BROOKLYN – So I’ve had a few more firsts this past weekend: No. 1: Thinking I have pink eye and finding out I have an ulcer on my right cornea.

I went to bed on Thursday night with two sore eyes. They still hurt on Friday morning, and my office mate decided it would be a good idea for me to go to the doctor.

Having an ulcer on your eye isn’t fun. There isn’t medicine to make it go away; there is medicine only for keeping it from becoming infected, which could lead to vision loss.

It feels like there is a fleck of dust or eyelash stuck to my eyeball.

When I headed home, I went straight to the Rite Aid a few blocks away, which leads to first No. 2.

First No. 2: Having my prescription billed to an Allison Kemp with a permanent Brooklyn address.

When I dropped my prescription off, I said that I’d never been there before. The pharmacy aid should have asked for my ID or my birthday so I could be found in the system. I was in too much pain and too stressed out to care that I wasn’t asked.

I didn’t think anything of it until I realized just before going to bed that my name was spelled incorrectly on my medication, which led me to realize that someone else’s insurance was billed for my medicine.

Luckily, this was an easy fix on Saturday morning because I had big plans for the afternoon, which leads to first No. 3.

First No. 3: Going to Coney Island.

Coney Island is the epitome of kitschy-ness. It’s a permanent fair with fair food and fair rides but without the animals. It’s the home of Nathan’s Famous, whose specialty is hotdogs and is home of the hot dog eating contest held every July 4.

There’s also a freak show, which I’ll have to attend on another trip. But I did ride the Cyclone, which is an old, wooden rollercoaster. It was pretty fabulous. I also rode the Wonder Wheel, which is definitely not a Ferris Wheel. It’s shaped like a Ferris Wheel, but 2/3 of the cars are on a track, so as the wheel rotates the cars move down the track and swing back and forth.

Coney Island is also home to a beach and boardwalk. The water was freezing, but the sand was nice.

My friends and I could tell the rain was coming, so we hurried to leave before a mob headed for the train station. The rain takes me to first No. 4.

First No. 4: Watching fireworks in a storm.

Beginning at around 5:15 p.m. the weather decided to take a turn for the worse. It decided to thunderstorm and downpour for about a half hour every half hour from then on.

There were fireworks planned for 9:30 p.m. – two barges full to be shot off from the South Street Seaport.

I headed over to find out what was going on and everyone kept saying the fireworks were still on, even though it was storming again. I thought that was slightly ridiculous, but I’ve come to learn that ridiculous doesn’t matter in New York City.

I returned home and headed down to the promenade to hopefully watch some fireworks. It decided to downpour, again, and I couldn’t even stay dry with a raincoat and an umbrella.

But these were the most impressive fireworks I’d ever seen, rain or no rain.

They were shot off from either side of the South Street Seaport, and the buildings in the Financial District provided a perfect backdrop. The lightning strikes just added to the show that had almost everything shot off in sixes.

This show wasn’t just one firework shot into the air after another. It was almost always six shot together for nearly a half hour.

I am now full of anticipation for the Fourth of July.

I may pass on the hot dog eating contest, but I’m not passing on the fireworks. If they were so fantastic in the rain and on a day that wasn’t a holiday, I can only imagine what they will be like in a couple of weeks.

– Respond to Alison at [email protected].