Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

For some reason it took me some time – an hour? – to fall asleep last night. I think I got up 2-3 times during the night, always falling quickly back asleep.

The morning is mostly clear with just a few wisps of clouds. At 7:50am its 66 degrees going up to a high of 82.

It turned out to be a very productive day!

Teresa left for her personal trainer session at 9:15. Btw, all the exercise is working as her stomach is getting smaller and she’s firming up all over.

Laura and I left the apt at 9:30. I was planning on taking a taxi to the main Une office in Medellin but Laura walked me about 4 blocks away to a Une/Tigo office. She talked to a woman who got on a wall phone and after 5 minutes we were told a man will come to our apt tomorrow afternoon. (Had I known we were coming here I would have brought my other things…)

We were back at the apt by 10am, I grabbed my things and headed over to the paper store. I had a single chess page printed from my flash drive, printed a copy of our previous Home Center purchase, and had a new Cedula copy made and laminated (I can’t find my old one) all for less than 5,000 pesos.

On my way back I saw a couple men selling small spiral bound notebooks with a pen for 3,000 pesos so I bought one.

Back at the apt I asked Laura if she wanted to come with me to Home Center and Exito. She did so we walked down to Home Center where I looked for a 1-cup glass jar with lid to store the 2^nd half of my batch of tea. I forgot I needed to be able to convert a cup to milliliters. I found a plastic 2-cup measuring cup with both ml and cups marked on the side and estimated that 1-cup was approximately 350 milliliters. (Back at the apt google told me there’s 236 ml to a cup.) I found a ½ liter (500 ml) small mason jar that will serve my purpose. Officially it’s a Kilner jar, the company is British but it’s made in China. It isn’t Pyrex so I’ll have to cool off the tea before moving it to the jar. Then I can store it in the fridge until I finish what I have in my pitcher. That way I won’t waste half my product.

We walked back to Exito where I picked up a bottle of Kraft Sweet Relish. As we were walking out first we saw a flyer for a Colombo Americano school in Viva CC Envigado. That’s the new mall they are building next door that is scheduled to be completed by November. Second, Laura noticed they had a display for the new Samsung Galaxy 8 smart phone. It was attached to the table and she played with it for a second. When she got to the camera option I quickly pressed the button and it took her photo. She wasn’t happy with that. Lol.

Back at the apt Teresa had already returned and was preparing lunch. Today was spaghetti and cheese with chicken – yum!

A guy from Une called about 1:30 and I understand he’s coming this afternoon instead of tomorrow. He arrived at 2:30 and I showed him the speed I was getting from my laptop. Less than 2Mbps for both download and upload.

Right away he said it’s not going to cover the whole house so I moved my laptop to the dining room table about 15 feet away from the router. From there I got 9.05Mbps download and 2.20 upload (did he really have time to change anything?) but when I moved my laptop back to the “computer room” (around the corner and through the kitchen) I only got 4.65 Mbps download and 2.20 upload.

Teresa suggested I move my laptop to the dining room table when I need the extra speed. I said I guess I could do that just for watching my Bears games and movies.

I asked the guy if I couldn’t buy something to throw the signal around the corner towards my laptop. He said something and Laura wrote down “repetidor Marca TP Link – Monterrey”. I understood right away he is suggesting I buy a TP Link brand repeater from Monterrey mall. I asked him if it’s expensive or inexpensive and Laura told me about 150,000 pesos. I thanked the guy profusely as he left. Afterwards, Laura told me that the guy was visibly shaken for a second when he saw our dog sitting on the couch. Lol.

Laura left – for work? - for more college exploration? No idea.

Teresa and I took a nap from 3 to 4pm.

We left the apt at 4:45 and immediately caught a taxi to Mayorca mall in Sabaneta.

My goal was to find a new pair of walking shoes that aren’t leather but with a thicker sole than my deck shoes. I found a couple candidates in the first few stores but finally settled on a light grey pair for 250,000 (about $89) at Paparazzi. The brand name of the shoe is Vans – Off the Wall. Lol.

Teresa did some sale shopping and finally found a blouse for 112,425 (about $38) at Studio F.

We went up to one of the upper levels where we had a nice dinner at Parmessano for 72,324 or about $25. I had the meat lasagna and a coconut lemonade and she had a shrimp and fish combo with a mango juice.

In an interesting store called Sentry I was surprised to see 6-packs of Coors Lite beer.

Teresa wanted to do some more window shopping but was surprised to find stores closed or closing. I told her, after all it is 8pm. She was very surprised it was that late.

We quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

Teresa gave Laura her leftover pasta for dinner.

T-shirt of the day: Words cannot express how much I don’t care.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Monday, May 29, 2017

Well, it’s Memorial Day in the US and I have no idea what holiday it is here today but I understand something like 3 out of the next 4 Mondays are also holidays here.

So far it’s a pretty overcast morning.

As usual I watched the first 15 minutes of the Today show and then left for the gym. Only a few people around Exito but there was music and an exercise class going on at the park. At the gym today I increased the weight by 10# on 1 machine, 5# on 1 machine, and 2½# on another machine. I completed 17 of my 18 exercises in 2 hours 10 minutes. I missed the Leg Press machine as it was continuously occupied. While I was on the Calf Press machine the man next to me had on a pair of gym shoes like I want – without any leather – I noticed they were Adidas brand.

As I was leaving the gym it was just beginning to sprinkle. It started coming down harder as I got to the park. I walked under one end of the awning by the bars and by the time I got to the other end the rain had stopped.

Teresa begged off from going shopping for my new gym shoes at Mayorca because she believed there would be too many crowds. (I thought she said they all left town?)

After lunch I took a nap from 2:10 to 3:20. Her’s was longer as she usually gets up in the morning before I do.

The following is weird and/or interesting and I hope it doesn’t freak anyone out. I have 3 old age spots on the inside of my right calf. Two are convex, meaning they project slightly above the skin and I’ve only had them for the past few years. The 3rd is parallel or inside the skin and I guess I’ve had it so long I don’t recall not having it. Why the right leg and the left leg is clear? Maybe because I’ve experienced some slight trauma with the right – broken leg and knee surgery.

Anyway, last week I was picking at one of the convex spots and it disintegrated and underneath was healthy new skin. Today I was picking at the other type and it appears that with a good scrubbing with a brush it would disappear also. What’s going on? In a good way I mean. Is it because of my new prostate medication, the vitamins I’m taking, the protein powder I drink after each visit to the gym, or the exercise itself? I have no idea but it will be interesting to keep an eye on it and see how things progress.

Teresa informed me that Juan and Laura are going to honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

Tomorrow morning Laura will go with me to the Une office to ask to have our internet speed increased to 10Mbps. Tomorrow afternoon Teresa will go with me to Mayorca so I can buy new gym shoes – but they aren’t for the gym.

T-shirt of the day: Exercise? I thought you said “extra fries”.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Trump Proposes to cut US Aid to Colombia to Lowest Level in 32 Years - Colombia Reports

Sunday, May 28, 2017

I slept well only getting up once during the night but I was awakened at 7:15 and got up at 7:30.

It’s a clear sunny day. The high today is supposed to be around 83.

We ordered Frischuletas from Frisby so, I understood, we wouldn’t have to bear the expense of eating in a restaurant later.

At 1:15 we walked down to Bocados Bar where we met MT, Vicky, Albero, Daniela, Laura, Juan, in other words pretty much everyone.

We got in Juan’s car and he drove east outside of Envigado. I asked him where we were going since I only understood Rionegro. He said basically we’re just going for a Sunday drive.

We stopped at a restaurant called Alamanga which advertised carne (meat) and picnic. There were 2 young men playing guitars and I recognized “red, red wine” as we were coming in. Inside they had an area with astro turf and they spread out a large blanket and a single bale of hay. The others ordered platters that contained French fries and strips of chicken. There wasn’t a lot more food ordered than that and when the bill came Teresa was apparently upset. Later she told me that they were charged 300,000 pesos for almost no food. I guess we won’t be going back there again.

Toll booths right outside the restaurant entrance.

Outdoor picnic seating at Alamanga

Picnic table seating.

In front, Juan & Vicky's daughter Laura.

From the right: Teresa, Laura, Don't Know, and Mother Teresa aka MT.

Teresa and I

View from restaurant

Can't believe Laura let me take her picture - she's usually camera shy.

They then drove us to a more remote area. I couldn’t believe it when Juan told us we’re still in Envigado. (The drive back to the apt later took 30 minutes.) Juan gave me a personal tour of the house he’s having built – 3 ½ bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, Jacuzzi, etc. (The ½ bedroom I understand is like servant quarters.) It’s supposed to be finished by mid August. Next door is his older brother’s house that is further along and is supposed to be finished by July. They were both pretty impressive.

Juan & Laura's future house.

Juan's brother's future house.

It was about 5:30 and the temperature was dropping and we started feeling cold because we’re up in the mountains now.

They dropped us off a block from our apt and we just had to walk up the hill.

My photos from my smart phone came out pretty well - I'll probably be posting more in the future so everyone can get a better idea of life in Colombia.

T-shirt of the day: If you could read my mind, I’m sure you’d be traumatized for life.

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Saturday, May 27, 2017

I slept well only getting up once during the night but I was awakened at 7am by some man calling out what he was selling from the street.

It’s a clear sunny day. Teresa would love to go to Santafe de Antioquia today but it’s a bridge weekend (Monday holiday) so we will skip it because of the crowds.

I left the apt just before 10am and was quickly on an Envigado bus. I got off at MBE where I picked up my “document” which turned out to be another letter from Sears Holdings regarding my pension. “Beginning August 1, 2017, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company will assume responsibility for the monthly pension payment you currently receive from the Pension Plan.” Hopefully these “wild goose chases” will soon settle down.

Outside MBE I didn’t see a Sabaneta bus coming my way so I decided to walk. The streets and especially the sidewalks were nearly deserted – I guess a lot of people left town for the holiday weekend. At Starbucks I bought a small vanilla latte and, as usual, a man wrote my name on the cup. When it came time to pick up my order the young lady looked at the name and didn’t even try to pronounce “Terry” she just handed it to me. J

There were lots of seating available; this is the first time I’ve seen the “laptop” bench/table with no one sitting there. I sat outside and enjoyed my vanilla latte while reading my Nook. At a nearby table were a gringo, a Colombian man and three Colombianas with 3 almost identical looking dogs lying underneath. The gringo was speaking English with the others which isn’t too surprising as the language school Colombo Americano is right upstairs. When it came time to leave, the gringo dropped one of the 3 dog leashes and said “oh shit”. I laughed out loud; way to teach them colorful English but they didn’t appear to notice.

I walked over to Oviedo where I bought a package of Apple Cinnamon bagels.

I waited outside for 5-10 minutes for a Sabaneta bus. Of course it crawled through the construction zone just before the Exito store in Envigado.

I stopped at Exito and picked up a few things. Lines were long and it took me about 15 minutes to checkout. (Where is self checkout when you need it?)

I was back at the apt by 12:30.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,911 to the US Dollar.

I received an email from Trip Advisor that my Envigado Papa John’s Pizza review has been published.

I took a short nap from 2:30 to 3:15.

MT came over and we left the apt at 4:45. We walked down to Home Center where we picked up a Black & Decker rice cooker. The same one we saw in Falabella that Teresa said was too large – 14 cups. She didn’t like the fact that it was black – she wanted white. I told her that things for the kitchen are going to be black or white. (Thank god we don’t have avocado green anymore!) A minute later she found something else in the next aisle and I pointed out that it only comes in black. Lol.

When we got outside we saw that it obviously had rained while we were inside so I insisted that we take a taxi back to the apt – 7,000 pesos.

T-shirt of the day: IRONY – the opposite of wrinkly.

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Friday, May 26, 2017

It’s another hazy, sunny morning.

I slept well last night only getting up once, finally waking/getting up at 7:45.

On my way to the gym I saw they had poured an initial layer of asphalt on the new roadbed. I did my 18 gym exercises in 2 hours and 10 minutes. On my way back I noticed a hop scotch diagram chalked on a sidewalk.

After our showers we walked down to the garage restaurant Deli Hoy. On Friday it’s typical Colombian food – aka Bandeja Paisa. Teresa ordered it for me with chicken breast instead of beef and I also enjoyed the frijoles (beans), rice, fresh avocado slice and some of the plantain. I don’t care so much for their carne molida (finely chopped dried beef) and chichirron (pork rind).

I received an email from MBE that I have a document waiting for pickup – probably my May issue of Chess Life magazine.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see Drone (6.0). Locally, I would like to see The Founder (7.2) playing at 1:30 pm in Vizcaya, and 3:30pm in Premium Plaza and El Tesoro. Well, I had an interesting time trying to explain the movie to Teresa. I used to have an apt walking distance from the first McDonald’s every built in the US – in Des Plaines, Illinois. For a few years I walked past it every workday to and from the train station. Now it’s a museum with antique cars parked in front. They built a new working restaurant across the street that I would sometimes go to on Sundays for breakfast and read my newspaper. Bottom line she didn’t seem that interested in seeing it so I guess I’ll be going alone.

I remembered I had taken a photo with my cell phone of a typical Colombian pizza yesterday. I went back and added the photo to yesterday’s posting so if you’re one of the 11 people who have already read that article you might want to go back and take a look at it.

I started watching War Machine (6.4) starring Brad Pitt on Netflix. Thankfully a little time into it I checked an imdb.com review and it informed me I’m wasting my time so I stopped.

I finished Michael Connelly’s Angels Flight: Harry Bosch series #6 and then downloaded Garry Kasparov’s Deep Thinking.

Laura showed me a trailer for a new movie Before I Fall coming out next Friday that I think she wants to see.

I started another Core Lesson on Rosetta Stone.

T-shirt of the day: Trying to understand some people is like trying to smell the color 9.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Polaroid Pics and a Different Vision of Colombia - Medellin Living

Beyond War and Narcos: Polaroid Pics and a Different Vision of Colombia

MAY 25, 2017

MATTHEW O'BRIEN

Before ever setting foot in Colombia, I knew there was more to the country than the stories and imagery of war, violence, drug trafficking, and assorted horrors which pervade the media. So, in 2003, I headed to Colombia for the first time. Little did I know that would be the start of a project that I would carry out over eleven years and become the book No Dar Papaya.

On that first trip I photographed a project that explored Colombia through the prism of beauty contests, in 35mm, but I brought my Polaroid camera and made several Polaroid images. The project went well, and I was invited back the next year to exhibit Royal Colombia in Medellín and Cartagena, and to teach in several universities.

On that second trip I made many Polaroid photos and got very enthusiastic about the possibilities. I had done lots of documentary work, and I was ready for a new way of working and new challenges, and I wanted to continuing exploring Colombia.

My Polaroid 690 camera with 600 film were perfect. I came to appreciate the limitations: just one lens, a shallow depth of field, not good in low light, minimal exposure control, and a viewfinder that makes it hard to compose.

You can’t shoot a lot because of the mechanics of the camera and the cost of the film, so you have to be very deliberate. And when you are shooting people, the dynamic changes when the photo comes out of the camera. So I had to figure out a new way of shooting, a new way to get across the ideas I wanted to convey.

I love the distinctive color palette and the softness. The impressionistic quality puts more emphasis on the emotional and less on the descriptive content. Instead of concentrating on a given topic intensely and making tons of images, with Polaroid I could do a more expansive project, not so literal as documentary photography is often perceived to be.

One thing I love about Polaroid is that now when so much photography is about post-processing and digital manipulation, with Polaroid it’s not about manipulation and filters and working at a computer. It is pure photography that relies on strong composition and the vision of the photographer.

It’s a lot harder than working with a DSLR.

I spent a lot of time in Colombia, including a stint as a Fulbright Fellow. This allowed me to get to get to know people and understand the culture and participate rather than just observe, which for me has always led to better, more insightful photography. It also allowed me to travel throughout the country, whose diverse people and geography I found endlessly fascinating.

Because people have never seen a project of this scope created with Polaroid and it doesn’t fit within established “categories” of photography, some don’t quite know what to make of it. Fortunately, some do. A curator from Medellín wrote that I created a unique and moving photographic record of Colombia unlike any he had ever seen, anywhere.

Lots of foreign photographers in Colombia focus on conflict, crime, and misery. I’ve never been drawn to those subjects. I’m drawn to beauty, and I found a lot of it in Colombia.

The title of the book, No Dar Papaya, is a common expression unique to Colombia which means show no vulnerabilities and don’t present an easy target. It speaks to the reality of life in Colombia, having endured over 50 years of war. Tens of thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. Unspeakable cruelties continue to happen. It has the greatest disparity between haves and have-nots in Latin America and lots of crime.

Amid all this, people live their lives with lots of creativity, joy, and individuality, and that is what No Dar Papaya is about: the beauty, diversity, and humanity both of and which transcends Colombia.

No Dar Papaya was very well received in Colombia where the book was first published. Now I am excited to share this vision of Colombia with a wider audience and thrilled that the book has launched in the U.S.

To learn more about the book and to get your copy of No Dar Papaya, visit the Placer Press website

About the author: Matthew O’Brien is a photographer based in San Francisco. In addition to making photographs, he teaches photography workshops in English and Spanish and makes films. To see more of his work check out his website and his nascent Instagram.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Monday, May 29, 2017

Trump proposes to cut US aid to Colombia to lowest level in 32 years

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Friday, May 26, 2017

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