Thursday, April 2, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took about 20 minutes to fall asleep, got up once midnight, again at 3:15, finally waking/getting up at 5:45am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,494 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 47 minutes.

I met Marcos at Tostao at 9:30. He has the cast off his foot as his new doctor recommended his toes get fresh air. They leave three weeks from today for 5 weeks in Spain so

After Marcos left I stayed at our little table a little longer going through my endgame book.

I stopped in Mercado Madrid and bought a few vegetables before returning to the apt.

The plan was to go see the new movie Operation: Hail Mary (8.5) at 5:45 as long as it isn’t raining.

At 3:30 a thunderstorm came through and though we didn’t have more than a few stray raindrops it got colder and we both lost the desire to leave the apt.

ChatGPT isn’t working for me any longer. I’m guessing they now want me to upgrade to ChatGPT plus for $19.95 a month. Nah, I don’t think so.

I checked flights to/from Medellin/Boston and there aren’t many flights that would fit with my existing Boston/Chicago flight and the current price is $832. I texted my daughter to contact me before she has to give the restaurant the final seating number as I should have more information as to if I will make it or not.

I’ve lost games to Saul19780 and troyclough and my rating is now 1501. ☹

I watched 40 Acres (6.5) on Netflix. It’s getting difficult to hear the dialogue even with my headphones. ☹

I see a 6-cent deposit in my USAA account so at the next opportunity I can close my Capital One account.

Teresa told me she wants to stay at the Santafe hotel that only had four rooms; now all I have to do is figure out which one that was.

Teresa mentioned she wants to go to Parque Arvi tomorrow. I told her tomorrow is Friday (she sometimes mixes up days of the week) and I have gym so why don’t we go on Saturday. She told me that the gym will be closed for Good Friday. I doubt that, after 10 years of going to the gym I don’t recall ever finding it closed.

I think I messed up with my sleep medications. I took the magnesium glycinate just before bed instead of 1 ½ to 2 hours before.

I watched some news, did my pre-sleep reading and went to bed at 10pm,

 

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FUNNY

 

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, took about 20 minutes to fall asleep, got up once 1:30, then it’s a little hazy after that, something about 4:30 and 5:15 but I finally woke/got up at 6:30.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 6,319 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 6 hours and 10 minutes. So far, so good.

I see my Social Security deposit in my USAA checking account so now I can go ahead and cancel my Capital One account.

Teresa wants to meet for lunch in El Pastelito today so she can spend some time at the cultural center for her crafts class.

I received an email confirming my package containing my Kindle paperwhite case and Slip-n-Snip scissors arrived in Florida.

I left the apt at 8:30 and found Smartfit a little less busy then usual. I completed my workout including 21 minutes on the treadmill although I forgot to increase the speed to 6kph until the 10^th minute. The abdominal Crunch machine is still out of order and it looks like it won’t be repaired until April 21^st.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about 90 minutes, stopped at the copy center and printed yesterday’s games before returning to the apt.

This is the new playground they’ve built for the kids.

I see 6 cents in my Capital One account so I requested it to be transferred to my USAA account and in a few days I’ll close the former.

Teresa and I left the apt at 12:45 and took a Didi to the Casa de la Cultura near Parque Envigado. We went inside to take care of business while I walked a block away to El Pastelito where I waited for her. She returned about 10 minutes later and it was only another couple minutes before an outside table opened up. She had some type of fish and since I saw it on their blackboard menu, I ordered the BBQ ribs. Big mistake, it was only one rib and I had to dig to uncover the meat. Back to  chicken breast in the future.

Teresa returned to the culture center while I went to café Fika again. I had a latte while reviewing yesterday’s games and studying some of my endgame book.

Teresa returned at 5pm with MT. We walked her down to her apt and returned to our apt by taxi.

Teresa's latest purse, she finished in a little over a day.

I watched some news, watched the president’s address to the nation (learned nothing new), watched some analysis of it, did my pre-sleep reading and went to bed at 10pm,

 

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FUNNY

 

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, at 10:30 it started raining and I put a blanket over my sheet, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4am, couldn’t fall back asleep but was awakened by my 6:30 alarm so maybe I got another hour towards the end.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 5,063 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 5 hours and 4 minutes. So far, I feel okay.

I took a Didi to Unicentro mall for 14,300 pesos. I arrived 20 minutes early (should have known when the ride was so cheap) so I walked twice around the mall. When it opened I went upstairs and took our usual table. Jose joined me a few minutes later. We both had the French toast and I had remembered to bring my maple syrup. This time I also made sure my bottle of water was “sin gas” (uncarbonated).

We moved to the food court and I had the Black pieces in the first game. He quickly got the advantage and checkmated me on the 20^th move. ☹

I had the White pieces in the second game and quickly got an advantage. On his 43^rd move he blundered his rook and quickly resigned. Actually, we had a disagreement. He moved his rook to where I could capture it, let go of it, realized his mistake and wanted to move it somewhere else. He agreed he had let go of it but he claimed it was still his turn since he hadn’t pressed the clock. I consulted ChatGPT who had this explanation:

Since I want to get my ride as early as possible I certainly don’t want to wait for his clock to run out. I think we settled things before I left.

It was just before 1pm when we finished and I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 18,400 pesos. Most drivers are aggressive but mine was very timid and almost made me nauseous because he used the accelerator for braking. ☹ I saw this interesting US Army jeep

Which I think I’ve seen here before.

I found Sarku full so I continued on to Pergamino where I had their granola with yogurt and fruits.

Downstairs I paid for the apt and other first of the month bills. I made an ATM withdrawal then went down to Urbania and had a latte.

I left at 4pm and picked up some groceries in Exito before returning to the apt by taxi.

I watched some news, did my pre-sleep reading and went to bed at 9:30. Tonight for the first time I reduced my zopiclone to ¾ tablet. We’ll see how that affects my sleep.

 

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FUNNY

Monday, March 30, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took a while to fall asleep, got up once at 3:15 fell back asleep quickly, woke up at 5am and got up at 6am.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 8,450 steps yesterday and last night I slept for only 3 hours and 49 minutes. So far, I feel okay.

I left the apt at 8:45 and found Smartfit as busy as usual. I had to change the order of my routine and the Abdominal Crunch machine was still out of order. Despite all the walking I did on Saturday and Sunday I still was able to complete 21 minutes on the treadmill.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for 90 minutes, stopped in Eduardo Madrid and bought a sleeve of 6 poppy seed bagels then stopped in Ara to buy a few groceries before returning to the apt.

We made broccoli and cheese soup for lunch. If I didn’t mention it before, Teresa believes she left out the harina (flour) the previous time when the recipe didn’t turn out so well. This time it was delicious.

I had a 30-minute nap after lunch but didn’t go out because it felt like it would start raining soon even though it didn’t. ☹

I watched the news, The Week Night, and The Rachel Maddow Show on MS NOW then finished my book, Ken Follett’s Whiteout on my Kindle and borrowed John Grisham’s The Runaway Jury (1966).

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

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Sunday, March 29, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2am, fell back asleep quickly, woke up at 6:15 and got up at 6:45. Finally, eight hours sleep.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 7,476 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 21 minutes. So far I feel good.

It’s 10am and we’re dressed for Santafe de

We left the apt at 10:30 and walked to the Ayura metro station. I added 50mil to my Civica card then we had a 5-minute wait for a train. (Sundays there are fewer riders so they have less trains running with fewer cars.) We got off at Caribe and walked the block long ramp to Terminal Norte. Downstairs we got in a fairly long line for a bus. Teresa talked to a man standing nearby and I guess made an arrangement for a colectivo to take us to Santafe de Antioquia for 30mil per person. He led us, and another couple, to his private car packed in back. His face was messed up like he’d been in an accident and I didn’t care for his driving. He went 80kph even when the speed limit lowered to 60, 40 or for a minute 30. Once he tried passing a truck in a no passing zone but was soon encountered by two motorcycles. Luckily we arrived safely next to the main park after a ride of just over an hour.

As soon as we stepped out of the car we were reminded of how HOT Santafe is. (Note to self: wear sandals here!)

Teresa asked if I remembered where the restaurant is we like and I said, “yes”, and guided us straight there. I call it Jumanji, after the movie, but that’s not exactly correct.

All the inside tables were taken but one I could see they were finished eating. (It’s a good thing we didn’t wait for it because later they had dessert.) We went outside and took a side table but it became apparent we would soon be in the sun. we moved under a large umbrella table but soon Teresa spotted an area on the other side of the plaza with fans. We moved there and it was much more tolerable than under the umbrella. Teresa had salmon and I the chicken breast.

I also had a limonada de coco and she a cold beer. We were in no hurry to leave and she started working on a purse and had another beer and I a Coke.

We left and walked to the other side of the park and I tried to guide her using google maps to a hotel named Casa Bixa Boutique which was supposedly the nicest in Santafe. Teresa stopped and asked a woman for directions and she ended up sending us to a secondary hotel. (Ask a poor person for a hotel recommendation and they’re not going to be recommending the best hotel in town.) So we saw that hotel – nothing special. Then I led her to mine and it only has 4 rooms so I guess that’s why it’s considered “boutique”.

At each hotel Teresa inquired about availability this coming week but they were full for Samana Santa (aka holy week).

I asked her if she wanted ice cream at the place we’ve been to before and she agreed. It was a 3 ½ block walk to the café next to Hotel Mariscal Robledo. They didn’t have strictly ice cream but after Teresa was told they didn’t have diet ice cream I ordered a slice of hot apple pie with a generous amount of vanilla ice cream. Teresa liked it so much she suggested we order another which I did.

From there we walked back to the church and down the hill. Just before we crossed the street to the bus station a bus pulled up in front of us and a guy got out and yelled, “Medellin”. We got on and it was 20,000 pesos per person and it was air conditioned and even had a restroom in back. The trip back to Medellin was 2 hours due to heavy traffic near the city but I got in a 30-minute nap on the way.

New photo of Annie James:

We returned to Envigado by metro and taxi and Teresa suggested we stop at McDonald’s. (I think she was too tired to make anything.) I ordered a Big Mac for myself and the usual McNifica for Teresa. She was bitterly disappointed her burger didn’t have cheese and refused to it. I didn’t know if it was my mistake because I didn’t ask to add cheese as I assumed it would be included. Teresa talked to one of the workers and they made a fresh burger for her with cheese.

Teresa called someone and when we left we caught a taxi at the street to take us near the cultural center where Teresa paid 30,000 pesos for one of her purses that had been finished. We returned to the apt and it being 8pm I started my pre-sleep routine.

 

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Saturday, March 28, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 2:15, woke up at 5:15 and got up at 6am.

I discussed my sleep progress with ChatGPT and Tuesday night I’m going to reduce my zopiclona to ¾ tablet.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 1,010 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 10 minutes. Well, so far I feel good.

I took a Didi to Daniel’s Barbershop for 8,000 pesos. I arrived a few minutes early but he finished with another customer a few minutes after 9am. He told me he has another gringo client named Dave Anderson. While we were finishing up another gringo came in. Daniel asked how he was and he said, in English, “I’m in pain”. I asked where he’s from and he said, “Florida. But in June when cryptocurrency goes where it should I’m moving to Dubai”. I asked him if that isn’t too close to Iran and he said not to worry the war will be over by April 13^th. He then said that Trump is the greatest president ever but some people don’t like him. I told him I’m one of them and my opinion is he’s our worst president ever. He didn’t have anything to say after that. As I was leaving, I could see he had a lot of difficulty moving around and my parting words were “good luck”.

I found a little shortcut to Todo Drogas but I probably won’t use it again because I had to walk downhill a bit and then climb stairs to get back up to calle 37sur. I bought 5 medications for 223,200 ($61) and surprisingly one was zopiclona. Still I’m planning on weaning myself of it but at least now I have some insurance.

I stopped at the copy center where I had my latest games with Jose printed.

I continued on to La Buena Mesa where I had a latte outside Ganso y Castor. Teresa called and informed me she was going to Parque Envigado to have her purse finished then we’ll meet back at the apt around noon to go to Santafe mall for lunch.

Somebody told Teresa that traffic would be horrible today so she asked me to have lunch in Asados Rogelio and bring her a to-go order. Instead, we left the apt at 1pm and took a Didi to Santafe mall for 12,500 pesos.

We had lunch in Olivia’s; salmon for Teresa and mixed lasagna for me

 and we shared a bottle of water for a total of 127,069 pesos ($34.50).

She went to see if she could find something in Zara to cash out her 3 gift cards while I went down to Valentina’s and had a latte. She returned an hour later and sold one of her purses

 for 140,000 pesos to the waitress who had ordered it. An obvious rainstorm came through and it got noticeably colder. Marcos sent me these photos:

 he stubbed his toe when he was in Arizona and finally went to the clinic here and it’s broken. We left at 4pm, bought a new container of glue in Dollar City and across the street caught a nearly empty bus back to Envigado.

The plan tomorrow is to go Santafe de Antioquia and check out their hotels. If it’s raining then plan B is to see Project Hail Mary (8.5) in a theater.

 

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FUNNY

 

Friday, March 27, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, took about 20 minutes to fall asleep, got up once at midnight, woke up at 5:15 gave up falling back asleep at 6am and got up to start my day.

According to my Fitbit, I got in 4,389 steps yesterday and last night I slept for 4 hours and 32 minutes.

Jeannie responded that she’ll save me a seat at the baptism in hopes that I make it.

It’s a cold rainy morning and the rain still hadn’t stopped by the time I was ready to leave for the gym at 8:30 so I skipped it for today. The rain didn’t stop until about 9:30 but by then I had already done my backup exercises with my dumbbell.

After lunch a thunderstorm cake through so I ended up not getting out at all today.

Teresa finished the purse she made for the waitress in Valentina’s; now she just has to have the guts (lining and zipper) put inside.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY