Thursday, June 11, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, a trip to the bathroom at 11:30, fell back asleep quickly, another trip to the bathroom at 3am, couldn’t fall back sleep, got up and read until 4:30, fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,434 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 11 minutes for a sleep score of 71.

I had coffee with Marcos and updated him on Glenn’s status. Glenn has contact information (601 909-0770) of a rabbi here in Medellin who speaks English. He also gave me estimated costs here for:

·      Cremation - $500

·      Burial (Jewish section of a Catholic cemetery) - $3000

·      Shipping his body back to the States - $20,000

I returned to the apt and Glenn called and informed me he has a brain tumor and is only expected to live another 2 months. He said he wants to be cremated but his brother wants his body shipped back to the States. I sent Carrie an email with the above information.

After lunch I went for a 45-minute nap but just ended up resting my eyes.

I left the apt at 2:15 for Gardenia. They had a screen set up and were showing the opening World Cup match between Mexico and South Africa. Mexico won 2-0. I took a seat inside and started my next chess lesson which was to play 2 games at a 15 minute 10 second time control then analyze them. I won the first game but 1) missed a candidate move, 2) played too fast. I won the second game but missed an early opportunity to win a pawn.

I was finishing up my analysis of the second game when Teresa entered with her friend Lucy. They took a table outside and I packed up and soon joined them. Later Teresa saw two ladies at the next table eating small pulled pork burgers so she ordered them for us. They were very good although I wasn’t a fan of the dark buns. Then the next table ordered oatmeal waffles with berries and Teresa ordered those for us. I paid the bill of 90mil and we left just after 6pm and returned to the apt.

Mr-Santos resigned our game on the 43^rd move increasing my rating to 1502.

I watched some news, The Chris Hayes Show, then started my pre-sleep reading.

 

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Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm (still raining), fell asleep quickly, got up once at 12:30, fell back asleep quickly, finally waking at 5:15 and getting up at 6:15.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,788 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 22 minutes for a sleep score of 76.

It was a very cool morning so I put on my hiking pants, t-shirt and jacket, left the apt at 9am and took a Didi to El Tesoro for 10,795 pesos. The driver took some backroads I haven’t been on before; he said he was very familiar with the area. I arrived at the mall 35 minutes before my appointment. My usual print station wasn’t open yet so I took a seat nearby. A young lady came by and obviously wanted to use their service also and she took a seat nearby. I mentioned to her they may not open until 10am and I have a doctor’s appointment at that time. She got up and talked to a nearby security guard then told me there is another place we can go. I followed her to the Cine Plaza corner and down to the 4^th basement (escalator wasn’t working) where there was an Auros. 😊 There was just one person ahead of her and I soon got my single page PSA test result printed for 700 pesos. I stopped at the atrium and took a few photos of their Jurassic Park.

Up to the 13^th floor of Torre Medica 1 I checked in with Dr. Castano’s secretary then took a seat in the main waiting area. I was called in to see the doctor about 10:30 and gave him my PSA result of 0.006. I asked about taking 1000IU of Vitamin D daily and he said it should not be a problem. He congratulated me on being cancer free 5 years after my surgery, gave me a zopiclona prescription good for one year, and did an ultrasound of my abdomen and reported all my organs look good but I have 1 small stone in each kidney. Because I’m now cancer free, I don’t have to return for a year instead of 6 months.

I went down to Valentina’s and had a latte. I sent Teresa a note that I could meet her for lunch in Olivia’s at 12:30. She changed our meeting to Parmessano instead.

At noon I ordered a Didi to take me to Mayorca mall. I thought I requested to be picked up at Entrada #4 by the Mac Center but I was standing outside when he said he arrived and I didn’t see him. After trading a couple texts, I learned he was down the hill by the taxi stand. He took me to Mayorca for 20,900 pesos.

I went up to the 4^th floor to Parmessano and Teresa soon joined me. She had her usual salmon with some green juice and I had the spaghetti bolognese with a mango juice for a total of 111,882 pesos ($34).

We went down to the basement and soon were in a taxi back to Envigado. She got out down the hill from the cultural center and I continued on to the apt for 15,400 pesos.

The elevator was under routine maintenance so I had to walk up 4 flights. I dropped off some things, changed my clothes (weather had turned warmer), packed my laptop and headed for Gardenia. Of course, on the way it turned cloudy and windy with thunder as I walked the two blocks to the restaurant.  Luckily, it didn’t turn into rain. The restaurant had a party going on outside on the patio so I took one of 3 inside tables.

I texted Juan and they are waiting to check Glenn in to Clinica Vida which is a cancer hospital. If I understand Juan correctly, they no longer think Glenn has dementia but instead brain cancer and symptoms of the opioids he was taking.

I see my USAA credit card payment was processed. Now I can order our rental car.

I read an article (Popular joint supplement glucosamine linked to faster Alzheimer’s progression) about glucosamine and how it affects the brain; I’ve been taking 1500mg of it for years in my Joint Support tablets. ☹ Worse, I still have 2 additional bottles in my closet. I think I’ll be spacing them out instead of taking one every morning.

I left Gardenia just after 5pm and stopped in the Pasteur pharmacy to buy the larger (and easier to cut in half) zopiclona tablets. The girl spent quite a while on the computer, finally came up with a box (first two boxes she gave me were the round ones), took a photo of my doctor’s order, checked it against my cedula and I paid about 28,699 pesos for them. Later I found the box only contained 10 tablets but I should be able to get more my next trip to Todo Drogas in 10 days.

I met Teresa at Eduardo Madrid where she bought a dozen cheese muffins and I had one with a latte. I hope this additional  late latte doesn’t affect my sleep tonight.

We stopped in Tienda D1 and bought a few groceries before returning to the apt.

I watched some news, The Chris Hayes Show then started my pre-sleep reading.

 

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FUNNY

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10:15 (still raining), fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3:15 (still raining), fell back asleep quickly, finally waking/getting up at 6:15 before my 6:30 alarm.

At first my Fitbit said, “NO DATA” but later I got my Bluetooth reconnected.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,237 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 24 minutes for a sleep score of 83.

I ordered a Didi to take me to Unicentro and I expected with the wet pavement today it would cost 30mil but it was only 12,300. (I didn’t realize I had ordered a ride to Viva Envigado not Unicentro.) When my Didi arrived, the driver mentioned Viva Envigado but I corrected him to Unicentro. It took a minute to get it worked out but in the end I paid the original 12,300 with my debit card plus another 20,000 pesos in cash. I arrived early enough to buy a banana using 20 50-peso coins and walked once around the mall. I met Jose upstairs in Parmessano where we had our usual breakfast of eggs and coffee.

We moved to the food court where I turned off my cellphone as usual so it wouldn’t distract me.

I lost two quick games, one in 25 moves and the other in 22 moves. I haven’t been playing good chess lately, not sure if its due to old age or sleep problems. Maybe both?

It was just past noon when I turned on my phone and ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 19,000 pesos.

I went up to the 3^rd floor where I had my usual chicken teriyaki in Sarku’s. I checked my messages and Glenn had called at 9:39 but didn’t leave a message. Juan, his guardian, called at 9:41 and left the following message: Juan noticed Glenn was drooping on his left side so Juan took him to the emergency room. They did some tests and Glenn’s cancer has metastasized to his brain so now he also has brain cancer. ☹

I was contacted by Dr. Castano’s office and they changed my appointment to tomorrow morning at 10am so I’ll be missing gym.

Later after checking in with Juan I learned Glenn’s in clinic IPS PAC INCODOL which ironically is near Unicentro mall. I asked Juan to keep me updated.

I checked in Cine Colombia but they didn’t know anything about showing World Cup games this year.

I had a latte in Urbania for about an hour. Strangely, as I left the woman at the next table was smiling and staring at me. It was only later I realized I was wearing my “GIRL GRANDPA” t-shirt. 😊

I bought a few things in Exito and returned to the apt by taxi just as a downpour was starting.

The rain finally lessened by 4pm and I stopped at the Bancolombia kiosk to print our chess games then stopped in Eduardo Madrid where I bought a 5-pak of sesame seed bagels and a slice of carrot cake and returned to the apt.

I notified Teresa my urologist appointment tomorrow is now at 10am. She said she’ll go to the gym early tomorrow; I’ll be skipping it.

I spent some time figuring out how to download my PSA blood test results to my USB drive.

I lost a game to chesswiz98 lowering my rating to 1494. ☹

I deiced the ice maker which I have to do every couple months to keep it from clogging.

I watched another episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, some news, then started my pre-sleep reading.

We had rain in the evening and was still raining when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

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FUNNY

Monday, June 8, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at midnight (it was raining), fell back asleep quickly, woke up at 4:45am (still raining), couldn’t fall back asleep, finally got up at 6:15.

According to my Fitbit, I got in only 2,821 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 23 minutes for a sleep score of 80.

Today is a holiday here (one of 3 this month), Corpus Christi.

Teresa mentioned she would like to return to Parque Salado. I responded it would be better on a day not so cold and rainy.

I had a 45-minute nap after lunch but mainly just rested my eyes although it’s possible, I got in some light sleep.

I left the apt at 9am and found Smartfit about as busy as usual. I completed my usual workout, adding 5# to the Abdominal Crunch machine, with 18 minutes on the treadmill with a final heartrate of 120bpm.

I had my latte in Ganso y Castor for about an hour. I saw the squirrel come looking for a peanut but I forgot to bring one today. ☹ I stopped at Eduardo Madrid for bagels but of course it was closed for the holiday.

More cold and rain in the afternoon so we just crashed at our apt.

Teresa made another batch of “muffin cakes”, this time with blueberries instead of pecans, but they stuck to the tin. Then she found the muffin cups she can use next time she makes them.

I watched a few more episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale. I finished Julie K. Brown’s book Perversion of Justice.

 

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Sunday, June 7, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 1am, fell back asleep quickly, woke up at 5:15, couldn’t fall back asleep, finally got up at 6:30.

According to my Fitbit, I got in only 2,827 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 44 minutes for a sleep score of 79.

The street is wet so obviously we had some rain overnight.

We left at 10am, picked up MT at her apt and continued on to Habitat Los Balsos Suramerica, Calle 77 Sur #50A – 290 in La Estrella. It took about 15 minutes for 14,500 pesos.

This description is going to be a little disjointed. At a guardhouse outside the premises a security guard made copies of our cedulas (national ID cards). We were directed to an elevator in the basement parking garage of the main building and took an elevator up to the 3^rd floor to Glenn’s room 302. It’s a private room with living/dining room walled off from the bedroom and a bathroom and a closet.

Glenn was there with Daniela and of course Bianca. It’s amazing how much he has deteriorated since we had breakfast together on May 3^rd. He can’t walk without assistance as he has fallen several times and he often seems confused. I was disappointed, I expected his place to be more special for 13,600,000 pesos a month. The place reminded me of a clinic with various consultorios (offices) off a main hallway. His room overlooks the pool which he believes is used mainly for physical therapy. The only staff today appeared to be servers and cleaners probably because it’s a Sunday. Daniela was having menstrual cramps but after holding a hot pad to her stomach for awhile, she helped Glenn into his wheelchair and we took a self-guided tour and saw a makeshift chapel, a billiard room, a library, and a small and not impressive gym. Supposedly there’s a movie theater but it must be in another building. There are a number of other buildings on the premises, don’t know if they are private patients’ houses or staff living quarters. It started raining lightly while we were there. MT was impressed though and would like to stay there. Teresa said it’s the best you will find in Medellin.

Glenn gave me his iPad and said he believes the battery is dead and will need to be replaced. I told Glenn about Carlos, Chris’ friend, who might be interested in a job as a gofer for him.

We left just after noon, dropped MT off at her apt (ride was about 20 minutes), and continued on to El Correo in the Provenza neighborhood of Poblado. We both had their Pollo Faruk, a baked potato, vegetables for Teresa and a Coke for 201,146 pesos ($56.50).

We took a Didi to Santafe mall where Teresa checked out Zara and reported that it was all the same ugly clothes. (Better for me.) Current setup in their atrium:

We went down to Valentina’s and had coffee and shared a slice of yogurt cake.

Teresa informed me Daniela is there from 8am to 8pm but he’s alone at night. She said he could mistake a chair for a toilet and poop in it or bang on the balcony sliding door or do a header off the balcony. I told her there’s only so much we can do.

Two minutes in the iShop in Santafe mall I learned:1) If the iPad battery is bad, you won’t be able to replace it in Colombia, 2) The power cord is not a USB-C, it’s a special Apple power cord Glenn probably have somewhere in his possessions.

Chris Cajoleas texted me that Carlos is having hernia surgery next week. ☹

I watched a couple more episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale, then started watching 60 Minutes knowing we’re in summer repeats but it was one I had seen before.

 

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FUNNY

 

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2am, fell back asleep quickly, woke up again at 4:30, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 5:10, read until 5:50, went back to bed and woke up at 7:30. Kind of a mixed night, sleep wise.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 4,047 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 20 minutes for a sleep score of 81.

Today is D-Day Remembrance Day!

I left the apt at 9am with my laptop in my backpack and at Teresa’s insistence took a Didi to the mall for 5,800 pesos. As usual at this early hour it was nearly empty, same with Urbania café where I set up my computer. I’m at a table (my seat is 16-1) for 8 for coworking but today there’s almost no one here.

Teresa told me she’s going to meet her mother here in the mall later so maybe we’ll have lunch together.

I quickly realized I wasn’t getting a strong enough Wi-Fi signal from Urbania to access Lichess.org and Chess.com. ☹ I could access the chess course but then it was difficult to hear the instructor with all the background noise. ☹

I noticed this new standalone Greek Yogurt stand next to Urbania.

I won a game vs Troyclough when I was losing going into the endgame, increasing my rating to 1503.

Glenn called and invited us to meet him today in his new home. I told him I would first have to talk to Teresa.

I left the mall at 11am and returned to the apt by taxi.

We decided to visit Glenn after lunch if it’s not raining. The rain started at 1:15 and was still coming down at 2pm so I contacted Glenn and informed him we would visit tomorrow after breakfast – if it isn’t raining.

Since it was such a cool, rainy day I just hung out in the apt.

Teresa opened the new box of Bisquick and with her own recipe made a dozen little cakes using a muffin tin.

I got a draw vs chesswiz98, lowering my rating to 1502.

Expat: No, I don’t shop at Euro, so there has to be another reason for those crazy transactions. I noticed some comment on Facebook about a “card-processor batch event” last Monday so maybe that was the problem.

An interesting ad I noticed on Facebook.

I finished season 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale then it was time for my pre-sleep reading.

 

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FUNNY

 

Friday, June 5, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 3:30, it started raining, fell back asleep quickly, woke up at 5:30, and got up at 6:15.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,582 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 42 minutes for a sleep score of 86.

After breakfast I had a 30-minute nap.

I left the apt at 9am and found Smartfit surprisingly busy but it cleared out a bit a few minutes later.

Glenn called near the end of my workout complaining that workers were just throwing his shit (his words) into boxes. Well, since he can’t do it. And he’ll have lots of time to unpack and reorganize when he arrives at the retirement home.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about an hour before returning to the apt.

I tried taking a nap after lunch. Instead of setting a timer for 45 minutes, I set the stopwatch to see how long I could sleep. It turned out to be 45 minutes of just resting my eyes.

Instead of going out I went through another lesson in my new chess course. It asked me to play two games on Lichess.com at a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds. I won the first but lost the second. One thing I learned is I was playing too fast.

I watched another couple episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale, the first half of The Chris Hayes Show then it was time for my pre-sleep reading.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY