A Collection of Daily Wisdom by Dennis Sylvester Hurd since September 2003.

I yawned this morning as teaching from 8:30 to 12:30 was a bit of a struggle. More than having to deal with tiredness, I had a hard time seeing what I was doing. I didn't realize how dependent I've become on my progressive lenses.



On the last evening of last week's Mexican cruise I broke my glasses. That was Saturday. I was in the spa area's steam room and tried to wipe off my glasses with a towel. I don't blame the towel as the last time I replaced my lenses but not the frames, so they were getting old. Three years is old for any pair of mine, I guess.

There was no way to make any fixes onboard other than trying some cellophane tape. I learned once upon a time that I should always pack an extra set of glasses on any trip. Once in Sri Lanka I was swimming in the ocean and lost a pair in an ordinary wave. I couldn't find them and ended up needing to find an optometrist and having a new set made. Not being able to see is troublesome, especially on a vacation where every thing is new. On last week's trip I didn't heed my own advice though.

I made it back to Vancouver taped up. I found several old glasses around the house but none were bifocals. I can see far away with no trouble with what I have on my face at the moment. Yet, going between normal vision and today's class texts just about drove me bananas.

Labels: cruise, glasses, Mexican cruise

I last got eyeglasses near the end of 2004. I was shocked at the time, as I could not remember ever having had to spent over $500 for a pair. They were my first pair of progressives. Although it took a few days to initially get used to them, I'd find it hard going back to regular specs now.

Part of the cost was the special 'scratch-resistance' option. Now though, after a bit more than two years, they are indeed quite marred. When they're on, I cannot see the lines but it gives me sensation of having dirty lenses.

Fortunately, my insurance through work provides $200 every 24 months. That's barely enough to get half a pair at today's prices. I suppose I must be thankful for any assistance.

So, although I hadn't planned to, when we were uptown this afternoon we stopped into see an optician. I kept my old frames. I love the titanium ones that snap back into shape after being stretched and bent. I simply ordered replacement lenses after a quick eye examination.

Jay was with me too and he ended up walking out with a pair of Rayban sunglasses. He looks very cool.

Labels: glasses

Yesterday, I picked up my new eye glasses. The optician asked if I'd ever worn progressives before and I answered that I hadn't. She warned about driving before getting used to them, but I jumped right in the truck and managed to get home and later drive to BCIT to give a final examination.

However as stated in an earlier entry, it's not as if I haven't had my fair share of experience with spectacles. I think I was in Grade 4, with Mrs. Duke, when I got my very first pair. In subsequent years, I managed to run through quite a few pairs because of changes in prescription and the fact I generally sat on, smashed, or otherwise destroyed many.

I've worn eye glasses long enough to have run the gambit of frame styles. I started with plastic (fake tortoise, was it?), went to wire, and this time I moved all the way up to titanium. In the old days, as witnessed by my high school graduation photo, frames were huge. Ye gads, there was enough glass there to make a patio sliding door! My most recent set were so small that I needed to learn how to look straight ahead to keep from seeing an edge. Yet, today's size, as Golidlocks would attest, seems . . . just right.

Wearing glasses has been a part of my life for thirty-five years. I would never consider laser surgery.

Labels: glasses, New Hampshire

No, the title wasn't offering comment on why, on his official visit, Bush is heading to Halifax rather than addressing the Canadian Parliament. You see, I just ordered my new vision enhancement tools. I've been wearing glasses since Grade 4, so after thirty-five years ya'd think it would all seem quite familiar. They have progressive lenses and will take a few days to make. Frighteningly, the optometrist said it may take several months to learn how to use them.

Oh my! $517 (US$440) plus $60 (US$51) for the exam. I guess I should thank my father for buying my first dozen or so pair.

Labels: glasses

Since when did everybody start writing so small? I've recently been having trouble correcting my students' assignments. Rather than attribute this to changes in penmanship, I have finally decided to acknowledge the proper culprit --- namely, 45 year old eyes.

I have an eye appointment at 9:30 this morning. As well as updating the 7-year old prescription, I shall get proper bifocals.

Labels: glasses

Everybody needs a challenge.

My goal was to find the silliest photo of myself that I could. (Well, we know how the truly awful ones were usually ditched when they came back from processing.)

You are witness to the result of my search. This was actually a passport-sized photo that I must have used when leaving the U of WA to travel to my first job in Saudi.

The perm actually looks quite cool but the chin hair is a bit much. I do see that glasses with large, loopy frames are coming back into vogue though. Does fashion have only a twenty-year cycle?

Many people find blogs as a place to comment on important, world events. Yet, I can manage quite nicely just talking about myself, thank you.

Labels: glasses

I looked like a baby in yesterday's photo! My glasses had lenses as large as the windshields on two Volkswagons.

Strangely, all three members of the gameroom gang are now on the other side of the continent. Athough we live less than 200 miles from each other, we unfortunately seldom get together. Here's a comparison image between our college years and the current millennium:

More of the Gameroom Gang.

Labels: glasses

Okay, a blog is merely an electronic blank sheet. What one does with that can really be anything. A blog could be a diary, a place to spew venom, or a place exercise the freedom of expression. But dare I say most personal blogs are just cheap, vanity press?

In pondering the importance of the space program in my life, I realized that many of the students that I'm currently teaching are around 20 years old. This means the first steps on the moon occurred fifteen years before they were born. It's a fair bet that the event, although historic, does not hold a fascination for them.

It was important for me, however. I was within days of turning 10 years old. The hop off the ladder onto lunar soil happened on July 20, 1969 and my birthday is on the 23rd.

With geeky glasses and the nerdy hair, I guess the love of space was inevitable!

Labels: glasses