a new set of eyes

Before my family meeting this evening, I've got a 1PM eye appointment at a local Costco: it's past time for a new year's supply of disposable lenses. Can't say that I'm a fan of disposables; they're more expensive than the old daily-wear contacts, which you could wear for a year, but which you also took out every night. The daily-wears were much cheaper because you purchased only a single pair as opposed to twelve pairs. Disposable contacts, don't seem anywhere near as comfortable, and they're designed to deteriorate: after two months, they become distinctly scratchy when sitting on your corneas. Alas, they're considered safer for your eyes because they're better at promoting oxygen exchange, which is why the old daily-wear lenses have been phased out. Many consumers swear by disposables and see them as a superior alternative to daily-wear lenses, but I guess I'm one of the hold-outs.

Since I'll be in that particular part of town soon, I'm also going to continue my search for Korean art supplies. Still no luck finding a place that makes cheap dojang (a stamp or chop used by artists, officials, and regular citizens for a variety of signatory/identification purposes). If I thought I could make one myself, I would, but that particular skill isn't mine yet. I'm hoping that, somewhere in Koreatown, there's a shop that makes those cheap, machine-generated dojang for just a couple of bucks. The quality is generally impeccable, and once the stamp's image is on the page, who can really tell whether the chop is made of stone or wood or plastic?

I feel like an idiot for not having brought my original, hand-made chops home from Korea. I had made a set of three gorgeous chops several years back; the cost was W150,000, or about $150. The workmanship was very traditional; the chops' images had a rough-hewn, organic appearance that a computer-generated chop can't replicate. Since I don't have this set with me, I'm going to have to make do with whatever I can find here. If I can find what I'm looking for. I'm optimistic, though: the local Koreatown is big and varied; there's got to be someone, somewhere, who does cheap dojang work.


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