The Day I stopped wearing glasses

I wrote this article in June 2002, when I did the Zyoptix surgery, to get rid of my glasses..

The world became just a bit bigger from today, no longer do I see the world through an oval, vision-limiting tool.. From here on, I’ll have to worry more about not rubbing my eye for the next few months, rather than breaking my glasses… .No more fortnightly/monthly/yearly spectacle charges for daddy anymore, Vision Opticals will me mighty depressed now, he has lost out on his unerringly frequent, faithful customer. I don’t have to worry about searching for my glasses early in the morning, don’t have to worry about not seeing Daddy in the swimming pool every time I go for a swim, don’t have to worry about glasses falling off every time I look down from a terrace, leave alone seeing it tumble down an Indian toilet! This makes me a little more bear-able, at least visually. Also, I don’t need to constantly adjust my glasses falling off my nose, don’t need to frequently putting the lens back in the frame, and unsuccessful-searching for those minuscule lost screws off my frame. No more painful scars left by glasses, especially over my nose. Don’t have to lose a beat every time my glasses fall off when I play. My hair doesn’t get stuck in spectacles any more. No more do I need to pack-in a spare glass every time we go to Madurai, no more of those agonizing, excruciatingly boring waits at eye drops with eyes closed, with the bonus of terrible eye sight for the next few days. And yeah, don’t have to go on reading alphabets (gives you the feeling of an just-into-school kid )at the eye hospitals. I can be a pilot now (though that would rank among my last career options!) No more will people keep bothering me offering to clean the ever-dirty glasses, and no more would I have to wipe them every time I get off an AC car. Don’t have to remove my glasses every time I remove a tight shirt. Can sleep with a book now, no problems of sleeping with glasses on now. Will need to wear only one glass the next time I watch a 3-D movie. I wouldn’t switch channels if I see a Ray-ban advertisement on TV, for now I can visualize myself wearing one now….. Now all my friends who have waited to see so long to see the result of my eye surgery( In reality, to see if I was not blind after the surgery!) have got the green signal from this particular test case and would be further confused about going for the surgery or not. They're happy that I'm fine, and that the surgery is pretty effective, but sad that it's so expensive. But this also means I have no more excuses for poor driving, and many other associated escapisms... This is my New World… Love, Arvind P.S: This also means I can call you a Soda – Buddi, knowing that I have cleared that teaser from my name now ;)