. He kept laughing, I kept making jokes. One time, Seth told me, “you’re the funniest person I know!” That was almost 2 years ago and I still make him laugh. I remember exactly where we were at when he said that. It was November 2008 and we were in our hotel room in Ft. Drum, right after he came back from Iraq. It was right outside the bathroom door and I was against the wall and he was coming out and I made some lame joke that was ridiculous and he was lol’ing at me. He like pinned me against the wall and said I was the funniest person he knew and then he kissed me. :)

So there we have it. After about an hour of being there, this Justin guy said my glasses will be in, in about a week and he’ll call when I can pick them up. He was totally cool and nice and laughed at my jokes, which made the whole experience better than I was expecting. I’m even excited to finally get my glasses. I sent Seth an email about them last night, and told him I’d send him pictures when I get them. He said he’s excited for pictures and he’s excited to see me wearing them!!

This is probably one of the most boring blog posts in the entire universe to read. Ever. Who writes 230948203948203942 words about glasses? Apparently I do. Sorry for the lameness.

Stupid 4-Eyes!!

I'm going to my annual eye doctor tomorrow. I am so not looking forward to it for one reason only: glasses are soooo expensive. I've honestly had my regular glasses for over 3 years now, and I've had my sunglasses for 2 years. I really like my glasses, but they are getting rickety, and I just am ready for something new. (I've gotten new lenses the last few years, to save money). My sunglasses, on the other hand, have sucked since I got them. When I first got them, they were really tight on my head and pinched my brains together and make my brain guts come out of my eyeballs. Practically. Basically they hurt my head to wear. And the longer I wore them, the more they hurt. The people at the eye doctor said they couldn't make them out because of the material they were made out of, or some crap like that. I stuck with them last year because it was going to be about $200 to get new lenses for my regular glasses and a new pair of sunglasses.

This year however, I cannot do that. Over the weekend, I got in my car and put on my sunglasses, only to have them snap in half. Literally. And not even in the middle, by the nose where they connect. Nope, at least I could tape those!! These ones snapped over the right lens, right in the middle of the frame. It pissed me off. I dug out an extra old pair so I could wear them to the pool and I couldn't see worth crap. So I'm expecting to spend a good $400, and that is after my $250 is applied from my insurance. Luckily, I was anticipating having to get new glasses, so I put another $200 away in my FSA account. I'm still expecting to pay another $200 or so on top of this. Almost $600 for glasses. It's ridiculous. (I'll still have to pay whatever after the $250 is applied out of my pocket and then send in reimbursement forms, so I'll be down that money for a while). And I want extra cute ones because I'll be wearing those for my wedding pictures, and I want nice sunglasses for our honeymoon. And it doesn't help that I am insanely picky about my glasses.

Ugghhhhhh and I wish he could be here to pick them out. I don't know if I can trust the sales people. Also, they better not try to do that little puff of air in my eyeball. I hate that too.

On a side, yet related note, I found a $15 insurance reimbursement check today. It said void after 90 days and it was dated 4/18, so I better get my ass to the bank. That $15 will be going towards my glasses. I wish I didn't even have to wear glasses, but I look stupid without them, I think. Plus, he thinks they look sexy on me or something. All they are to me is an expensive inconvenience. Lucky for him, he's had corrective eye surgery, so he doesn't have to worry about them.

I wonder what Tricare would provide for me. Hopefully something better than this.