Well, this was a day with some unfortunate moments. I got up early, still adjusting to California time. Watched some TV and had an early breakfast, then worked on two blog entry conversions: a narrative, with illustrative pictures, about my visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau and a summary of the pictures from the opening festivities at the Tour of Flanders. Sent the first one to Mark for his review. Later in the morning, I walked over to the WWC and played some basketball in the gym. Heidi came in a little after I got there and gave me my debit card, which had apparently fallen out of my wallet when I retrieved my WWC card. Good grief! At least it didn't fall into the hands of somebody unscrupulous. My basketball skills are really rusty. I got better over the ~30 minutes that I played, would need new shoes to play for much longer than that. Then I walked home, and the fun started. On the little dirt path by Matinal Circle, a guy in a beekeeper suit yelled that there were bees on the path. Shortly after, I was swarmed, and it was chaotic. I ended up getting stung multiple times, one on the back of my right hand that was significant and a number of minor stings on my scalp. I lost my earbuds on the frantic running and swatting at bees that ensued, and that was a real shame, as I liked them a lot. Went back several times later to look for them but no luck. I got back and had some lunch, then headed over to a dermatologist appointment with Mark Vierra. When I got there, they let me know that my appointment was at 3:45, not 1:45 as I thought. I found out later that the problem was likely due to me entering the appointment on my calendar when I was visiting Mom and was on Central time. So, back home to hang out until I headed over there at the right time. He froze some scaly patches, including enough on my face that he recommended I do a treatment on the left and right sides of my face. My right hand was slightly swollen from the bee sting, and it got more swollen over the course of the rest of the day. Will see how it progresses on Saturday. I'm riding with the Bisikleta group, and I made a route in Strava then sent it on to the others.
In the night, I finished the book about the grocery value chain. It had an uplifting section about the person, Julie Busha, who by extremely hard work and force of will has brought this product to a nationwide audience. The section on forced labor fueling the markets for some key products we consume, including shrimp, cocoa, coffee, etc., was disturbing and a reminder that our capitalist society ultimately derives unfair advantages from its utilization of cheap labor, harkening back to slavery times as well as the British Empire model of societal advancement.
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