<oembed><type>rich</type><version>1.0</version><title>LynAlden wrote</title><author_name>LynAlden (npub1a2…cw83a)</author_name><author_url>https://yabu.me/npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a</author_url><provider_name>njump</provider_name><provider_url>https://yabu.me</provider_url><html>I had three pairs of glasses. One of them broke, and one of them I left at a restaurant during a bitcoin-related business/academic meeting. The last one is half-broke, like it works decently enough but the left hinge is busted and opens too wide, and so it doesn&#39;t stay on my head as well as it should.&#xA;&#xA;I usually prioritize my glasses poorly because I only wear them when driving  or when I need to read things at a distance (e.g. walking around an airport or other unfamiliar environment). I purposely only wear them when I have to, and do my best to do eye exercises and such in other times, to avoid getting too dependent on them. As a result I tend not to take very good care of them.&#xA;&#xA;I have a pair of prescription sunglasses too, so I&#39;ve been wearing them, including in some contexts where it&#39;s not quite normal (e.g. inside). It ends up feeling like an awkward version of The Matrix.&#xA;&#xA;Before I go to Egypt for the late summer, I scheduled an appointment for an eye exam and a new multi-set of glasses. Most places around me were booked for a full month (labor shortage). With one place that was open, I scheduled weeks in advance but then one eye doctor got into an accident and and their whole schedule changed. So there were *no* eyeglass places within a reasonable distance of me that could do an eye exam, prescribe and manufacture new glasses before I go to Egypt.&#xA;&#xA;So I&#39;m just kind of going there with a busted normal pair of glasses and then my sunglasses, which I&#39;m increasingly getting used to using in abnormal places. I&#39;ll probably be walking around the airport in sunglasses. Maybe when I&#39;m there I can get new ones, or just wait until I get back.&#xA;&#xA;Back during COVID, when we all needed tests before travel, I always found it easier to get tests in Cairo than in New Jersey. The US tests were like, &#34;okay we can get them to you in 48-72 hours&#34; which was awkward because the government+airline was like, &#34;we need tests within the past 72 hours&#34;. So there was this weird window where they get it to you just in time... or they don&#39;t. I had to get a second emergency test for like 10x the cost once, with high stress and extra activity right before the flight, because the first test was too slow and missed their 72-hour timeframe. But in Cairo I could always get one within 24-36 hours without issue.&#xA;&#xA;Anyway, that&#39;s my current version of first world problems. Heading to Egypt with broken glasses, and the Egyptian system might ironically fix this faster than I can here in New Jersey. Everything feels weird due to labor shortages.&#xA;&#xA;&#xA;&#xA;</html></oembed>