2001-06-22 - 8:43 a.m.
Headaches, eye exams, and the merits of growing out one's hair

*cough* *sniff* Allergy season is still going strong, plus we had a change between a high-pressure system and a low-pressure system this morning. (That always gives me a nasty headache). The world's gone grey and fuzzy again, after days of glorious sunshine. People tend to refer to soft bad-weather days as "otherworldly", but IMHO sunny days can be just as inspiring: Try driving through a tree-lined corridor when the sun is about to set, striping the road and the cars and the ferns and wildflowers on the verge with brilliant glowing bars of light and soft black shadows.

Driving can be almost a spiritual experience under the right conditions. (Heavy traffic NOT being one of them). Unfortunately today's driving will be a lot less interesting for me ... I'm leaving work at 10 to drive 35 miles to an optometrist. My health coverage is ditching vision and dental on June 30th, and it's been nearly three years since I last had my eyes checked. I don't think my prescription has changed, but my glasses are getting really banged up and after two years you can't get new glasses made without a fresh examination.

*shudder* I really hate the part where they squirt the blue paralyzing drops in your eyes, tell you not to blink, then zoom a piece of equipment up so close that if you sneezed suddenly, you'd blind yourself. I hope they don't do that today. They normally don't do it to people under 40, but since my eyes got bad really fast (I went from 20-20 vision at the start of high school to 20-200 in just a few years) they decided "it wouldn't hurt" to check me too. At least my eyes seem to have stabilized at this level ... I had nightmares about needing to learn Braille after my first checkup.

I also get to eat lunch with my mother, since I'll be in my "hometown" for the appointment, and Mom would murder me if I was within 10 miles of her and didn't stop to say Hello. *laughing* I wonder what she'll say about my hair. She's been bothering me about it for weeks, ever since it got long enough that the flipped-up-ends-style began looking shaggy instead of cute. I got frustrated with it myself yesterday and ran to Fred Meyer's for several barrettes and some of those little clippy butterflies so I could get the unmanageable stuff around my face pulled back. I'm much more pleased with it now, but a little self-conscious.

You see, I was one of those gals who did the long-hair thing for years ... you know, loose, ponytail, braids, bun, but NEVER cute little clippies ... and then chopped it all off short last April for the "professional college-grad" look. It's taken a year for the two-inch stuff to get almost back down to my shoulders, and I wish it would get twice as long already, but it's actually kind of fun to try new things with. *laughing* This last year, having to dress up 5 days a week, has made me feel a lot more feminine than usual, and when I'm not warring with my pantyhose I sometimes actually enjoy it.

What a contradiction! I grew up as such a tomboy, and I still am one in many ways, but when it comes to what I'm looking for in a romantic partner I am totally old-school. Heh. I wonder how many strong, supportive, masculine types out there are looking for something other than my opposite (cute short master-chef blondes)? No wonder I'm having trouble!

*shaking head* Time to get back to work and put in a CD. For some reason, I've got little snips of the soundtrack to "Romeo Must Die" stuck in my head, and it's been several days since I watched it last. (Something I forgot to mention the other day: I really enjoy a good "kung-fu"-type movie! I think it has something to do with loving Westerns ... does that make any sense?) Time for some Enya to soothe my headache and inspire my work ethic. =)