There’s nothing quite like an eye exam. It’s not nearly as uncomfortable as other regular appointments that come to mind (dentist…. ghaaaa). But it’s no fun either.
I sat in that heavy chair today when I would normally have been eating lunch, and had pictures taken of parts of my eye I’ll never see, bright lights aimed directly at the most light-sensitive receptors in my eye, and drops of all kinds and colors splashed about quite liberally. But the worst part is always… “Which is better? One, or two. … Two, or three… Any change 4, or 5? How does that compare to 5, or 6?” I swear, they don’t actually change anything. And to add to the frustration, I always have the sinking feeling that my choices are wrong and that I’ll end up living with a prescription that puts glowing wavy edges around everything I see.
Then I returned to work and continued fixing the utterly messed up research guide for French and Francophone Studies only to realize that what I’m doing by pulling out 4 or 5 databases and explaining why my students would want those rather than the other 50 or so in the library’s collection is reducing the “One… or Two” effect. I’m trying to make the differences apparent and important. “One” has French language newspapers while “Two” has French language culture studies journals. Meanwhile, “Four” and “Five” have English Language articles on Language and French Literature. I sure hope this helps students answer with confidence “One is better!” and never have to worry that they’ve chosen poorly.
Well, that’s the ideal anyway.