Asian eyes are made that way!

I went to the optometrist to get my prescription for contacts and glasses checked out. I've been sensing that my vision has not been so good and my contacts have been kind of irritating me so it was about time to get new ones anyway. Plus I have stopped wearing my glasses in public altogether (partly because the prescription is so old but also because the frames were never quite wide enough for my head so over time the screws loosen from stretching to accommodate my vast cranium, resulting in instances when one of the lenses would spontaneously pop out; this happened once while I was in class). So anyway, in the meantime I have also been living with a lovely bunch of breakouts on my nose. And I've been having a nice eruption recently which looks like an astonishing volcanic mess. So before the optometrist began examining me he asks me if I am having a herpes breakout! What! I had to explain that, no, these are only pimples. Gah!

So then on with the exam, the usual which is better the first or second, first or second, you're not saying anything so are they the same or what? Then, my favorite and I'm sure yours, the air puff test, whereupon optometrists are always telling me I need to open my eyes wider. No wider. Look surprised. Well, this time the optometrist tells me, stop having that sleepy look, open your eyes as wide as you can. Hello? I'm Asian. Sometimes we don't have that extra eyelid fold that makes out eyes bigger. I'm sorry, this is as wide as I can open my eyes! Ah well. In any case he caught on quick and held my eyes opened for the damn air puff. So it only took 2 tries each eye, whereas in the past I have had to put up trainees poofing me at least 8 times per eye.

Silver lining to my humiliation at the optometrist's office: new frames! I found a pair or glasses with the widest frames ever that don't squeeze my head or have to bend to accommodate it. Nice. I can't wait to pick them up.