Paradise lost (and found)

Montezuma exacted his revenge on me starting Friday. I think that's hardly fair, since I have precisely zero conquistador blood in me. Whil Cortez and his band of merry murderers were plundering the New World, my ancestors were probably eking out a meager living off the land in rural Italy and, according to some research I have done, making bells in Liepzig, Germany. Either way, hardly major contributors to the extermination of a great civilization. But old Monty is evidently somewhat indiscriminate in his punishment.

I'm not sure what the source was of the affliction. DPaul and I neverate outside the villa, and were the food we were served especiallytainted, it seems like everyone would have been as afftected. I'll spare you the details, but it's not recommendable. But, however strange it may sound, I didn't mind so much, because it didn't prevent me from doing the things I set out to do: Relaxing, reading and getting lots of rest.

I got to see my first green flash while bobbing neck-deep in bath-warm bay waters. I slept upwards of 10 hours a day. I plowed through Michael Pollan's fascinating The Omnivore's Dilemma, which has truly given me a wealth of food for thought. (Although there were just enough mild inaccuracies and typos including a persistent problem with the word "prosciutto" to make my inner editor squirm.) And because I happened to be up during Saturday night (for reasons that do not need to be repeated), I got to watch one of the most spectacular electrical storms I have ever seen over the course of several hours as it crept out to the west.

So, if I had it all to do over again, I probably still would. It was a cloud with many silver linings.