We have a calender at work for a reason.

My cell phone rang at 0530. It was one of my bosses, asking if I was running late.

No, I have today off. I've had today off for three months. The name "Doug" appears as having both today and last Friday off on the wall calender that we use for just that purpose.

Thanks for waking me out of a sound sleep.

Damnit! This should have been the ending of Lost!

The main characters gather and walk down to the beach. A seaplane sits at the end of a long pier. Mr. Roarke is waiting (pick either one). He asks if they were satisfied with their fantasy of survival, mystery, and conflict. The castaways agree cheerfully, drink their fruity drinks, and get on the plane.

Roll credits.

In other news, I just spent five minutes searching for vegan potato salad recipes. Don't ask.

I'm getting new glasses!

As anyone who saw me try to read anything at Baycon knows, my current pair of glasses has really ceased being of any use at close range. Problem is things are blurry at distances as well. I resolved to make an appointment today, and was quite pleased when there was an open slot this afternoon. Woke Kiri up for fashion advice (and because I had no idea what he'd want to do to my poor eyes.)

Exam went very well. Pressure in both eyes is good, and my prescription hadn't changed too badly. We did a test I'd never done before. I was given a clicker, and told to stare at a black dot in the center of a white field. At irregular intervals a set of lines would appear at various points around the field, and I would click the clicker. My right eye was fine. My left? Not so good. I'll be seeing an ophthalmologist for further examination. This is the same eye that was most affected by the horrid eye problems I had several years ago.

But it's evidently not something that needs addressing immediately. Kiri and i selected a nice set of frames. Cheap frames. I get $175 worth of coverage on new glasses every two years, and knew that I was going to want some special tricks on the lenses. The first thing was I need Progressive lenses. These are the lineless bifocals you may have heard about. I got to look through a sample set that was close to my prescription. Amazing difference. Calling them bifocals is a bit of a misnomer; you actually get three viewing zones: distance at the top, mid-range (good for the computer and TV) in the middle, and close-up at the bottom. Obviously going to be an adjustment. A user of this type of eyewear told me at Baycon to expect some headaches as I adjusted. But being able to do my job without contantly adjusting my glasses will be nice. I also opted for a gray tint, heavier at the top, to cut the sunlight and glare I deal with.

Total out of pocket cost? S10 for the exam, $24 for the glasses. They should be ready in about a week.