November: Featured Goth in Glasses

Welcome, welcome, welcome, ladies, gentlemen, and children of all ages and refractive error, to The Gothic Optician's second Featured Goth in Glasses.

This month spectacled-darkling hails from New York. Standing at a statuesque 6'3, may I present to you, Mr. Pierce Maloney!

Pierce and I have been friends for quite some time now after meeting through VampireFreaks.com; he's a very cool guy and it has been my absolute pleasure and honor to have interviewed him.

The Basics

Sea:  How long have you been wearing glasses?
Pierce: For about 3 years, but I've needed them longer than that. I'm a bad procrastinator. lol

S: How long have you considered yourself a goth?
P: Since I was 16. That's when I wore all the black and the Tripp NYC pants and jackets, fishnets, black nails, etc. But before then, I actually started out as a punk.

S: What's your favorite music?
P: Melodic Death Metal. Dark epic sounds. I love it! That's my favorite genre. My favorite band is actually Rammstein.

S: What's your favorite accessory?
P: Boots. I don't know if thats an accessory, but I love badass boots. LOL

S: Favorite goth cliche?
P: The dark tones.

S: Most disliked goth cliche?
P: Suicidal stereotypes.

S: Favorite style of glasses?
P: Thin frame and square lenses

S: Favorite famous goth?
P: Vincent Valantine from Final Fantasy VII. I'm a gamer, too.

S: Favorite person who wears glasses?
P: Gary Oldman. He's my favorite actor.

S:Got any stories involving your glasses? ie, losing them and causing a fiasco, unknowingly wearing someone else's for a while, anything?
P:Don't dance with your glasses on. Not unless you have a spare at the ready. lol

S: How would you describe yourself, in a nutshell?
P: Nowadays I see myself as a strong, brutal metalhead. But that doesn't mean I don't stop wearing my black gothic fashion and abandon my dark tones. I just also like to be big and strong..

S: Now, to continue the interview on a more personal level. Let's talk about your hobbies, shall we?
P: Hmmm...gaming is my favorite past time. I'm also a big movie buff. I love coming up with ideas and stories for movies I'd like to hopefully make some day. And I like to draw my ideas. It's a way I can physically manifest my ideas.

S: Very cool. Now I understand you also cosplay?
P: Yes, it's a brand new hobby for me. I love going to conventions dressed up. It's a great feeling being admired for who you are there.

S: So what got you into cosplaying?
P: Well, I've always been into costumes since before I could remember. Halloween was my second favorite holiday (first was Christmas-- presents and all. lol) But dressing up has always been a joy for me. I first got into cosplay when I first saw people I know doing it and saying how fun it is. So when comic con came around in 2011, I took the opportunity to try it out for the first time, as my favorite super villain, Bane.

P: In 2011, my costume, although cheaply thrown together, was a big hit. So after that I devoted myself a whole year of perfecting my Bane costume. And not just pieces for the costume. I trained myself to be more muscular. So my devotion to cosplay is more than just perfecting the attire. But my entire image.

Practically twins.

S: Along with dressing up, you're also into acting. Would you consider yourself a bit of a thespian?
P: I love the dramatic arts quite a bit. I love reenacting movie scenes that I like.  I wanted to be an actor since I was a kid. When I first saw The Little Rascals movie, I wanted to be on the screen as a kid. I was in several stage plays in elementary school and I took acting lessons, but I haven't done much stage acting, because I'm usually cast as an extra role, so I don't really do stage much anymore, since nobody cares for the extras. If I were to make it big as an actor, I should find a way to do it on my own. Hopefully by one day making indie films. I wanna make a movie that would be a cult classic to the Goth community, kind of like how "Repo! The Genetic Opera" is.

S: Well, it was a great joy and honor getting to interview you, Pierce. I have one last question, however. Since the other day was Black Friday here in the United States, I must ask, what is your opinion on the retail tradition?
P: My answer to your query is this: That the zombie apocalypse isn't going to be caused by some kind of virus.

I was determined to use a Walking Dead reference!

Well said, my friend, well said. It's no wonder why I selected Pierce as November's Featured Goth in Glasses- he's deeply intelligent, creative, and spookily bizarre- and let's admit it, the gent doesn't look to bad in black either. Keep your peepers peeled for my next Featured Goth in Glasses, and as always, if you or someone you know is indeed a goth in glasses, leave a comment or an email- I'd love to interview you!







Until we meet again, fellow lovers of the macabre (and seeing the macabre in 20/20 vision),
Sea, the Gothic Optician, A.B.O.C.

Workspace of a madman, erm, madwoman

Greetings all,

I hope everyone has had a great week, and I hope my fellow Americans have had a great Thanksgiving.

For today's post, I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of my every day work life and how I've customized it.

Customized Keyboard:

White wax pencil doodles- they come off easily with lighter fluid. Also, I have the best pen ever, courtesy of my coworker J.

 I have since added a few more bats and swirls. Wax pencils, which are like giant white crayons used in opthalmic settings, both for marking lenses in the lab and for marking work trays in the clinic, absolutely rock. I've learned since working at this clinic, there is virtually nothing that cannot be removed by lighter fluid- permanent marker, sticky substance left behind by tape/stickers, hard-to-remove stains, and of course, wax pencil markings are nothing for a tissue and a few dabs of lighter fluid.

For those of you wondering, these are 'work trays.' We put the frame you pick out and your order information in these and put your last name on the outside. At my clinic we use mostly blue, however, low vision orders are placed in either green or yellow trays.

Motivational e-Cards and Insurance Cheat Sheets:

E-cards are a fantastic way to customize any workspace. I added a few doodles to "My flamboyant attire picks up where my parents left off," though I think "I'm glad you recognize how terrible your life would be without me" was perfect just as it was. I also keep cheat sheets all over the wall around my computer. At our clinic we deal with several insurances and helping hand programs- it's hard to keep them straight, especially because each changes so frequently. It's nice to have little reminders. You'll also notice a list of V-Codes. These are important because if items are not properly labeled when we submit the claim to a patient's insurance, we will not get paid. Yikes!

I also really like kitties, so I added a few glasses-related Cheezburger cats.

Recently I added another meme to my wall, just to keep my spirits up when the day is dragging along.

I catch myself glancing at this about 5 times a day.

My other awesome pen, courtesy of one of our larger insurance affiliates.

Oh yes- and here is me, at work, wearing my lovely eyeball hair bows from Th1rte3n's Closet. =)

This is all I have of my personal work setting.. for now. I wonder if anyone would perhaps be interested if I made videos of how each of the machines that I use work? Sure, I could link you to some youtube videos, but where's the fun in that?

Until next time, my near and far-sighted (and inbetween) lovelies,

Sea, the Gothic Optician, A.B.O.C.

P.S.
I just had to show off my first Thanksgiving setting. Isn't it marvelously spooky? ^.^

November Theme: Hosiery

Greetings all!

For a long time I've been a follower/admirer of the blog Sophistique Noir. 

This blog has completely reshaped my thinking about dressing professionally without giving up any of my own personal style. Every few weeks I check her page to see the latest lovely ensembles.

Finally, for the first time ever, I'm going to participate in her Monthly Theme..........*drum roll*



 HOSIERY
(though you probably would've guessed that by glancing at the title)

As of late, I've been absolutely IN LOVE with black lace. To me, it's very funeral chic, if you will- very classy, yet very somber. I love the warm feel of tights, and the look of them under dresses, however, being a woman of size, it's a bit more difficult to find tights that properly fit my fuller gams. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find these on eBay of all places! I liked doing those post, unfortunately, I totally didn't realize I missed the deadline. Perhaps next month I'll be on time. -_____-

I ended up buying these in basic solid black and solid grape, but this pattern is by far the most eye-catching!

I know this post was relatively short, but fret not, I'll be posting about a brand new topic (with lots of pictures!) this weekend. Also, coming very soon, is my next "Featured Goth in Glasses" post. If you have not already, please be sure to check out my last one with the fantastically spooky Ms. Kaira.

Until we meet again,
Stay fabulous and spooky,

Sea, the Gothic Optician, A.B.O.C.