I’m smart, frugal, and internet savvy, so you’d think this concept would have occurred to me before now. After all, you can buy nearly anything online nowadays, usually for much less than you’d pay at a store. Until very recently, though, I had it in my head that you simply couldn’t buy glasses online, that it took an expert to make them the perfect fit and prescription.

According to “Adventures in $40 eyeglasses” (via LifeHacker), though, I couldn’t be more wrong. All you really need are a few simple measurements (e.g., pupil distance, lense width, arm length, etc.), your prescription, and an understanding of what it all means. You only need an expert for the eye exam; after that, you apparently have everything you need to know.

I scanned through the article’s comments, and the author’s experience seems legitimate. As for where to buy glasses online, a lot of commenters spoke highly of Zenni Optical and Goggles4u. Not a single one mentioned any dissatisfaction, which is surprising. More importantly, nobody mentioned paying more than $100, and many said they paid less than $50. In several cases, people bought multiple pairs, all with the same quality that you’d pay $100s for at LensCrafters.

Granted, the jury is still out on laser eye surgery. I know my wife is too squeamish to go through with it, though, so we’ll probably be buying glasses online for her. I’ll be sure to give an update on the experience after we’ve given it a try. After reading the article, though, I am decidedly… opti-mistic.

I’ve had poor vision for most of my life. I know the cost would be significant, but it’s no longer prohibitive. The procedure itself is a little off-putting, but I think I could handle it. And I’m not particularly worried about any long-term risks. If I decide to go through with it, there’s really nothing standing in my way.

My real concern, however, is a loss of identity. As William James says in the Principles of Psychology, “The old saying that the human person is composed of three parts - soul, body and clothes - is more than a joke.” I’ve worn glasses since I was nine years old. They’re a part of who I am. I probably wouldn’t be the same shameless nerd I am today if I’d never needed them. If I don’t wear them anymore, will that diminish me? Will I see someone else when I look in the mirror?

Just as important as how I see myself, though, is how others will see me. I find that people with glasses are regarded as more intelligent. If I no longer wear glasses, will that make others regard me differently? Since I’m in a computer-centric field, will it hurt my career prospects?

I’m probably overreacting, but that’s my predicament in a nutshell. I know getting laser eye surgery won’t fundamentally change who I am. Still, I haven’t gone a day without glasses for the past decade and a half. If I stop wearing them, will it alter the identity that I’ve established? What do you think I should do?

• We saved up an emergency fund. Our goal back in July was to have three months worth of expenses saved up by the end of the year. I’m proud to say that we’ve met that goal and then some. Now, even in the unlikely event that both of us got fired, my blogging income dried up, and we couldn’t draw unemployment, we’d still have a full three months before things got tight.
   
• We cut our expenses. Most notably, we cancelled our home phone service and negotiated a lower rate on our cable/internet bill. Considering how we use our cell phones almost exclusively anyway, we didn’t miss the service at all, and the net reduction ended saving us about $50 a month.
   
• We started saving for retirement. To be truthful, my fascination with personal finance started taking off when I opened my first retirement account this year. I’m already contributing 5%, and I plan to start contributing up to my employer’s match next year after our emergency fund is fully established.
   
• We started tracking our budget. If you’d asked me a year ago what we spend on gas in a week, I’d have shrugged. Now I can tell you down to the penny with little more than a moment’s notice. Knowledge like that really is worth the effort, because it lets you know exactly where your money is going.
   
• We set financial goals for the next few years. Now that the emergency fund is established, our next step is paying off my student loans by May 2008, followed by our car by February 2009, at which point we’ll be debt free. In the long term, we dream of buying a home, having another baby (or two), paying our son’s way through college, and maybe going back to school and getting my Master’s degree.
   
• We started tracking our credit. I monitor our credit score on a monthly basis now and check one of our three credit reports every four months for changes. More importantly, thanks to a little credit know-how, I know exactly when we should be ready to take on a mortgage.
   
• We’re moving into a new apartment. The rent will be considerably cheaper and we’ll be much closer to my work. We’re still in the process of picking an apartment, but we’re doing things smarter this time around. We’re starting early, we know exactly what we want, we’re doing thorough comparisons, and we’re not going to be afraid to haggle.

Thanks to these steps, my wife and I now have a positive net worth and are looking forward to a bright, financially secure future. Heck, I’m even considering the prospect of early retirement. The whole experience of taking control of our finances has been incredibly liberating.

On that note, I’d like to thank JD of Get Rich Slowly, Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You to be Rich, Jonathan of My Money Blog, Trent Hamm of The Simple Dollar, and all the bloggers out there like them, without whose advice our success wouldn’t have been possible.

Okay, hold that thought. Now imagine that these conferences are all “part of the deal” of being employed, and that those who choose to complain and/or not go have historically been fired. Notably, a predecessor in your department is one of them. Remember how you felt a second ago? How have your feelings changed?

Welcome to my world. I’m not really complaining; in fact, I’m quite fond of my job and hope to keep it for some time. I just thought I’d share the leap in attitude that a bit of employment uncertainty can bring.

Granted, I’m not at all enthusiastic about the conference. It’s going to be a lot of work and time away from my family for no additional pay or time off. However, I won’t be making a fuss. Considering my participation has been attached to my continued employment, however implicitly, I accept it as a regretable fact of life and will do my duty without complaint.

The situation makes me wonder about proper incentivism, though. Isn’t it much better for morale to offer a better incentive than, “You get to keep your job”? Sure, that’s a powerful motivator for most people, but it has a tendency to breed resentment. My company doesn’t use it in any other context, thankfully, but I can’t imagine it’s a good business practice to use to any degree. After all, especially in a larger company, malcontent can be the silent killer of your bottom line.

Whatever the case, the conference itself is still a few weeks off, so I don’t need to lament it just yet. Besides, I have a good supervisor, good pay, a bit of creative freedom, and job responsibilities that are both challenging and educating, all things that aren’t easy to come by. More importantly, everyone who knows me knows how much I hate job hunting. All things considered, going to the conference is definitely better than the alternative.

What do you think? How far would you be willing to go to keep a good job?

Following this logic, I’ve decided to turn Project Paradox into a true multiblog. Think of it as a hydra; it’s still the same blog, just with several discrete sections. This way, you guys will be able to read the content that truly interests you rather than seeing everything thrown together in the same pot.

You can see the new breakdown by visiting the home page. I would encourage my existing subscribers to choose the one or two feeds that fit them best; I think that should make for a much better read. As always, if you have any feedback to share, I’m all ears.

1. I’ve always been a genius with math. Remember that guy in calculus who spent the entire class playing card games on his calculator and still managed to get A’s? Yeah, that was me (literally). It’s just a talent I have. Why didn’t I pursue a math degree, you ask? It wasn’t a lack of ability. Frankly, I just didn’t want to do math for a living.
    
2. I prefer cartoons to other television shows. My tastes may have changed over the years (nowadays I’m really into anime), but I’ve never really grown out of cartoons.
    
3. I’m very health-conscious. Not to be confused with a “health nut,” ever since college I’ve been very aware of the health choices I make. If I only followed my own advice, I’d probably be lean and fit. Blast my sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy appetites!
    
4. I married young. 20, in fact, and my wife was 18 at the time. As high school sweethearts, we were dating for three years, engaged for one, and married for the past four. Despite statistics that might suggest otherwise, we’re still madly in love with one another and look forward to the rest of our lives together.
    
5. My middle name is Thaddeus. Hence the name on Adam’s tag. Whenever I mention it, people exclaim how interesting and unique it is and wonder why I don’t use it. Frankly, I do; my family refuses to call me anything else. As far as I’m concerned, though, the rest of the world will always know me as Stephen.
    
6. I’m a stickler for proper spelling and punctuation. See how meticulously I write? Well, this is how I write all the time, even when chatting or taking quick notes. It doesn’t make me freak out to do otherwise; it’s just a habit I’ve developed over the years.
    
7. My career practically fell in my lap. I went to school to become a therapist. After submitting a bug fix to my college’s website, though, I was offered a webmaster position. Likewise, my initial experiences in blogging and search marketing came entirely unsolicited. You could say that I’m good at learning on the job, but the fact remains that I didn’t end up in my line of work by design.

That ought to cover it. Except, of course, for my tags. In the spirit of the meme, I demand that the following individuals post their own random facts.

• Crystal
• Daniel
• JP
• Katherine
• Simon
• Zach

1. I eat Taco Bell hot sauce on my hot dogs. Ketchup? Relish? Fuggedaboutit. I want hot sauce on my dogs, the hotter the better. Little packets aren’t enough, either; I can go through an entire bottle in a week. I only wish they sold Taco Bell’s “fire” sauce in bottles. As it stands, I have to buy the regular “hot” variety, which barely registers as hot to me anymore. Is it possible to build up a tolerance for capsaicin?
    
2. I’m a light sleeper, except during a thunderstorm. My wife can attest that I’m an incredibly light sleeper and a chronic sleep walker to boot. For some reason, though, I sleep like a baby in a raging thunderstorm. Don’t ask me why.
    
3. I spent part of my childhood in Cuba. I was a Navy brat living in Guantanamo Bay for several years in my youth. I can’t say that I remember it very well, although I’ve seen some family videos of me by the beach feeding bread to wild iguanas. Picture a toddler running up to a lizard the same size as him, handing it a piece of bread, and running back to his mother, who all the while refuses to approach closer than ten feet. “Gee, I hope it doesn’t eat him.”
    
4. I escaped from preschool. No, seriously. As a three-year-old, I hid in the bathroom, escaped out the side door unnoticed, and walked home from my preschool. It horrifies me to think that my son is almost the same age now as I was then. I don’t think I’d take it as well as my parents did.
    
5. I’ve always wanted to be a super hero. Ever since my mother declared that I was “super hairy” as a child (a qualitative statement that I misinterpreted as a heroic title), I’ve always dreamt of having super powers. Over the years, this desire has contributed to my fascination with magic, my obsession with roleplaying games, and my love of anime, among other things.

In case it isn’t obvious, I’ve always considered myself a pretty strange person, although I have to wonder how tame this list might seem compared to others. Anyway, there’s my top 5 list. If you haven’t already checked it out, head over to ProBlogger and read the other top 5 lists being submitted. There are sure to be some good reads.

The good news is that I’m officially off the market anyway. I recently had a great second interview followed by a generous offer for a web development position with National Agents Alliance. The job’s a bit farther up the road than I would’ve liked, but it’s not like my family and I are tied down. If it turns out to be everything it seems to be, I’m sure we’ll be relocating within the next year.

It’s funny how things work out sometimes. My wife accepted a new job offer just a few days ago, so we’re actually starting our new jobs on the exact same day. Not only that, but I also found out that my brother got a new job yesterday (congrats again, bro). What better way to ring in spring than with a bunch of new developments, right?

All in all, it’s a lot to deal with all at once, but I’d say things are working out for the best. To all those keeping track, feel free to drop a comment and let me know how things are going on your end.

So here I was with two jobs to choose between when I’d been unemployed only hours before. Did I praise my good fortune and cavort merrily about the house? No, I decided it would be a better idea to ponder and pace about neurotically, worrying over the decision.

In retrospect, it was a pretty straightforward choice. One job was a web development contract deal until the end of the month. It paid better in the short term, but the project was a tangled mess and there was no prospect for continued employment. In other words, I would’ve ended up pulling my hair out for two weeks only to go back on the job hunt next month.

The other was a contract-to-perm offer with a local web development company. Honestly, this is the sort of work I’ve been aching to get back into for the past year, a steady stream of interesting and challenging web development projects for me to flex and build my expertise. What more could a web geek ask for?

I’ve still got my concerns, but I’m hoping this will spell a decisive end to my most recent bout of unemployment. Only time will tell.

Around Christmas, right around the date of my last post, the onset of vacation was to blame. There was driving to do, families to visit, and lots of quality time promised to my wife and son. Besides that, I generally find the inspiration for my posts while concentrating on things I’d rather not be (i.e. work). Combine the lack of inspiration with a ready supply of enjoyable activities and blogging was the last thing on my mind.

After vacation, of course, it was back to work. Ah, the joy of website analysis. I wouldn’t describe it as the most fun job on earth. Still, I’ve always thought, “Hey, it pays the bills. Besides, there are worse professions, and it sure beats being unemployed.”

All of this is quite true, a fact of which I’ve recently become reminded. That’s because, as of January 5th, my company closed its doors, putting me and 19 other out of work. To those involved, this is old news, as Garrett and JP can attest.

I don’t feel any animosity over the whole ordeal. What with the nightmare I went through at Advanced Internet Technologies, my job at MarketSmart Interactive was far better even at the end. Business sucked and they couldn’t afford to employ us anymore. I wouldn’t say I’m happy about it, but I don’t blame anyone or hold a grudge. It’s just business, and sometimes business goes sour.

That, of course, leaves me with an employment situation to resolve. As I’ve told family and friends, I don’t anticipate it to last overly long. Unlike last time, I’m in a much better location. And, thanks to the circumstances of my unemployment, I’ve got plenty of good references. Even if things don’t work out right away, there’s a big difference between “laid off” and “fired”, namely, unemployment insurance. Sure, it’s not much, but it’s something at least.

So there it is. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, some good and some bad. With any luck, I’ll find the impetus to blog regularly without the daily grind for inspiration. Chances are good, though, that my posting will continue to be irregular at best. After all, being a professional employment seeker can be time-consuming, and while this blog earns a little, I’ve got the income needs of an entire family to think about.