Definitely not a Brown Recluse. My arm would not be healing near as fast if it was....although I do have a nice golf ball sized lump on my forearm with three holes. Looks kind of like some alien abduction experiment.
It may not even have been a spider bite at all, but a simple thorn puncture that allowed the bacteria into my system. I guess the MRSA bacteria is getting pretty prevalent in urban-edge recreation areas and has hit the surfer population pretty aggressively. My Dr. said that it's just the luck of the draw and maybe only one out of a thousand cuts may actually result in a MRSA infection, but the ones that do can be very serious......potentially fatal if left untreated.
The bottom line is that we should always take the time to clean and cover our cuts and scrapes in the field. A very simple precaution the can save you a lot of pain.