Friday, May 29, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 11:45, again at 4:15, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 5am, read for 30 minutes, fell back asleep quickly, got up at 7am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 3,818 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 6 minutes for a sleep score of 81.

In checking my USAA Checking Account I found 3 strange charges made yesterday that were then backed out for slightly more than the original charge. Go figure!

I left the apt at 8:45 and found Smartfit less busy than usual. I completed my workout including 18 minutes on the treadmill with a final heartrate of 118bpm. (I swear I heard someone say, “Good morning, how are you?” but I couldn’t locate the source.

Construction is going on on a building next door.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor and met a couple from Canada who arrived yesterday for some sun. It started pouring (first time for me) and I waited until 11am for it to lessen. I walked to the apt in a light drizzle and headed straight for the shower.

At 12:30 the rain finally stopped. 😊

Annie James

I chatted with someone at USAA but they didn’t have any other information regarding my 6 strange transactions.

At 3pm Teresa informed me she wanted to go to the cultural center and I could have coffee at the nearby café. We left at 3:30 and walked to Fika Café where I had a latte while she went to the center. She returned a few minutes later and she had a granizado and we shared a chicken empanada. We had more rain from about 4 to 4:30. We left just before 6pm and stopped in Ara for some groceries before returning to the apt. Teresa didn’t want to buy these paper towels because she thought they were for dogs. 😊

Teresa left at 7am to sell Marta one of her bracelets and give Wilson some Hidroxicina tablets for his bad cold. (Just before she left she received a call with good news about her mother’s medical condition. No other details.) She returned at 8:30 but reported Marta wasn’t there.

I watched another episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Chris Hayes Show then started my pre-sleep reading.

 

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FUNNY

 

Thursday, May 28, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4:15, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 4:45, read for 30 minutes, fell back asleep quickly, got up at 7am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,455 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 53 minutes.

I left the apt at 8:30 and quickly caught an Envigado bus to Poblado. I got off at Calle 7 and walked one block up the hill to Cedimed. The waiting room was dark and at an outside desk I explained why I was there and they sent me across the street to the 3^rd floor. (In the US we indicate a “3” by pinching our thumb against our little finger, in Colombia they pinch the thumb against the index finger.) I went across the street and up to the 3^rd floor and presented my doctor’s order and my cedula. They asked me when I ate last and I told them it was about an hour ago. They even checked with someone then informed me I had to fast 4 hours before the test. I’ve never had to fast just for a PSA test. They showed me a list of requirements – the usual no riding a horse 4 days before but it didn’t say anything about fasting. ☹

I was waiting for the elevator – two were on the 6^th floor going up and one was on the 3^rd basement when it occurred to me I’m only on the 3^rd floor so I took the stairs.

On the far side of Ave Poblado, I quickly caught a bus back to Envigado and got off at Gardenia. It wasn’t busy so I had a latte inside for almost 2 hours. For some reason when I ordered the latte the waiter told me he’d bring it but after they wanted to bring me a complimentary Americano. ☹ I don’t know what that was about but I explained in the US Café Americano comes with cream but here only milk which is why I order lattes. My latte:

I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

Teresa wanted to go to Otra Parte to work on her bracelets and I would study chess, but…

At 1pm a downpour started that lasted almost 2 hours so we didn’t get out.

I won my first game vs Mr-Santos, increasing my rating to 1514, and Michael, Mr_Blamo, has joined me in a game.

Teresa had me send this photo of her bracelets to Marta, Wilson’s girlfriend, and she bought the silver one, left column 3^rd from the bottom.

I completed Day 1 (including taking notes) of my course The Simplified Chess Improvement System.

I watched another episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Chris Hayes Show then started my pre-sleep reading.

 

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FUNNY

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 11:45, fell back asleep quickly, got up at 5:30.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,662 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 45 minutes.

I left the apt at 8:30, found Smartfit pretty busy, completed my usual workout including 18 minutes on the treadmill.

I had a latte outside Ganso y Castor for about 90 minutes (in addition to my banana), stopped in Ara but they were out of milk, and returned to the apt.

Teresa left at 2pm for her crafts class. I left at 3pm, waited in line to print my chess games with Jose, had a latte in Los Portenos. A gringo came up to me and said, “Chicago, right?” His name is Jeff from Philly and he explained we met outside Ganso y Castor a few years ago. He sold an apt he had here and is trying to figure out a way to move her permanently.

I left at 6:15 and moved to Eduardo Madrid where Teresa soon joined me. She wasn’t’ hungry so we went to Ara and bought some groceries before returning to the apt.

She got a call from Wilson and left at 7pm for his bar. She returned at 9pm and explained that MT’s test results came back “bad”. Something about inflammation of the liver and I forget what other organ.

Correction: MT hasn’t had any surgery and has yet to leave the clinic since last Sunday. Not sure what’s going to happen next.

I watched some news then did some reading before going to bed at my usual 10pm.

 

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FUNNY

 

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, took a while to fall asleep quickly, got up once at 4:45, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 5:30 and did some work on the computer.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 8,509 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 5 hours and 24 minutes.

At 6:15 I went back to bed for half an hour but wasn’t able to fall asleep. I got up, showered, and dressed and ordered a Didi to take me to Unicentro mall for 19,800 pesos.

Traffic was good and I arrived about 20 minutes early – enough for me to walk around the mall 3 times.

This is a Mr. Potato Head they had on display outside the main entrance:

My 2 scrambled eggs with Italian sausage, almond croissant, latte and bottle of water to go in Parmessano was 47,637 pesos.

We adjourned to the food court and in the first game I blundered a knight on my 5^th move. ☹ I fought on until the 36^th move before resigning. In the second game I gained a pawn which I managed to queen and he resigned on the 58^th move.

It was only 1pm when I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 18,600 pesos. I guess traffic was good as the driver took the expressway instead of side streets.

I had lunch again in Sarku’s – teriyaki chicken and a Pepsi for 37,700 pesos.

The Servibanca ATM didn’t work so I withdrew 2 million pesos from Davivienda. I went down to Urbania and had a latte for about 90 minutes. Teresa called and asked me to pick up blueberries in Exito.  In Exito I bought 3 boxes of blueberries (pay for 2, take 3), 4 apples, a can of pasta sauce, and a large package of mozzarella cheese and returned to the apt by taxi.

It was another warm day today – maybe we’ll have a summer this year after all.

I heard from Glenn – he’s still in Florida and has someone with him because he keeps falling. ☹ I’ll learn more when he returns to Medellin.

I watched a little news then started my pre-sleep reading.

 

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FUNNY

 

Monday, May 25, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3am, fell back asleep quickly, vaguely aware of waking up once 5ish, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 1,242 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 8 hours and 11 minutes. Before the interface changed, I thought it was underrepresenting my sleep duration, now it might be overrepresenting it.

I tried taking a 20-minute nap after breakfast but couldn’t fall asleep. I left the apt at 9am and of course found Smartfit not very busy. Today I added 5# to the Abdominal Crunch and Back Extension machines and completed 18 minutes on the treadmill with a final 119bpm heartrate.

I had my usual latte (& banana) in Ganso y Castor. Teresa called at 10:30 and asked me to return to the apt ASAP because she needs to get a pair of pajamas to her mom. I did, showered, and we took a Didi to Clinica Las Vegas for 8,925 pesos. She had on a facemask and was allowed inside but I had to wait outside.

I guess the people you see here are either: waiting for a loved one to come out or awaiting triage.

Teresa returned a half hour later and I ordered a Didi to take us to El Tesoro mall for 10,440 pesos.

After a short wait we had lunch in Crepes & Waffles. Teresa had the salad bar and a Volcan Caribe (whatever that was) while I had the chicken and cheese crepe and we shared a bottle of water for 99,500 pesos ($27).

A little late I realized today is Memorial Day in the US.

We went up to floor 13 in Medical Tower #1 and waited about an hour for Dr. Castanos office to open. I got the medical order for my PSA test and my rescheduled appointment will be on June 12^th but she will call me with the time; Obviously I’m on standby.

We took the stairs down a floor to Dr. Rendon’s office. We had a short wait then I got my teeth cleaned. I learned he (and his family) loved their trip to Austin, Texas last December. He bought a piece of property as an investment in a not so nice area that is expected to improve in the future and they will add an Airbnb. They just got back from a week trip to Spain and they plan on going to Japan in September. My exam and teeth cleaning was 280,000 pesos. Teresa got her teeth cleaned and an x-ray and her charge was 320mil.

We took a taxi to Gardenia in Envigado but found it was closed for a special event so we went to Otra Parte where we each had an apple crumb pastry with a latte. We left at 6pm and returned to the apt.

I watched a little of The Rachel Maddow Show then started my pre-sleep reading.

 

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FUNNY

 

BOB BURFORD

Zoot Sims, "Jitterbug Waltz." 

Just imagine being a young teen and being able to go to the Crystal Palace Ballroom and hang out with the gods of jazz and the sidemen the likes of Zoot Sims, Les Brown, Stan Kenton, Lionel Hampton, Ralph Marterie, and on and on. The 1950's was functionally the end of touring big jazz bands.

Sunday, May 24, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 11:30 (it was raining lightly), fell back asleep quickly, got up again at 4:45, drifted in and out of consciousness, finally getting up at 7:15.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,806 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 54 minutes. ☹

It’s a nice, bright, sunny day.

Our plan was to go to El Retiro today, but then…

Teresa talked to someone then reported MT is in Clinica Las Vegas – she has a gallstone. They gave her medicine so she’s no longer in pain.

Anna Cramling won her chess match against Odin, a grandmaster:

11:30 update: MT’s going in for surgery. Her daughter Nydia is with her and there isn’t room for any other visitors.

1:20 update: She’s out of surgery, doing well, not in any pain, heading back to her apt.

At 2pm I had a Didi take us to Rocoto, the Peruvian restaurant, in the Provenza neighborhood of Poblado for 15,300 pesos.

Teresa ordered a beef special the waitress touted and I the Arroz Chaufa Pollo (chicken with rice) and we shared a bottle of water. Teresa really didn’t like her beef, so much that she said something to the waitress and they gifted us a free dessert. The total check with tip came to 172,520 pesos ($46.50).

We left at 3:45 and returned to the apt by Didi for 13,400 pesos.

I watched 60 Minutes, a repeat, finished The Man in the High Castle, then watched the first episode of The Handmaid’s Tale (8.3).

I finished reading John Grisham’s book of short stories Ford County.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY