It's been a week of ocular shocks. (Hey, what a great name for a band! Tonight at the 9:30 Club, one night only, please welcome The Ocular Shocks! But I digress...) The first nasty shock came when I woke up on Monday morning to encounter a subconjunctival hemmorhage in my right eye. Yes, it looks as disgusting as it sounds -- my eye was completely bloodshot red where it used to be white -- although it doesn't hurt, itch, or produce any other symptoms beyond looking like you were in a bar brawl. Good for the sympathy vote, I guess. And of course it prompted much speculation in the office, necessitating a good juicy story. First place goes to the coworker who suggested I tell people it was a meth lab accident. Close second goes to another colleague who, after I mused that perhaps I should tell people I got in a big fight with a particularly surly eCommerce team member, added that I should be sure to tell everyone I plucked her bald. There's a nice visual. (Names completely omitted to protect the guilty.) I'll spare you any pictures of my nasty eyeball, tho the truly twisted among you are free to Google the term. Two different doctors have assured me that there is no treatment other than to let the eye heal itself and re-absorb the blood back into my system. Apparently it will turn some funky colors as it heals, much like a bruise. Can't wait.

Anyway, the second shock happened during a visit to the optometrist, where I was planning to go this week in the interest of updating my contact lens prescription and getting some new glasses. Now that I have some manner of health insurance again, it's time to get caught up on all things medical. Fun! The visit itself was fairly uneventful, until the end where I nearly had a heart attack when they told me I would be expected to fork over $700 for my new glasses! Whatchootalkinabout, Willis? What kind of crock is this? Fortunately my insurance covered half that cost, but STILL. Are these some kind of superhero glasses that will give me xray vision or other crime-fighting abilities? 'Cause that'll really come in handy while we're riding a songthaew in Laos. Criminy.

Ocular shocks aside, let's not forget (as if we could) that we're in the middle of a historic primary election season here in the US. Mark and I went out and voted on "Potomac Tuesday," which also happened to be his birthday, and like most people we've been closely following coverage of the race, particularly on the Democratic side. Although we both hope to send in absentee ballots for the general election, as we'll be long gone by November, we're looking forward to a new regime in 2009. There's been no shortage of political punditry, but I had to share the best candidate analysis I've seen so far:

World Hum's 2008 U.S. Presidential Candidate Travel Scorecard
What travel guide best suits John McCain? Where’s Hillary Clinton’s dream destination? Julia Ross examines how the White House contenders stack up as global travelers.

Now there's a yardstick I can identify with! Interesting to note that Obama got 4.5 (out of five) Air Force Ones, while Clinton got 4. Further proof that this is one close race, kiddies.