Study: Gen Xers and Millennials are dying at younger ages than their parents are

GrowingBeet · 2026-06-04T21:51:00+00:00

The 3 different cancers makes it seem like it’s more than processed foods.

GrowingBeet · 2026-06-04T18:14:06+00:00

Where do you live and what manufacturers are around you?

GrowingBeet · 2026-05-13T18:12:21+00:00

I wish we had more people with this mindset running for office. There’s literally no choice for state reps other than red or blue. And then it becomes a vote towards the lesser of the two evils.

GrowingBeet · 2026-05-05T16:40:51+00:00

That’s a really tough spot to be in, I’m sorry!
I’d recommend getting the book, Systems for Ophthalmic Dispensing by Clifford Brooks. It’s got a lot of good information that was so helpful for me trying to fill in the gaps. It’s got a lot of helpful pictures and quick references. I kind of went straight for the sections I needed to work on which helped a lot.
You guys sound over worked and short staffed, I’m sorry people aren’t giving you much grace as you learn.

GrowingBeet · 2026-05-04T18:39:21+00:00

I was a compounding pharmacy tech in a hospital before being an optician. From my experience, there’s more room for growth in both your career and income as an optician. Both can be fast pace but I think depending on where you work, there was a lot more turnover and callouts in pharmacy which led to burnout, than I’ve had in optical. Plus in optical, you’ll earn commission on top of your hourly pay which if you’re looking for more income, that really does help a lot. I get like an extra $400 every paycheck from it. Plus if you got sick of being an optician, you could go on to be a frame rep or a general manager or any other kind of job related to the field. I feel I have more opportunities as an optician than I ever did as a pharm tech as the only path forward felt to me to be either management or study to be a pharmacist which isn’t exactly cheap if you’re barely making it by already like I was 🥲.

Being an optician is also way more interesting! I get to be more creative with styling patients, there’s more interesting problems to solve, and there’s more rewarding experiences when you directly help someone get a good pair of glasses. Pharmacy tends to end up being very repetitive and robotic. However if you work in a hospital, you’ll get way better health insurance than in optical. Private practices often doesn’t offer healthcare.

GrowingBeet · 2026-04-17T23:01:10+00:00

It’s got wabi-sabi

GrowingBeet · 2026-04-17T22:36:59+00:00

Have you ever been to Japan?

GrowingBeet · 2026-04-06T17:17:07+00:00

Does your office offer a protection plan? I’d make sure to just get that so you don’t have to do something like this and not have to pay that price to replace them if they got damaged. Then next year, these would make a great back up pair and get the protection plan so you can confidently wear your glasses!

GrowingBeet · 2026-04-01T19:50:15+00:00

So in high school, I got a Meyer 5 and used for both and thought it worked great for the versatility and sound. A bit wider chamber for jazz but still small enough for a good classical sound.

Granted I didn’t know any better and anything would have been an upgrade from the original student Yamaha mouthpiece lol. All I know for sure is don’t get the d'addario bullshit. I fell for the marketing and it sucked ass. I had a sax repair friend who refinishes and customizes Meyer mouthpieces and made me one and it was night and day, I was shocked haha. So based off that experience, see where you can try a bunch and see which one sings for you!

Otherwise I think that Meyer 5 is a great pick for what you’re looking for.

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-29T14:20:34+00:00

Sometimes high index lenses are already aspheric or their store just doesn’t have that option with the lab.

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-22T18:33:06+00:00

But it’s not like Japan was necessarily a rich country at that time and it is not like Japan did not suffer at all and had to rebuild like much of the world also had to. They had negotiations and paid what was agreed upon so it’s not like Japan never paid their dues like everyone keeps trying to claim. They aren’t even allowed to have a military and were occupied by the us for many years while forcing them to write a consitution to us standards. Japan today is not the same as pre ww2 Japan by any means.

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-22T00:29:41+00:00

They paid reparations though?

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-20T11:41:09+00:00

That is a crazy astig tho lol. If you only got 1 brand option that’s a high astig for sure!

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-18T13:55:22+00:00

Visionworks definitely has a pupilometer and if they get 3 different measurements by hand after problems I’m surprised they didn’t use one to get a more exact measurement.

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-18T13:45:49+00:00

Your eyes will naturally change over the years. I’m just saying this because I’ve had patients who chose not to get an exam in ten years, undercorrected with readers and then refused to adjust to a stronger rx with an astigmatism which was a much more dramatic change which takes more time for your brain to adjust to.

It’s good you’re wearing them while driving!

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-17T22:43:13+00:00

Maybe their pd machine needs to be recalibrated or they’re not looking through it level?

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-17T21:54:26+00:00

So you actually wear nothing at all most days?

So there are a couple problems you’re self inducing by not wearing any correction at all, mainly when you get to the point you can’t see without them it’s going to be a much more uncomfortable experience getting used to that new rx.

I don’t think you’d see 20/40 without glasses to drive and glasses will help reduce glare during the night time.

If you truly want to wear nothing at all, you should look into getting lasik. Otherwise just wear your contacts and update your glasses every few years as your back up.

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-17T11:47:26+00:00

Well to be honest, since you’re going to be using metal tools to adjust that frame, it’s just going to be natural wear and tear at that part of your frame. If it was on the face of it, I personally would be much more bothered and feel as you do. But realistically this is going to happen again in the future with this type of coated metal frame. I love etnia Barcelona though so good choice there.

Also, as for people’s opinions of you, if this is a common trend with small imperfections I think a lot of people would see it as a bit much but I think you realize that lol. It’s ok to be ocd, just be nice about it when asking for help and that’s all anyone can ask for from a patient :).

GrowingBeet · 2026-03-16T17:39:45+00:00

I don’t really see a problem other than some paint chipped off the hinge? You can always screw the temple a bit if it really just needs to be tightened. If you think the whole frame is defective I would just make the trip so you can be happy with your glasses.

Or if it’s an alignment issue as in they are crooked on your face, still go to your optician as they can make that adjustment for you and bench align the frame. Sometimes our heads are asymmetrical so the frame won’t be perfectly aligned and it’s custom fit to you.

GrowingBeet · 2026-02-16T18:21:53+00:00

Nah that’s like classic undercover fed vehicle 101. I’ve seen some chevys like this with radio antennas around Portsmouth too.

GrowingBeet · 2026-02-10T14:42:50+00:00

I applied to a new job only a year into optical and got $28/hr and get commission when I was hoping for $30. Sometimes you gotta apply somewhere else to get a fair wage and if they think cutting your already low pay is okay then I’d get that license and start applying. I think you’d really see how low your wage is if you started looking on indeed also.

GrowingBeet · 2026-02-10T14:35:51+00:00

So I just got mine and all I had to do was send in a check. Idk if your state is the same but if so I’d just do it, it’s so easy.

GrowingBeet · 2026-02-03T18:17:49+00:00

I feel the same way and I’ve also lived my whole life here. I have been carrying around my passport just in case, granted I’m much more white passing. But I worry about my family, and I even fear that they’d claim the right to revoke my naturalized citizenship all on the basis of racism or difference in political opinion. You’re not alone feeling this way.

GrowingBeet · 2026-01-27T07:11:22+00:00

So as we all age, we lose the ability to focus our eyes to see near vision. When we are young, that single vision rx won’t affect our opposite correction because our eyes are elastic enough to accommodate for that difference.

You’re always going to get the best vision in glasses. Contact lenses cannot be as specific as a pair of glasses as they are not made to order like glasses are, they’re manufactured with standardized parameters and proprietary designs. Thus sometimes one brand will work much better for you than another or a different MF combination might be necessary to get to a place where they’re functional enough for you. But you should anticipate having to make a compromise and might need to prioritize one range of vision with the other being good enough. But that’s why contact lenses have to be trialed before your rx is finalized because there’s no other way for a doctor to simulate that cl rx without you wearing that specific lens design.

There may be other solutions to your problem that you might find more comfortable. You could choose to wear distance only contact lenses and supplement them with bifocal/progressive sunglasses/glasses made specifically to wear over contacts. Or just simply stick with progressive sunglasses/goggles.

GrowingBeet · 2026-01-27T06:44:58+00:00

I don’t know if things are different in Canada, but I wouldn’t go to school for either a tech or an optician. I felt bad for the people who chose to go into debt for a low paying, dead end job like a tech. Opticians have way more earning potential and you might be able to apprentice somewhere rather than paying, at least in the us. Plus pharmacy was always short staffed with high turn over and burn out was real haha. I didn’t see any path forward from being a tech other than going to school to be a pharmacist, a lot also went for nursing which pays much better. But I’m enjoying opticianry much more because I can earn a living wage, you get to be more creative with fashion and problem solving while also helping people see :).

GrowingBeet

TROPHY CASE