At long last I got a chance to the go to the eyeglasses store and get a proper pair of reading glasses. I’ll go back tomorrow and see if I can get the lenses modified.

Given my eye doctor’s darkened lair, I was surprised to have the initial tests done in a brightly lit mall in a store with modern equipment. (I do, however, miss the doll hanging by its neck from the ceiling.)

The sticking point was in trying to explain the actual distance needed for the reading glasses. I keep my home computer monitor about one arm’s length and a hand away my eyes. Unfortunately, my brain read that as a lot closer when I explained the distance to the lady putting the optical trial frame on my eyes. (For the record, I would totally wear a pair of glasses that looked like the trial frame. I’d wear them to school.)

She Who Must Be Obeyed went along to approve the final design and to help with any difficult Japanese. Oddly, we agreed on the design and then took the glasses home (after side trips to do some shopping).

Once I got the glasses home, though, I realized that although they are great for reading, I have to move the monitor close to use them with my computer. They also never tested my right eye with as much fervor as they tested my left. Because of this, I find the glasses work best with my left eye but not as well with my right.

I’m not too worried as I chose the shop because it has an adjustment policy that lets me go back twice in six months to get new lenses. I also may ask them for bifocals, which will cost more but which will solve a lot of problems (i.e. carrying two pairs of glasses).

Even in their current form, the glasses are excellent for reading. They may inspire me to read more, at least until I can get back to the shop.