Running around: gym and eyeglasses

I started by picking up my bus ticket for the weekend trip to Boston (which technically needs to be picked up at least an hour before the trip, though I don't think Greyhound checks). Then I went down the block to my bank to get a form witnessed so I can do some other financial stuff; this is straightforward but time-consuming, because they keep the special stamp in a vault or something. (The form in question specifically needs this stamp, not a notary stamp; no, I don't know why.)

Being almost at Ninth Avenue, I decided second breakfast was in order: tea and a sourdough chocolate twist (a long, rectangular, twisty roll) at Amy's Bread. Partway through the meal, the woman at the next table said "Good morning." When I responded, she started a conversation about Amy's, sandwiches, and related matters--it turns out that the place is highly rated in her (Japanese) guidebook. She also mentioned that a lot of the time, in America, restaurants give her lots of bread and she can't eat it. I explained that it's mostly to keep the diner from being hungry while waiting for the food they ordered, and suggested that she not eat it. It was a pleasant bit of conversation, and at the end she told me that I was a very good guide. I smiled and said "I try"--because I do, and I'm glad when it works.

All this meant I started my workout closer to 11:00 than 10:00, and thus didn't finish until about 12:30. It was a good workout. [Details below, as usual.] Next stop was Lenscrafters, to get my new eyeglasses adjusted. The optician--not an apprentice this time--adjusted both the earpieces and the nose pads, and it seems better, though I do keep reaching to slide them back a fraction of a millimeter. She also measured the previous glasses, and compared them, to try to figure out why I've been having some headache and eyestrain.

It turns out that the new prescription is stronger in both eyes for the astigmatism, but has less distance correction in the right eye than the previous. The right eye is where I'd been noticing strain. The plan is to wear these for a week or so--not switching back to the previous prescription--and see if that does the job. If it doesn't, I can get the lenses remade in the same plastic as the previous set; the new ones are polycarbonate, which is lighter, but it seems that any change can cause difficulties for the eyes and brain.

Somehow, this had all taken not only more time, but more energy and focus than I expected. Figuring out what to have for lunch in midtown seemed far too difficult, so I fell back on my usual after-gym plan of Excellent Dumpling, because finding the subway was not difficult. Egg drop soup and sweet ginger duck over rice, with plenty of tea, did me good, as usual. Thence to Fairway, because I hoped for better cream than at C-Town (no, but it was less expensive) and for better apples (yes). Now I'm home, I've had more tea, and julian_tiger has spent a while on my desk, watching me.

( gym numbers, for the record )

Running around: gym and eyeglasses

I started by picking up my bus ticket for the weekend trip to Boston (which technically needs to be picked up at least an hour before the trip, though I don't think Greyhound checks). Then I went down the block to my bank to get a form witnessed so I can do some other financial stuff; this is straightforward but time-consuming, because they keep the special stamp in a vault or something. (The form in question specifically needs this stamp, not a notary stamp; no, I don't know why.)

Being almost at Ninth Avenue, I decided second breakfast was in order: tea and a sourdough chocolate twist (a long, rectangular, twisty roll) at Amy's Bread. Partway through the meal, the woman at the next table said "Good morning." When I responded, she started a conversation about Amy's, sandwiches, and related matters--it turns out that the place is highly rated in her (Japanese) guidebook. She also mentioned that a lot of the time, in America, restaurants give her lots of bread and she can't eat it. I explained that it's mostly to keep the diner from being hungry while waiting for the food they ordered, and suggested that she not eat it. It was a pleasant bit of conversation, and at the end she told me that I was a very good guide. I smiled and said "I try"--because I do, and I'm glad when it works.

All this meant I started my workout closer to 11:00 than 10:00, and thus didn't finish until about 12:30. It was a good workout. [Details below, as usual.] Next stop was Lenscrafters, to get my new eyeglasses adjusted. The optician--not an apprentice this time--adjusted both the earpieces and the nose pads, and it seems better, though I do keep reaching to slide them back a fraction of a millimeter. She also measured the previous glasses, and compared them, to try to figure out why I've been having some headache and eyestrain.

It turns out that the new prescription is stronger in both eyes for the astigmatism, but has less distance correction in the right eye than the previous. The right eye is where I'd been noticing strain. The plan is to wear these for a week or so--not switching back to the previous prescription--and see if that does the job. If it doesn't, I can get the lenses remade in the same plastic as the previous set; the new ones are polycarbonate, which is lighter, but it seems that any change can cause difficulties for the eyes and brain.

Somehow, this had all taken not only more time, but more energy and focus than I expected. Figuring out what to have for lunch in midtown seemed far too difficult, so I fell back on my usual after-gym plan of Excellent Dumpling, because finding the subway was not difficult. Egg drop soup and sweet ginger duck over rice, with plenty of tea, did me good, as usual. Thence to Fairway, because I hoped for better cream than at C-Town (no, but it was less expensive) and for better apples (yes). Now I'm home, I've had more tea, and julian_tiger has spent a while on my desk, watching me.

( gym numbers, for the record )