Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 10:45, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 5:30, catnapped until finally getting up at 6:30.

Last week Chuck gave me a Thermacare wrap to use on my back.  Sunday I put it on at 3pm and took it off at 11pm just before going to bed.  It’s supposed to work for another 8 hours and my back did feel less week and sore the next morning.  My back still felt good this morning.  I wonder if Bengay would have the same affect.

I left the apt at 8:15 and arrived at Habia Una Vez at 8:30.  I had my usual mini breakfast of scrambled eggs with tomato and onion, a croissant with cheese and a small café con leche.  I finished and Jose had yet to arrive so I ordered another café con leche.  He soon arrived and joined me for coffee.  He brought me a slice of carrot cake from Maria.  Yes!

We went upstairs to the food court and I had the Black pieces for the first game.  As agreed he played the first move of the Sicilian opening but soon deviated.  I got aggressive early and got myself in trouble and I resigned on the 31^st move.  (Back at the apt I entered the game into my chess computer database and did a blunder check on it.  For some strange reason the results only displayed the first 8 moves followed by ***.)

For lunch he had his usual burger and I had a sandwich from Q’Bano.

In the 2^nd game I played the London System and he got a strong attack going that I managed to repel.  Then I gained a pawn and had the opportunity to win but I missed it and I lost again in the endgame.

I had a café con leche at Todo Fresa, bought milk and eggs in Exito and returned to the apt.

I received an email from Envios Market that my package of “documents” has been delayed in the US.  I hope that’s not my Drivers License.

I left the apt at 5:15 and met Chuck and John outside Otra Parte.  I told them we should meet later because we’re always waiting for the restaurant to open.  However, this time traffic was so bad we didn’t arrive at Mercado de Sabaneta until exactly 6pm.

It’s a bit smaller than the Mercado de Envigado but this one also has restaurants on the 2^nd floor.  It was large enough to accommodate the 140 gringos who showed up tonight.  I met a guy from Chicago, a White Sox fan who really hates the Cubs.

I learned from Jeff Paschke (sp?), the founder of Medellin Guru, that the closed Mercado de Envigado is being remodeled.  I understand they are moving the restaurants in the back closer to the front to make room for a dance/party area in the back.  Jeff also will also be setting up a relationship with an insurance company and real estate agency in Medellin to make it easier for gringos to get health insurance and rent apartments.  I met the mother and son that were in the same row as me when I saw Yesterday last Thursday afternoon.

Chuck, John and I left just after 8pm.

I told them that we should be able to meet next Saturday to go see the finca.

7,406 steps today.

Joke of the day

A preacher went to his church office on Monday morning and discovered a dead mule (jackass to the knowing) in the churchyard. He called the police. Since there did not appear to be any foul play, the police referred the preacher to the health department.

They said since there was no health threat and that he should call the sanitation department.

The sanitation manager said he could not pick up the mule without authorization from the mayor.

Now, the preacher knew the mayor, and was not to eager to call him. The mayor had a bad temper and was generally hard to deal with, but the preacher called him anyway.

The mayor did not disappoint. He immediately began to rant and rave at the pastor and finally said, "Why did you call me anyway? Isn't it your job to bury the dead?"

The preacher asked the Lord to direct his response. He said: "Yes, Mayor, it is my job to bury the dead, but I always like to notify the next of kin first!"