A Chance Of (Visual) Perspective

I was watching some shows on my desktop this morning, and I noticed that I was having problems actually seeing details on the screen.  Now normally this wouldn’t be such a strange thing, given how I was lying down on my bed some distance away from the PC’s screen, but even when I sat on my bed’s edge I still had some trouble.  After a few hours of this on and off (I was marathoning the English dub of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and did reading in between waiting for each of the episodes to finish downloading), I got tired of this. So after taking my lunch and a bath afterward, it was off to the closest optometrist to have my eyes checked.

The verdict?  It looks like the grade on both my eyes worsened by a degree, from 125 to 150 on my right eye, and from 150 to 175 on my left.  Ugh, I only have myself to blame for this; too many  late nights either gaming or reading, more of the former than the latter.

This pretty much meant that the lenses on my current glasses were pretty much obsolete, so I had to not only had to have a new pair of lenses measured, I also had to get a new frame as well (as the one I’d been using has seen more than it’s share of seasons).  The specialist on duty expressed surprised that mine lasted as long as it did (three years, all told), when other people would have their lenses replaced in just one.  Well, I just didn’t see the need to do so, until now.

I didn’t pay in cash, so I had to use my card this time again.  The total cost for both the new lenses and the accompanying frame?  Around five thousand nine-hundred Philippine pesos, which meant that I’ve somehow sunk further into credit card debt.  At the rate I’m going, it’s going to be December again before I clear out my credit card bills…

Since it took an hour to finish preparing the lenses, I went upstairs and availed myself a nice body and relaxing body massage (which normally took an hour or so too).  This time around, I didn’t have the place to myself; there were two other clients, Japanese tourists by the sound of it, being serviced in the rooms adjacent to mine.  It was amusing, given how the attendants were trying to chat the two foreigners up, and how the poor Japanese gentlemen tried with their limited English to answer the masseuse’s probing questions.

With my session done, I went back down again to the eyeglass shop.  As expected, it was ready.  I tried the new pair on and… Well, it’s a new experience certainly.  I hope I can get used to them soon though.  Mmph, I know I should have gone back to sleeping early.

It was raining on the way home, which meant I was somewhat soaked by the time I stepped through our front door.  So much for the hat I was wearing, much good it did.

 

 

 

Out In The Sun

 

For the first time in a few days, it was bright and sunny for a change, which meant that I didn’t have to bring an umbrella to work (though I did so anyway).  With the strong rains over and the floodwaters gone, this meant that it was business as usual for the city.  Which I suppose is a good thing, I think.

Despite my fears of getting chewed out last night, they never really materialized.  Apparently I wasn’t the only one who had trouble coming in, nor was I alone in not being able to call in to inform workforce about it.  So in the end, it’s not going to be held against me.  Which is actually quite reasonable for our higher-ups, for a change.

Aside from that, it was pretty much the usual day at work for yours truly, except for some small details.

For one, we were overstaffed for the day, but that’s what happens when you have a ton of people still stranded at the office, and were doing overtime because they were stranded.  With the end of the rains however, they were looking forward to finally going home (the three college girls in particular, who had been there for at least three days already), though there was still some good-natured ribbing about the fact that they pretty much made the office their unofficial condo because of the rains. 

The free food at the pantry continued today as well, so I didn’t have to pay for anything except for drinks.  Unlike the others however I didn’t abuse the opportunity too much; I listed down one instance of breakfast, followed by lunch some two hours later, and neither had a price amount that went over fifty pesos.  That’s quite a bit of self-control, especially when one considered the fact that some of my other co-workers were taking twice the amount, which meant that whatever food that was there quickly vanished.

The end of my work day was pretty mundane as well (though I did notice that there were still fewer vehicles and jeepneys on the road than usual).  I did have to make a detour to the closest ATM of my bank before I went home, but that was because I was renewing my membership with the gym again.  And since it was sunny again, I made sure to drop by for a visit, though I had to limit session there to around forty minutes instead of my usual one hour.

That withdrawal pretty much tanked my savings though.  And while it’s payday tomorrow, I can’t really be happy, not when the bill for the package I was waiting for arrived as well.  The total amount due for the Fedex’d Warhammer 40k 6th Edition rulebook came to around two thousand nine hundred ninety-eight pesos and some change, which is almost the same amount as I’d paid for the book (seventy-seven odd dollars).  This meant that my savings had an impending deduction before I had even put it into my bank account.  Ugh.  And that’s not the only due I’m expecting to come in — there’s the credit card bills too, which are inflated due to the purchase of all those books I need for review in prep for the comprehensive exam.

The next few months are going to be rough on my savings, to say the least.

Still, I’m glad that the package likely came through in one piece (and dry as well, since it was already at the delivery center before all that rain came down on the city), so I’ll shell out the cash tomorrow when I pick it up.  Getting the book will be enough for me to turn the other way with regards to the annoying customs fees.

 

 

 

 

Guilt Tripping and Empty Accounts

Well, my sister sure knows how to ruin my day.  

When I told her that, because of my savings (or diminished state thereof) I won’t be able to pay for half of the electricity bill like I used to, she was understandably annoyed.  However, when I asked her to also help with the dividend (the bill was about 5220 PHP, and I had like 1700 PHP left in my savings), she returned to her room in a huff.  She came back shortly with what I thought was about 3700 PHP, but after handing me the money she just had to give me that jab that if I wasn’t able to pay for my A/C usage, I should stop using it altogether and that the money she was being forced to contribute was coming from her wedding fund.  

It stings, but I’ve come to expect this from my sister.  I don’t think I’ve ever amounted to anything but a disappointment and a serious waste of flesh to her.  Not surprising, since for a bit she was forced to contribute to my schooling for a while (remember, I stopped going to college for about a year and a half, so she graduated and started working before I did), and any time I’m not contributing to the family spending pool is just another reminder to her about how much of a failure of a human being I am.  Seriously.

Since it was the deadline, I obviously had to go out and pay the bill.  It was really painful for me to withdraw the last amount of money I had, but the fact that it was going to be payday tomorrow helped alleviate things a bit.  To save what little money in my purse (outside of the cash set aside for the bill itself) I opted to walk to where I normally paid our bills.  Good thing I brought an umbrella with me, as it started to drizzle a bit on my way out of the house.  It wasn’t so bad, but the rain did mean that the way to the payment place would be muddy.  And to think I just changed jeans for the week too…

Long story short, I got to the bill payment place, and successfully paid off this month’s electric bills.  Imagine my surprise though when I found out that my sister gave me a full 5000 PHP instead of the 3700 PHP I was expecting.  Needless to say, I gave her back the change once I got home.

Speaking of which, was I glad that I brought that umbrella with me, as it really started to come down on my way back.  It was so bad that I had to catch a ride, and even then the last street before our apartment was already partially flooded.  The edges of my jeans were soaked, though less from the flood and more because of the rain splashing off the pavement.

I’m glad that the bill issue was taken care of, but I wonder about the next billing cycle.  Hopefully my sister will understand that my work doesn’t pay much, and stop insisting that I quit and find a better-paying job.  If there’s something out there that doesn’t intersect with my school schedule, then fine, but until she could recommend one to me I’m staying where I am, thank you very much.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a courier in Cantha I have to escort in-game…