This is My Game Face

Okay, so maybe it's not quite like this. I'm not black. I don't have a mustache. I don't have a beard. I have hair. And my nose isn't that wide. But it's close. Squinty eyes. Kind of snarly. Except the right side of my lip is more lateral than vertical. So this is my game face. For now. Hopefully not for long.

Let me tell you why my face is the way it is. I just found out today! After a week of severe eye pain and sensitivity, I got in to see my optometrist. Sure, there's a long waiting time, but the man is good at what he does. So there I was. They take all the standard exams prior to actually seeing the doctor, including the bane of my existence; the eye pressure test. You know the one. You stick your chin on the chin strap. Brace yourself. They tell you to open your eyes as wide as you can. You start to shake in anticipation. They tell you to look at the blinking green dot in front of you. Still shaking. You blink a couple of times and without warning BAM! You pull back from the shock of having air shot into your eye. It might be just as bad as actually being shot in the eye. Maybe.

After this seemingly endless corporeal punishment, I finally see the doctor. Within a few minutes of examination he tells me, "you have one very unhappy eye." What does that mean? But I agree. Because, well, yeah, it hurts like heck. So then he tells me I have an ulcer. "A what?" That's right. An ulcer. I didn't even know you could get those in your eye. But no wonder it hurts so bad. So we figure out that it was probably bacteria that traveled up through my blood stream and infested, eating away at my eye. Sound gross? Well, that's because it is. At least we can treat it.

So now I'm on a daily regimen of antibiotics in eye-drop form. I use them every 2 hours. And I have some gel that I use 4 times a day... I don't know what it's for, but who am I to argue? AND I get to keep my eyes dilated for the next 5 days. Yep, I've got the drops for that too. Meaning it's sunglasses for me... a lot. Which is funny because I can't wear my contacts and I can't wear my glasses and my sunglasses. So I'm blind in the dark. People saying hello to me at school must feel shafted because I recognize the voice and the direction it's coming from, but I have no idea where they are. So instead of flailing around trying to find them, I say hi, no attempt at eye contact, and walk on.

Fortunately I'm finished with all but one my midterms (anatomy included) and one quiz.

And if you see me on campus, or anywhere else, and my face looks a little like the guy above, don't worry. I still love you. I just can't see you and my eye hurts.