I had three pairs of glasses. One of them broke, and one of them I left at a restaurant during a bitcoin-related business/academic meeting. The last one is half-broke, like it works decently enough but the left hinge is busted and opens too wide, and so it doesn't stay on my head as well as it should.

I usually prioritize my glasses poorly because I only wear them when driving or when I need to read things at a distance (e.g. walking around an airport or other unfamiliar environment). I purposely only wear them when I have to, and do my best to do eye exercises and such in other times, to avoid getting too dependent on them. As a result I tend not to take very good care of them.

I have a pair of prescription sunglasses too, so I've been wearing them, including in some contexts where it's not quite normal (e.g. inside). It ends up feeling like an awkward version of The Matrix.

Before I go to Egypt for the late summer, I scheduled an appointment for an eye exam and a new multi-set of glasses. Most places around me were booked for a full month (labor shortage). With one place that was open, I scheduled weeks in advance but then one eye doctor got into an accident and and their whole schedule changed. So there were *no* eyeglass places within a reasonable distance of me that could do an eye exam, prescribe and manufacture new glasses before I go to Egypt.

So I'm just kind of going there with a busted normal pair of glasses and then my sunglasses, which I'm increasingly getting used to using in abnormal places. I'll probably be walking around the airport in sunglasses. Maybe when I'm there I can get new ones, or just wait until I get back.

Back during COVID, when we all needed tests before travel, I always found it easier to get tests in Cairo than in New Jersey. The US tests were like, "okay we can get them to you in 48-72 hours" which was awkward because the government+airline was like, "we need tests within the past 72 hours". So there was this weird window where they get it to you just in time... or they don't. I had to get a second emergency test for like 10x the cost once, with high stress and extra activity right before the flight, because the first test was too slow and missed their 72-hour timeframe. But in Cairo I could always get one within 24-36 hours without issue.

Anyway, that's my current version of first world problems. Heading to Egypt with broken glasses, and the Egyptian system might ironically fix this faster than I can here in New Jersey. Everything feels weird due to labor shortages.