Major achievements

Here's a riddle for you: What do job interviews and purchasing new glasses have in common? Intimidation.

The answer: Both are downright intimidating. And I did them both today, before lunch.

Interviews are always a bit nerve-wracking, as everyone knows. But not everyone would think that buying glasses is on the same level. If you think about it, though, they have a lot in common at the emotional level.

In an interview, all the attention is on you, and you have to present yourself in the best light. Same with optical shopping. It's not like a grocery store or department store, where you can wander around and no one pays attention to what you are buying, how much of it you are buying, or what you look like while doing it. But at an optical shop, there you are: the center of attention, all eyes on you, and not just on you, but evaluating you and how you look. Granted, it is friendly evaluation  and the optician is trying to help you look your best, but it's evaluation all the same.

Interviews have a skewed balance of power. You're interviewers have the upper hand in knowledge and they get to call the shots. Basically, as the interviewee, you are at the mercy of the committee conducting the interview. Your fate is in their hands.

Admittedly, with an optician, it's not nearly as life-altering, but I still feel at their mercy. I don't know the ins and outs of insurance, lens and frame options and pricing, and the other details of buying a pair of glasses. They are salespeople, and I just always feel like I'm at their mercy. Dealing with them requires a kind of confrontational assertiveness that I can usually only muster with people I'm familiar with. Not strangers I'll probably never see again.

So, kudos to me for having faced down both of these dragons in one morning. And, I'm happy to report, the optical experience was far less daunting than it could have been (that year working for optometrists really came in handy) and glasses were successfully purchased, in less than half an hour. (Yeah, not sure that is the best approach, but I think it's going to work out fine for me.)

Next dragon to slay: the dentist.