Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Last night I got up once about 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

Strange, I received an email from Barnes & Noble that I sent $100 eGift cards to each of my kids.  I know I didn’t buy them so I emailed them back right away and told them they might have a computer problem.

Laura went to Nueva eps with my cedula this morning and came back with an appointment for me for next Tuesday (October 9^th) at 4:02pm.  I understand it’s the followup for the cholesterol medication I’ve been taking for the past 6 months.

We left the apt at 2:15pm, and walked down the street and waited about 5 minutes for a taxi.  In the meantime a girl walked by and gave us an Adn newspaper.  At Notaria 31 (Carrera 81 #37-45) Teresa spoke briefly with a young lady at the front desk and she sent us to a desk in the back.  Teresa talked to the young lady and I gave her the Spanish copy of my blog notes from March 5, 2015.  She called another young man in and he talked to Teresa for awhile.  Teresa gave him her cedula and I gave him my passport and my cedula.  The young man asked me why I was here and I said because 4 years ago I lived just 4 blocks from here.  He tried again and this time I said because I want a Union Libre with Teresa.  (A Union Libre in Colombia is similar to a common law marriage in the US.)  Soon they had me read a paragraph from a form on the computer and even though I didn’t understand every word the gist of it was that Teresa and I have shared a house and a bed for approximately 4 years.  (Back in the apt Google Translate told me it says “We declare that we lived in a marital union in fact about 4 years ago, sharing roof, bed and table in a continuous and uninterrupted manner.)  I said that’s correct and they printed out 2 copies of the form.  Teresa signed them, and added her cedula number and her fingerprint.  They did the same for me, we took the 2 copies to the cashier, I paid 15,100 pesos and we were done.  (We got to keep one of the copies.)  Teresa suggested we go across the street to Viva mall for ice cream.  I asked her if she wanted ice cream, coffee or champagne.  She got a good laugh out of that.  I got a surprise as we were crossing the street when she informed me that she wants to do this again in the US.  I told her “we’ll see”.  (I know it will cost a lot more than $5 in the US.)

We stopped in Mimos and Teresa ordered a sundae and I ordered a soft serve cone with chocolate and peanuts.  While waiting for our order I noticed in the newspaper that work continues on Parque del Rio and something about an increase in renewal of local buses.  

Afterward we went into Exito where we picked up a few things – for me a new toothbrush and a jar of strawberry preserves.  In our wanderings I noticed they have pumpkins for sale.

Outside we quickly caught a taxi back to Envigado.  Traffic was very heavy on Avenida Las Vegas.

Back at the apt I found the following email from Barnes & Noble:

We wanted to make you aware of a system error we experienced last night that triggered an outdated order confirmation email for an order that you placed in the past. Please disregard this email as it was sent in error. Rest assured that you have not been billed again for this order.

We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused. 

Besides the Cine Colombia and Imax signs outside the new mall I also saw a sign for Dinamix.  I googled Dinamix and posted what i found to the next blog posting - for those who are interested.

Joke of the day

A guy is driving around the back woods of Tennessee and he sees a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: 'Talking Dog For Sale.' He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the backyard.
The guy goes into the backyard and sees an old Labrador Retriever sitting there.
“You talk?” he asks.
“Yep,” the Lab replies. After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he says “So, what's your story?”
The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I worked for the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was their most valuable spy for eight years running.
But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was awarded a bunch of medals.
Later I got married, had a litter of puppies, and now I'm just retired.”
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog.
“Ten dollars,” the guy says.
“Ten dollars? The dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”
“Because he's a liar. He never did any of that shit.”