Project Eyeball Repair, Part 1

Companion piece to Jen Amber's extensive posts about her experience (1, 2, 3, 4):

This week I am going to get my eyes fixed.
After 27 years of wearing glasses and 23 years of wearing contact lenses, I will no longer be a "four-eyes." Though I don't actually recall being teased for having glasses, I am self-conscious in them. I don't feel at my best when wearing them. After the surgery, I won't feel fuzzy in the morning because the world around me is fuzzy (a gal I know said she used to use that fuzziness to shut out the world when she needed to focus on what was immediately in front of her). I won't have to worry about "what if my glasses break" or "what if I lose my contact lens". I won't have to worry about getting water in my eyes when I'm swimming or SCUBA diving. I won't have to carry a tiny screwdriver to tighten that loose screw in my glasses. I won't have to worry about carrying a contact lens case, airport approved size bottle of cleaner, and my glasses with me when I travel. And most of all, I won't have to worry about finding my glasses when I've misplaced them and can't see diddly.

So, how did I find the right place to go? I researched. I went to three different places before I found the right one.
The first place I went, Icon Lasik, was recommended by a former coworker, but seemed too "assembly-line" like. It ended up being the cheapest, about half the price of the other two. I decided to keep looking, just to see what else was out there.
The second place I went, Lakewood Eye Clinic, was recommended by three coworkers. It was much more personal than the other, but I still felt a little rushed and they were a little off-hand about everything. They also dilated my eyes with a much stronger substance than I'm used to and I was still having focusing issues 24 hours later (with no forewarning of a difference). This seemed careless to me. There was a delay in the scheduling, so I decided to keep looking.
The third place I went, Spivak Vision Center, was a place that initially had nothing more to recommend it than some good commercials on the radio. The process of evaluation, however, went smoothly, unrushed, with every test and every result explained. I happen to love information. Facts are what I use to make a majority of decisions in my life. Preprocessed or overly simplified information put me on my guard. The technicians and doctor I talked to at Spivak were clear and personable and most importantly, informative. They gave you a card for your records that had the name of every person you interacted with during your evaluation experience. I didn't feel rushed and though it was the most expensive of the three places, I found myself feeling like I was buying the best service, not like I was being squeezed for every penny. Best of all, they were happy to work with my usual eye doctor (who I like very much as he is extremely thorough and informative as well) for my pre- and post-operation examinations.

So, on Thursday, I will be driven to the surgery by my good friend, Stacey, and a careful and experienced surgeon will give me a highly customized surgery to fix my eyeballs!