Friday, July 19th, 2013

I went to bed at 10:30, slept through the night until 5:30 and got up at 6:30.  I feel so much better having gotten a good night’s sleep!

Yesterday, when I was talking to Jhon, he used the term “fired out”.  I told him I’ve never heard that expression before.  I can understand saying “put the fire out” or “he was “fired so he’s out of a job” but I couldn’t think of an example of using “fired out”.  There was another example he had of some word with “out” that sounded very strange but right now I can’t think of what it was.

This morning I sent the following email to the owner of the apartment building:

“Since July 11^th I’ve been hearing an unusual “bong” sound in my apartment.  It was repeated about every 2 minutes but since this morning it’s now about every 5 seconds and it’s becoming quite annoying.  It’s loudest near the kitchen and guest bathroom but I can’t tell if it’s from one of the apartments above, the apartment below or possibly even the house next door.  The sound is similar to the sound I hear on my iPad when I receive a new email but quite a bit louder.  Is there going to be a workman here in the next few days that could look into this problem?”

I stopped at Jhon’s office on the way to Laureles Mall and invited him to join me for lunch at Likke’s.  He said he would have a drink but he had a big breakfast and isn’t hungry.  The usual lady wasn’t there but Laura was so I gave her my order – but I forgot to specifically ask for chicken and they brought be steak.  Colombia’s meat is too tough; I understand there isn’t any fat in it, so it is very hard to chew.  When Jhon saw my salad and the beans he decided to order the same thing.  I was also introduced to Guayaba – both as a fruit and as a juice.  According to Wikipedia.org, we call it a guava.  Laura gave me a small one as a present.  Maybe she likes me!  Lol.  Jhon said to keep it for a long time and then when you open it the inside contains worms.  And it’s okay to eat them.  Maybe I had better not open it.

After lunch I went to Laureles Mall and started studying my chess book.  About an hour later a middle aged man stopped at my table.  I understood he wanted to know where I bought my plastic rollup chess board.  I told him the United States but I didn’t know where to get one here in Medellin.  A couple minutes later he returned with another man more my age which I found out was his father – Oscar - who spoke near perfect English.  He used to be an English teacher here in Medellin and he got his Master’s degree at the University of West Virginia.  

He said he wasn’t a very good chess player but we played a game anyway.  He only gave me a little trouble and I mated him after playing for about an hour.  We exchanged phone numbers and I’m sure I’ll be seeing him again for chess games at the mall.

About 4:30 I left and bought a few things at Exito: dish soap, maple syrup, and cereal.  I chatted with Jhon briefly on the way home.

I felt so good today I didn’t use my eye drops even once.

Shoot!  I was 30 minutes late taking my medicine.  Well, we’ll see what kind of quality sleep I get tonight.

According to one expat, this is the latest - our government at work:

“Don't know if this was posted previously, but... For members who receive US Social Security benefits while residing outside the U.S., our benevolent government innovated a "Report to United States Social Security Administration," more accurately dubbed the "Proof of Life Form," SSA Form 7162. The form queries if you are dead.   Just kidding.  It asks if you've changed citizenship, got married/divorces or any such, plus questions about income. If you use a US address of a friend or relative while residing abroad, that doesn't work.  You must have a local address.  Once the form has been received by you, you've got 60 days to get it back to SSA or risk stoppage of benefits.  There goes my arepa money!  (Starting them again is another bureaucratic hassle, although you do not lose any money during the process.) Ostensibly, the forms are sent to your foreign address every two years.  There are many options to submit the form.  The mailing you get only includes a return-addressed envelope (unstamped).  Those lucky people in Bogotá can send it or take it in to the US Embassy, Federal Benefits Unit, who will forward it to SSA.  Others can mail it to the FBU for forwarding.  Again, leave enough time for this processing to avoid benefit stoppage.  Using a free (or charge) fax service, you can actually fax the signed and witnessed form to the International Desk of SSA. SSA actually hates this convenience extended to citizens, but had no choice since the Embassy sets the rules. For more info, let me know, or forgive me this rant if redundant.”

I emailed my dentist to cancel my August 6^th appointment for a new crown.  It will cost about $500 and I’m afraid it would eat up all my “buffer” “slack” (can’t think of the right word) money for the month.  It’s not an emergency and this way I can carry over a few hundred dollars to the next month and have the work done early in September.  Then I’ll repeat the process a couple months later for the 2^nd crown.  Hopefully early next year I won’t need more of this expensive dental work done.