Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013

Yesterday on the escalator on my way up to Exito there were 2 guards, probably transporting a lot of money, on the down escalator.  The one in back was carrying a shotgun but what bothered me was the one in front was carrying a pistol and he pointed it right at my stomach as they passed me.  I didn’t like that one bit!

Then I stopped at the Exito pharmacy to buy some medicine and I laid my chess set and umbrella on the counter.  After I paid for my medicine I picked up my chess set and started to leave but luckily a lady standing there caught my attention and handed me my umbrella.  That’s exactly the type of careless thing I fear.

I went to bed at 10:45pm and from then until about 11:15 I heard a radio downstairs, not playing very loudly but I could still hear it.  I also heard some strange sounds like something moving around and at the same time a woman’s voice sounding like she was enjoying herself if you know what I mean.  I think Lionel was getting some action.  I got up a couple times during the night and finally woke up about 5am and got up at 6am.

After my morning coffee and newspaper I took Jhon’s earlier advice and walked south to Calle 35 to try a bakery he recommended.  I had my bag of dirty laundry with me consisting of towels and bedding.  At Mi Bunuelo I had a milo (hot chocolate) which interestingly was served in a bowl rather than a cup, a Bunuelo, and something new called a Hojuela.  According to Wikipedia.org “An Hojuela, meaning "flake" in Spanish, is a traditional Spanish and Latin American sweet baked-good. In Latin American countries, especially Colombia, it is commonly made during Holy Week and the Christmas season. Ingredients vary by region, but usually consist of a flour-based batter fried in oil and dusted with sugar.”  (It reminded me of when my mother used to make a pie and bake the leftover crust with cinnamon and sugar on top.)  All of that was only about 4mil.  While I was sitting there I looked across the street and saw another bakery which, not looking like a franchise but more of a mom and pop store, is probably the one he meant.  Later, he confirmed that yes, he meant the bakery across the street.  Another time.

It was only 8am and the laundry wouldn’t open until at least 8:30 (on time) or 9 (remembering once I had to wait 30 minutes) so I went over to Viva and entered the back area and stopped at Dunkin Donuts.  That cute 20 something seniorita was working there and I ordered a café normal (regular coffee although the receipt says café con crema) extra hot and a large (that’s the only size they had) muffin.  She got a little flustered because the coffee machine wasn’t working right or hadn’t warmed up yet or something.  I told her I was in no hurry and I would give her until 9am to prepare my coffee.  It was 8:10am.  By 8:30 I had my coffee – hot, like I like it – and muffin. 

Just before 9am I dropped my sheets and towels off at the laundry.  They’re going to be ready after 10am on Thursday and it will cost 15mil for 2 ½ kilos.

I bought another jar of Juan Valdez coffee and a package of Trident gum at Exito and as I was waiting to pay for it I saw a Muslim man and woman - probably the same one I saw the other day.  All you could see of her other than her black burqa was a little bit of her eyes, hands, and feet.

Back at home finally I see my Social Security deposit.  Now I can send checks to pay off Uncle Sam, my son and my brother.

Reina came by about 10:30.  Angel was really excited to see me.  We stopped at the ATM and I took out some cash and then we went to Mall of Laureles and I bought a 3kg bag of food for him and again some medicine that looks like a hypodermic needle without the needle.

Then we had lunch at SanJote.  I had my usual there – shish kebab – and she had the Asados – Pechuga de pollo which consisted of mainly a slab of chicken.  Then we let Angel play in the pet area for a while and at one point he saw another dog from a little distance and this is the first time I heard him bark.  The owner brought her dog over and Angel seemed to calm down a bit.

Then I put them in a taxi and headed over to that clothing store down the street and I bought another t-shirt for 15mil ($8.33).  I really wanted another pair of white shorts but they didn’t have any with belt loops instead of draw strings which to me seems more like a swimming suit.  Then I talked to Jhon for a bit and we agreed to meet tomorrow at 1:15 after his 11-1 tutoring session and we will walk over to Philly Steaks and I will buy him lunch.  Those ½ sandwiches are huge and I might also order a funnel cake to see what he thinks of that.

After I dropped my t-shirt off at the house I got a haircut.  I gave Oscar strict instructions not to touch the hair on my head, only to trim around my ears, my neck, my beard and moustache.  And I told him not to wash it afterwards as I didn’t want it to end up in another spike.  Lol.  It took about 30 minutes, everything went fine and he only charged me 5mil so I gave him another 2mil propina (tip).  I’ll probably be going back in just a few weeks for a trim.

Then I went to Exito and bought a Hamilton Beach Belgium-style Waffle Maker for 119,900 ($66.61).  I think that was a little expensive but everything else was for making sandwiches and I think you have to pay extra for American style products that don’t get many customers.  Before I completed the purchase I walked over to where they sold the waffle mixes and noted that the Aunt Jemima mix requires 2 eggs.  The fewest eggs I saw for sale was a dozen and I don’t have any way to refrigerate them but I know they sit around for quite some time before being sold so I think I should be ok if I don’t refrigerate them if I keep them for no more than a week.  Then I saw another waffle mix that only requires milk so I bought that one.  I’ll try if first and then later I’ll compare the two to see which is better.  Again when I bought the waffle maker – an interesting experience when I don’t speak Spanish and no one there speaks English – they opened it, plugged it in and we waited a few seconds until we could feel the grids start to get warm.  They told me it has a 1 year warranty.

BTW, when I first visited here last June a man from the hotel I was staying in was involved in an attempted robbery.  Early the first morning he went for a walk alone down a quiet street (of what is considered to be a rich area) looking like a foreigner – shorts, sandals, t-shirt, baseball cap, and greatly overweight.  Two men drove up next to him on a motorcycle.  The one in back jumped off and tried to hold him up with a gun.  Without further detail he said he fought them off.  Shortly after that Medellin passed a law that 2 men could not be riding on the same motorcycle in an attempt to stop just such robberies.  Since Jhon told me that I have been observing and he’s right, I haven’t seen 2 men on the same motorcycle.