20/20 focus on a memory

Going to the opticians, I couldn’t shift from my mind Family Guy’s mockery of Disney’s straight-to-video offerings.  Specifically focusing on the Aladdin sequels, they imagined ‘Aladdin 4: Jafar goes to the opticians’, in which the evil vizier-turned-genie has his eyes tested being the main plotline.  Then again Toy Story 2 was meant to be a straight-to-video but thankfully its quality rescued it.

Ironically, though the last time I had been to the opticians I had visited them sooner than the recommendation of a biannual check-up, this time I went the other way, leaving it far too long – four years apparently.  Happily, despite my fears, my eyesight had not deteriorated significantly and I even got the test free, courtesy of my workplace vouchers.  Not so pleasantly, my new spectacles (with a special tinting to reduce monitor and television glare) will cost £110 and there is no remittance from my work due to their potential dual-use in the office and at home.

I learnt a few things about my eyes that I hadn’t conceived of before.  Not only can opticians identify brain tumours (a very rare occurrence I learnt, after I enquired about some headaches I had been having), but also cholesterol levels, blood pressure and many other things.  Also, the little ‘floaters’ that can arc across the vision are not a sign of failing sight, rather remnants of the eyes in their formative stage that the body never fully discharged.