Sunday, August 31st, 2014

Last night I tried to teach Teresa how to play Hearts with my new deck of cards.  I fed her the rules in a few phases and in the end I don’t think she cared for the game - maybe because when we stopped I had 12 points and she had 43.  It also isn’t much fun with only 2 players.  

I showed her a couple magic tricks and she didn’t seem very impressed with those either.  I don’t think the fact she had 5 rum & waters and I only had 2 rum & Cokes had anything to do with it.

We went to bed at 11pm and I didn’t wake up until 6:20am.  She got up about 9am.

We each had a bowl of granola for breakfast.

We tried to figure out what to do today and she suggested we go to San Pablo.  I checked Google Earth and saw that its north of Medellin.  She told me it’s cool there so I took a jacket and she took a winter scarf because that’s all she had.  We left the apartment about 10:30 and after waiting about 5 minutes for a bus she apparently had a change of heart because she told me it’s too late to go there.  

Back at the apartment she called someone while I checked Trip Advisor.  I saw that Medellin has a zoo not too far away – between the airport and the highway that runs along the river.  She agreed to go and after a 9mil taxi ride we were there by 11:30.  The entrance to Parque Zoologico Santa Fe (Carrera 52 #20-63) cost 10mil each.  We walked around for a little more than an hour looking at the animals.  Some were the same I would see at a zoo in Chicago – buffaloes, sheep, racoons, hippos, and bears, but others were more exotic that I had never seen before.

About 1pm we stopped at a small restaurant and she ordered Sancocho for both of us for 11mil each.  Sancocho is a bowl of “soup” with broth, a small ear of corn, potatoes, and a chicken leg.  Also included in the order was a plate of rice with a slice of banana and a slice of avocado and a cup of juice.

Afterwards, we walked around a little while longer, Teresa talked to someone she apparently new and we left about 2pm.  On the taxi ride back to the apartment, she suddenly had the taxi stop and she got out right across the street from her friend Ana’s house.  I continued onto my apartment.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to see her again today or not. 

About 4:30 I got hungry and warmed up 2 helpings of Chinese food leftover from yesterday.  Luckily I didn’t throw away the remainder because at 5:50 Teresa showed up.  She was hungry so I warmed up the rest of the Chinese food and then gave her a scoop of the strawberry ice cream.  

About 7pm I walked her down to the bus stop where she quickly got a ride with a private driver (“con effectivo”, which means “with cash”).

Laura’s birthday is this Thursday so the plan is I will meet them on Saturday at Mayorca CC about 1 or 1:30 and then we will buy Laura the tennis shoes she wants, treat her to The Expendables 3 at Oviedo followed by dinner at Mu’s in Parque Lleras.

T-shirt of the day: Only for you.

Saturday, August 30th, 2014

Last night I went to bed at 10:45, woke up several times during the night but never got up and fell back asleep quickly.  I woke at 6:15 and got up at 7am.

I had my usual breakfast at El Comedor de Chava.  While studying my Spanish Harry arrived and told me again how much he misses having female companionship (excluding his wife, I guess).  He wants me to call him on Monday and tell him which afternoon I will be coming over to see his new apartment – or maybe it’s his office.

I emailed Margarita telling alerting her to the fact that all the downstairs lights are out until you get to the 2^nd floor landing.  I also recommended that she sign up for ExpatExchange.com – Colombia and advertise the apartments here.  She responded that she did and there is a policeman from the US interested in one of the apartments.  Also the realtor is coming today at 3pm to show the downstairs apartment.

I left about 12:30 and stopped in Exito and bought a small bottle of 8 year old Medellin rum for 22mil (Teresa’s request).  I had to wait in line about 20 minutes to pay for it and then the express lines were so crowded I didn’t wait around to buy the other things I needed.

For lunch I had my usual pizza at Pizza Americana.

I finished the 195 page Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, M.D.  It is a book that I believe everyone should read, and will benefit from, especially those who have a fear or death.

I downloaded the 224 page Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West.

At 3:15 I showed my apartment to a couple from Brazil.  The lady spoke Portuguese, Spanish, and English.  

I added a review of Patrick’s Irish Pub to TripAdvisor.

I received an email from Teresa.  She says her teacher wants her to get her paintings out of his studio so she asked if she can store them here until the man comes to pick up my plants.  I agreed and then received another email. She now expects to arrive between 6:30 and 7pm.

T-shirt of the day: We all can eat.

Friday, August 29th, 2014

Last night I went to bed at 10:45, got up once during the night, woke up at 6am, put my eyemask on and woke/got up at 7am.

I checked the new US movie releases and If I Stay (7.1) and The November Man (6.3) sound interesting.

Locally, Chef is playing at Mayorca at 2:05, Los Molinos at 1pm, Oviedo at 1:10, and Santafe at 1:20.  The Expendables 3 is playing at Oviedo, Santafe and Vizcaya.  Yesterday Teresa told me that Laura loves Jason Statham so maybe we’ll all go see it together next Saturday.

Because I got up a little late and it was cool and rainy outside, after my exercises I just had a bowl of granola for breakfast.

About 9:45 I walked over to Redd’s but there wasn’t an orange juice stand so I waited at Jhon’s office until 10 when he arrived.

After class I walked across the street and had a Whopper and small strawberry shake for 10,900.

I saw caulk and a caulking gun in Exito - at a reasonable price.  Teresa’s finca has at least one window with aluminum foil stuffed in its cracks so next trip I’ll look more carefully to see if caulking might help the situation.

I bought a liter of strawberry ice cream to share with Teresa.

I had a 75 minute nap shortly after I returned to the apartment.

I spent a good part of the afternoon researching the internet as to how to watch Netflix on television through my laptop.  I’m hoping I can buy an HDMI cable and hook my laptop up to Teresa’s large screen TV without losing the subtitles.

Just as I was about to leave the apartment Teresa called.  I don’t believe it was anything important; just a “how are you, because I care about you” type call.  I’ll see her early tomorrow night.

I had my usual pizza at Pizza Americana for dinner.

T-shirt of the day: To thine own self be true.

Thursday, August 28th, 2014

Yesterday I finished the 333 page The Lost Island by Preston & Child and downloaded the 195 page Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, M.D.

Last night I reviewed and corrected the inline skates catalog that Jhon was translating.  I didn’t time myself but it took an hour or so.  There were a number of things obviously in need of fixing.  He occasionally used the Spanish “y” instead of “and” and instead of stating that these skates are designed to “break” records it said to “overcome” records.  I made a lot of other changes like “Wheel of 16, 80, 84, 90, y 100” to “Wheels of 16, 80, 84, 90, and 100 mm”.  The skates are obviously not in US sizes so that still needs to be fixed.  I’ll go over it with him later this morning.

I went to bed at 11pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 6am, put on my facemask and woke/got up at 7am.

I had my usual breakfast at El Comedor de Chiva.  While there Harry stopped by and of course gave me a hard time about not calling him this week.  He made me promise to call him next week.  He gave me the bad news that he and his girl friend broke up.  He said she called him several times and he didn’t answer but he claims he has had trouble with his phone.  I thought that was a flimsy excuse and she probably found someone else for a more committed relationship.

During the 2 hours of my Spanish class we finished revising the inline skates catalog.

I left the apartment at 12:35 and was at Mayorca CC by 1:30.  One problem, Deliver us from Evil that was playing yesterday at 2pm had its first showing today at 4:40.  The Chef seems to be taking its place so the choice is either that or The Tornado again, both starting at 2pm.  While I was waiting I saw a young man walk by in a Chicago Bears sweatshirt.  

Teresa arrived at 2:05 and I gave her the bad news.  Unfortunately, she selected The Tornado so I sat through it for the 2^nd day in a row.  Tickets cost 14mil and I got my usual popcorn and soda and she only wanted a bag of peanuts.    This time I paid more attention to the coming attractions and the other two movies are Kingsman: The Secret Service and Jupiter Ascending (which according to IMDB aren’t scheduled for release until next February).  I waited until after the school bus scene to make my one trip to the restroom so I found out that all the kids escaped in school buses until a tree came down blocking only the heroes.  She asked me if this really happens and I told her there is an area of the US (tornado alley) that has over 200 tornados every year but not as severe as seen in the movie.  

Afterwards we had ice cream cones at Mimo’s for 8,200.  I asked her if the man came today about the shower and she told me he’s coming tomorrow.  After we finished our ice cream I looked at my watch (it was 4:15) and she must have had the same thought because she asked if I wanted to go see the other movie now.  I told her that was fine as long as it wasn’t too late for her.  She said she would ask what time the movie was to end and if it was before 7pm she would go; if it was after 7pm we would skip it.  

The ticket seller told her it ended at 6:50 so we went.  Two tickets to Deliver us from Evil cost 18mil but neither of us was interested in any more snacks.  It was nice to see a scary movie without it involving teenagers in some haunted house.  We walked out of the movie at 6:55.

We made plans to meet Saturday at my apartment between 6 and 6:30pm.  She asked me to have Chinese food ready – chicken and vegetables.  She also wants a small bottle of rum.

I was back at my apartment by 8pm.  I had a small bowl of granola for dinner.

T-shirt of the day: Think cheap.

Wednesday, August 27th, 2014

Last night I closed the bedroom louvers and blinds and, since the mutt across the street was yapping, also the bedroom door and went to bed at 11pm.  I got up once and since it was quiet I left the bedroom door open.  I woke/got up at 6:30 and did my morning exercises.

I had my usual breakfast at El Comedor de Chava but the orange juice stand was closed by the time I got there.  

During the course of my Spanish class Jhon mentioned the translation work he did for a sales brochure for inline skates.  I took a look at it and after a few minutes I found a few things that could have been worded better but the biggest problem was that he misspelled “design” as “desing” and after first referring to “ball bearings” thereafter he referred to them as “balls” and I told him that that wouldn’t work for English speakers.

I asked him to send it to me and I would take a look at it tonight to see if I see anything else obviously incorrect.

I left the apartment at 12:23 and after a bus and metro ride I was at Mayorca CC 40 minutes early to see In the Tornado (Spanish title) or Into the Storm (US title) at 2pm.  I walked around the mall and was back by 1:45 but now had to wait in line about 15 minutes.  This isn’t the usual Cine Colombia theatres I usually frequent it’s a Procinal theatre.  My general ticket cost me only 4,500COP but a medium popcorn cost me 8,600 and a large soda 5,100; their sizes are smaller and more expensive.   

When I entered the theatre at 2:05 it was pitch black so I waited at the bottom of the stairs until my eyes got used to the dark.  I could only guess as to which seat was mine but at least no one else was in the theatre.  Five minutes later an usher came in and turned on the house lights and the film started 2 minutes later.  First there was a Colombian short about San Antonio and then 4 coming attractions but I only remember Cannibal (which IMDB says is In Development) and Lucy. 

The movie was pretty good with some interesting special affects but at one point a school’s students are huddled down in its emergency shelter but the “storm chasers” and principal come in and, with “the largest tornado ever recorded” heading down on them, force the students out to hide under the school buses.  What?  That’s when I made a quick trip to the bathroom and when I got back I don’t know what happened to the students but the others were hiding underground in a storm drain.

When the metro arrived in Aquacatala there appeared to be only me and another man wanting to get off but about 10 people wanting to get on.  Here they don’t wait until people get off first or even keep to the right, they just shove their way on so I shoved my way off and I heard one woman say “senor!” as I stepped on her foot.  Sorry, lady.

I was back at the apartment by 5pm.

I had a bowl of cereal for dinner.

T-shirt of the day: God Save the Queen.

Tuesday, August 26th, 2014

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, got up at 11:15 and closed the bedroom louvers and blinds, fell asleep quickly and woke/got up at 6:30.  Now if I could just repeat that more often.

Because it was raining I decided I didn’t want to have to deal with an umbrella along with all the other things I needed to carry so I just had cereal in my apartment.

I left my garbage and recyclables in the street, gave Beatriz my dirty laundry, had an orange juice at Redd’s and since Likke’s wasn’t open yet I just headed back to the apartment.

Olga arrived at 8:45 and, after changing clothes, began cleaning.  Last time she was here she left me a drawing of a squegee she wanted me to buy for cleaning the windows but in another month it would be useless as Teresa doesn’t have any glass in her windows so I told her not to worry, but I don’t need it.

When Olga decided to clean behind the refrigerator I took advantage of the opportunity and removed the rubber leg supports because they were causing the refrigerator to go out of balance too easily.

Lunch came right at noon and Olga finished everything including changing out of her work clothes and left at 1pm.

I can still see some of my bite marks but at least the itching has gone away.  It took about a week.

I took a nap for an hour and 15 minutes.

Using magicJack I called and talked to my brother for 50 minutes and then USAA to reset my password.

I balanced my USAA account and sent a check to my brother to cover the magicJack payment he made for me.

I had a laminated copy of my MBE addresses made at the Internet café and then I had my usual order at Pizza Americana.

T-shirt of the day: Real men don’t take selfies.

Monday, August 25th, 2014

Last night I finished Sidney Sheldon’s 225 page Tell me Your Dreams and downloaded the 333 page The Lost Island by Preston & Child.  I chose this book next as its #1 on the Wall Street Journal and New York Times Bestseller lists.

I went to bed at midnight, got up once to apply more Caladryl to my insect bites, woke up at 6:30, put on my eye mask, fell quickly back to sleep, and woke/got up at 7:30.

I had my usual breakfast at El Comedor de Chava followed by an orange juice at Redd’s before my Spanish class.

I discussed my insect bite situation with Jhon.  I learned that what we call “mosquito” they call “zancudo” and what they call “mosquito” is actually a small fly that bites.  He said I probably smelled so different to them that they were more attracted to me than anyone else and in time I would take on more of the “farm” smell and be less bothered by them.  In the meantime he recommended I wear insect repellant.

Right after class I exchanged some things at the apartment and headed to the bus stop.  I got to the Oviedo Cine right at 1pm for Last Love (6.8) starring Michael Caine.  I had my usual small popcorn and large Pepsi for 12,100 after paying 5mil for my ticket.  It was a good movie.  Afterwards I saw that upcoming movies include Chef, Brick Mansions, Lucy, and Maze Runner.

I stopped in Sports & Hobbies in the mall and they have a lot of games, puzzles, and plastic models, many even in English.  Interestingly, upstairs are backpacks and a complete assortment of fishing supplies (rods, reels, bobbers, hooks, etc.)  I bought 2 decks of “Royal 100% All Plastic Playing Cards” in a nice plastic container for only 12mil.  I know a couple of magic tricks I can show Teresa and Laura and I wonder if I could teach them how to play “hearts” without knowing how to speak Spanish.

I walked down to MBE and paid next month’s rent and picked up July & August Chess Life magazines, my Sears pension receipt for August, and a Chicago picture postcard from my brother.  I’m sure Teresa and Laura will enjoy seeing this beautiful view of north lakeshore drive next to the lake.

I was almost back to the apartment when I ran into Elkin, the man who lives across the street and a few houses down.  He was walking his dog that I call “killer dog” because he always acts aggressive when he sees me; I don’t think he likes gringos.  He told me: he lived in New Jersey, has been here for 16 months, and misses everything about the US.  He and his wife and child want to move back, maybe early next year, and he would like to live in Maryland where he says taxes are very low. 

Tonight I killed the first cockroach I’ve found in my apartment – all the others I’ve killed were downstairs on the first floor of the building.

My jeans are starting to look worn so I think I’d better start thinking about replacements.  I googled “Levi’s in Medellin” and one of the 3 places I found is just south of Santafe mall on Calle 9S but it also indicated it was Local 2210 El Poblado #7Sur-140.  

I had a bowl of granola for dinner.

T-shirt of the day: If it’s not broke, I’ll get to it.

Sunday, August 24th, 2014

At 10:15 last night the house across the street started rocking to Colombian music.  When it hadn’t stopped by midnight I got up and closed the balcony and utility room windows and the bedroom door and the noise went away allowing us to finally get to sleep.

At 8am someone must have left their puppy alone because somewhere behind us it whimpered for 2 hours.  After that we finally were able to get back to sleep.

We shared lunch at Frisby in Viva mall: vegetable soup, Frischuleta with salad and French fries, BBQ Frisburrito, and a large Colombiana for 30,100.  I’m beginning to like their Frischuleta.  I think we’ll share it next time without the Frisburrito.

About 5pm we both had a bowl of granola.  Later we walked over to the church and attended mass from 6pm to 6:50.  I took my Bible with me so I would have something to do but next time I’ll try to remember to sit under one of the chandeliers as I gave up reading about 6:30 when it got dark.

I walked Teresa over the the bus stop and she got a “con effectivo” ride while we were waiting for a bus.

We made plans to meet at 2pm Thursday at the Mayorca cine to see the movie Deliver us from Evil.

T-shirt of the day: Are you looking at me?

Saturday, August 23rd, 2014

Last night I went to bed at 11:30 and got up once at 2am.  I put more Caladryl on my bites, stayed up to let it dry and went back to bed at 2:30.  I woke up next at 7am, put on my sleep mask and went back to sleep, finally waking/getting up at 8:30am.

I had my usual breakfast at El Comedor de Chava and stayed to study more Spanish.

Harry arrived about noon and told me he has been with his girlfriend 2 or 3 times a week for the last 3 weeks.  He is very happy because she enjoys his music and like him loves to dance.

I left at 1pm when my iPad battery was down to 5%.  I bought a bag of milk and and a large package of coconut Granola for Teresa.

Back at the apartment I had a bowl of cereal, watered my plants, washed some laundry and worked on this blog.

I checked the US movie releases and When the Game Stands Tall (6.8) and If I Stay (7.1) sound interesting but I’m not sure about Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (7.4).

Locally, Into the Storm (6.3) is playing at Mayorca and Deliver us from Evil (6.5) is playing at Mayorca, Molinos, Carrefour, and Santafe.  I think Teresa wants to meet me for a movie at Mayorca so either of these look like good candidates.  Last Love (6.8) is playing at Las Americas and Oviedo.

I left the apartment at 6pm and met Teresa at the restaurant at 7:05.  We walked about 3 blocks and took a bus to Monterrey followed by a taxi for 4mil to Mu.  They were a little busy at 8pm but we still managed to get a table in their upstairs patio.  They first give you chips and guacamole while you wait for your order.  We had the small order of ribs which is 7 large ribs and about a dozen large crispy steak fries.  We each had a Colombiana and the total came to 50 mil including tip.  

I invited Teresa to go for a drink but it was raining slightly and had turned colder and she had forgotten her jacket so we just went back to the apartment.

She still felt a little cold so I opened a bottle of wine and she quickly warmed up.

We went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Legendary Man Independent

Friday, August 22nd, 2014

Last night we went to bed at 11pm and while I fell asleep quickly, after I made my first trip to the bathroom I had trouble getting back to sleep because of the itching on my arms.  I couldn’t stop thinking about their being bugs in the bed or the pajamas Teresa gave me to wear.  After a while I figured out that couldn’t be the case because there aren’t any bites on my trunk – only my arms, legs, and neck.

In the morning she told me it was the “zancudos” which wasn’t in my dictionary but later I translated into “mosquitoes”.

I got her to make the following agreement that when it got dark: no more my being outside the finca, she would close the windows and I would put on a long sleeved shirt.  (I’m finally going to get to wear those beautiful new long sleeved shirts I bought back in the States and seldom had the chance to wear because it’s usually to hot in Medellin.)

At 4pm she walked me down to the road and in 10 minutes I was on a bus to Aguacatala.

I was back at my apartment by 5:30 and I left at 7:45 for Patrick’s Irish Pub.  I was there by 8:50 after 2 bus rides for 2 mil each.  I had to wait for the NE Patriots game was over to free up a TV set and then Patrick put the game on and the Bears were already down 7-0.  At halftime the Bears were down 31-0.  I had their Irish Meatloaf, which was pretty good, with a Coke and the bill came to 30,800.  After paying my bill I left not (just) because the Bears were getting mauled, or that the guy at the end of the bar made it obvious he was rooting for Seattle, but mainly because the music was so loud at times I was forced to put my fingers in my ears during certain songs.  (I don’t think Teresa is going to like that so I’m going to have to rethink where we will see the late weekend games.  She has Direct TV but I think I will probably need to pay extra for a Sports lineup.)   For a 12mil taxi ride I was back at my apartment by 11pm.

We decided to meet tomorrow at 7pm at the restaurant across from Parque Envigado and then go to Mu in Parque Lleras for dinner.  Remember that while they serve a number of different drinks they only serve ribs and fries.  I’m thinking that will cost me less than 50mil for the two of us and I plan to surprise her by going somewhere for a while for a drink.  

T-shirt of the day: The world’s tired of hate.

Thursday, August 21st, 2014

Last night I went to bed at 10:30 and only got up once during the night.  

About 5am Laura left for school and one of the dogs wouldn’t stop barking which didn’t appear to bother Teresa’s sleep at all.  I finally fell back asleep and woke/got up at 9am. Later Teresa told me it was Luna that was barking because she’s so young.

Teresa said the water is ok for bathing and brushing your teeth but she prefers I take drinking water from a pitcher she keeps in the refrigerator.

Each morning Teresa boils 2 large pots of water which she pours into a plastic garbage can in the bathroom for my shower.  I turn on the cold water and run it into the garbage can until it changes from hot to warm and then I pour it on myself using a large cup.

Feeding the dogs each day is an interesting experience.  They know when the food is coming and several of them excitedly stand up or jump up as she comes out with it.  She puts food down for Peter inside then one by one puts food down for the others outside.  She told me they won’t eat out of bowls so it’s put down on the stony surface and most of them wolf it down as fast as possible.  Sometimes when they finish they try to take the food from one of the others which is why Teresa stands guard.

That night we ate popcorn and watched a few DVDs: part of a Sarah Brightman video where she is performing in Las Vegas, the Sex & The City movie, Blended and finally Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

Laura’s birthday is Thursday, September 4^th and she would like a pair of tennis shoes.

T-shirt of the day: Believe nothing; trust no one.

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

Last night we went to bed at 10:30, I got up 3 or 4 times during the night and finally woke/got up at 8am.

At 1:10pm Teresa locked up Peter because apparently he sometimes goes down to the road and we left the finca for Teresa’s appointment with doctor Uribe.  When we got to the road we looked back and Tony was standing there looking at us.  At 1:30 we finally caught a TraTan bus to Poblado for 7mil.  For 4,500 we took a taxi to the medical center and arrived about 40 minutes early.  We had a tasty lunch in their outdoor cafeteria.  For 28 mil total (about 7 dollars each) we had soup, salad, sliced chicken breast with gravy, rice, 2 torta de choclos, juice and a cookie. 

Torta de choclo is neither bread, souffle, nor pudding exactly - it's some kind of delicious combination of the three. It slices like cornbread, but it's light and airy like a soufflé, yet creamy like corn pudding. And is it a dessert or a side dish? Could be either. Torta de choclo makes a nice breakfast too, with some coffee or hot chocolate.

At the doctor’s office we waited about 20 minutes for our turn.  We both went to a small closet sized office where Dr. Uribe “burned” off 3 “beauty marks” from Teresa’s neck, shoulder, and thigh.  The total cost was the office visit – 120mil (about $60).

Her next appointment is October 14^th at 3pm for the doctor to look at the improvement, if any, on her face from the last visit.

We walked down to Avenida Poblado where we caught a bus back to Envigado and visited for a while at Wilson’s bar.

At the Envigado metro station we caught a private van back to the finca for 6mil.  It was dark but she managed to find the entrance to her side road.

T-shirt of the day: This is my drinking shirt.  I wear it every day.

Tuesday, August 19th, 2014

Yesterday, on the way to the bus stop I noticed someone playing soccer in a Devin Hester 23 jersey.  

At 5:45 we caught a Fredonia bus which should be faster because it takes the highway instead of going through Caldas.  Traffic was still heavy and we waited without moving for 10 minutes at one intersection.  Teresa said it was because of the “puente”, which means bridge, but I discovered later it also refers to the extra holiday (today) that connects the weekend to the regular week.  I was thinking this would be a great place for a stoplight.  When we finally got going again I could see there was a policeman near the intersection.  Maybe he is the one who finally stopped traffic in the other direction allowing us to proceed.  It took us an hour and 15 minutes to get there.

When we passed the La Ranchera restaurant near her finca she told me her cousin owns it along with 5 other restaurants.

Because it was dark and raining slightly we missed our stop and had to walk back up the road about a block to the dirt road entrance.  (I’m thinking it would be a good idea to put up a glow-in-the-dark sign near the entrance.)

Teresa made us a ham sandwich with her Oster sandwich maker and a strawberry juice.

We played a few games of Parcheesi.  It’s been a long time since I played it but we still had very close games.

Monday night I went to bed at 11pm, got up once at 1am, woke up at 8am and got up at 9:30.

She has Direct TV and she put on the Today show which was nice.

I looked at her circuit breakers and each one is marked “120/240V” so I’m still not sure what voltage the bathroom uses.  (In the US appliances like a refrigerator or furnace usually have their own double circuit so it’s obvious but I didn’t see that here.)  I think the easiest thing might be to buy one of each of the hot water heaters and then see if Teresa can return the unneeded one.

I found the best spot to put my chess table and Teresa has a thick table cloth I can put on it and most of the time use it as my computer table possibly with one of my plastic chairs.  The lighting isn’t very good in her finca (she only has a few 26W fluorescent bulbs) and I decided I would pay someone to put in a light fixture above it but maybe I can use a standing table lamp next to it.

I’m still trying to figure out the dog’s names.  What I understand right now the mother is Luna and the others are her children: Tony, Peter, and macho embra (or something like that).

We watched Dr. 90210 which was interesting.

In the afternoon it started raining and actually turned cold.

Teresa made us an arepa with avocado and ham slices that was surprisingly tasty.

I have a few what look like mosquito bites on my arms and legs.  It couldn’t be bed bugs could it?  They are pretty itchy.

We played more Parcheesi, for 1mil a game, and at the end of the night I had 3mil and she still owed me 1mil.

T-shirt of the day: It’s not going to lick itself.

Monday, August 18th, 2014

Last night I finished writing and posting my blog earlier than expected and I got to bed by 10:30.  I got up at 2:30 and when I couldn’t get back to sleep I took 2 Excedrin Migraine for the discomfort behind my eyes.  I don’t think I fell asleep again until about 4:30.  I woke/got up at 8am and Teresa at 9.

I had asked my brother to see if I could use his credit card to pay my magicJack bill and this morning I finally got confirmation it worked.  Now I can call USAA and resolve the problem with my password.  (I could probably also have chatted with them if I had too.)

I invited Teresa to have breakfast out with me but I don’t think she wanted to spend the money so we just had breakfast (granola) in the apartment.

We went to Viva where I took some cash out of my ATM and I showed her a Scrabble game that Exito was selling for about 65,900.  I thought it would be good to practice my Spanish vocabulary but again she didn’t want me to spend the money so I’ll postpone that purchase for a little while.

I bought another month’s supply of Tamsolusin for 40,800 and then we selected some groceries including fixings for ham sandwiches.

All of a sudden Teresa felt she needed something to eat.  She couldn’t find anything appropriate in the store so we paid for our things and then we stopped at Juan Valdez where we each had a cup of coffee and shared a croissant for 9,600.

Back at the apartment she washed all the leaves of my largest plant (#1 in the pictures I sent before) of the fungus it has had for the last few weeks and replaced some of the dirt that I could now see also had the fungus.

We decided we would leave for the finca about 4pm.  I’m sure traffic will be heavy later as people return to the city from the fincas.

T-shirt of the day: Today looks like Friday.

Sunday, August 17th, 2014

Last night Teresa called me at 9:30 to tell me we are meeting today at 10am instead of 9am.  (I thought 9am was going to be too early for everyone.)

I went to bed at 11pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4:30, was awakened at 5:30 by a few fireworks, and finally got up at 6:15.

I had a bowl of cereal and left the apartment at 8:45.  I had to wait about 15 minutes for a bus but was still downtown way early.  I walked 2 blocks south to near the San Antonio station and looked at all the hats for sale.  I was hoping to find a Chicago Bears hat but no luck.  I think they had everything else including Tom & Jerry, and Wiley Coyote and the Road Runner.

I walked back to Parque Berrio and took the next train to Acevedo.  I got there about 10 minutes early and Teresa and Laura joined me just after 10am.  She explained that Wilson and Marta won’t be joining us; something about Cali and business.

While we were on the metro cable I learned that Laura has been to Parque Arvi before; something about high school.

As soon as we reached the park we each had a cup of strawberries with lechera and arquipe on top.

We showed Laura the hotel we had discovered and then we took her to the zipline.  She has never done that before.  I went first and when I got to the other side there’s this thing like a punching bag turned sideways to stop you but I hit it and rebounded back over the lake.  They had to send this line over to me for me to grab so they could haul me back in.

We had a nice lunch there; 2 pieces of breaded chicken, rice, fruit salad, a potato and juice for 12,900 each.  

We sat down for a while and just chilled out for a couple hours.

We took a chiva bus there but it filled up before we could get on it for the trip back so we took a regular bus.  It too was standing room only.

We said goodbye to Laura at Parque Berrio where we got off and she continued on to Envigado as she’s staying at Wilson’s apartment.

I didn’t take many pictures but at least you can get a better idea what Laura looks like.  She’s a pretty girl.

I put a couple frozen lasagnas in the microwave for supper for the 2 of us.

She went to bed at 10:15 and myself at 11pm.

Tomorrow I’m going to the finca so I’m not sure when I’m going to be posting next.  Probably not until the weekend.

T-shirt of the day: My feet hurt.