Codename Four Eyes

He tried breaking into other dialogues, but it was like continually shaking hands with a glove from which the hand had been withdrawn - so finally, with a resigned air of being among children, he devoted his attention entirely to the champagne. 

Part I, Chapter VII, Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published 1934. 

This single line, simple and short, is something very exciting, isn't it?  I love the image of shaking hands with an empty glove.  I know what it feels like, and I'm sure if you don't, you could guess.  But it is such a joy to stumble across a single line like this and feel suddenly like you get it!  It's a whimsical fleeting thought that was snatched and folded in. 

I got my glasses yesterday.  I spent yesterday afternoon 'weaning' myself into them a bit, and then I wore them frequently today and made sure that everyone I knew got an eyeful.  My depth perception, especially looking down, is a tad mutilated, but not to the extent of putting things down a foot from the table or reaching to pick something up from a meter away.  It's more to the extent that if I was to throw a rubber across the class to someone, I had better peek out from under my glasses so I can aim accurately.  Actually, I'm enjoying being a little handicapped, because it's a great fuel for jokes.  How typically Australian is that?  Self-mocking humour.  Remember that assignment? 

Anyway, the difference between wearing and not wearing glasses is the difference between seeing a crisp, bright white word, and guessing at a  faint, pale smudge.  The difference between seeing every individual greasy strand of split-ended hair on my head to seeing a soft, glowy, chocolate head of hair.  It's obviously not all good.  And this is short and long distance.  I feel empowered.  Television looks better too - even more three dimension, despite the fact that that is physically impossible.  In short, I think that besides rendering me the biggest girl nerd registered in this crazy continent, wearing glasses is going to actually help me see things a whole lot better.  I suppose that figures.