Wednesday, July 24th, 2013

I went to bed at 11pm and had a little trouble getting to sleep.  Maybe because I was playing online chess for 30 minutes just before?  Usually I read right before going to bed.  I got up once during the night and finally got up at 6:30.

Breakfast was about a bowl and a half of cereal to finish all the strawberries I had left.

I finished copying the NRA (Non Resident Alien) letter I received from Sears yesterday.  I cut & pasted it into a posting to Colombia Expats requesting their comments.  I called USAA and asked if I could write a check out now or if I had to wait until the remainder of the deposit is no longer “on hold”.  She strongly advised I wait until the money is no longer “on hold”.  Her reasons were: 1) someone might cash the check before the money was no longer “on hold” (can’t happen), 2) the money might not get there due to some problem with the deposit (won’t happen; I think I can trust my brother).

I scheduled a check covering my August to October rent to be sent to the owner of the apartment.  It should be there on Monday, July 29^th.

The most interesting comment I heard about the birth yesterday of HRH (his royal highness) was that he weighed 8 pounds which is approximately $10 USD.  Lol.

I made an appointment with Jhon for lunch tomorrow at noon.

Lunch today was the Chicken Teriyaki special at Sarku’s.  After I got to Laureles Mall I finished the chess book I had been studying.  Dario arrived about 2pm and we played 2 games of chess.  The first game I had black and I battled him successfully in the center of the board and then shortly after I castled he quickly shifted to the side and successfully attacked my king.  The second game I had white and again he blundered at move 10 and he moved his king when he intended to move his queen.  After that it was just a matter of time until he finally resigned.

Then his wife joined us at the table and we talked a little.  What I learned: She is a dentist with an office nearby; her charge for a crown ($500) is the same as my dentist; she is an excellent dancer (Tango, etc.);  Dario is in the import/export business – something to do with cars; he says English is necessary for business; much of the younger generation is learning English; the Circular 302 bus (confirmed later by Jhon & Beatriz) makes the same stops as the Circular 303 bus but in the opposite direction.  That means I should be able to cut my time in half (45 minutes to 20) when going to my dentist in El Poblado.  Dario invited me to play chess again tomorrow at 2pm at his apartment.  Also we are going to the library Friday to play chess.

Dinner was chili and mango juice at El Comedor de Chava in Laureles Mall.

Beatriz came over a little after 7pm and gave me another manicure.  I gave her 30mil for her trouble.