Friday, October 30th, 2015

I fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake up until 5:30.  I got up with the 7am alarm.  After shower, shave and breakfast, I got dressed and we were out the door by 8:10am.

The two killer dogs, minus the puppy, met us on the side road but they weren’t as aggressive as usual.  I knelt down and held a dog biscuit out for the rottweiler and he cautiously approached and took it and ate it right there.  I held out a dog biscuit for the other dog, who seeing the rottweiler get lucky, approached and snatched it out of my hand and ran off with it.  I gave the rottweiler a second biscuit and after he finished it he followed us up the hill hoping for more.  I think it’s just a matter of time before they stop harrassing us but I will probably have to pay a dog biscuit toll each time we want to pass.  It’ll be worth it.

We met Walter coming up in his taxi while we were walking down the sideroad.  Traffic got so heavy on the highway on the outskirts of Medellin that he left the highway and started taking the local roads of Itagui.  Teresa told him we had a 9:20 appointment but I showed her the letter that said we should be there 15 minutes earlier.

We came out on Avenida 80 but we had gone too far.  I told them we need to go in the other direction on the other side of the road but they didn’t listen to me right away.  Finally they got on the other side going in the right direction and I told them where to turn and one block later we arrived at the clinic at 9:30.  I understand it’s in the Guayabal section of Itagui.

We went in one entrance and they sent us to another.  We knocked on the door of a few consultation rooms and then Teresa talked to a man in a hallway (who I later found out was a doctor).  We were sent back to the first entrance where we paid 2,500 pesos.  Teresa told me she was hungry so we stopped in the cafeteria where I chose a pastry with some kind of berry inside and Coke and she chose 2 packages of what I will call onion rings and a Coke Zero.  We took them into the waiting room and ate them there.  About 15 minutes later we were called into one of the consultation rooms.  A young man wearing a white lab coat asked me a few questions like what medication I’m taking and whether I have pain or blood when I urinate.  The man we saw earlier in the hallway came in and a few minutes later they gave Teresa a couple pieces of paper.  I understand I need more tests.

We took a taxi to the nueva eps office in Envigado.  Inside we quickly found out we need to return on Tuesday.  I think Teresa was telling me that I need more tests and she’s afraid it will take too much time to get to see a doctor through my health insurance.  (Her 2^nd husband had prostate cancer and by the time he addressed it it was too late.)  If I need to have my prostate removed she doesn’t want to delay it.  (I’m going to call my brother tomorrow so I’ll understand more of the details.)  While we were there I showed the doctor the GNC Prostate vitamins I take and he seemed to approve.

We walked through the park and I took a moment to measure the width of the chess boards that are built into the planters and found the space should be a perfect size for my rollup plastic chess board.

We stopped in Exito where Teresa picked up some ribs, powdered milk and arepas while I made a trip to the restroom.  I paid my 600 pesos but when I entered I found there was no seat on the toilet.  So I waited a minute until the urge was very strong and then squatted over the toilet and did my business.  I understand scientifically this is the best position, meaning squatting, but it isn’t easy on my legs or knees.  

Teresa was hungry so we shared two pieces of pork in pineapple sauce, rice with raisins, some potato salad and a cup of Pepsi.  I recycled 3 old AAA batteries in their information booth.

We took a taxi to the highway and soon were on a bus back to the finca.  We got past the killer dogs undetected and arrived at the finca at 1:15.

At 2:55 it started raining with lightning so we unplugged everything.

We all watched A Lonely Place to Die (6.3) on the big screen.

Among US new movie releases, and locally, there isn’t anything I want to see.

The weekly close was 2,890 pesos to the dollar.  (It was over 2900 for most of the week.)

I took my sleeping pills at 11pm and went to bed at 11:20.

T-shirt of the day: Form follows function.