Optometry appointment

January 6, 2025

With a full day ahead (I’m posting this entry two days later, so I’m not larding up for my optometrist appointment - it’s for something else I’ve got planned), I go whole hog and order the full Lovejoy Breakfast. Not so different from the Full English really, less the beans, less the black pudding.

I don’t know why after all that’s come before, but I really didn’t expect that a simple trip to the optometrist to get a new prescription appropriate to my new needs so I can get new eyeglasses would turn into a good story day. Which, frankly, we’re getting pretty sick of. We’ve had enough good stories in recent months to add spice to the next three or four years worth of journals. We’d be pretty happy to not see another good story day until perhaps May or June, if you really want to know the truth.

And once you’ve been handed one, good stories must be shared; else what’s the point? So here we go. Let’s start by setting the stage. Rachael and I borh have appointments at Keizer this morning. Hers is easier to get to - at Interstate, about three miles away on the east side of the river. The MAX yellow line stops immediately in front of it, so it’s easy to get to. She’s going to get there this morning by Uber in spite of that, because her appointment is at 8:30 and she doesn’t want to take the chance on being late.

I’d be happy to give her a ride, but I don’t have a car at hand - mine is still making its way up the west coast. But even if I did have a car I still wouldn’t give her a lift because I don’t have a driver’s license - I lost it down in SLO. But even if I had a car and a license I still wouldn’t give her a lift because I have my own appointment to get to and it’s further away and harder to get too, on the other side of the West Hills in Hillsboro.

So that pretty well fixes Rachael’s day. She’ll catch an Uber to her appointment, take the MAX back to our neighborhood when she’s done there, and afterwards she’ll take a hike up into the West Hills.

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As I said, my appointment is harder to get to, but since it doesn’t start until ten I have some flexibility. My first thought was to take the MAX myself - the Blue Line to Hillsboro - but when I check the route map I see it’s at least a two mile walk from the closest stop. So I plan on catching an Uber lift myself to get over there. Afterwards I have a lot of possibilities so I decide to just figure it out after my appointment.

Oh, and there’s one other constraint on the day - the Raven is due to arrive in town sometime today so we’ll want to be back in plenty of time for that. And in case you’re one of those disinclined to look backwards, make an exception and look back up the table of contents and check in on Bruce and Andrea’s progress. They’ve for a riveting tale to tell, one you won’t want to miss. And be sure to leave plenty of Likes there. It’s a good deal for TA - free Likes on the website, ones we don’t have to sweat over and earn ourselves for a change. And if you’re still searching for your nudge word to start the new year off with, Like might be a good choice.

With at least the start of the day planned out, I kiss the wife goodby and walk past the deafening crow chorus again for another almond croissant and coffee at Lovejoy Bakery.

I’m a few minutes later this morning and rheees more light in the sky. There’s a bit of pink starting to form, but it’s still too chilly to wait outside hoping it develops into something worthwhile.

While I’m sitting there sipping and snacking and blogging I look up my destination and model a ride on Uber so I can gauge how early to request a ride. I really don’t want to miss this one, the only available optometry appointment within driving range before we leave for Tucson. It shows as roughly a fifteen to twenty minute drive so I arrange a pickup at 9 to allow plenty of recovery time if things go awry, as they oft will do.

My driver is precisely on time, and is one of those that’s in it to collect his fare, not chat or philosophize. I get in, we exchange quick pleasantries, and then we’re both set to mute for the duration until I’m dropped off 20 minutes later. Along the way though I enjoy sitting in the back seat and watching the traffic on US26 that I’m not fighting myself for a change. I could easily get used to this.

My appointment is at Tanasbourne Optometry, one of the peripheral facilities on Kaiser’s Hillsboro campus. My ride drops me off on the corner of a small shopping center and I hop out, confident that I know where I am and that I’m just a block or two away from the optometrist. He drives off, I check the map, and then walk across the parking lot to the nearby optometrist.

When I arrive though, they aren’t expecting me. That’s the case because I’ve come to the wrong place - this is a Visionworks outlet, not Tamasbourne, and they have nothing to do with Kaiser - and they don’t even know where Kaiser is located. Later I’ll look at the Uber ride and see I’ve been dropped at the wrong destination, I think because of a error on my part. Good thing I allowed plenty of time! The greeter offers to look it up on her screen and give me directions, but I can’t remember the name of the place - and I can’t look it up on my new phone for some reason because I’m still figuring the device out. So I decide I’ll use my phone’s hotspot as a network and look it up on the iPad, but there’s a brief panic when I see that the iPad’s battery is nearly dead after I drained it for two hours at the coffee shop.

It’s a relief that I can look up the appointment before the tablet takes a nap, and an annoyance to once more be reminded that the appointment list doesn’t include the street address address of the place. The name’s enough though and shortly she’s found it and points me back the direction I just came from, saying it’s about ten minutes away.

Ten minutes later I’m standing on the edge of what looks like a gated community, with nothing in sight looking like a place of business. This is when I begin to realize I’m in trouble. I’m lost, and I’m running out of time to get found again. So I call Kaiser, wait in their phone queue for several minutes, and finally a person takes the call and I explain my predicament. I need the physical address of this facility so I can call an Uber to drive me there, and I need them to notify the optometrist that I’ll be late (it’s already past the time I’m due to check in) and I’m doing the best that I can.

And that works, barely. Fortunately there’s an Uber available that’s just a minute away, and it’s only a mile and a half to Tanesbourne. The receptionist sends me straight up to the waiting room, where I’m only five minutes late when I arrive.

In a humorous moment, a woman steps into the waiting room and calls for Philip to come to door #3 for their appointment. Two Philips respond though, including the man seated right next to me. He’s the wrong one, so I’m just relating my recent experience to him and getting his agreement that getting shots in both eyeballs isn’t what he’d expect from an eye exam either when my name gets called. I respond, and as I enter my room I’m immediately asked for my name and date of birth.

The exam goes well, I’m pleased to see that although the right eye tests out at zero and likely always will now, I can see pretty far down on the Snellen chart this time - to t least 20/40, and maybe to 20/30. And it looks like I should be well adjusted with my new prescription, for progressive bifocals with shatterproof polycarbonate lenses and all that.

There’s no optometrist on the Hillsboro campus strangely enough, but the doctor informs me that there’s one at Sunnyside when I’m down for my ophthalmology appointment Friday morning. That should work. And then I’m off to the lab at the central facility for some bloodwork ordered by the rheumatologists who are on my case.

While I’ve been waiting at various points a plan for the afternoon gets hatched. I’ve been startled to see all this blue sky because that wasn’t the forecast. This could be the ideal time to ride the OHSU tram down to the river, something I’ve only done once before. The views from that high above the river could be extraordinary today.

A few minutes after I’m out on the sidewalk again my third Uber driver of the day rounds the corner. Another of those silent types, so I lean back, relax, and check the mail. Not long afterwards I’m dropped out at the entrance to OHSU and walk through to the loading platform. And I was right. The view from up here is breathtaking when I step outside.

It’s chilly and quite windy and exposed out here though, so I reach into my rucksack to pull out my new blue Pendleton, the one I bought soon after we returned from Spain to replace the one that got ripped out in the sleeve somewhere this fall. That’s when I discover that it’s been left behind, maybe in the optometrist’s examination room or perhaps at the lab.

So that’s an annoying errand to fit in before we leave town Monday. At least I’ll know where I’m going this time.

I get in the long queue and when the next car arrives I and about forty others pile in and the car starts descending toward the river. It sways gently and I’m free-standing in the center of the car trying to keep my balance and prepared to grasp the arm of the man to my left if I lose it. In a poignant moment, I overhear him telling his young son he’s cradling in his arms that there are mountains around, but he can’t see them. He must be a patient here at the Casey Eye Instirute.

Down on the waterfront I head north, looking for chances to experiment with the camera and thinking about lunch. When I come to the Little River Cafe, a long time favorite where I’d occasionally stop in for a pint and take it outside to one of the benches in front, I step inside and order myself a sweet second breakfast: scrambled eggs, hash browns, and brioche French toast with maple syrup. And coffee.

The Canon’s definitely happier in the sunlight. He’s going to love Tucson.

How ‘bout them cacklers, ain’t they a bunch? Say - does anyone else out there remember Mason Williams, the Classical Gas guy?

Another western gull, this one with that third winter look.

An almost good shot of a California jay.

Second breakfast in the Little River Cafe.

The next stop is our bank and our safety deposit box. This is my second try at this. The first one failed when my key wouldn’t open the box they pulled down from its slot. I thought at first this was because the old bank branch in the Pearl closed last year and we’ve since been relocated to a new box and I’ve arrived today with the old key. It wasn’t that though, as I confirmed later when I compared my key to Elizabeth’s (we share the box) and see they match. I’ll later get a call from the bank saying they think they were trying to open the wrong box. Inspires confidence.

So I’m back, but this time the access failure is on me. I’m asked for ID and remember I forgot to bring my passport as I’d intended, so I turn around and head out the door again. I need the title to the car as an identifier on the DMV website so I can order a replacement for the lost license since I can’t use the card ID from the license itself. At this rate I’m never going to get my driver’s license replaced.

And then, on a whim I walk to the Pendleton store and check out the Board Shirts they’ve got in stock, recalling that there was a second one I liked and considered buying at the time. Thinking it over I conclude that it’s not too antithoreauish to own two Pendleton shirts, and some folks just need more backups than others.

I get the second Pendleton, and I’d show up you a photo of it but I’m waiting until the blue one is found too so I can include them both in the same shot. And then I catch the streetcar back to our neighborhood because the shin splints are still a thing. And then I sit around and wait for the news which comes in shortly that the Raven Is back in town, but you already knew that.

In Chapman Square. The city really has cleaned up along here. This was a no go zone for several years until sometime since last winter.

I’m really pleased with the wide angle feature on the new phone. I could never get this redwood in Lownsdale Square into the frame before.

The new skyscraper towers over Director’s Square.

The flip side of a shot from a few days ago.

It’s coming soon. Might as well make the shins happy and wait for it.

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Annette SchneiderYour journals make excellent reading. Maybe you should be published? I'm never quite sure how much I should post on CB, as it's been quite a few years since I've cycled anywhere. Hope everything goes swimmingly for you and Rachael as you look forward to your time in Tucson!
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1 week ago

Scott AndersonTo Annette SchneiderThank you Annette. I’m pleased that you find it worth your time, but for me it’s been therapeutic - both to write and remember and to hear from those of you who have reached out in one way or another. It feels like I’m part of a real community here. And of course you should feel welcome here even if you’re beyond biking now. I certainly intended to when I feared I’d never bike back again, and when I’ve spent seven weeks now with still only nine miles to show for myself.
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1 week ago