Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Buying contact lenses shouldn't be this hard

America: land of the free, home of ardent individualism, and yet why on earth are we unable to buy contact lenses without a valid prescription? Do the rule-makers at the FDA think that I would willingly put an incorrect lens into my eyeballs? I’m really not sure what the prescription requirement is suppose to accomplish (no such laws exist anywhere else in the developed world that I could find), other than make the process of procuring contacts more difficult than necessary.

This wouldn’t be a problem if my insurance carrier covered yearly contact lens exams - mine only pays for one biyearly. Since prescriptions are only valid for one year, it puts me in a sort of limbo situation during the second year. What I usually do is right before the prescription expires, I reorder a large enough amount to cover me until the next exam that my insurance will cover. In years past, I’ve even gone as far as buying a two-year supply, just to avoid going in to see the optometrist.

Because the fact is, my prescription has not change at all for the past half decade, and given the option I much prefer to keep ordering the same contacts in perpetuity until that point when I can physical see a deterioration. As the cliche goes, time is money, and heading to the eye doctor requires a few hours that I would rather allocate towards something more important (like writing on this blog, haha.) It’s unfortunate then the laws in America is so strict; I mean, how and why exactly does an eye prescription expire anyways?

Nevertheless, the problem of not being able to order lenses online without a non-expired prescription became acute for me a few weeks back. During the procedure of switching to a new pair of lenses, I realized my reserve supply of contacts was not going to last me until the next eye exam. Due to health and sanitation reasons, I was adamant in not stretching the biweekly replacement cycle, so that meant I had to find a way to order contact lenses pseudo illegally.

Thanks to wonders of international commerce, it turns out shops in countries that don’t have the draconian restriction can and are willing to ship lenses to the United States. For sure there’s a comparative premium over the prices at online shops here in the States, but that’s a delta I must pay this time because otherwise I will run out of contact lenses. I placed an order with a Vancouver based company called Fresh Lens, and the product arrived yesterday correctly and as advertised.

A small crisis averted, I would say.

To be able to handhold a 3-second exposure on a smartphone is simply amazing.

#Adulting stops the fun

This particular tweet hits right in the feels.

Surely we've all done this during our youth: when we grow up we're going to do all sorts of things that by being kids we're restricted from doing. But as the tweet points out, once we've  become adults we actually end up not doing those things. For example, fried chicken is my favorite food, and when I was little an intention of mine was when I grew up (and have money) I'd walk into a KFC, buy a bucket of chicken, and eat it entirely by myself. 

I'm 30 this year and I've yet to do that. 

What is it about being an adult that, let's face it, stops the fun? Why don't I play video games all day now that I can now afford all the games and have more time to spare (having to do homework really put a damper on things back then)? Why not eat junk food whenever I feel like? What about staying up late until the wee hours of the morning? 

I think as adults our event horizon widens exponentially beyond the present (dull things like saving for retirement): I don't spend a day playing video games because it's a waste of time and unproductive (we can't all be those millionaire Twitch streamers). I pass on the junk food marathon because it'd be much nicer to not have diabetes and heart disease. Burn the midnight oil just for fun? We adults know that sleep is the absolute best thing in the world.  

It was indeed true wisdom back when our parents prevent us from executing our fantastical inclinations. In their adult mind they know it to be not good for us. My father never ate a bucket of fried chicken by himself either. 

But perhaps it'd be good for us current adults to bring back some of that child-like innocence and narrow focus. Adult life can easily entrap us into always thinking and planning for the future, sacrificing the present (not to say this is bad). Why not periodically think like a child would and say eat ice cream whenever the urge comes to mind? That sliver of joy and escape might do well for our constitution; freshen up our internal batteries for the daily grind. 

As an adult, self restriction comes naturally: if 15 year old me made the same money as I do now, it would be completely squandered as soon as the paycheck hits the account (or worse - max out the credit cards). At 30 I'd never entertain the thought. But as with anything, those restrictions can go overboard: it's important to find the balance between living in the now and preparing for a future. A big component to adults getting burned out is when our minds are too frequently into the what-ifs of tomorrow. 

So sometimes think like we once did: as a kid. Go overboard! Indulge in those tendencies and wants. Be present.   

I'm going to play some videos games for a lot of hours.