Four Eyes

I got new glasses recently, which is making me ridiculously happy. While some people dream of using their lottery winnings to buy fancy houses or fast cars, the first thing I would do with my windfall is buy pairs and pairs of glasses, in every shape and size. I used to resist wearing glasses, forcing myself to put my contacts in no matter how uncomfortable, but now I have embraced my life as a Four Eyes. It's easier, it's more comfortable, and, as I have suffered through several strange, painful eye conditions, it's more healthy. Plus, glasses have come a long way and there are many cute choices out there. I get mine at Sol Moscot's, which I highly recommend. The Moscot family has been in the eye business for four generations. Hyman Moscot, Sol's father, sold glasses from a pushcart on the Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century, after immigrating from Eastern Europe. The business is now run by Sol's grandsons. The staff there is incredibly friendly and helpful, letting you try on pair after pair and giving honest opinions about how each one looks.



What I like about my new eyeglasses is that, while they look dark brown in the picture, they actually have a lot of green in them, which gives a flash of color in certain light. They also have subtle cat's eye shape, which is interesting but not over-the-top wacky, which is not my style. Also, I now look more than ever like the girl on the cool Poketo wallet that Jody got me when she and Calvin went to Comic-Con. (She is a character in Derek Kirk Kim's Same Difference which you can read at lowbright.com)



Many people have asked me if I bought this wallet because she looks so much like me, but Jody says that the product's cuteness was the only factor in her decision. In any case, the wallet has given me an unearned coolness at my local video store. The hipster clerk was scornfully ringing up my purchase of VCR tapes, probably thinking what kind of nerd uses a VCR these days. (My answer--the kind of nerd who tapes full seasons of The Wire and Six Feet Under for her friends without cable.) His whole attitude changed when he saw my wallet, which he gushed over. Now whenever I go in, he is super friendly, always remembers my name, and asks me if he has told me how much he likes my wallet.