Thursday, October 1, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 1:15, finally waking at 5:30 and getting up at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,267 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 10 minutes for a sleep score of 80. And my sleep efficiency was 90%, meaning I was asleep 90% of the time I was in bed.

I was vaguely aware of some rain overnight but I don’t think we had a lot.

Teresa got up at 6:30 and while she was brushing her teeth, I noticed a dental flosser stuck to her back. I guess she must have slept very soundly. 😊

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to the mall. I recycled a couple muffin plastic containers then went up to the banking area. My bank doesn’t open until 9am which gave me time to pay my other bills using the Bancolombia ATM’s consignacion option.

I went downstairs to Urbania where I had a latte while texting my payment confirmations. Marcos soon arrived and we discussed the Bears, his looking to buy an apartment for Johana, and his having no appetite while on Metformin.

He left about 10:15 to visit Bancolombia to ask about cash transfers.

I completed another 12 chess puzzles, getting 3 wrong.

Annie James

I left at 11am, withdrew 2,000,000 pesos in mixed bills and went down to Exito. At Teresa’s request I looked for coffee creamer (half & half) but as expected, no luck. I did buy a large package of shredded parmesan cheese and a large carton of eggs before returning to the apt by taxi.

I finally chatted with USAA about our flight interruption Thursday, September 27^th. Their claims department isn’t available by chat but they said no hurry so I guess I will wait until I get my MagicJack situation resolved.

I started working with ChatGPT about my MagicJack problem, seemed to be making progress until my free account timed out. To be continued.

I left the apt at 3:45 and walked to the mall. In Cine Colombia I ordered a ticket for the 4:50 showing of Heart of the Beast but learned that showtime was in Spanish, the next English version would be at 6:15. I bought a ticket for 18,000 pesos and texted Teresa alerting me to my mistake.

I took a table and watched some of the upcoming movie trailers then went upstairs to the food court and ordered a Subway sandwich to go. Back downstairs I bought a small popcorn and medium soda and ate my sandwich. I ate a little popcorn then went into the theater and took my seat. There were about 2 dozen people for that showing and I enjoyed the nature movie a lot.

I was out by 8pm and walked back to the apt and started my pre-sleep routing, hoping the late Coke I had wouldn’t hurt my sleep too much.

I went to bed at my usual 10pm.

 

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Wednesday, September 30, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4am, finally waking/getting up at 6:45.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,227 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 8 hours and 24 minutes for a sleep score of 85.

Teresa informed me she’s going to have coffee with Rosemary after gym this morning then she’ll take a bus to Santafe Mall where we’ll meet for lunch between 1 and 1:30.

Thirty minutes later she informed me that Rosemary is not feeling well today so we’re back to our usual lunch in Mayorca.

I took a nap after breakfast but messed up the alarm and I didn’t wake up until after 9am. I left the apt just before 9:30 and found Smartfit not so busy. Hmm, maybe I’ve discovered something. I should arrive at the gym at 9am on Mondays and Fridays but closer to 9:30 on Wednesdays. I completed my workout including 10 minutes on the treadmill with a final heartrate of 123bpm.

Walking to La Buena Mesa I see they are starting to bury the pipes under the street.

While having a latte outside Los Porteños another person fell off the patio but didn’t appear to hurt herself. I received this email from NewInChess which explains why I haven’t received the books I ordered.

I left at 11am and stopped at the Bancolombia kiosk to print yesterday’s games and my midterm vote.

Ah, it was nice to take a shower again instead of a modified sponge bath with a washcloth (see Joan, they do come in handy). I don’t need a hot bath but I certainly can’t shower in freezing cold water.

Right now, someone nearby is playing Sounds of Silence on a trumpet. 😊

I left the apt at noon and took a Didi to Mayorca mall. We had to take a detour because the southbound lane is closed for work on the new bridge.

I met Teresa in Parmessano where she had her usual salmon and I my usual Cesar salad. A gringo seated at the next table was from Houston here on business but he leaves tonight.

We took a taxi back to Envigado and Teresa got out down the hill from her cultural center and I got out down the street from Los Portenos where I had a latte for a few hours. I worked on another sheet of 12 chess puzzles getting 3 of them wrong.

I left at 5pm and returned to the apt.

This is Annie James at her swim lesson. I think this is the first time they put their face in the water.

Judging from her reaction I’m not sure it went over too well.

On my cellphone I tracked the Chicago White Sox defeating the Houston Astros 7-3 to win the American League Wild Card Round.

We had a downpour in the evening that lasted a few hours.

I watched another episode of Seal Team on Netflix.

The rain stopped by the time I went to bed.

 

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Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, seemed to take hours to fall asleep, got up once at 4:15, fell back asleep quickly, finally waking/getting up just before 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 2,774 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 24 minutes for a sleep score of only 50.

I should probably cancel chess for today. Right now, I’m feeling good but I’ll probably crash later.

I arrived at Unicentro early enough to walk twice around the outside of the mall.

We had our usual breakfast in Parmessano, mine cost 40,000 pesos. Jose informed me he expects to play in a chess tournament in the next few weeks because it’s at a hotel very close to his house. He just needs to confirm that it’s an open tournament.

We adjourned to the food court where I had the Black pieces in the first game. As usual it was a close game and on the 38^th move Jose offered me a draw. Since I was up 2 pawns I declined but ended up losing in the endgame.

I had the White pieces in the 2^nd game which ended up in a 56-move draw.

It was just before 2pm, as usual our games take about 2 ½ hours each. I took a Didi to Viva Envigado and the driver took all back streets.

I had the granola with yogurt, fruit and chia seeds in a very busy Pergamino. (Lots of working (digital nomads), not much eating or drinking.)

I stopped at the Servibanca ATM where I was able to withdraw 2,000,000 pesos, all 100s.

I had a latte in Urbania while doing another page of 12 chess puzzles getting 3 wrong.

Annie James – look at all those teeth:

Teresa called and informed me we have hot water again. 😊 She said he replaced a lot of the inside parts. It only took 2 months of sponge baths to get it fixed. Also, Teresa told me the guy is coming back Friday afternoon to repair our clothes washer. 😊 She asked me to stop in Frisby and pick up half a chicken for our supper.

I did and returned to the apt by taxi.

I tried finding the Chicago White Sox vs Houston Astros playoff game on Medellin TV but no luck.

I confirmed with Teresa that tomorrow we’ll be back to meeting for lunch in Mayorca.

I watched another episode of Seal Team on Netflix.

 

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Monday, September 28, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 3am, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 3:20 and read until 4am, returned to bed, finally waking/getting up at 6:45.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 2,632 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 16 minutes for a sleep score of 77.

Today is my brother’s birthday, Happy Birthday bro!

It’s still raining this morning so I skipped gym; I did do a few arm exercises using my 7# dumbbell. Of course, the rain ended by 9:30. I put on my convertible hiking pants and walked to Los Porteños where I had a latte at one of their outside tables. I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

I voted online in the midterm election, now I just have to print the applicable pages and spend a small fortune mailing them to Chicago.

Jeannie texted me that Annie James had her pediatrician appointment today and she’s:

23lbs 6 oz – 90%

18.8” (head circumference) – 98%

2’7.9” – 99%

She’s a big girl. I’m sure Jacob has plans for her playing soccer.

So, 3 days ago I renewed my MagicJack service (3 years for $138.79) and I see the payment in my bank account, but when I try using MagicJack this screen pops up (same one I saw before I renewed)

When I go to https://account.magicjack.com it takes me to this screen

telling me my device is not active with a button to “Click to Reactivate Device” but when I click on it, it takes me to this payment screen

to resubscribe (which I’ve already done).

And when I try calling +1-561-594-9925 I get a Claro recording in Spanish followed by it hanging up. Probably because it’s trying to call outside its territory to the US. It sounds like a Catch-22, I can’t call to the US to fix my MagicJack service so I can make calls to the US.

How do I fix it?

Bro, when you get a chance could you call MagicJack at 1-844-866-2442 and ask them what the problem is? Let me know if you don’t remember my landline number.

I spent the remainder of the afternoon organizing photos on my laptop.

I finished the ribs from El Correo and sat down to watch the Bears vs Eagles on Monday Night Football.

Our 3^rd string quarterback, Case Keenum is starting tonight. He hasn’t started a game since December of 2023. On our first series he marched the team down the field for a touchdown and we were up 10-7 at the half. (I started eating my popcorn at the end of the first quarter but I skipped the Coke hopefully to make it easier for me to sleep tonight.) The final score was Chicago Bears 27, Philadelphia Eagles 7. That was fun to watch!

I went to bed at 10:30.

 

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Sunday, September 27, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 1:15, woke up at 5am, couldn’t fall back asleep, finally getting up at 7am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 8,310 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 5 hours and 34 minutes for a sleep score of 68.

After breakfast I returned to bed and slept another hour and 45 minutes, now feeling much better. I guess my Fitbit didn’t increase my sleep score because its out of my declared sleep schedule of 10pm to 7am.

I finished the movie Blood Work on Netflix.

We left the apt at 1:30 and took a Didi to El Correo in Provenza. I ordered their ribs with BBQ sauce and a Coke and Teresa surprised me by ordering the same. The waitress soon returned and informed us they didn’t have any BBQ sauce. ☹  I didn’t know that was even possible. We went ahead with our order but when we started eating them we both agreed they were too dry without the sauce. We each ate a couple ribs and got the rest to go. The check came to 198,415 pesos ($60) and we returned to the apt by Didi.

Another Annie James photo:

I started watching a series called Seal Team (7.9) on Netflix. Over 100 episodes, this should keep me busy for a while.

About 4:30 Teresa asked me what time San Marcos church has mass. I googled it and told her 5pm and 6pm but at 5:15 it started raining hard so Teresa nixed that idea.

For supper, I had two more of my very meaty ribs.

I finished reading James Patterson’s Cross my Heart (Alex Cross #21).

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2:15, again at 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 4,189 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 8 hours and 9 minutes for a sleep score of 82.

Hmmm. Did I sleep so well because I didn’t have coffee in the afternoon? I’ll have to keep an eye on that. Maybe I can substitute some non-caffeine drink for my coffee and sleep better that night.

I spent some time moving photos from my cellphone to my laptop.

Just before 9am I took a Didi to Daniel’s barbershop. After my haircut I walked to Todo Drogas where I purchased a few medications and supplements (again refused from purchasing zopiclone) for 163,400 pesos ($53). I walked to the copy center near the park and asked if they sell the notebook I’ve been using for the gym the past 3 years.

They didn’t have it nor anything similar. I walked a couple blocks away (past the new city hall) to an office supply store where I bought it for 5,400 pesos.

I also found this interesting dictionary – not sure why its title includes the word Chicago.

I asked the clerk and he gave me a long-winded answer but then when I asked again so I could translate it, it was simply

I walked to Los Porteños where I had a latte while going through my cellphone.

Work continues outside the old Ganso y Castor.

Mikael965 finally resigned our 25-move game, increasing my rating to 1567.

I left at 11:15 and returned to the apt.

Teresa informed me the heater guy was there and it needs to be replaced or lots of new parts so we’ll first need permission from the owner. TBC.

Annie James with my daughter Jeannie. Is today Daughter’s Day?

We left the apt at 2:30 and walked to Teresa’s hairdresser and I continued on to Fika café. I asked the waitress if they had any drinks without caffeine. She didn’t seem to understand so I tried again using my translator. She seemed confused then suggested a drink with chocolate instead. I informed her that chocolate contains caffeine and a young couple sitting nearby agreed. I just gave up and ordered my usual latte.

We had a downpour but it only last 5 minutes.

I completed another 12 chess puzzles, getting 3 of them wrong. I played a 10’15” game on Chess.com ending up with a 72-move draw.

Teresa returned at 4:45 and we moved to Eduardo Madrid where she had a latte and an asparagus quiche. Then we shared a chicken pastry. We had some more rain and we waited for it to lessen. I paid for that with my 16 English muffins and we walked to Ara where we picked up a few more groceries before returning to the apt.

The plan for tomorrow, since the Bears game is on Monday night, is to go to El Retiro for the day.

I found that Netflix doesn’t have the 3^rd season of La Brea so I started watching Blood Work (6.4) then started my pre-sleep routine and went to bed at my usual 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Friday, September 25, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 11:15, again at 2:30, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,534 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 7 hours and 10 minutes for a sleep score of 77.

I had a short nap after breakfast.

I left the apt just before 9am and found Smartfit busier than usual. I completed my workout by changing the order of my routine, completing 10 minutes on the treadmill with a final heartrate of 125bpm.

Work continues on Avenida Poblado by the gym:

and work continues inside the old Ganso y Castor location.

While having a latte outside Los Porteños I met a guy from Switzerland, who spends half his time here and half his time there, with his Colombian friend. We had a light shower but it didn’t last long.

I left at 10:45 and stopped in a busy Eduardo Madrid and ordered 16 English muffins for pickup tomorrow afternoon.

I stopped in Ara and bought carrots, tomatoes and a head of broccoli for out lunch.

Teresa reported a guy might come this afternoon to fix our hot water heater.

Did I mention the 3-week trip to Chicago cost us about $7,700?

$3300 – Airbnb

$2000 – Budget rental car

$1400 – United flights

$1000 – Food, clothing and other expenses

We’ll see if I can afford such a long trip next year. (Jeannie’s best friend Joanne told me we could borrow their 2^nd car so we’ll see.)

Since my return to Colombia, I get multiple spam calls every day (which I never answer); I had none while in Chicago.

I see this morning I received this email from USAA, “Your transaction on September 25, 2026 at ETOLLBGT U272940765 *800-4820159 IL didn’t go through because the information entered for your card …6623 didn’t match what we have on file. Check your card details before trying again.”

I logged into my USAA account and found these 2 transactions:

Sep 25, 2026September 25, 2026	ETOLLBGT U272940765 Pendinghelp text for Pending, opens popup	Category Pending	$17.70
Sep 25, 2026September 25, 2026	ETOLLBGT U272940765Declined: $17.70

It didn’t look that messy online, but that $17.70 sounds like Budget trying to pay the 2 Illinois Tolls I incurred on our vacation.

I tried calling USAA but MagicJack didn’t seem to work even though I just extended my subscription

I chatted with a USAA rep and told them that’s a valid transaction so they okayed it and unblocked my credit card.

I watched a couple more episodes and finished season 2 of La Brea on Netflix then started my pre-sleep routine.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY