Monday, October 24, 2022

Last night I went to bed at 10pm (still raining), fell asleep quickly, got up once at 1:45 (no rain), fell back asleep, woke up at 6:30, did my Kegel exercises and got up.

I left just before 7:30 and walked to Smartfit on Ave Poblado. It was just a 5-minute wait for a Sabaneta bus but when I got on it was packed, standing room only. Today I took note and saw an HijaMia sign between the casino and Pasteur pharmacy on the Gold Mile.. I got off at calle 7 and walked up to Cedimed, noticing 2 umbrellas selling snacks that had signs advertising they sell facemasks. I stopped outside the main doors to get myself ready: put on my facemask, take out my prescription and my ID, when a woman asked me where they sell facemasks. I pointed in the relative direction of the umbrellas and she said “de donde?”. I walked her around the corner and pointed at the first umbrella in views and said, “sombrilla”. Maybe “paraguas” would have been more accurate.

Inside I gave the receptionist my cedula and prescription for the tests: PSA, HDL, LDL, Total cholesterol, and triglycerides. She asked me a question I didn’t understand then she gave me a page in Spanish that I’ve seen before. It asks questions like have you been on a horse, bicycle, had sex, had sex with the same sex in the past XXX days. I said, “no”, she gave me a number and I took a seat.

As usual it was only a 5-minute wait. I paid 139,600 pesos ($28.50) with my USAA debit card and took a seat again. Ten minutes later a phlebotomist came out and called my name. Inside I showed her my list of medications, supplements and vitamins and explained I hadn’t taken any today. Also, the last time I ate something was 7:30 last night and it was an apple with peanut butter. She withdrew a single vial of blood and told me the results will be available today. (I forgot to show my Amigo card for my discount when I paid the bill but Teresa told me I’m in the system anyway.)

She put this little round band-aid on me and I added a regular band-aid. Back in the waiting room I waited 10 minutes to make sure I didn’t feel dizzy or start bleeding.

I walked to Hija Mia Nomada in 16 minutes and had 2 lattes and an acai bowl for 42,350 ($8.50).

I walked back up to Ave Poblado and immediately caught a Sabaneta bus. This one had lots of seats available. I got off just past Otra Parte and walked back to the apt.

Teresa and I left at 11:30, arriving by Uber at Clinica Las Americas by noon for her 1pm appointment. She was finally called in about 1:30.

When she came out she said everything is okay but she has to pick up some medicine. First we went next door to the Arkadia mall where we had lunch in Crepes & Waffles.

I stopped in Decathlon looking for another pair of Quechua convertible pants. I found a pair sized…well you tell me:

So ‘FR 46’ is that France? And ‘EU XL’ is that Estados Unidos extra large or does that stand for European Union? Anyway I tried on a pair and Teresa said they looked too tight in the legs. She found another pair, this time the same size but the brand was Forclaz. I tried those on and they fit much better so I bought them for 172mil and charged it to my CS card. I want to see if there’s much difference in CERs between USAA and CS. Teresa did some more shopping then we returned to Las Americas where we waited an hour for Teresa to pick up some medicine.

Outside we quickly caught a taxi to Panamerica in Poblado. While Teresa looked for her paints for designing jackets, I checked out the book section in English

They had lots of Christmas decorations and a few gifts.

We were there about an hour and we bought 133mil ($27) of stuff. Across the street we quickly caught a taxi back to Envigado and traffic was slow but reasonable.

I’m beginning to think that USAA no longer charges foreign transaction fees. I’ve noticed no extra 1% added since the last “end of month” balance on the 15^th. In that case I might not need the CS account. Time will tell; maybe USAA is making up the difference with a lower currency exchange rate. I’ll do some comparisons ATM and Charles Schwab to see if the CER is different.

I understand Daniela is back in Medellin and they will be transferring her to a different hospital.

I tried downloading my test results but again the website said my user id or password was incorrect.

I watched the Chicago Bears clobber the New England Patriots 33-14. 😊

Today I got in 6,852 steps.

 

Fun pix