Friday, October 5, 2018

I had my usual night, up twice, finally waking at 6:45 and getting up at 7:30.  My eyes still felt tired so I took an Excedrin Migraine and was soon feeling better.

Today is Teresa’s birthday, she turned 60; she looks good for a 60-year old.  It is also opening day of the new mall – Viva Envigado.

I left the apt at 9am for my 10am match.  I took the metro to the Laureles station and walked the block to the Metro Plus.  I took the metro plus to the end of the line at the University of Medellin.  I arrived at 9:55 and found that Jose had lost last night.  His opponent sacrificed a piece to open the position.  He also told me he didn’t wake up until 9:45 this morning so he didn’t have time for a shower or breakfast.

My next match was against Santiago Ochoa Alvarez who I later found out has a rating of 1585.  I had the Black pieces and I played the Sicilian defense.  He castled queenside and I castled kingside which usually means an all out attack on the opponent’s position.  He continued pushing pawns toward my king as I mounted a serious attack against his king.  I eventually threatened mate in 2 and he had to sacrifice his queen to prevent it.  I queened a pawn and as I usually do I grabbed a rook and turned it upside down to signify that it was a queen.  He immediately got up and got the tournament director (TD).  With Jose’s help I learned I’m supposed to pause the clock and get the TD and ask for an additional queen so in this case the TD declared that it’s only a rook.  Luckily it didn’t matter much in this position and he resigned on the 37^th move.

Jose’s opponent never showed up so he got a forfeit win so we are both 1-1 at this point.  He was just going to go back to his apt so I took the metro back to Envigado where I took the new pedestrian bridge (they are still working on installing escalators) into the new mall.  The place is large and I walked around looking at the stores.  Most were open but a few are still under various stages of construction.  There are 3 levels open and a 4^th level that is still under construction.  The Ferris wheel (rueda de Chicago) is in the children’s area which is not open yet.  I called Teresa and told her that the crowds aren’t that bad.  I finally headed up a level (level 3) to the food court and that’s when I learned where all the people are.  I ordered pasta from Montolivo Italian restaurant for 19,500 and I had to wait 25 minutes for my food.  It was very difficult to find a table and I ended up on a stool by the counter.

I did see Papa John’s but they were still getting organized and weren’t open yet.  The bathrooms are very modern and even include a special room for breast feeding mothers.

I stepped into the huge Cine Colombia theatre with its 14 screens including an iMax and a 4D room.  It appears they also have a special area (soon to be open) for Platinum card holders.

Back at the apt Teresa told me that the TV stated that traffic is very heavy and that I should leave early.  I left the apt at 5:15 for my 6:30 match.  On the way to the metro I noticed a gate open to the area behind the library and I saw what looked like several narrow sidewalks.  Outside the station I said hello to Herman.  He mentioned that he talked to a man who installed the moving chairs they installed in Cine Colombia in the new mall.  I easily got on the next train but by the time we left Ayura station it was cattle car full.  I struggled to get off at Poblado station because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get off at Industriales station.  I walked several blocks before I finally caught a taxi.  I arrived a little late at the tournament as they had already started the clocks but I only missed about 2 minutes.  My opponent was a young boy named Tomas Giraldo Alvarez who later I found has a rating of 1457.  I had White and was able to play my (lastest) favorite opening the Kings Indian Attack.  (During the game I heard what sounded like heavy rain beating against the roof.)  I got a nice attack going and he resigned on his 20^th move.  Jose won his game also.  He told me there is another player here that is from the US.  I checked the pairings list and he’s right.  I’ll have to check that out tomorrow.

I walked across the street and caught a Metro Plus bus after about a 10 minute wait.  In the Industriales station I noticed that the last car wasn’t as full as the others.  Hmm, maybe I can try that in the future even though it will require a slightly longer walk.  It’s worth a try.  My metro car was pretty full but not cattle car full.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see A Star Is Born (8.5).

Locally, I would like to see A Simple Favor (7.2) playing in Vizcaya at 2:20 and 4:50pm and Oviedo at 6pm.  The website I use does not yet list Viva Envigado.

Joke of the day

There's a guy with a Doberman pinscher and a guy with a Chihuahua. The guy with the Doberman pinscher says to the guy with the Chihuahua, "Let's go over to that restaurant and get something to eat."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."
The guy with the Doberman pinscher says, "Just follow my lead."

They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman pinscher puts on a pair of dark glasses, and he starts to walk in.
A guy at the door says, "Sorry, guy, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Doberman pinscher says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The guy at the door says, "A Doberman pinscher?"
He says, "Yes, they're using them now, they're very good."
The guy at the door says, "Ok, come on in."
The guy with the Chihuahua figures, "What the heck," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in. The guy at the door says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."
The guy at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"
The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You mean they gave me a Chihuahua?"