Tuesday, December 30th, 2014

I got up once at 5am and I understood Laura was taking her shower in the main bathroom so I used the guest one.

Teresa woke me up at 7am for 70mil for Laura.  I told her where my fanny pack was and gave her the cash.  That leaves about 220mil for us today although I could still take another 100mil out of an ATM in a pinch.

I saw my package and document are still “in transit” at MBE.

Now Teresa tells me we are going to her mother’s apartment tomorrow to celebrate New Years Eve.  Five minutes later she asks me if I want to go to Sopetran tomorrow.  Sigh!

We left the finca about 9:30 and were challenged by the doberman who didn’t seem fazed in the least by my Dog Repeller.  I did get one spray off on him that distracted him long enough for us to get away.  The other dog kept his distance.  

Besides visiting the doctor I understand we need to buy at least 3 AA batteries, arepas, and butter.

We took a bus to Envigado and a taxi up to the Nueva eps clinic.  We waited 10 minutes for a patient to come out of the office and Teresa stuck her head in, showed the doctor my test results, and we left.  I understood we have to call for an appointment with an Urologist to look at my test results.  

We walked to the other side of the park where Teresa talked to a lady at a barber ship.

We left 5 minutes later and went 2 doors down to an Exito.  I found my batteries while Teresa found some dye for her hair.  She keeps asking me if she can have a lighter color but I always tell her I prefer black.  I reminded her we need to buy arepas and butter and she said later in Caldas.  We also picked up a couple packages of peanuts and I paid 27,550 for everything.

We went back to the barber shop – Nohelia – where she got her hair colored and cut and I got a haircut for a total of 52mil.  I understood my haircut cost 12mil – less than $6.

We walked through the park that is under construction and one end of it seems to be finished.  There is a nice common ceiling with fluorescent lights covering the sidewalk outside the stores and a paved walkway between it and the park.

We had lunch once again at Carbón de Leña for 27mil.  I had the hamburger combo which included fries and Teresa once again had 2 portions of their breaded fish.

We stopped at a Gana store and added 10mil to Laura’s cell phone so she can call us if necessary.

We stopped at a paper store where Teresa made a copy of something.

We passed a billiard parlor and I noticed chess players in the back.  I went in and saw at least a dozen boards with 5 games going on.  A man asked me if I wanted to play and I said later.

We took a taxi to the highway where we caught a bus to Caldas.

We stopped at the home and electronics store where Teresa gave the copy she made to a lady there.

Walking across one street there was a stopped van in the left lane and a stopped pickup truck in the right lane with just enough room for us, or a motorcycle, to squeeze through.  There was a motorcycle stopped waiting for us and as I followed Teresa across the street he ran into my heel.  No pain, just a scuffed shoe, but I turned around and gave him a dirty look.

I asked her if we are going to stop at Merkepaisa to buy arepas and butter and I understood she wanted to first visit her friend who is laid up at home.  We walked about a dozen blocks and stopped at a house where her friend was lying in an easy chair.  I understand she has a hip problem and can’t get around the hills of Caldas. Her 16 year old poodle was in the chair next to her and didn’t move for about 10 minutes.

When we left, Teresa said her friend will be alone for New Years Eve and wanted to spend the day, or is it night, with her.

We left there and walked about 5 blocks to the bus stop.  She went upstairs and picked up the electric bill of 81,412 which must be paid by January 5^th without encurring an extra charge.

We waited another 20 minutes for a Caldas bus with Salinas in the window.  On our way to the finca I asked Teresa if she has the arepas and butter and she had a stricken look on her face.  She said we can leave early tomorrow and pick it up in Caldas.  I kiddingly told her she can leave very early tomorrow so I can have an arepa with butter for my breakfast when I get up.

For the past week I’ve seen these homemade “dummies” for sale on the side of the road.  Teresa explained to me that they are full of firecrackers.  It must be a Colombian New Years tradition.

As we were approaching the neighbor’s house Teresa said something that alerted the killer dogs that we were there.  The other dog kept his distance but the doberman challenged us again.  The Dog Repeller doesn’t seem to faze him at all.  We got past him and when we were greeted by peluche I put the Dog Repeller and pepper spray back in my fanny pack.  A few seconds later one of the Terriers charged past us as the doberman was getting close.  Once again it was a back and forth battle depending on whether a Terrier was alone or had reinforcements.

We took a nap from 6 to 6:30.

I got emails from MBE that my document and package are available for pickup in Medellin.

Teresa talked to her friend Ana who invited us to her finca in Sopetran for the weekend.  I said that is fine.  I understand that is where Laura is now.

We started watching the movie Croupier which I found by browsing Netflix but Teresa couldn’t keep her eyes open and went to bed at 9:45.

I took my sleeping pill at 9pm and we went to bed at 10pm.

T-shirt of the day: I give good lip service.

Monday, December 29th, 2014

I woke up once, probably early in the morning, when the dogs went crazy for a minute.  Teresa woke me at 7am and I got up because we probably have a busy day ahead of us.  Anyway, it was nice to sleep through the night.

It will be interesting to see if my Direct TV subscription allows me to see all the NFL playoff games and the Super Bowl.

We left the finca at 9:15 and when we got to the neighbor’s house I noticed the gate was closed.  The doberman came up to the gate but didn’t come out but the other dog came close to the path but didn’t approach any closer.

We took a bus to Aguacatala followed by a taxi to Unicentro CC for 9mil.  Inside the lawyer’s office the lady working there gave me my passport with the renewed visa, I paid the remaining 460mil, she gave us the instructions we need to renew my Cedula, I filled out the proper form, and she gave me a bank deposit slip for the payment.

We walked over to Banco de Occidente which is right across the street from Unicentro.  We paid the 156,300 COP for my new Cedula but for some reason Teresa had to copy the deposit information onto a new form.  We walked outside and I took another 300mil out of their ATM machine.

We walked across the street to have lunch in Unicentro CC.  I asked Teresa if she wanted to have lunch in the same place as last time and she said she didn’t like it.  I thought we would look inside the mall for some restaurant but, strangely enough, we ended up at the same cafeteria as last time.  We each had cream of chicken soup, some slab of beef that was reasonably tender, a baked potato, gravy, salad and a drink for about 18mil.  

Teresa reminded me we have until January 7^th to pay the Direct TV bill of 150mil.

We took a taxi to the Immigration office for 10mil.  They took all my information, we waited about 90 minutes, they gave me back my passport with a little piece of paper containing a website address – www.MigracionColombia.gov.co that I understand we are to check after an 8 day wait; same as last year.

We stopped at an internet café where I added 20mil to my cell phone, we stopped at a tienda where she had a bottle of water and I had an iced tea and we bought a loaf of bread for sandwiches.

We walked down to Avenida 80 where we got on a Circular Sur 302 bus.  Teresa sat in the front seat and I sat right behind her – surprisingly, right next to Sergio, Nydia’s husband.  I introduced him to Teresa and told him I don’t live in the apartment anymore, instead I’m in her finca between Caldas and Amaga.  At the last minute before we got off the bus at Aguacatala Teresa gave him my cell phone number.

We just missed a Tratam bus but after only a 10 minute wait we caught a Fredonia bus back to the finca – we even had no problem getting seats.

On the way up the side road Teresa told me that there will be a lot of traffic and a lot of people at the fincas at the top of the hill.  Some day we’re going to have to walk up there so I can see what’s there.

At the neighbor’s house the doberman came out and my Dog Repeller kept him back but he didn’t exactly run away from it like the other dog did.

I found a message on my i-Pad that general manager Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman were fired from the Chicago Bears today.

While Teresa was feeding the dogs, Luna got too close to the food that Tony thought was his and he attacked her.  I should have used my Dog Repeller on him at that point but I didn’t think about it until after.

We started watching The Captive using www.yaske.net but something went wrong with the delivery.

While trying to fix it the cursor froze and I couldn’t get it restarted even when I rebooted.  Even the light was on, indicating to me it was working, when I replaced the battery in the mouse with one taken from my camera, it started working again.

I took my sleeping pill at 9:45 and we went to bed at 10pm.

T-shirt of the day: There’s room for all of god’s creatures, right next to the mashed potatoes and gravy.

Sunday, December 28th, 2014

I got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:45.  I made a waffle for Teresa and I waited for Laura to get up to make more.  This time I used 3 eggs, 2 ¼ cups of mix and 2 cups of milk for my batter.  I was careful to pour the batter from the center stopping when it started reaching the outside edge.  The size worked out better but the taste seemed to be lacking a little.  Next time I’ll go back to using 2 eggs and see if that’s better.

While Teresa was feeding the dogs I heard a commotion and when I got to the window I saw Peluche on top of Peter and doing everything except actually biting him.  I grabbed my Dog Repeller, pointed it at them from a distance of at least 20’, and pressed the button once.  Peluche immediately got off Peter and ran off into the woods.  Wow, it not only works well, it works from a distance, but I still have to test it out with the killer dogs.

I tried the exercise machine and I could only take 1 minute on the main apparatus.  Later we found it was set on level 2 and of course, I’ll be starting on level 1.

Laura got up at 11am and I made a waffle for her and then one more that Teresa and I shared.

I found a recipe on the internet for making a strawberry sauce for the waffles that I’m going to try soon.

The Bears game started at 1pm and I had my popcorn and a 600ml bottle of Pepsi.

At the half it was Chicago Bears 3 Minnesota Vikings 3.

The final was Chicago Bears 9 Minnesota Vikings 13.  What a disappointing season but at least they will have the 7^th pick in the draft.

Teresa asked me if I would like to have New Years Eve here with Wilson and Martha.  Teresa will make shish-kebab on an outdoor grill.

I finished Ken Follett’s 1,015 page Edge of Eternity and downloaded Patricia Cornwell’s 279 page All That Remains.

We watched Air Force One that Teresa liked very much.  Now I believe she likes dramas, romance and scary movies.

After I had something to eat I started Young Frankenstein but that didn’t last long because Teresa didn’t like it.

Laura found a movie called Black Rock but it was only rated something like 5.4 by IMDB.  She showed us the trailer and it looked a little interesting so we watched it.

Then she played something else, I don’t know if I even saw the title, about a girl changing high schools because of excessive taunting in the first.

I took my sleeping pill at 10pm and we went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Shut the fuck up and go home.

That about sums up how I feel about the Bears season this year.

Saturday, December 27th, 2014

I got up twice during the night, woke up again about 6am and Teresa finally woke/got me up at 7:45.

We are out of milk so I just had a sandwich with coffee I made myself.

We left the finca at 9:15 and in Caldas first we stopped at aymará for breakfast.  Teresa had a couple chicken pastries and I had the waffles with strawberries and whipped cream and we both had coffee.  I understood she was going somewhere for a few minutes while I finished my breakfast.  When she came back she paid for the total of 17,100.  This flyer is from the bakery/restaurant.

BTW, I asked if they had the Cinnamon rolls shown in the picture and the waitress checked and reported they didn’t.  Another day.

We walked a couple doors up to a small home and electronics store where we sat down with a lady and her computer.  Teresa talked to her for awhile while I wandered around the store.  They had a nice kitchen counter with sink and cupboards for about 3,000,000 plus that would look nice in the finca.  They also had several washing machines.  Teresa told me they know her real well there because she has bought everything for the finca there.

We left and walked back toward the center of town and I understood she could see some store in the distance was closed.  We turned around and we stopped in the same store again and Teresa asked a quick question.

We walked a block away where she bought a few vegetables but she left the bag there to pick up later.

We walked back to the store and she sat down and I understood she was signing some contract.  No money was exchanged but she signed a 3 part form putting a fingerprint on each page.

We walked down to Merkepaisa market where we bought a few things including milk for 26mil.  We then stopped at the fruit store where we picked up the other bag we purchased earlier.

Back at the home and electronics store they disassembled an exercise machine and carried it out to a covered pickup truck.  We put our bags of groceries in the back and we got in the front with the owner.  He made one stop in town that I understood was to pick up his son.

His truck didn’t seem to have much of a top speed but he made it up the hill without any difficulties.  I carried down a few bags of groceries, Teresa brought the rest and the driver and his son carried down the eliptical machine.

She paid the boy 10mil and the driver 40mil after they had reassembled everything.  It’s a Sport Fitness eliptical training machine with everything printed on the machine in English with a Spanish instruction manual.

I told her I wasn’t happy that she bought this without discussing it with me beforehand but she said she wanted it to be a surprise for Laura and I.  She said she got a good price on it – 800mil total with payments of 100mil per month due on the 10^th of the month.  It does sound like a pretty good price if it gets used a lot.

By the way, when the workmen were leaving, the dogs up the hill went crazy with barking and then the Fox Terriers started barking back.  I said "no" but they didn't pay any attention to me.  I pointed the Dog Repeller out the door and pressed it once and they all stopped barking at the same time and ran back towards the finca.

I have to admit Teresa and Laura have been using the exercise machine quite a bit thus far.

And here is a picture of the not yet completed stairs up to the loft area.

Teresa and Laura wanted to watch a good movie so Laura found And While we Were Here on her yaske.net website.  After an hour we gave up on it.  I checked imdb.com and it only has a rating of 5.5.

We watched Return to Me which Teresa liked very much.

T-shirt of the day: Are we having fun yet?

Friday, December 26th, 2014

I fell asleep quickly, got up twice during the night, woke up at 7am when Teresa got up and finally woke/got up at 7:45.

Teresa talked to Martha and for some reason we are going to see her on Monday instead of today.  

Teresa was watering the plants outside the finca and it was cute to see Peter playing in the water.  The other dogs could care less.

Of new movies opening this week, of course I want to see Unbroken (6.7), the unbelievable story of one man who lived through World War II, which I recommend everyone to see.  I hope they also cover his prewar experiences.  I would also like to see The Gambler (6.5), The Interview (8.5), and American Sniper (7.9).

Locally, I couldn’t find anything I want to see.

After spending some time outside, Teresa informed me that today is too hot and she wants to go to Caldas later this afternoon or tomorrow.

I was feeling so cool inside the finca that I went outside for a couple minutes and just faced the sun to warm up a little.

Laura got up at 10:30am.

I spent some time translating and understanding some of my recent medical information.

Teresa and I took a nap from 2:30 to 4:30.

There is a song, or part of a song, I kept hearing here in Colombia.  Teresa and I heard it while watching TV and I asked her about it and she said it is by Marc Anthony.  I had to reset my Apple Id first but I found it – it’s called Vivir Mi Vida or Live my Life.

Teresa talked to her friend Ana and we are invited to her finca for New Years Eve and we will return on New Years Day.  It is 2 ½ hours from here by bus.

I found a recipe for strawberry sauce that I may try one of these days to go with the waffles.

I showed Laura how to get loose if some man grabs her hands and afterwards Teresa mentioned that she has a gun.

Teresa asked me to play a good movie for the 3 of us and I enlisted Laura’s help because I wanted to see The Game on the yaske.net website.  We couldn’t find it but in searching we found Deliverance and it took a while to get it started, and it’s in Spanish, but I still wanted them to see it.  We made popcorn and then settled down to watch it.  It would play for a couple minutes and then it would clock for a couple minutes.  Finally we gave up.

I went to Netflix, selected the horror category and put on 1408.  In total we made 3 batches of popcorn but in the end Teresa didn’t like the movie.  Then I put on Identity and they liked that more.

I took my sleeping pill at 9:15, we finished the movie and went to bed at 10:30.

T-shirt of the day: Be positive and laugh at everything.

Thursday, December 25th, 2014

Merry Christmas everyone!

I got up twice during the night and then again about 6:15.  I finally woke/got up at 8:45.

Well, it’s obvious we’re not getting up early to go to Envigado.  Now she’s talking about going to Caldas early tomorrow for more foodstuffs.

I checked MBE and it still shows my Benefits Letter and magicJack Go are In Transit.

I started translating the results of my rectal exam.

I took a short nap from 1:30 to 1:45.  

At 2pm we started getting dressed to visit the neighbors.  Teresa wanted me to wear the nice white slacks I brought with me from the States but I told her they don’t fit me anymore.  She didn’t believe me until I tried them on and showed her.  I’ve been telling her she gives me too much food.  She said she would cut down on the rice and give me more fruits and vegetables.  She did get me to wear a long-sleeved shirt; after all, if need be I could come back and change into a short-sleeved one.

We left the finca at 2pm, walked up the path and into the neighbor’s yard.  Yes, the one with the killer dogs.  I told Teresa I was afraid of their dog and she said he would be enclosed and not to worry.  We walked through the gate they usually come out of and walked around to the front door.  The girl that had her first communion greeted us in a fancy dress with a hooped skirt like something out of Gone with the Wind.  Several people were sitting in chairs in the front yard.  I saw the killer dog on the other side of the lawn but I don’t think he saw me.  We went inside and Teresa introduced me to a few people.  We sat down on a coach and we were immediately given a cold glass of something similar to Hi-C.  I could see a lot of pictures of the communion girl so I could see her name is Maria Paulina.  She is a pretty girl and may be a beauty when she’s older.  I saw one specific picture where she was 7 years old and her smile reminded me of Charlize Therone.  She pulled the hooped skirt over her head and under it she had a smaller simpler dress.  The room felt very stuffy but we sat on a coach that was in front of a small fan so it was manageable.

Everyone was very nice to me.  The sister of the owner of the house got me up to dance with her.  They had a large 3 level cake and gave everyone at least one slice although it was on a napkin without a fork or spoon.  The Doberman walked around the house and sat in front of me at one point but didn’t pay much attention to me.

People started leaving at 4:30 and we left at 5pm.

We finished watching Donnie Darko and we both agreed it was a “so-so” movie.  We started watching Phenomenon but stopped at 9:30 and Teresa went to bed at 10pm.  I took my sleeping pill.  At 10:30 Laura came out and sat with me as I watched the last episode of The Bible.  I went to bed at midnight.

T-shirt of the day: Living, loving, laughing.

Wednesday, December 24th, 2014

I got up twice during the night and then again about 6:30.  I finally woke/got up at 7:45.

I posted some additional information about the Dog Repeller for anyone who might be interested.  I noticed it only took about 8 days from when it was shipped until it arrived in Medellin.

I did a rough budget for the last week of the month and it looks like I should have approximately $172 to spare.  And Teresa still has some money left from her monthly food account.

I ordered a $100 Best Buy gift card to be sent to my son for Christmas but it isn’t scheduled to arrive until Friday, January 9^th.  Now I know to order it 7-10 days early next time.

Teresa tells me she wants to go to Envigado early tomorrow (7am) to have her hair colored and I will probably get a haircut.  I asked her if they are going to be open Christmas day and she said “yes”.

I ordered a $100 Marshalls gift card to be sent to my daughter for Christmas but there is no estimate of when it should be delivered.

I received an email that the Best Buy gift card has “shipped” so maybe it will get there much faster than 9 days.

Teresa and I took a nap from 1:40 to 2:40.

Teresa wanted to watch a very good movie so we started watching The Godfather.  I explained that many people consider that movie to be the best every made.  She recognized the name but I understood she probably hasn’t seen the whole movie.

We stopped watching for a while because Teresa had to take care of laundry and clean the patio.

Laura left at 5:45 and I gave her 5mil for bus fare.  Teresa told me she’s gone dancing with her girlfriends in Caldas and will be back tomorrow.

At 6:15 Teresa came in and asked for the Dog Repeller for the killer dogs.  I got it out and gave it to her but I got the pepper spray for myself and we went outside.  Teresa used it again on Luna and she went and cowered next to the front door.  I told her to be careful because that hurts their ears.  I think she was afraid the killer dogs were coming close to the finca.

Well, it’s obvious nothing special is happening on Christmas Eve.

We finished watching The Godfather and then I realized I forgot to take my sleeping pill so I took it at 10:30 and then we started watching Donnie Darko.  We went to bed at 11:15.

T-shirt of the day: Have a holly jolly Christmas.

DOG REPELLER - Information

DOG REPELLER

The manufacturer is listed as Pet Parade but I ordered it through Amazon for $8.07.  I ordered it on December 1^st, it shipped on the 5^th, arrived in Miami on the 8^th, arrived in Medellin on the 13^th, and I picked it up on the 19^th.

Effective Range: Up to 20 Feet.

Battery Placement

Always use a 9 Volt Alkaline battery.  Your unit will not be effective unless you use an Alkaline battery.

1.     Slide the battery compartment lid away from the unit.

2.     Connect your 9 Volt Alkaline battery onto the proper terminal heads.  Slide the battery compartment lid back onto the unit.

3.     If the red light located above the button comes on and stays on when depressing the button the unit is functioning properly.  If the red light does not come on change the battery.

Instructions:

To Repel Dogs: Point unit directly at the dog and press the button for a few seconds.  The ultrasonic sound should discourage the dog from approaching.   Press button for a longer period if necessary.  Please note that the prime operating range is 5 to 6 feet.

For Use as a Pet Trainer:

1.     Point your Dog Repeller directly at the dog or cat from a distance of approximately 5 to 6 feet away (effective up to approximately 20 feet).

2.     Give the verbal command, then immediately press the button for one or two seconds.

3.     Repeat steps one and two until your pet responds to your command.

Use Dog Repeller to help emphasize verbal commands such as:

Heel, Sit, Stay, Quiet, Get Down, etc.

Important Tips:

Dog Repeller will get an immediate response from most dogs.  Others may require repeated reinforcement.  Always point the Dog Repeller directly at the dog. 

Always provide positive reinforcement when training a dog or cat along with the use of Dog Repeller.

Never go near an animal that seems dangerous.

Dog Repeller will discourage most dogs, but may not be effective in all situations.

Use good judgment when approaching animals, taking care not to surprise them.

Warning:

1.     Do not touch the screened area on the front.  Denting or damaging of this area may cause the unit to malfunction.

2.     Do not use on other animals or for any use that is not recommended.

3.     Should not be used on humans or within one foot range of a pet.

4.     Use caution when dealing with potentially dangerous animals.

5.     Keep Dog Repeller away from children.

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2014

This is the last day remaining on my visa.

I hope I’m not getting too personal here.  I usually sleep in just my undershorts with a sheet and my thin blanket.  Teresa sleeps in pajamas with a sheet and two blankets, one pretty thick.  She can’t believe that I can sleep without pajamas.  

I got up once at 1:30am.  After I opened the bedroom door I saw light coming from Laura’s open bedroom door so I stepped back inside and put my robe on.  When I tried to open the bathroom door I found it locked.  Immediately Laura opened it and stepped out and I went in and took care of business.

I fell back asleep quickly and didn’t wake up until 6am when the dogs were going nuts once again.   After my trip to the bathroom I opened the little window on the door and they looked at me and I said “Tch” which, as far as I know, is Spanish for “sh” and they were surprisingly quiet for at least an hour after that.

I got up at 8:45 and at breakfast Teresa told me that some 10 year old girl is having her first communion this Friday and we are invited so we need to buy her a present.

Uh-oh.  Teresa talked to Martha, my lawyer, and I need to come to her office in Belen to sign some documents for my visa.  I also need to bring some documents but Teresa didn’t have any other details.  I told Teresa, since Ramiro is coming this morning, I could go alone and come back on a Tratam bus.  She didn’t like that idea so she needed to call Ramiro to cancel him from coming today but we ran out of minutes on my cell because we forgot to recharge it yesterday.

I was expecting to use the morning to send gift cards to my kids for Christmas but now I’ll have to put that off until tomorrow.

I got to see a little of Teresa’s temper when she was trying to communicate what needed to be done and I didn’t understand.  Laura seemed to be reluctant to serve as translator and type what Teresa said into the computer.  I understood Teresa is under a lot of pressure with taking care of the house, arranging visits by the carpenter and electrician, not being able to call anyone due to lack of minutes on my cell phone, pressure to get my visa renewed, etc.

I researched the things I needed last year for renewing my visa and then I got my Social Security letter “Your Benefit Amount”, my photos, my SS card and my current Cedula together to take with me.

While waiting for Teresa I checked the MBE website and saw that I have “documents” in Bogota, which is probably my official Benefits Letter, and my new magicJack Go is in Miami.

We left at 11:15 and got past the killer dogs undetected.  We only had to wait 5 minutes before we caught a bus to Aguacatala.  On the way we received a call from Martha the lawyer and she told Teresa that my visa has been approved.  Yay!

After a quick exchange of congratulations, since we were already on the road, we decided to try to find some cheap bluejeans for Teresa.  We got off at the Envigado station, took a taxi downtown, and stopped at an ATM so I could get some cash.  We stopped at a corner Gana booth and added 20mil to my cell phone.  We had lunch at Carbon de Leña for about 28mil.  I had a typical Colombian meal and Teresa had 2 orders of fish.  She loves their breaded fish.  

We took a bus to San Diego and walked around a number of stores.  In Falabella she found a cute pair of pajamas for the girl but when Teresa saw the long line to pay she decided we could find something in Exito.  In another store she found a striped short sleeved shirt she wanted to buy for me but again we saw the long line to pay and I got her to change her mind.

We took a bus to Envigado, walked down the hill and spent an hour or so at Wilson’s bar with him and his girlfriend Martha.  We walked across the street to Exito where Teresa found some pajamas for the girl, I found the 9-volt battery I needed and we picked up some other groceries for a total of 138,364.

We took a taxi to the highway to wait for a bus.  After only 2-minutes we got a cash ride (con effectivo) with a private car.  It cost us double (8mil) but we got to the side road before dark.

As we were approaching the top of the hill we saw one of the killer dogs like he was waiting for us but he turned around and walked away.  We got past the neighbor’s house unchallenged.  I think the other dog doesn’t want to confront us without the Doberman.

We were back at the finca by 6:15 and for what seemed like the first time I wasn’t overheated.

Teresa was eager to see if and how the Dog Repeller worked so I put in the battery and we stepped outside.  All 4 Terriers were there and since Luna was closest I pointed it at her and pushed the button.  She shrunk down with her tail between her legs and slowly crawled away.  We got a similar reaction from the others only a little less so.  Peter seemed to be the least affected by the sound.  Of course we couldn’t hear anything.  After we had tried it on the rest of them we saw Luna up the path and Teresa tried to coax her back down.

I checked the MBE website and saw that my “documents” and my new magicJack Go are “in transit” so I guess they are both “on the road”.

We decided to go to Belen on Friday to pick up my new visa.

Teresa and I started watching Everything you Wanted to Know about Sex but Were Afraid to Ask but she didn’t care for it.  She said she doesn’t like comedies.  I put on Disturbia which she really liked.  I understand her favorite type of movies are dramas.

I took my sleeping pill at 9:50 and we went to bed at 10:30.

T-shirt of the day: Sweet.

Monday, December 22nd, 2014

1 day remaining on my visa.

I got up twice during the night.  The third time was 5:45 in the morning when the dogs were going nuts over something.  They quieted down just as my head hit the pillow back in bed.  I woke up at 6:45 and got up at 7:45.

We are out of milk so my arepa and scrambled eggs was with chocolate milk made with water.  Ick!

Well, today is the day.  It starts at 10am with my enema, drinking 2 glasses of water here, several others on the way or at the clinic in downtown Medellin, followed by my prostate biopsy scheduled at 2:40. 

The enama turned out not to be a problem.  The complete procedure took about 30 minutes from setup to cleanup and there wasn’t any mess.

At 11am I drank 2 glasses of water but 30 minutes later I had to pee, which I did.  (I’m supposed to retain the water for the test but if I could do that I probably wouldn’t need the test.)

We left at 12:15 and got past the killer dogs undetected.

After a 10 minute wait we caught a bus to Aquacatala where we took the metro to the Prado station (1 stop past Parque Berrio).

We walked across the street and at that point I had to pee real bad.  We stopped at a small sidewalk restaurant where I paid 500 pesos (about 20 cents) to use their restroom.  Inside I found that the door didn’t close all the way and the light switch didn’t work although some light came in over the walls that were about 6 inches short of the ceiling.  While peeing I was aware that something else was going on on the back end. 

I explained my problem to Teresa and we quickly walked the last 2 blocks to the clinic – Escanografia Neurologica S.A. – at Calle 59 (Cuba) #50A-14.  She talked to the guard and I understood we had to check in first.  After 5 minutes and 2,400 pesos ($1) we were allowed inside the facility. 

I headed right for the bathroom where I found my bottom and my underpants wet from the enema liquid.  I dried myself as best I could using their toilet paper.  I explained everything to Teresa, and since we were an hour early, we went out and purchased what are basically a pair of adult pampers from a local pharmacy for 3mil.

Back inside we waited in an area with about 40 other people.  After about 5 minutes a lady came out and called about 8 names including mine.  She took us to another smaller waiting area where we got the last 2 seats and I continued to drink water from their cooler.

I was concerned I might be asked something I wouldn’t be able to answer so I asked Teresa if she would go with me for the exam if they would allow it.

About 15 minutes later my name was called and we went into a small room roughly 5 feet wide by 10 feet deep.  There was a young lady sitting facing the wall near the door working on something like a computer screen.  There was an examination table on the right and a young man with his own computer screen on the left.  I asked him if he spoke English and he replied “yes”.  He asked me to pull my pants and underpants down to my knees and lie on the table facing the opposite wall.  He inserted a finger (you know where) and I kept waiting for something larger to enter the area.  A minute or two later he said we’re done.  I told him I thought I was going to get a biopsy of my prostate and he said it wasn’t necessary – my prostate is large but there isn’t anything abnormal in the area.  He did tell me to give the results to my urologist and to continue checking my PSA every year.  We got out right at the time of our scheduled appointment – 2:40pm.

Teresa was hungry and asked a man about a mall nearby but I understood it was several blocks uphill so she decided to skip it.  I told her we could take the metro to Mayorca and eat at their food court. 

We took the metro there and first I took out a little cash.  I couldn’t believe how many people were in the food court at 3:30 in the afternoon.  Once again we had to sit upstairs.  We ate at Frisby – the Frischuleta and juice for her and Frisburrito and juice for me for a total of 31,700.

It was a warm day and Teresa wanted to go up to the 4^th floor until it got cooler.  I asked her when it would be cooler and she said when the sun was gone.  It was 4pm and I didn’t want to wait until 6 or 6:30 to leave.  We left and walked the 10 minutes to the far side of the highway.  We had to wait 30 minutes to catch an express bus and 35 minutes later we were at the bottom of the side road.

The killer dogs came out just as we got to the neighbor’s house.  Again the Doberman was aggressive and advanced whenever I wasn’t looking directly at him.  I finally sprayed a little in his direction and he ran away a little and then backed into it and just shook his head.  He finally backed off.

After I cooled off a little I was happy to remove my “diaper” and take a shower.

Tomorrow Ramiro is supposed to show up to finish the last step on the stairs and put up a railing – all for 30 mil.  And the electrician is supposed to come also to move a lightbulb and an electric outlet.

I took my sleeping pill at 9pm and we went to bed at 10pm.

T-shirt of the day: Fashion addict.