not such a mighty gatherer
Apr. 3rd, 2005 10:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleYesterday, I set out in search of tax forms, Aubrey/Maturin audiobooks, clothes that fit and will not fall apart, luggage, and safety glasses. I wanted to vote, on general principle, even though none of the candidates for town meeting/selectman are willing to articulate any policy statements. I should probably have stayed home.
Cut for tedium
At the first optician, I found good frames for the safety glasses. The good local optician measured my regular lenses so he could order the safety lenses.
"When did you get these?"
"October. Might have been early November. Around then."
"They're defective. The scratch-resistant coating is coming off. It's the fault of the lab, not the opticians, but they should replace it for you."
Then we discovered that nobody from my company had made any arrangements about a group discount for safety glasses. *grumble* I don't know if I can get a purchase order to charge the glasses as a lab expense, or pay for them myself and be reimbursed. The health insurance pays for a pair of glasses every 2 years, and I used my bit of that in October.
At the library, I discovered Massachusetts no longer prints tax forms for general distribution. They mail forms to the handful of remaining luddites who filed last year's tax returns on paper, and that's it. If a person makes a mistake that would lead to $48 more money for the state, replacement forms need to be acquired online. (So that is waiting until I can use the printer at work. And I won't be finishing my taxes for a few days.) But I have _The Ionian Mission_! They brought it from Westwood...I don't even know where that is.
At the second optician, I argued with them about the coating on my glasses. It cannot be my own fault that the anti-reflective coating is peeling off because I clean my glasses wrong. I do not have any anti-reflective coating on these glasses. I did not BUY the anti-reflective coating, because it is so fragile and expensive. The people at Harvard Square Eye Care are accustomed to such a hard sell for anti-reflective coatings that they have trouble believing anyone could really end up not buying it. (I had a doubtful moment, wondering if they had put it on my glasses despite my insistent refusal, but the Arlington optician saw the situation clearly. Scratch-coat starting to peel, no AR coat at all.) I won the argument, but realized I did not want to have the glasses repaired yet. My eyes are better than they used to be, and I can be comfortable crossing the apartment without my glasses. But I can't take the T home from Harvard Square without them! I can't live for a week or two without them. Using my old glasses for a week will do vile things to my head, because the astigmatism prescription is different. I'll wait until I have my new safety glasses. Then I can look like a dork, but a safe and comfortable dork, while the regular glasses are in the shop.
As for the clothes-shopping, I never made it as far as the Garment District. If I'd skipped Harvard Square Eye Care, and not planned to go to the gym, it might have been feasible. But I just went to the little consignment shops in Arlington. It's kind of embarrassing to need clothes, when I have so *much* stuff from my mother. But a lot of it is the wrong size. (Most of them barely fit last summer, and I've gained a little weight.) And the wrong colors. I didn't think blue jeans can be wrong, but most of these aren't really properly blue. They're blue/green, or blue/purple. Each of them goes with ONE of my colored shirts (and with my black sweater and white shirts) and clashes with most other shades of blue, green, purple, and red. Getting dressed is rather nerve-wracking. I was hoping to find some black jeans that fit. Or more white shirts. But the Arlington consignment shops don't have anything nearly so sensible. I found one item that might be entertaining for a little while (and for $7, I don't much care if it's destroyed by killer poodles the second time I wear it.) But I will still need to go to the Garment District for real clothes one of these days.
I didn't even shop for any luggage. Neither a new rollaboard suitcase, nor a new backpack. The cheap emergency backpack I bought in February to replace my good computer backpack (which probably carried a computer 5% of the time) is already starting to lose a strap. Yesterday, I broke one of the backpack zippers as well. And I lost my favorite hat. Oh, well. The blue denim didn't go with any of my jeans, anyhow. Bye, mole. So the expedition feels like a net loss.
Cut for tedium
At the first optician, I found good frames for the safety glasses. The good local optician measured my regular lenses so he could order the safety lenses.
"When did you get these?"
"October. Might have been early November. Around then."
"They're defective. The scratch-resistant coating is coming off. It's the fault of the lab, not the opticians, but they should replace it for you."
Then we discovered that nobody from my company had made any arrangements about a group discount for safety glasses. *grumble* I don't know if I can get a purchase order to charge the glasses as a lab expense, or pay for them myself and be reimbursed. The health insurance pays for a pair of glasses every 2 years, and I used my bit of that in October.
At the library, I discovered Massachusetts no longer prints tax forms for general distribution. They mail forms to the handful of remaining luddites who filed last year's tax returns on paper, and that's it. If a person makes a mistake that would lead to $48 more money for the state, replacement forms need to be acquired online. (So that is waiting until I can use the printer at work. And I won't be finishing my taxes for a few days.) But I have _The Ionian Mission_! They brought it from Westwood...I don't even know where that is.
At the second optician, I argued with them about the coating on my glasses. It cannot be my own fault that the anti-reflective coating is peeling off because I clean my glasses wrong. I do not have any anti-reflective coating on these glasses. I did not BUY the anti-reflective coating, because it is so fragile and expensive. The people at Harvard Square Eye Care are accustomed to such a hard sell for anti-reflective coatings that they have trouble believing anyone could really end up not buying it. (I had a doubtful moment, wondering if they had put it on my glasses despite my insistent refusal, but the Arlington optician saw the situation clearly. Scratch-coat starting to peel, no AR coat at all.) I won the argument, but realized I did not want to have the glasses repaired yet. My eyes are better than they used to be, and I can be comfortable crossing the apartment without my glasses. But I can't take the T home from Harvard Square without them! I can't live for a week or two without them. Using my old glasses for a week will do vile things to my head, because the astigmatism prescription is different. I'll wait until I have my new safety glasses. Then I can look like a dork, but a safe and comfortable dork, while the regular glasses are in the shop.
As for the clothes-shopping, I never made it as far as the Garment District. If I'd skipped Harvard Square Eye Care, and not planned to go to the gym, it might have been feasible. But I just went to the little consignment shops in Arlington. It's kind of embarrassing to need clothes, when I have so *much* stuff from my mother. But a lot of it is the wrong size. (Most of them barely fit last summer, and I've gained a little weight.) And the wrong colors. I didn't think blue jeans can be wrong, but most of these aren't really properly blue. They're blue/green, or blue/purple. Each of them goes with ONE of my colored shirts (and with my black sweater and white shirts) and clashes with most other shades of blue, green, purple, and red. Getting dressed is rather nerve-wracking. I was hoping to find some black jeans that fit. Or more white shirts. But the Arlington consignment shops don't have anything nearly so sensible. I found one item that might be entertaining for a little while (and for $7, I don't much care if it's destroyed by killer poodles the second time I wear it.) But I will still need to go to the Garment District for real clothes one of these days.
I didn't even shop for any luggage. Neither a new rollaboard suitcase, nor a new backpack. The cheap emergency backpack I bought in February to replace my good computer backpack (which probably carried a computer 5% of the time) is already starting to lose a strap. Yesterday, I broke one of the backpack zippers as well. And I lost my favorite hat. Oh, well. The blue denim didn't go with any of my jeans, anyhow. Bye, mole. So the expedition feels like a net loss.
