I went to the ophthalmologist yesterday (unfortunately, I need new glasses). It was the first time I’ve been to him (meaning this specific doctor, not ophthalmologists in general). He has an optician connected to his practice and strongly encourages buying your glasses there.
So, he gave me a voucher, and I was like “hey, great, I’ve no problem with buying my glasses there, it’s not like I pledged allegiance to my optician!”. But then I looked more closely and saw that the voucher was for 10 Euros off, if spending more than 100 Euros. Which made me hesitate. I paid 80 Euros for the glasses I have now and I felt so bad about it, spending so much money I could spent on books or something, for something I care so little about. But hey, I look good with them.
Anyway. I figured I could spend as much money there as I would at my usual optical haunt and just forget about the voucher. I had a look at the glasses on display, while waiting for my prescription. And I started to feel really uncomfortable. The cheapest pair I saw there cost 169,- Euros. One hundred and fucking sixty-nine.
After my initial shock, I searched for the most expensive glasses. I needed to know. I did not search long for they were in the most prominent place. Designed by Daniel Swarovski, complete with Swarovski crystals everywhere, where they would fit. A stunning 1.279,- Euros. Let me repeat. One thousand two-hundred seventy-nine. And that’s without the glass itself, just the frame.
That’s more than I earn a month (after taxes).
I got my prescription and got the hell out of there, went to my usual optician, where I got new glasses for my old frame plus a complete new pair for less than 90,- Euros.
1.279. Kiss my ass.
[I told my mom about that (“MOOOOOOOOMMYYYY!!! Did you know that glasses could be this expensive?????”) and she told me about the one time she didn’t buy her glasses at her usual optician. (She, contrary to me, is farsighted.) She chose a nice pair, gave up a order for the glass and was told to pick them up a couple of days later. When she did, she almost had an heartattack – farsighted as she is, she couldn’t read the price and the whole thing cost her more than 500,- Euros. (As opposed to her usual 160,-)
I tell ya… I know my mum spends more on these things that I do, but that stunned me into silence. Again.]
[And then she told me about her first date with my dad. She wore those huge sunglasses that were modern at the time, with some of those twinkly glass stones in the frame. Later my dad confessed that he almost turned round again, when he saw her that day. He thought, “what kind of skank am I meeting here? She has diamonds in her glasses!”
You can be very happy that my dad’s more the calm and collected type. Otherwise he would have stormed off and I wouldn’t be here today… Though I bet you aren’t as happy as I am.]