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I went to the optometrist today for a checkup. I hadn't been to one in three years, since I lived in Pennsylvania, and now that I've got coverage, I thought I'd swing by, check out the effects of staring at a computer screen 18 hours a day, and get some new frames (my current ones are somewhat dated and will be turned into sunglasses).

As I write this at 10pm, my left eye is still drastically dilated. My right eye is at about twice its normal dilation. My appointment was at noon. For about five hours, I simply didn't have a visible iris in either eye - just a big black dot. Try putting contacts in when your focus is that messed up. I looked like I was scared shitless with such wide eyes. The doctor was amazed at how dilated my eyes became - and the fact that they're still quite dilated 10 hours later is fairly amusing to me. Hey, at least my display looks brighter. 🙂

The "blind spot" test was interesting. I put my chin on a strap, leaned my head forward, and put a patch over one eye at a time. For about three minutes, I stared at a yellow dot a foot or two in front of me as little white dots illuminated in my field of vision. When I saw one, I was to click a button. As I've said, the test is designed to find your blind spots.

As the spots began appearing (for a fraction of a second), and I began clicking the button to signal that I'd seen a spot, I wondered to myself whether I was at an advantage or a disadvantage. I stare at a computer screen all day, constantly focusing on one point and trying my darndest to not notice things in the periphery - my Entourage icon bouncing to signify new mail, or Adium's icon, or Synergy's appearance at an iTunes track change. Would I do better or worse given that I've effectively trained myself not to notice little flashes of "stuff" in locations other than the one at which I'm currently staring.

Turns out I missed only one dot - the doctor said I may have blinked and missed it - and have excellent peripheral vision. Woo ha!

I picked out new frames. I'm fairly certain they're by "Express" the clothing company, but I can't seem to find a site or anything for "Express" online to verify. They're rimless, and after insurance ($105 frame allowance, $10 copay on the exam), my total came to $183. I got AR coating (anti-reflective/glare), UV coating (duh), polycarbonate coating (makes 'em stronger), and scratch-resistant coating (duh #2). Not too shabby. As I mentioned before, my current glasses will be converted into sunglasses. I get the new frames next Friday.

As for my prescription, well, I'm 20/15 with my current glasses. That's on the good side of 20/20. My astigmatism and myopia went up and down a click in each eye (up/down in my right eye, down/up in my left eye - or vice versa, I forget). My eyesight ain't too bad and basically hasn't changed in the past three years (or since my first set of glasses in second grade, really).

Contrast that to Annie, who recently went in for her eye exams: she was -1.25 and is now -2.25 (a big jump) in one eye (and a similar jump in her other). She stares at a CRT for six hours a day. Me? Just LCDs. Are they easier on the eyes? You bet your iSight they are.

P.S. I should have called this entry "Everything's So Bright I've Gotta Wear Shades."

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