Thursday, February 26, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 3:30, had trouble falling back asleep but I must have as the next thing I knew it was 7am.

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to the mall. Upstairs I got in line for a cashier in Av Villas. I wasn’t sure if it was one line or two so I asked the guy in front of me, “un fila o dos”, and he answered in English, “only one”. 😊 I paid for the apt and got my receipt.

I went down the hall to the consignacion ATMs but both I tried were out of order. 

I’m guessing it’s a system problem.

I went down to Urbania and had a latte and a glass of ice water. I sent a photo copy of my apt rental payment to Alcala. Teresa called and asked me to pick up apples (green and red), broccoli, and tomatoes.

Photos of Annie James on her first flight – to Los Angeles.

I tried the ATM outside Exito but it didn’t work either.

I stopped in Exito and found the above plus lemons (yellow like in the US). I bought one for 2,721 pesos (73 cents) that I’ll use for my tea.

I returned to the apt by taxi for 8,500 pesos.

I left at 2pm and walked to Gardenia where I had a latte while going through the endgame lessons again. Teresa was supposed to meet with Rosemary to look for jeans in the Outlet store then join me at the restaurant. We traded messages a couple times then Teresa, alone, finally joined me at 5pm. There was an aggressive chihuahua at the next table that I warned Teresa about so she wouldn’t get bit. She didn’t want anything from Gardenia, plus they were closing soon, so I paid my bill and we went down the street to Otra Parte. We each had the Mama Pastora (pasta in teriyaki sauce) and shared a Coke then a slice of apple pie ala mode for a total of about 134,000 pesos. Feeling very stuffed we waddled back to the apt.

I’m learning there are different types of magnesium: citrate, oxide, threonate, glycinate and the latter is the one I should be taking as a sleep aid so I’ll be looking for it this Saturday.

I watched the news the rest of the evening then a little reading before going to bed at 9:30.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 5:30 and getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8:15 and found Smartfit busier than usual. I pretty much completed my workout in my preferred order and I finished my treadmill in 18 minutes at 126bpm, forgetting to add the extra minute.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about an hour. Laura texted me that her neighbor might be willing to rent me their car for a few days while in Boston. Maybe she meant loan not rent? Why should I pay for someone else’s car if I can borrow Laura’s?

I left at 10am and stopped in Eduardo Madrid to pick up my 16 English muffins. I noticed they replaced the bench between the display case and front window with a small table for two.

I left the apt at 2:15 and went to Los Porteños for a latte. Of course it started raining at 3:30 which lasted about an hour.

Certain_letter finally agreed to a draw but my rating didn’t change. I’m not going to play him again because he moves so slow.

At 5pm I moved to Eduardo Madrid and took the last table available.

I saw Marcos Kaseman come in, he’s head of the Angels of Medellin charity, and buy what looked like a pack of cinnamon rolls.

Teresa arrived at 5:30 and we shared a chicken sandwich and she had a latte. I only had a sip of it because I didn’t want the caffein in my system for bedtime.

We stopped in Ara on our way back to the apt for arepas.

I’m experiencing some challenges finding flights with the right timing at a reasonable cost.

 I watched the news and half of The Chris Hayes show before starting my reading for the night.

It rained most of the evening but stopped by the time I went to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 5:15, finally getting up at 6:15.

Teresa had already left for her gym class.

My Didi driver, Juan, spoke good English having visited NY, NJ, and CN. At one point he asked me what they call a “roundabout” and I said to me it sounds British but where I come from it’s called a traffic circle. He graduated from the University of Antioquia and is a fitness instructor doing some driving on the side.

It’s obvious by all the signs that it’s now election season.

I arrived five minutes early and when the mall opened went up to Parmessano and took a table. I realized I forgot to bring the small bottle of maple syrup I had left in the refrigerator. ☹

I noticed a green parrot land on a tree across the street.

I had the French toast (pretty dry without the maple syrup) and a couple scrambled eggs, a latte and a bottle of water to go for 55mil. Jose got an egg casserole and his usual café doble which he paid for with a debit card. He told me his new debit card has arrived in Utah and his son will forward it on to my FL mail forwarding service.

We moved to the food court and with the Black pieces I got an attack against his queen, then his king but once again couldn’t finish and it ended as a draw.

In the second game I had the White pieces and I had pressure against his king but he sacrificed a rook and got a strong attack and I lost in the end.

It was only 1:15 as we finished and I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado; another Juan who spoke a little English. At one point we were behind this Ford Mach One.

Somebody here has money.

In the mall, I was going to have lunch at Sarku’s until I noticed their ceiling fans which would probably dry out my eyes so much it would be painful. I had my usual granola bowl with yogurt and fruits in Pergamino.

I stopped in the tienda naturist but this time they didn’t have the container of creatine I was looking for.

I went downstairs and had a latte in Urbania for about an hour.

Some new paintings my half-sister Cyd has done:

Chesswiz98 resigned our latest game increasing my rating to 1540. (I’m sure, and the computer agrees, this game was a dead draw.)

I had a draw by repetition, if I wanted it, in an endgame against Troyclough but blundered my queen and resigned, lowering my rating to 1533.

Exito still had imported oranges to I bought 4 of them and returned to the apt by taxi.

Teresa was out visiting her mother and didn’t return until 7:30.

I watched the news and read until going to bed at my usual 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Monday, February 23, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

Teresa was still in bed so obviously she missed her 6am gym class.

Teresa got up at 7am, made breakfast and went back to bed, saying she didn’t sleep well.

I left the apt at 8:30 in a mist and found Smartfit not very busy. I completed my workout in my preferred order and walked 19 minutes on the treadmill for the first time – first 8 minutes at 5.5kmh and the remaining 11 minutes at 6kmh with a final heart rate of 127bpm.

No raindrops as I walked to Ganso y Castor and had a latte. I stopped across the walkway and bought a banana for tomorrow for 1mil.

Teresa called and asked me to pick up a couple things from Ara on my way back to the apt. I didn’t understand and asked her to send me a text message. She texted, “Pollo de biscocho y vinagre blanco”. I understood “White vinegar” but I didn’t recognize the chicken she asked for. When I entered Ara I showed the guard my banana so I wouldn’t be charged for it twice and noticed only one cashier and a long line at check out. I walked the aisles but didn’t see white vinegar. I looked in the refrigerated display cases but didn’t see any chicken with “biscocho” written on it and there was no one around to ask for help.

I left without anything and when I returned to the apt and informed Teresa, I learned she meant, “polvo” not “pollo”. ☹

After lunch I had a 30-minute nap.

I left the apt at 2pm (in a light drizzle) and stopped in Eduardo Madrid and ordered 16 English muffins for pickup tomorrow afternoon.

I was having a small latte

in Los Portenos when a woman came by looking for an Airbnb. She spoke a little English and I tried to tell her where I thought the Airbnbs were. At 3:30 it started raining, I left at 4;30 and stopped in Ara to purchase a couple things before returning to the apt.

I understand Boston is experiencing a blizzard and Laura sent me this photo of her car.

Teresa suggested pouring boiling water over it to defrost it. 😊  ☹

I watched the news then the first half of The Rachel Maddow show before switching to my reading and going to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7am

I went next door to Ara just after 8am and bought laundry detergent and a bag of milk.

We left the apt at 11:30 in a Didi, picked up MT at her apt and continued on to Estacion Exposiciones for 15,800 pesos.

There was an El Retiro bus already there but it was too full. The ladies went across the street to Tienda D1 looking for snacks. I decided to be kind to my gut and bought a small bottle of Kumis to drink. Teresa got the same and MT got a small bottle of yogurt.

Back across the street it was a short wait for a larger bus. We got seats in the back as usual and arrived in El Retiro just after 1pm. Bus fare has gone up from 10,200 pesos per person to 12,000 pesos.

We walked up to Lomo Fino and, though there was no line, we got one of the last available tables. The ladies had the chicken breast and I their 320gr solomito (steak) which for the first time was cooked perfectly.

The check came to 169,000 pesos ($46) including tip.

We walked down to El Retiro Café (the ladies checked out a couple stores on the way) where we had coffee and eventually a slice of apple cake with walnuts. A little rain came through while we were inside but we didn’t notice at the time.

A new photo of Annie James:

At 4:30 I paid the check of 42,700 pesos and we walked down the hill to the bus stop and soon were on a bus back to Medellin.

We caught a taxi under the metro and returned to Envigado.

Marcos called while my phone was charging and an hour later I returned his call. He just wanted to notify me that my Fitbit arrived early.

I watched the first coupe episodes of 60 Minutes then started my reading pre-sleep routine going to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Saturday, February 21, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once or twice during the night, finally waking at 4:30 and getting up at 5am. I went back to bed at 6am, fell back asleep and woke up at 8am.

I was ready to leave the apt just before 9am for Viva Envigado when Teresa informed me she wanted to go to Santfe mall for lunch.

I went to Otra Parte instead and had a latte while reviewing another chapter in my endgame book. I left at 11:30 and returned to the apt.

We left at 12:15 and took a Didi to Santafe mall for 12,000 pesos. We had a nice lunch in Crepes & Waffles (no line) for 73,050 pesos ($20).

We stopped in Dollar City and bought 30 garbage bags for 9,000 pesos.

Teresa went shopping while I went down to Antonio’s for a latte.

Teresa joined me later and had a granizado (like a cold coffee).

We left at 4:30, bought eggs in Jumbo, waited in a long line to pay then returned to the apt by taxi.

I watched The World Will Tremble (6.7) on Netflix then read my Kindle book and went to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

NOT FUNNY

 

Friday, February 20, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 3:15, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

The bedroom door was closed when I got up so I thought Teresa had left for the gym. She surprised me by still being home. I asked her, “no gym today?”. She replied, “today is Saturday”. I replied, “today is Friday”. 😊 She had a little trouble processing that.

I left the apt at 8am and found Smartfit busier than usual. (It seemed to clear out just before 9am, I’m assuming they are heading to work.)

I completed my workout including 18 minutes on the treadmill with 45-second intervals where I take my hands off the side supports. I finished with a pulse rate of 132 bpm.

I moved to Ganso y Castor where I had a latte for about an hour. I went across the plaza to a small store where I bought a banana for 1,000 pesos. My plan is to buy one every Monday after gym to eat Tuesday morning before I leave to play chess hoping the extra potassium will prevent my cramping.

Mekael965 resigned our game in 56 moves, increasing my rating to 1538. I don’t think I’ll play him again because he’s too slow, using the full 3 days for each move. His rating is only 1282 so I won’t be missing much.

I checked flights leaving Boston on Friday, May 15^th, returning on Sunday, May 17^th and I found this American Airlines one for $326:

·      4:32pm-6:49pm nonstop BOS-ORD

·      11:45am-3:18pm nonstop ORD-BOS

Laura says she will probably take the day off on Friday making it more certain I will be able to catch that flight.

I left the apt just before 1pm and stopped at the copy center but they were closed for lunch – 1-1:30pm.

I continued on to Los Porteños where I had a latte while starting my endgame studies again.

Wait, they’re back to the small cups again?

I got a draw by repitition against Troyclough, lowering my rating to 1537. Wait! They now show the change to the rating, (-1 for me and +2 for him) and I thought the change would be the same.

Teresa called at 3pm and asked me to meet her with her friend Nancy at Gardenia at 3:30. After waiting in line to have a chess note and my updated list of medications printed, I was there by 3:30 but they didn’t show until after 4:15. They had the fruit cup while I had a milkshake.

We said goodbye and left at 5:45 and returned to the apt.

Teresa was supposed to get a massage from Kelly because she was “in the area” but in the end I guess the skies were too threatening because she never arrived. We never got any rain, at least here.

I watched some news then read for about an hour before going to bed at 9:30.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY