My glasses make me feel so fine…
6 minute read
May 4, 2023, 9:38 PM
It’s funny how things work sometimes. For 22 years, I had one pair of glasses and wore that pair every day. The glasses varied over the years, going from nearly round in 2001, and slowly becoming more and more square as I upgraded in 2005, 2008, and 2010. Then in 2016, I switched from wire rims to plastic. But even with that change, I still only had one pair with my current prescription, and kept old pairs as spares. I mean, glasses were expensive, ya know?
Then a couple of things happened. First, I discovered Zenni Optical, after Elyse got an extra pair of glasses from them that were branded by FaZe Clan. This ensured that she would have an extra pair after she had her own glasses emergency when were on a trip back in 2021 (her old glasses came apart in a way that wasn’t fixable while we were outbound), and it also meant that she could now rotate between pairs.
Then, last October, my glasses were destroyed by the airbag when the original HR-V got totaled back in October. The following day, I practically turned the house upside down looking for my old pairs of glasses, and I couldn’t find any of them. I don’t know what happened to them, but they were nowhere to be found. Go figure. The day after that, I went and got new glasses made at LensCrafters, so that I would be back in business on that front, getting an updated prescription for glasses with a slightly updated design. I initially got single vision lenses in order to have glasses in an hour, since I was going on that trip to Tennessee, and needed to be able to see right away.
After we got back from Tennessee, I got the lenses upgraded to progressives, because that’s what you have to do when you’re mature like me. When I was talking to the guy at LensCrafters to get measured for progressives, I made sure to get the pupillary distance from him, so that I could “get a cheap spare pair on Zenni”. He gladly gave it to me and explained how it needed to be entered in. Cool. I ordered the progressive lenses for the glasses that I already had from LensCrafters, and then I ordered a spare pair later from Zenni, in blue. The Zenni glasses showed up first, before the new lenses from LensCrafters did, so I set the Zenni glasses aside, since the idea was that this was a spare pair, and I didn’t want to get used to progressives on a cheap pair, when my LensCrafters glasses cost me several hundred dollars (under the assumption that “more expensive” means “better”).
Continue reading…Categories: Glasses
Trying out electric cars in space tights…
16 minute read
May 25, 2022, 2:31 PM
This past Thursday, Elyse and I went out to take some electric cars out for a test drive. I started seriously considering purchasing an electric car after filling up the HR-V a few weeks ago and being blown away by how expensive it was to fill it up. The idea was to use whatever electric car for commuting, and then keep the HR-V for road trips and other adventures where it might not be practical to use an electric car.
In going out, it was warm enough to finally take this pair of men’s space leggings that I had bought for myself a while back for a spin. I had wanted a pair of space tights for a while, and I was delighted to have found a pair of these things for men. After all, why should women get to keep the joy of fun prints all to themselves? Plus, after having lost so much weight, I can now fit into a pair of these and not look ridiculous. You be the judge:
New couch!
9 minute read
May 29, 2016, 6:30 PM
Sometimes, you just have to go out with the old. After fifteen years, I finally got rid of my old futon from college. In other words, this:
Time to redefine my look…
7 minute read
May 11, 2016, 8:59 PM
…and by that, I mean it’s time for new glasses. I’ve worn glasses since January 2001, and I’ve had four pairs of glasses since then. The first pair, which I had from 2001 to 2005, had wire frames and more or less round lenses. Then the second pair, from 2005 to 2008, had squarer lenses with really round corners. I had my next pair for only two years, 2008 to 2010. Those continued the squaring trend, with corners less round than before, but still a bit of curve in them. My current pair, since 2010, is another evolution in the same vein, with fewer curves and more squareness, plus more definition on the sides. It’s funny, though – with that last pair, I picked the antique finish on the frames. However, after almost six years of use, I think it’s now closer to a silver finish than antique. So even though my prescription barely changed, it was time for new glasses.
I had actually been looking forward to my eye exam last week for quite some time, because I was tired of my existing glasses. Therefore, I had taken plenty of time to think about what I wanted to do on my next pair. I figured that if I didn’t do something significantly different, then I would probably do another evolution on what I was doing now. However, the latter would essentially be an admission of defeat for a new style, and I didn’t want to do that. So with a new prescription in hand, I went and tried out a bunch of different glasses to see what I liked.
My first stop was Lenscrafters, and my first test was this pair:
Categories: Glasses
The mildly interesting things that you see in a day…
5 minute read
March 21, 2014, 11:34 PM
So my Friday was fun. I got together with my friend Matthew, we did some cooking, and then after Matthew and I parted company for the day, I headed over to Dulles Town Center for a bit. Over the course of the day, I spotted a few things that I found mildly interesting.
On the way in, I stopped over at Aardvark Swim in Chantilly. I usually go to the Rockville location, but since they were out of goggle straps (the bungee cord kind) in Rockville, and I knew I was going to be out this way sooner than Rockville would get more in stock, I swung by and here to get them. Those of you who follow me on Instagram may remember that I was contemplating whether or not to buy this:
Categories: Clothing, Fire alarms, Food and drink, Matthew, Retail
So I finally have an outfit for running…
3 minute read
February 26, 2013, 12:17 AM
At last, I have an outfit to go running in. Check it out:
So there you have it, I suppose. For around half the cost of a pair of compression tights at Sports Authority, I am outfitted. I got this snazzy pair of jogging tights at TJ Maxx for $15, and then I got the wicking shirt at Target for $20. Not bad, if you ask me. And, it all holds my stomach in place quite well.
And yes, I will wear shoes when I actually use this outfit for exercising. I was trying it on for the camera at home in this case, and so, yeah, I didn’t bother to put on shoes for the photo.
Categories: Clothing, Recreation/Exercise
How to stop the bounce…
3 minute read
February 4, 2013, 10:54 PM
Remember back in September when I walked over to get that haircut and then ran back? I realized one thing after that exercise: I could run now. And I could cover some pretty good distance, too! I am, as they say, in pretty decent shape now. A far cry from the little butterball that I was two years ago. I’m also more than 100 pounds smaller than I was two years ago.
When I ran home, I was giving running a spin to see how I liked it. And I did like it. However, one thing has kept me from doing it again since then: the bouncing of a certain part of the body (not that part – nor that one). The problem is my stomach. My stomach has hung over a little bit for a very long time. I don’t remember when it started, but it has. It never hung that low, even though it hangs less than before. But it still hangs over. However, despite having lost around 30% of my original body weight in the last two years, the “spare tire” hasn’t gone away. And when I run, it really starts bouncing around. And I hate that. I don’t like that it’s there, and I hate it even more than it bounces around like it does, since it makes a smacking sound as it moves. I realize that this is probably going into “oversharing” territory here, but you know, I don’t think I’m that special here. I’m sure that other people have had a similar problem. Thus I discuss this in the hopes that someone else will leave a comment below (hint hint) and explain what they did in this same situation. All I can find is information about pregnant women’s stomachs bouncing, and there are two problems with that: I’m not pregnant, and I think I can safely say that I never will be. There is no baby inside of me. Just excess body fat. Then if I use the term “spare tire” to describe it, I get car articles. Big help. Not.
Categories: Clothing, Recreation/Exercise
Driving in Virginia on Thanksgiving morning…
6 minute read
November 22, 2012, 7:04 PM
First of all, greetings from Stuarts Draft, where I will be through Sunday. And so far, so good. The drive went surprisingly well, and then Thanksgiving dinner was absolutely wonderful.
Considering how well my drive went today, though, I don’t know why anyone would want to go driving on the day before Thanksgiving. Seriously, this was one of the easiest drives to Stuarts Draft that I’ve had in a long time. I left the house around 8:45, and it was more or less smooth sailing the entire way. Georgia Avenue in Montgomery County, from my house to the Beltway, was no problem.
On that note, by the way, does anyone know what’s going on with the Freestate gas station on Georgia Avenue at Layhill Road? This is how it looked this morning:
Categories: Clothing, Driving, Family, Kia Soul, Language, National politics, Sheetz, Silver Spring, Thanksgiving, Weight loss
This is always a good feeling…
3 minute read
October 21, 2012, 9:32 PM
It’s always a good feeling to unload a bunch of clothes that I can’t wear anymore on account of my sizing down out of them. So on Saturday, I donated an armful of clothes to Goodwill, and I think I’ve now just about kissed the era of big clothing goodbye. Take a look at this:
Nothing like shopping with an arsenal of snarky tweets…
7 minute read
October 7, 2012, 1:42 AM
So I went shopping in Gaithersburg and Germantown on Saturday night. This was a follow-on from Friday’s shopping trip in Wheaton and Aspen Hill. Today’s goal, as with Friday’s goal, was to find some shirts in my current size that I could wear to work. The shirts that I wore last winter (the thrift store clothes) are now too big on me. So I went off in search of clothing.
First of all, Friday’s mission consisted of Old Navy and JCPenney in Wheaton, and then Kohl’s in Aspen Hill. I quickly discovered that Old Navy was not what I was looking for. It was clear that Old Navy was not catering to my demographic. It caters to the teenage set and to adults who are way hipper than I am. However, I did find a winner at Penney’s:
The world’s loudest swim jammer…
4 minute read
June 14, 2012, 11:08 PM
I believe that I have found the world’s loudest swim jammer. Take a look at this:
Oh, yeah. I’ve been going swimming in this suit all week. Dolfin Winners, “Firefly Blue“. The way I figure, swimming ought to be fun. And companies like Speedo and Tyr will make exciting suits for women, but the equivalent jammer suits for men are decidedly blah.
Man bangle number two…
3 minute read
May 10, 2012, 9:50 PM
So I tried another “man bangle” recently. This time, I got this one from Amazon.com:
And this time I remembered to get photos of me wearing it:
Categories: Jewelry, Schumin Web meta
Walking down Georgia Avenue and talking to the camera…
< 1 minute read
April 26, 2012, 7:46 PM
So this evening while I was walking home from the Metro, I decided to turn the camera on myself and do a Video Journal:
So there you go, I suppose. I am walking home along the northbound side of Georgia Avenue from Glenmont Metro to approximately Rippling Brook Drive.
Categories: Clothing, Personal health, Schumin Web meta, Video Journal
Leaving the era of big clothing behind…
4 minute read
April 14, 2012, 10:20 PM
So today was a day where I did something that felt really good, as I got rid of most of the clothes that I had that were now too large for me. This process started last week when I went through all of my clothes and sorted things out a bit. There were three main groups. The stuff that I was keeping stayed in the closet and the dresser, i.e. right where it was. The stuff that I was getting rid of and could donate to Goodwill went in laundry baskets. And then finally, the stuff that I was getting rid of and was also in such poor condition that I couldn’t donate it went on the floor.
And this is the result of that sorting:
That surprised me. I expected that I would be getting rid of one basket’s worth of clothes. When I started going through my clothes, I put out one laundry basket. I filled that up in no time at all. Good thing that I have four laundry baskets. I used three of them.
Categories: Clothing, Weight loss
Does my left wrist need something else?
3 minute read
April 1, 2012, 11:38 PM
In the process of losing weight over the course of the last year, a lot of areas of my body have changed shape. My waist is a lot smaller. My thighs have gotten smaller. I have no behind anymore (and it is now uncomfortable to sit on hard surfaces). My face is noticeably slimmer now. And, surprisingly (but not too surprisingly), my wrists have gotten a lot smaller. Compare for a moment:
My left wrist on May 20, 2011. This is a crop of this image from the Kings Dominion trip.
Categories: Jewelry, Weight loss