just chance lighting

it was this or another shot of a deer, but the deer shot was at the highest ISO and really grainy

This bright red color is just a chance of the lighting

Decades ago I was in Chinatown, DC on a holiday and saw DC's Representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton, on a dais while some man gave a speech, in Chinese. I am still impressed. Political speeches are boring. Speeches in a language you don't even speak? But she acted like she was paying attention. 

I'm still impressed by it. When I attended meetings in Mozambique in Portuguese I tried to emulate her. At one a woman asked if I understood any of it and I whispered, "no, I'm just here to look pretty." Portuguese is similar enough to Spanish that I actually could often follow what we were talking about.

It was harder in Haiti where they speak French but I still tried to act respectful and like I was paying attention. Once someone asked an extremely long, clearly involved question, and my consultant answered with one word, one syllable, "no." I thought that was funny and I laughed and everyone in the meeting turned and looked at me and then one of the Haitian government reps said, "I think you know more French than you let on." 

Meetings in languages you don't know are even more boring online.

And no, you can't turn off video. You were asked to represent or symbolize or elevate the importance of. You were asked for some reason and you must suffer like everyone else. 

Meanwhile, I've overcome with gratitude again. The first 18 months or so after the accident, switching between two monitors, or the monitor and the phone keypad, or the keypad and a notebook, was horrible and would make everything spin. Now I can switch between four different screens and a notebook and enter numeric codes with 50 digits in them with no complaint. Well, some complaint (why must I enter this code?), but no health-related complaint. 

My agency has announced that you must wear a mask when indoors - not that it matters because you need special permission to go indoors. 
Larger companies, such as Google, are starting to tell their employees they must be vaccinated. 
Simone Biles prioritized her safety.
The infrastructure bill may be closer to passing. 
Coronavirus cases are falling in Britain. 
It is increasingly possible for vaccinated people to travel. 
A company says it has achieved a huge breakthrough in making a battery that uses iron and oxygen, both plentiful and cheap. 
Anita Bryant's granddaughter is getting married. 

You know what else? You're here. So life is good.