(this post is dated to june 1, 2021 because it describes events over that day. however, it was written on june 11, 2021)

so, once the mediation with the hospital was done, i got on my bicycle and went out to do a blood test at the life labs, which is about a third of the way to belle river, which i needed to get to to get my sealant – and to get some exercise, as my general exercise routine has been corrupted by the border closure during the pandemic. 

the reason i went to this further blood lab is that the closer lab sends large amounts of the tests they do to this lab as a starting point; the local lab mostly does routine tests, whereas anything complicated gets sent to the corporate lab. so, it’s essentially a front for the corporate lab. even that is sort of irrelevant to me, except to point out that i can’t access the results myself once they’ve been sent off, i need to wait to talk to my doctor, which i find frustrating. the reasoning behind going to the corporate lab is to get access to the results before i can talk to the doctor. i wanted less than five vials taken on this day before i headed to the outskirts of town, so the fact that they could only do four of the options worked out well for me. i just had to get to the lifelabs by 2:45, then make it to belle river before 6:00 – which i was able to accomplish rather effortlessly.

as it was with the previous ride to belle river at the start of may, i barely stopped at all on the way there, which meant i actually made excellent time. and, i wanted to make sure i could stop at the dollar store to get a tarp on the way home, so i rushed back without really stopping, either. i didn’t check the time, but i’m guessing i got into town at about 18:00 or so – lots of time to stop into the dollar store for 30 second to get a tarp, right?

there are dollaramas spaced across tecumseh like tim horton’s – they’re every couple of intersections, and i knew that, even if i wasn’t sure exactly where each one was. it should be pointed out that there are closed big box stores at almost every mall up this strip, many of which have left behind these still thriving dollaramas, and it says a little about the demographics of this city, as well as a little about the prices in these larger stores. where ronas and home depots and ikeas fail, dollaramas flourish. well, i’m seeking their $4 tarps for a reason – i don’t want to pay $30 for the same thing at walmart. who would, actually?

the first sign i saw was at the tecumseh mall, which has been on life support since i moved here. this dollarama was outright closed for the remainder of the pandemic, and we’ll have to see if it recovers or not (i’d bet it will).

the next one was across the street, sandwiched between a value village and a maternity store. this one was closed at 18:00.

closed at 18:00? what the fuck?

the next one was a few blocks up, beside a freshco, and it was closed at 17:00. so, i’m starting to panic.

i tried the one near the metro – closed at 18:00.

the last one on the way home was beside the next freshco, and i barely made it in before they closed at 19:00 – but they didn’t have a tarp in stock. for fuck’s sake....

...and, 19:00 was the late option, apparently.

so, that’s five attempts to buy a tarp, with no luck. i had no choice but to go home, empty-handed.

i don’t know what the logic of forcing businesses to close early in the pandemic is, but i wasn’t the only person upset about it. the store had a line-up of people outside, baffled by the early closing time. i mean, the grocery store next door was open until 22:00, so what’s the point of forcing the dollar store to close early? and, if there are people trying to get in after 19:00, forcing them to come in early is just increasing the number of people in the store. there’s no logic in this, unless the logic is that somebody doesn’t want people working at "supper time", because they think they ought to be eating a family dinner, instead. which is just, like....fuck off.....

it was otherwise a good day, though – five hours on the bike, and with a bottle of sealant to show for it.