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Jan. 22nd, 2019 09:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI had my annual eye exam yesterday. I've got no signs of glaucoma (on my mother's side) or of macular degeneration (on my father's side). I do have a cataract. The doctor said that it's not affecting my vision and that it's a wait-and-see sort of thing.
It was bitterly cold. I was okay getting to the appointment, but afterward, I really couldn't see well. They gave me disposable sunglasses, but when it's that cold, I wear a double layer of knit cotton up over my nose because it helps prevent asthma issues.
That scarf directs all of the moisture from my exhalations upward. Even if I wore my glasses routinely, I wouldn't dream of wearing them outside in the winter because, if it's a choice between breathing and seeing, I'll pick breathing.
It wasn't completely impossible downtown. The sidewalk was semi-cleared and the remaining snow was dirty enough not to produce glare. I shifted the pseudo-sunglasses up so that I could see a wedge of down. Then I went to lunch at Totoro and took my time.
My eyes still weren't happy when I got off the bus heading home. The glare of the still mostly pristine snow was blinding. I alternated between walking with my scarf pulled down and the pseudo-sunglasses pressed over my eyes and stopping to breathe a bit. I only needed to go two blocks, and I didn't need to maneuver around other pedestrians or anything but slick sidewalks.
I have a prescription for computer glasses. The reading glasses are only good for about a six inch range, somewhere around eight inches to a foot from my face, and my laptop screen is generally at least twice as far away as that, far enough that the reading glasses make things harder instead of better. I've already changed defaults on my laptop and in various programs to try to force default display font size to be larger. This doesn't work everywhere and, even when it does, often breaks the layout.
Most books are farther away, too, because I can't really hold anything heavier than my phone long enough to read more than a page or so. I hate reading anything longer than about 300 words on my phone because either the print size is impossible or nothing fits on the screen. Of course, a bigger screen means it weighs too much. Part of that weighing too much is that it's enough to set off arm tremors. The phone is light enough not to.
The ophthalmologist had no suggestions as to how to reconcile my need to change position every few minutes with glasses only working if I keep what I'm looking at in a very narrow zone relative to my eyeballs.
I've almost finished preparing for the dishwasher delivery this afternoon. I've got dishes washing now. Once they're out, we should be good to go. I wanted the sink and counter empty, so I considered hand washing the dishes, but I had a five hour window, so I thought running the dishwasher again would be feasible and less exhausting.
My main goal for the day is to finish a draft of this exchange story. It's due Saturday, and I know the likely general arc. I just have to write it (and then rewrite the parts that are in the wrong POV).
Scott's taking use-it-or-lose-it vacation time from the 24th to the end of January. Right now, we've got a long list of projects that we both want to get done. I'm also planning to have him deal with talking to someone who can do three electrical jobs for us--
We need the outlet the fridge is plugged into checked for safety. We need the wiring in to the ceiling light and fan in our room checked (it might be the fixture, but it also might be the wiring. For some reason, we're not keen on trying to replace the fixture without knowing whether or not the problem is the wiring). We need a hood installed over the stove (we have one. We have wiring for one. We just haven't been able to find someone willing to do the work).
It was bitterly cold. I was okay getting to the appointment, but afterward, I really couldn't see well. They gave me disposable sunglasses, but when it's that cold, I wear a double layer of knit cotton up over my nose because it helps prevent asthma issues.
That scarf directs all of the moisture from my exhalations upward. Even if I wore my glasses routinely, I wouldn't dream of wearing them outside in the winter because, if it's a choice between breathing and seeing, I'll pick breathing.
It wasn't completely impossible downtown. The sidewalk was semi-cleared and the remaining snow was dirty enough not to produce glare. I shifted the pseudo-sunglasses up so that I could see a wedge of down. Then I went to lunch at Totoro and took my time.
My eyes still weren't happy when I got off the bus heading home. The glare of the still mostly pristine snow was blinding. I alternated between walking with my scarf pulled down and the pseudo-sunglasses pressed over my eyes and stopping to breathe a bit. I only needed to go two blocks, and I didn't need to maneuver around other pedestrians or anything but slick sidewalks.
I have a prescription for computer glasses. The reading glasses are only good for about a six inch range, somewhere around eight inches to a foot from my face, and my laptop screen is generally at least twice as far away as that, far enough that the reading glasses make things harder instead of better. I've already changed defaults on my laptop and in various programs to try to force default display font size to be larger. This doesn't work everywhere and, even when it does, often breaks the layout.
Most books are farther away, too, because I can't really hold anything heavier than my phone long enough to read more than a page or so. I hate reading anything longer than about 300 words on my phone because either the print size is impossible or nothing fits on the screen. Of course, a bigger screen means it weighs too much. Part of that weighing too much is that it's enough to set off arm tremors. The phone is light enough not to.
The ophthalmologist had no suggestions as to how to reconcile my need to change position every few minutes with glasses only working if I keep what I'm looking at in a very narrow zone relative to my eyeballs.
I've almost finished preparing for the dishwasher delivery this afternoon. I've got dishes washing now. Once they're out, we should be good to go. I wanted the sink and counter empty, so I considered hand washing the dishes, but I had a five hour window, so I thought running the dishwasher again would be feasible and less exhausting.
My main goal for the day is to finish a draft of this exchange story. It's due Saturday, and I know the likely general arc. I just have to write it (and then rewrite the parts that are in the wrong POV).
Scott's taking use-it-or-lose-it vacation time from the 24th to the end of January. Right now, we've got a long list of projects that we both want to get done. I'm also planning to have him deal with talking to someone who can do three electrical jobs for us--
We need the outlet the fridge is plugged into checked for safety. We need the wiring in to the ceiling light and fan in our room checked (it might be the fixture, but it also might be the wiring. For some reason, we're not keen on trying to replace the fixture without knowing whether or not the problem is the wiring). We need a hood installed over the stove (we have one. We have wiring for one. We just haven't been able to find someone willing to do the work).
