Blue-light blocking clip-ons
I have always had a tendency toward dry eyes. If I spend too long looking at a screen or reading, my eyes start to feel dry and strained. When it gets especially bad, I even feel as if my eyes cannot quite focus, and my vision becomes blurry. I used to think it was simply the result of overusing my eyes. Then I met a friend who wore blue-light blocking glasses, and that made me wonder whether blue light might also be part of my problem.
After looking around on JD.com, I ended up choosing PTK blue-light blocking clip-ons.
I have been using them for about a month now, and overall they have worked very well for me. They weigh only 10 grams, so they feel light and unobtrusive. The blue-light filtering is quite strong, which means everything looks noticeably yellowish. It has a big impact on color, so I would not recommend them for anyone whose work depends on accurate color judgment, such as graphic designers.
For my own use, though, my eyes do feel much more comfortable. Recently I have not had those more serious episodes where my eyes feel unable to focus. In the past, looking at stock trading software was particularly tiring: the black background, fast-changing numbers, and constant flicker made my eyes fatigue very quickly. Now it feels much better. For reading webpages, the experience is also good. After the blue light is filtered out, reading text feels less tiring, and the fonts even seem a little clearer.
The seller also claims that blue light affects sleep, so wearing these glasses may help improve sleep quality. My sleep has been pretty good this year anyway, so I cannot say I have noticed much difference in that respect.
Huawei Watch
I have never liked mechanical watches, but I do have a soft spot for sports watches, especially Huawei’s GT series. That probably has something to do with the fact that I like to think of myself as someone who enjoys the outdoors and running.
This year, however, because of laziness and other reasons, I have done much less hiking and running. At the same time, various sub-health issues have kept showing up: lower back pain, neck pain, occasional dizziness, and the occasional feeling of heart palpitations. So I decided to move from Huawei’s sports-oriented watches to its health-monitoring line and bought the Huawei WATCH 5.
Before changing watches, I had always assumed that I was under a lot of mental stress and probably had some anxiety tendencies. But the Huawei WATCH 5 keeps telling me that I am in a pleasant mood and not anxious. I do not know whether the watch is inaccurate, or whether the general state of people nowadays has led Huawei to set the threshold for “pleasant” very low and the threshold for “anxious” very high.
In any case, if it says I am happy, then I will treat myself as happy.
Camera
There are too many serious photography experts in my blogging circle. After browsing their photos often enough, it is hard not to feel embarrassed by my own photography skills. So I wanted to improve.
But improving one’s technique is difficult. Taking a shortcut seemed more realistic: upgrade the equipment first, and hope the gear can make up for what the skill lacks. After looking around, I finally chose the Nikon Z7 II. The only reason I picked this five-year-old camera is that, relative to the image quality it can produce, the price is low enough. To put it plainly, my wallet limited my options. If I had the budget of those photography veterans, I would buy whatever camera body I wanted and whatever lens I wanted.
For the body, I chose value for money. For the lens, I also chose value for money: the Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-2.8.
Maybe the meaning of shopping is not limited to the practical use of the thing being bought. The act of buying itself carries meaning. I do think the process of shopping can bring pleasure. It gives time and money a sense of purpose, and in the end it can ease anxiety.
From that angle, people with thicker wallets may have an easier time relieving anxiety.
Of course, poverty may have further limited my imagination. Perhaps those people do not have anxiety at all. Perhaps shopping, for them, is simply a way to accumulate even more pleasure.