OK, so I can’t go around quoting that[1] just yet, but I’ll be able to soon: I just got back from my first eye exam in 10? 12? more? years. My eyes are “very healthy.” That’s a relief. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of validation that my lifestyle, habits, and/or genes are generally healthy. After a minimum of ten years of having any kind of health, dental, or eye exams, it’s good to know, and quite interesting.
Anyway, back to the eye exam. My eyes are 20/30. I’m slightly nearsighted. The numbers on my prescription are -1.00/-0.75; “sph” cylinder. I have no idea what that means. I’m looking at some hip-but-not-overstated, black, rectangular-ish frames that work well with hats and bike helmets. Anti-reflective, polycarbonate lenses are recommended. That’s gonna run me about fo’ hunny[2]. Damn! Is that a reasonable price for glasses? I don’t have a clue.
In my last post about this, I thought glasses might help my eyestrain and headaches while sitting at the computer. The doctor mostly disagreed. She said the anti-reflective coating might help, but mainly I need to take more breaks and make sure my workstation ergonomics are all good. Tension in the back and neck can cause headaches and what feels like eyestrain. Who knew?
Here’s the general style I’m looking at:
Pinched from here.
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[1] Perfection by Run-D.M.C. from the album Raising Hell
[2] $400
In spite of pain from having my wisdom teeth removed and a secondary sinus infection, I decided to tough out a two hour, fast ramble this evening. I went to the oral surgeon for a checkup today and everything looked “pritty gud.” Sitting around the house was getting old, so I decided to go for it. I wasn’t sure I would make it, but since I’m such a badass*, you know I did. I pushed myself maybe just a tad harder than I “should” have, so I might be sitting out Thursday’s ramble (gotta “date” anyway, so… yeah, skippin’ it).
It was a stair ramble, my first. We climbed about two thousand stairs. We also climbed some pretty major hills. Blah blah blah. Here are some photos (as usual, taken with iPhone & edited with GIMP).
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*Yeah, I’m such a badass. You love it.
I’m finally sure I need glasses. I’ve probably needed them for a while, but I definitely do now. I’ve been finding lately that when I work at the computer for any length of time, I start to get a low level headache, my eyes hurt, I have a hard time concentrating, my productivity drops, and I sometimes get irritable. Sometimes when I leave the computer, my vision is a bit blurry. In the morning, I can barely read the clock from about eight feet away.
This has been going on for a while now, but it hasn’t been so pronounced, and I hadn’t realized exactly what the problem was. Lately, things that were once clear aren’t so clear any more.
I guess one solution would be to stop staring at computer screens as much, but so much of my work (all really) requires me to. The realistic solution is a combination of getting glasses, taking more breaks, and maybe doing some eye exercises. Getting out into nature should help too, as there the eye isn’t focussed at a fixed distance for long periods of time.
Before it became so obvious that I need glasses, I would sometimes wonder what my problem was. It’s interesting how low intensity health issues can have such an effect on our general feeling of wellbeing. That’s one reason it’s important to stay healthy. It’s also a reason to keep an eye on things and get things checked out early–before they turn into major issues.
The one thing that really worries me about all this is picking out the frames. That could take forever.
About a month ago, I stumbled across a group called The Mazamas. More accurately, I stumbled across their web site. They are a “mountaineering education organization” in Portland and organize all kinds of hikes, mountain climbing, snow shoeing, etc.
The thing that got me involved are the Street Rambles. These are two hour walks starting in NW Portland that go to various places in the city. They happen every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8pm, rain or shine. Don’t be late! There are slow, moderate, fast, and super fast groups. I’ve done four rambles so far, and I feel like I’ve seen more of the city in the past month than I have in the past three and half years that I’ve lived in Portland. We’ve been all over Southwest and into North and Northeast. During drier weather, there are more walks in Forest Park and on other trails.
I’m really enjoying getting out and talking with (pseudo) random people. They are diverse, friendly, and inclusive and there is a sense of community, even if it only lasts for those two hours.
Today I did my first super fast ramble. It was super fun. It was about seven miles of hills, stairs, trails, and interesting neighborhoods. The midpoint of the walk was riding the Portland Aerial Tram down from OHSU (this walk is known as a “Tramble”). It’s like some kind of amusement park ride, and it’s free to go down. The view is spectacular, and the first time was quite a thrill–suspended by a mere cable (a long cable) hundreds of feet up.
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