h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*realizes she's looking in a mirror*

Oh, right, that's I.

I went to the opticians in the local shopping mall this morning to have my eyes checked. I haven't had them checked for the last couple of years since my nearsightedness has been at a standstill. Recently though, I've had trouble reading small text.

I was happy to see that the female optician I had last seen was still w*rking there - pleasant, good at smalltalk and has humour.

These days, the competition is very tough, with actors like Lensway and others offering cheap products online. Thus, you're treated like the Customer with capital C when entering a physcial opticians.

It turned out that my nearsightedness has started decreasing. My glasses were simply too strong. Not that it did any harm to my eyes, the optician explained, not with 'minus glasses' - it just means you can't see properly.

It also means I haven't noticed any difference when viewing things some distance away, only things really close up.

Anyway, after the examination, Lisa brought out a pair of single use contact lenses that were roughly right for my sight. I haven't worn lenses for... eight years, so she was quite impressed by how easily I managed to put them in. A tip: imagine you're applying mascara to keep from blinking.

It was with the lenses in that I saw myself without glasses for the first time in many years, hence the 'Who's that girl?'

I'm now armed with five pairs of spectacles and will ask advice from my colleagues at w*rk. I *think I know which ones I'll end up buying - the first pair that caught my eye while I was waiting to be examined. But I'd still like a second opinion.

'Who's that girl?' also reminds me of my Doppelgänger.

7-8 years ago, I was on my way to the commuter train station when a woman across the street called my RL first name. I stopped. She crossed the street to stand right in front of me saying 'long time no see!'

I had no idea who she was - while I have trouble remembering names I rarely forget a face. Seeing my nonplussed expression she said:

'We studied medicine together, remember?'

When I denied ever having studied medicine, she looked a bit dubious. We each went our way.

In retrospect, I wish I would have thought of asking her friend's last name - it'd be interesting to set up a meeting with someone who not only looks like I do, but also has the same first name.

It's a small world, and everyone has at least one Doppelgänger. I've seen my mother's who just happens to live in my home, just like my mother. She's had complete strangers walking up to her starting to talk to her, thinking she's somebody else.

Oh, and it's of course the Eurythmics version that plays in my head:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5iDKWV6Chg

Trivia about the music video:

That cute second male is played by Annie.

Dave's girlfriends were all members of Bananarama.

home? home town

It would really be interesting to
1) see you in contacts
b) see you side by side with that doppelgänger.

Milla, interestingly enough people seem to pay more attention to me when I'm wearing contact lenses rather than glasses. At least if I give myself a natural face lift by puling my ears back.

Have you noticed that you're more light sensitive with contacts as opposed to glasses? Since I went back to contacts last spring, I've found I need to have sunglasses on pretty much at all times when I'm outside during the day--except for at dusk or when completely thickly overcast.

Light sensitive? Hmmm... need to check that Amy, but I think I'd have noticed if it were so.

Maybe your glasses weren't as thick as mine Or I'm just weird

Oh, us hootooers are all weird, aren't we?

As for thickness, my previous glasses were -7.25

You're a whole number blinder than I am

So I guess the light-sensitiveness is just me. Then again, I'm just a *bit* farther south than you are, so maybe that has something to do with it, especially this month.

Blind as a without glasses, I am.

Sunrise: 8.28 am
Sunset: 2.49 pm

We're getting closer and closer to the winter solstice - just six hours of daylight at that time.

OK, just switched from lenses to glasses - at 6 am, it's aobut time!

No difference in light as far as I can notice.

And no, I haven't been awake all night, I went to bed early but also woke up early - very early.

Well, yeah, inside light, I don't notice any difference, either. But if I'm out in the sun without sunglasses, I end up getting a nice eyestrain headache. Took almost a month before I put it together

Oh, outdoors - I'll have to check once I get my lenses - but if it's a cloudy day (as most of these winter days seem to be) it'll be hard to tell.

Lisa could tell from my reaction that I wasn't too keen on progressive glasses, so she suggested glasses for long sight and that I slide them down my nose for close watching. I tried it with my old glasses and hey! It works! I can see text close up much clearer the further down my nose I slide my glasses. Too bad I haven't got a longer nose!

Shouldn't have commented - now, at almost 4 pm, drilling has commenced. Light drilling this time though, but just as eneervating.

Ah, that previous comment belongs in another journal, sorry.

Changed my mind about not getting contacts, so had to have another examination, this time by a male optician called Uffe, who had a very dry sense of humour and enjoyed explaining everything in detail.

I didn't mind, I enjoy learning new facts. His manners were almost spookily similar to those of the father of one of my friends. The humour, the way he laughed, the way he talked. He also said he'd have enjoyed being a teacher - and my friend's father was a college teacher.

Last time I had contacts (9 years ago) there were only two kinds of lenses; single use or monthly. These days, there are also bi-weekly, and of each there seems to be very soft, semi-soft etc - rather like matresses.

Lisa had order a pair of very thin lenses, but they kept sliding around as soon as I moved my eyes. I could also feel them very clearly.

Got a different pair to take home and try out. Uffe warned me though that they might fit a bit too snugly. We'll see.

Got two sample bottles of... uh... lense cleanser(?) for free because it wasn't their own brand (which is the cheapest they're selling). My right eye needs a 0.25º weaker lense though, I'll be picking it up on Wednesday.

It's an odd feeling watching things with a quarter of a degree mismatch. I can feel it rather than see it when my brain tries to match the two images from my eyes.

Then a check-up to see if these lenses fit my eyeshape weil after I've been wearng them for a while.

I think Uffe might be right about fitting too snugly - I can vaguely (very vaguely) feel something in my eyes. I didn't feel the single use lenses I wore when trying out spectacles one bit.

I've noticed that it's quite normal for people without glasses thinking you're a bit odd for wanting a second opinion for new glasses. When I explain that a) it is rather hard to get a good image of yourself when looking through just empty frames (-8.25 ... ) and b) that my wife, who I always bring, actually sees the glasses far more than I do, it suddenly makes more sense to them.

Lenses I never got into - now, I guess, I'm a little too set in my ways and used to looking at me with glasses as part of the picture. My passport photo, which nowadays apparently has to be without, is decidedly odd!

Who's That Girl is probably my second-most favoured Eurythmics song

So which is the number one Eurythmics song for you, Santra?