a cute meibomianitis

slow blogging lately, as i've had a li'l eye problem that limits screen time. nevertheless, my left eye has brought about some natural breaching experiments. five observations from the field:

1. i'm suddenly prone to involuntary winking, which dramatically alters social interactions.

(a) absolute worst time to wink: i learned friday that it is definitely not cool to wink when asking a prospective graduate student, "how long will you be in town?" ewwww...

(b) second worst time to wink: i learned today that it is inadvisable to wink in a senate committee hearing -- especially when said elected officials are challenging one's data or interpretations.

(c) third worst time to wink: when running a meeting in a position of authority, a few rapid-fire winks can call one's leadership skills into question -- it doesn't exactly convey a reassuring everything's gonna be all right message.

2. friday was my first doctor's visit in a few years, so i learned all about co-pays. my clinic wanted their ten bucks up front. why ten bucks? is that considered "nominal" and somehow less regressive than, say, fifty? i can't imagine that the revenue associated with a $10 co-pay exceeds the costs of processing a $10 co-pay, so its primary goal is likely deterrence -- as in, do you really need to see that doctor? dr. annie gave me some wicked eyedrops and antibiotics, but told me they'll start to cuttin' if it doesn't clear up this week. i appreciated how she explained the problem, offered a realistic appraisal of her prescribed treatment, and then gave me a course of action in the event it didn't work. well worth the ten bucks.

3. the phriendly pharmacist confided that it might be a little difficult to take these particular antibiotics on an empty stomach as prescribed, so she said it was probably okay to have a little food first. then she winked.

4. it turns out that said pharmacist was right re: the gut-wrenching qualities of the antibiotics, so i got some fancy yogurt to balance things off. as steven wright might say, "i'm taking antibiotics and probiotics. i put them in the same belly and let them fight it out."

5. i wanted to ask for a "badass eye-patch" but quickly realized that only an insensitive clod would ask for something like a white cane or a patch in that setting. as a general rule, those with (presumably) temporary medical problems should never joke about items needed by people with more serious or chronic medical conditions.

though i still can't see much below the big E on the eye chart, at least the winking is subsiding.