old six eyes

as a child, you are given only one pair of glasses. if you're lucky, those glasses aren't huge, thick, or terribly ugly. if you're asian, your childhood glasses were assuredly huge, thick, and terribly ugly. chances were, they also made your eyes even more slanted and tiny.

the biggest, and easiest, makeover a young asian geek can make is to upgrade from that terrible pair to a trendier pair (or just cut out glasses altogether). that usually happens mid-high school when a lightbulb goes off and the geek starts to think "wait, my glasses are two inches thick and i look like a total dork. i need something new." i'd guesstimate that this revelation occurs somewhere around fifteen years old. what a difference new glasses can make. it's the first step toward normalcy for a dork.

it's pretty easy to get asian parents to spring for anything eye-related. anything that can directly help the studying cause is quickly paid for. try convincing your mom to buy you a nintendo versus new frames.

my previous pair of glasses were of the thick, faux-artsy, black rimmed kind. these were very popular a few years ago when i got them. my pair before that were oval and had served me well since high school. when i transitioned to my new black specs, i liked them enough to wear them around nearly as often as my contacts. i had hard, sometimes uncomfortable, gas permeable contacts at the time.

once i switched to soft contacts, i had to undergo yearly examinations in order to buy new contacts. i thought it was a pain (in my wallet), and the yearly expense of $100 seemed exorbitant to me. it's the ultimate adult decision: vision for the future or cash in the present? i usually sacrificed my future for the present and stocked up on extra boxes before my prescription's expiration date so i could avoid an exam as long as possible.

truth be told, i love getting my eyes checked. there's no potential for pain (eg, the dentist), the darkened optometrist's office is always soothing, and i like being asked "which is better? one? or two? three? or four?" it's very comforting to give correct answers all the time.

sadly, the days of being asked to read off the eye chart are nearly over. the costco optometrist i went to recently had a machine that measured your prescription with 99% accuracy. you just look into the machine, focus on a red barn, and then you're done. no more "E I O T P" stuff. the entire exam took about five minutes.

i was getting headaches from using expired eye glass lenses and contacts. apparently getting that yearly exam is worth the price of admission. of course, i then had to spring $200 for a new pair of glasses.

one of the few usable tips i've ever gleened from GQ is to own two pairs of eye wear. it's said to switch up your "look." having one pair of glasses is for children, stylish adults know that glasses can be used as accessories and for proper vision.

so now i have that black pair (with the outdated prescription) and a new pair -- square, with no bottom frame, "korean glasses" as it were. i feel very prepared for my new adult life.