Earlier this week, carol get fed-up about not seeing well and made appointments for the two of us at Lenscrafters to get our eyes checked. It's been almost three years, so I guess it was time.

The tests went fine. What happened next I wasn't ready for.

The technician brings me into the exam room and dials up what she thinks is my rough prescription into that wild contraption that you stick your head into... you know the one, I just don't know what they call that thing... ("Now which one is clearer.. one... or two..."). he doctor comes in, and we get to work, first on the right eye. I'm looking at a projected target on the wall behind me through a mirror on the far wall. There's only three letters projected: "L F O". No problem - we go through the whole fine-tuning thing and get that all set for the right eye.

Onto the left eye. Wait a minute... something's not right.

I struggle through the first couple of tweaks, as it's difficult to actually see the changes between them. I'm starting to think that the tech dialed-in the wrong starting point. I tell this to the doctor, and as I'm describing what I'm seeing, she says not to worry about it right now, do my best and we'll go in.

The problem was I could see the "L" and the "O" clear as a bell. I really couldn't discern the two horizontal lines of the "F". It never got clear. It never looked as sharp as the the "L" and the "O". Something was wrong and I could just feel something was up.

On top of all this, my left eye is a mess - it has been discharging mucous for the left couple of days. It's read and irritated. On top of that, it also tears a lot and that's been going on for years.

Time for dilating the pupils, take some pictures, and do some close-up study.

Result? The doctor thinks that I may be developing a cataract, right in the center of the lens. It looked a little cloudy, and that's why I couldn't see the "F" like I used to.

Damn. Like father like son. Cataracts. It's just starting though, and who knows how it will progress, so it's going to have to be something to watch going forward.

I also got a prescription for some eyedrops for the left eye. It might be allergy related, so she wanted me to try this for two weeks and see how it goes.

Picking out frames sucks. Now, it's hard to tell what's a Men's frame and Women's frame - in fact, they're going unisex now, so I just can't tell.

I pick out a pair of rimless frames, smaller than I used to have, and another set of RayBans for my sunglasses. The sunglasses will be ready tonight, but my other glasses will take 10 days. (what happened to this "done in an hour" crap?). The sunglasses, when ready, don't feel right. I mean, they feel OK, but the prescription doesn't feel right. I'm told to wear them a while and make sure. I can always come back. Maybe it's these damn dilation eyedrops. I mean, things look s little "wonky", so maybe, even though they're wearing off, it's not back to the way they should be.

Well, we'll have to see how this whole vision thing goes...