Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Well, I got up once about 3am and again about 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I had breakfast before my shower because Teresa was meeting a woman at 8:30 to see an apartment.

I left the apt at 9am with my rollup chess board and chess pieces and took the metro to the Parque Berrio station.  I walked about 3 blocks to Club de Ajedrez at Calle 53 #47-68, 2^nd floor.  I arrived early and it was still closed so I walked up the stairs to the 3^rd floor where there was a billiard parlor.  The manager let me sit at one of their tables to wait for Jose.

Teresa called me and told me she loves the new apartment.  I understand I will be able to see it today at 5pm.

Jose arrived right on time and we talked for about 10 minutes then went back down a level to the chess club.  They have a dozen or more chess tables and we chose one and I drew the Black pieces for the first game.  We both played basically the same opening as we had previously and I soon had a positional advantage.  I managed to check his king and he chose to move it instead of trading pieces so I knew he wasn’t going to be able to castle.  Basically the entire game was played on the kingside and I kept up the attack and this time I didn’t blunder and he resigned after the 40^th move.

I had recently joined a Facebook group called Food in Medellin and one restaurant mentioned was called ReMedellin which features sandwiches and something about training "disadvantaged" people.  It was less than 2 blocks away at Carrera 49 #52-107, local 221 in the Junin mall.

Inside the mall we got a little lost trying to find the restaurant until we asked a security guard for help.  He led us back to the entrance and up a staircase where there were several small resturants the last of which was the upstairs area of McDonald’s.

We sat down and an English-speaking waiter gave us our menus and explained a few things.  I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and a Coke and Jose ordered a hamburger and a Diet Coke.  The American owner came out and mentioned he once was a manager for Cheese Cake Factory in Chicago.  I asked him about the Old Orchard location and he said he worked there.  I told him my son worked there for a while.  He asked for my son’s name and when I told him he said yes, he had worked with him.  The owner gave me his business card – his name is Nick Manderfield and he knew all about my son.  Well Jim, if you are reading this, his restaurant is now open.  (Per their Facebook post “We are a non profit restaurant…we hire and train individuals from reformation and reintegration programs in order to help them take a step towards a better life.  Profits generated go back into Medellin to impact displacement.”)

The total bill came to about 42mil, Jose paid it and I gave him 21mil.  Jose didn’t want to go back to the chess club because it was so noisy.  (Two guys near us were playing speed chess and slamming their pieces on the board, there was a lot of talking in general and outside we could hear construction going on.)

We walked a block away where Jose caught a taxi and I walked 2 blocks back to Parque Berrio.  As I was going up the escalator I was looking into Club de Billares and I could see men playing chess.

I was on a near cattle-car but luckily I found a spot to stand by the doors on the far side.  Back at Parque Envigado I stopped at Bartolos but couldn’t get an internet connection so I went to the bakery near city hall and had a café con leche.

I texted Chuck and he soon returned my call and we talked for awhile.

Back at the apt MT was visiting.  I started updating my blog when all of a sudden at 3:15 Teresa tells me to get dressed.  I asked why since we till have an hour and a half.  She said something about rain so I got dressed.

Outside we waited a few minutes until Esmeralda showed up and she took us to the apt in her little car.  The building is in a gated area with a portero (doorman).  The lady from the agency had already arrived on her motorcycle and she took us into the building and up to the 4^th floor.  (Our building is 8 floors with 4 apartments on each floor.)

The apt is modern with nice tile, 2 small bedrooms (8’6” x 8’) and a larger master bedroom with attached bathroom.  There is a second bathroom in the hallway.  The bathrooms appear to be pretty modern.  There is a balcony with a wall about 4’ high and enough room for a few chairs.  The kitchen doesn’t seem to be much bigger than what we have now.  There appears to be a perfect space off the living or dining room for my computer and chess table.  The apt comes with a parking space and storage area.  There is a community public space, small pool and gymnasium.

The monthly rent is 1,750,000 pesos or about $600.  Using the translator on my cellphone I said we would take it.

Tomorrow Teresa is going to the office to see how early I have to make the first payment and if it is to be in cash at the agency or deposited into an account.  And of course we have to sign a contract.

Esmeralda drove us to Oviedo where the ladies looked at shoes.  

Afterwards we went to a little café called Mikaela where we had pastries, coffees and juice to celebrate our new apt.  The total came to 60,600 including tip for the 4 of us.

Back at the apt on TV I came across the World Series and watched the first inning of the first game.

I read news about Saudi Arabia selling as much oil as it could and that the price of oil is dropping so I checked xe.com and found that there is now 3,120 COP to the USD.

Joke of the day

One day God was looking down at earth and saw all of the misbehavior that was going on...

So He called His angels and sent one to earth for a while.

When the angel returned, he told God, 'Yes, it is bad on earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not.’

God thought for a moment and said, 'Maybe I had better send down a another angel to get a second opinion.'

So God called another angel and sent her to earth for a time.

When the angel returned she went to God and said, 'Yes, it's true. The earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good...'

God was not pleased.

So He decided to e-mail the 5% who were good, because He wanted to encourage them, and give them a little something to help them keep going.

Do you know what the e-mail said?

Okay, I was just wondering, because I didn't get one either.