Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Today’s officially the first day of winter!

I got up at 9am, it was very overcast and it was obvious we had a little rain overnight.  We got a heavy downpour from about 10am to noon so I just did some exercises in the apt instead of venturing out in the rain.

At 12:40 I noticed I no longer had an internet connection because, I soon deduced, we no longer had electricity; probably due to work on the new Transmillenia (sp?) bus route on Avenida Poblado.  The electricity was back on by 12:55pm.

Teresa is going shopping with her mother in Mayorca so I left the apt just before 1:30 for the 2:40 showing of Rogue One in El Tesoro.  I walked to downtown Envigado but there weren’t any taxis there to take me to Medellin.  A large newish pickup truck pulled up and asked me where I’m going.  I took my first “effectivo” (cash) trip alone up to El Tesoro for 15,000 pesos (about $5).  I got there before 2pm, bought my ticket for 17,300 pesos (about $6), and walked around the mall for a little while.  Then I waited in line for about 10 minutes for my turn to buy a large popcorn and large soda.  The woman in front of me spoke English and she got upset because the line was moving so slow.  I understood she questioned the employees behind the counter in Spanish as to why there were 4 people behind the counter but 3 of them were just standing there doing nothing.  I told her she’s in Colombia so she has to be patient.  She said she’s Colombian but she can’t take the slowness here sometimes.

The movie was in one of the Premier theaters on the 4^th floor with fancy reclining chairs.  (Btw, there was a snack bar just outside our theater but no one downstairs mentioned it.)  I saw Rogue One and thought it was very good – it seemed like the precursor for Episode 4 – The New Hope (the original 1977 Star Wars episode).

I walked downstairs to where you catch a taxi but there was a long line so I went down to basement level where we usually go for one.  Down there I saw a large crowd and a woman was letting a few people into a gated area like you would see at DisneyWorld.  I asked her what was going on and she said they are here for the concert.  A minute later there was a roar from the crowd so I guess the performers just showed up.

I went up to the 2^nd level where I got out of my taxi when I arrived, hoping I could catch one before it went down the hill to the other location.  I waited 5 minutes but no taxis came.  I went back down to the main level and got in the back of the line.  Of course it started raining.  While waiting someone dressed in a reindeer costume got in the back of a float that looked like it was surrounded by snow.  At 6pm a parade began with elves, others dressed like for mardi gras (but not skimpy costumes), a lady spinning a hula hoop, a few on stilts and finally the reindeer float.  I also ran into my dentist and his wife coming in.  I finally got my turn for a taxi 55 minutes later.

I told the driver Parque Envigado (I should have said close to Parque Envigado).  As we got close to downtown Envigado I told him to veer to the right but he went left headed for the park.  I got off at the Exito and walked a few blocks in the rain back to the apt.  I was so happy I brought my small umbrella.

Teresa gave me my Christmas present of 5 new t-shirts – something I really needed.

I guess the electricity went out again during the afternoon because I had to reset the microwave clock again.  Also the TV had to “recharge” but after waiting 10 minutes or more we just gave up.  Hopefully when Laura gets home she’ll know how to fix it.  A couple hours later I turned it on and it worked ok.

I’m not sure what’s going on but I’ve noticed lately a large increase in the number of people reading my blog.  In the last week it has varied between 54 and 103 per day.

I practiced tactics for another 30 minutes on Chess Magnet School.

T-shirt of the day: Turn on my night.