LOOKING THRU MY NEW PAIR OF EYES (Specs)

Two major headaches was all it took for me to finally decide to give in. Last night was the final straw.

It all started last year when I had a terrible headache after going through more than 20 pages of costing sheets with font size smaller than 8 I think. It was so bad that even after trying to take some rest and forcing myself to sleep, I still woke up in the evening with a throbbing headache. I usually have a high threshold for pain but I reached my lowest point during that night that I cried myself out because of the unbearable pain.

I went for an eye check in one of the optical shops. I was asked about my age because according to the lady attending to me age 40 is when people normally have eye sight problems. My eyes were checked using a machine then I was ushered in a room where further test was done.

I was told that my eyes turned out to be of grade 50 but it was still up to me if I wanted to wear glasses or to put it on hold till another incident happens. I decided I'd observe first if the headache will recur or if I will have other problems in the following weeks. Fortunately, I didn't have any headaches after that.

By the start of 2016 though, I noticed that it felt more and more uncomfortable reading without bright light (and I mean bright) and my eyes get tired easily. I had to cut down on my reading or schedule it during daytime. My eyes also had difficulty focusing when I was doing my coloring so I had to stop for a while. 

It was frustrating not being able to do 2 of the things I love doing. So I decided it may be time to go back to the optical shop to have another eye check. Last week, we visited two shops near our place to canvass for eye glasses. I was asked two main questions: (1) how old are you? and (2) do you want fashionable glasses? But since I was not really decided on a specific one, I put off buying for a few more day.

Then last night, I felt a slight headache in the morning which worsened towards the evening. I had to pop Panadol for headaches to help alleviate the pain. I knew it was somehow related to my eyes as we watched a movie in the late afternoon and I wasn't even able to finish watching it.

So today, after going to mass and having lunch, we visited the optical shop at Nex Mall which was recommended to me by a friend. She said this shop offered reasonably priced specs (spectacles) and with good quality. The shop had a range of designs simple, brand less ones to the more coveted, branded types. I looked at their promotional pairs and found one looked good and was affordable too.The shop has a promotion, buy 1 free 1 (frame only) starting from $98 to $128 and above. Affordability and seemingly good quality, perfect combination for me.

Before my eyes were checked, I was asked to choose the frame (s) I prefer. The price is inclusive of eye check, otherwise, eye check alone would cost $30. Since the prices seemed reasonable and this was my first pair and will only be using for reading and not wearing it for the whole day I settled for one that fits my face well. Ok, I may be biased because I chose the one in my favorite color. My boys said it fits my face well so that was settled.

Once frame was chosen, my eyes were checked first using the machine followed by another series of tests involving identifying and reading letters on the screen. Years ago I accompanied my boys for their eye check up at HPB and KK Hospital. Now it's their turn to go with me for my eye testing. They were prompted by the person assisting us not to give hints to help me read the letters out.

When the tests were done, I was asked to walk in the shop wearing the testing glasses used to see if I will be comfortable wearing it walking around and reading. Then I was asked again to read the words in a cardboard handout (those in the tiniest print). With the glasses I could read them at a distance less than 1 foot from my face. Without the glasses I had to bring the paper further away to see it clearly but still not as clear as when I wear the glasses.

So it was settled. I had to wear spectacles for an eye condition called hyperopia (farsightedness) which means distant objects may be seen more clearly than objects that are near. We were told initially that the shop usually can have the specs ready in 2-3 days but specially for my case (yeah, I know, it's just sales talk) it can be done on the spot, while we wait.

While we wait, Ira talked about how he wanted a new spectacle case and that he needed the cloth to wipe his specs which always get dirty because his eye lashes wipes off the lenses. We reminded him that he had those at home. Little did we know that the guy assisting us, Christopher was his name, was listening attentively. He then brought out a cloth and told Ira that he heard him saying he wanted one. That was followed by a free case, too. I'd say that's great customer service, not only because he gave items out for free, but he was listening to his customer's needs

When my glasses were ready I tried it on and again was asked to read the tiniest words on a different cardboard. Perfectly clear! Now I can read and color all I want.

Before we finally stepped out of the shop, we were given one final surprise by Chris. He said since Ira was complaining about his lenses always getting dirty because of his eye lashes he can try to do something to solve it. He brought out what looked like transparent rubber which he fixed into the nose pads of Ira's specs which moved the specs a little bit further away from his eyes. Problem solved! He gave this as another freebie. We couldn't be more thankful.

Thanks to my friend for recommending this shop.

If you are in a look out for new specs or if this is your first time to get one, I recommend visiting Visual Art's Optics at #B2-34 Nex Mall 23 Serangoon Central, Singapore 556083.

*This is not a paid blog, by the way. I am just a satisfied customer.

Photo of my new look will be posted soon. For now, I'll try out my new specs and see if this really works for me. I'll keep you updated.