Sunday, October 29, 2017

I slept well last night, only waking once at 5:15, finally waking/getting up at 8:20.

I went out to La Abuela and picked up a cake for today for 14mil. 

Chuck and Darnelle are coming over at 11:30.  Chuck and I are going to watch the Bears vs Saints game – we’ve got 40,000 pesos bet on the game but he gave me 3 points.  They are going to make jumbalaya for lunch with chicken and sausage.

They arrived at 11:40 with a cake, that actually was a pastry, and started putting together the contents for lunch.  The Saints defeated my Bears 20-12 and one of our players, Zach Miller, suffered a dislocated knee in what looked like a gruesome injury.  I’m still in mourning.  An interesting note is that when Chuck arrived he took my 20mil and his 20mil and put it under our dog that’s sitting on the sofa.  He left without it.  I’m sure he’ll say later that it’s for buying his Condorito newspaper while he’s gone. 

Laura didn’t get back until 10pm; she said she was stuck in traffic for 3 hours.

I finished reading The River of Doubt by Candice Millard, a very interesting book about former president Theodore Roosevelt exploring an unknown river in Brazil.

I did my usual sleep preparations and went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Oops!  I did it again.

Saturday, October 28, 2017

I slept well last night despite getting up once during the night.

The Colombian Peso closed at 3,007 to the US Dollar.

After lunch Laura went with me down the hill to the public library.  They have a lot of space but not many books.  They do have bean bag chairs, computers, and meeting rooms but I don’t see many book.  Laura asked the librarian where we would find the books in English.  The lady took us around the corner to a shelf that was about 3’ wide and signaled that they are here.  She left and then I found that half of them were in other languages like French and Italian so I guess that was the foreign section.  Of the rest half of those were things like an English dictionary and studying for the TOEFL test.  That left about 10 books in English.  I took 3 of the best which were Jame Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.  And each of those were only 70 pages long with pictures followed by Points for Understanding, Glossary, Multiple Choice, Useful Phrases, etc so obviously these are meant to be learning tools for the English language.  I understand I can have them for 15 days but I’ll have them back by next weekend.  I told Laura I was disappointed by how few books there were and she told me they have more at her school.

Laura took the books (booklets really) back to the apt and I met Chuck in the park.  He had with him Mark, a gay lawyer from Chicago – the same guy I met the other day on the scavenger hunt.  Mark had to be somewhere so he left and there was music being played so loudly in the park we wouldn’t have been able to talk anyway so Chuck and I went a block away to a bakery.

We were soon joined by his wife Darnelle and her friend Mary Angel.  Mary Angel is 37 years old from Venezuela.  She’s looking for a job or a boyfriend/husband but she left behind 3 kids in Venezuela and doesn’t have a Cedula.  I understand things are tough there.  We had gotten a few raindrops while we were there and the temperature had fallen – high 60s? – and coffee wasn’t enough to keep us warm.

Back at the apt Laura had gone to Caldas and I understand will be staying overnight with a girlfriend. 

Teresa suggested we go to Gourmet Pizza for dinner but then she got involved in a TV program.  She said there would be fewer people there at 8pm anyway.  After her program we took a taxi to Gourmet Pizza and the place was packed with at least 10 people waiting outside.  Teresa suggested we go to Wilson’s but I reminded her that we’ll still be outside in the cold so we had the driver drop us off across the street from La Mesa.  I pointed out the restaurant types as we walked past – Mexican, Italian, ice cream, steaks and she surprisingly had heard enough and wanted Mexican. 

We walked back to Tepito – Tacos y Tequila where we had our choice of seats on this cool evening.  They didn’t have enchiladas on the menu – I looked and even asked – so I ordered the Fajita Mixta with a limonada de coco and Teresa ordered the fish and had a beer while waiting.  My Mixta came with beef and chicken and again the beef was barely chewable.  When will I ever learn?  Teresa enjoyed her fish so much she ordered another with a strawberry juice.  I was a little concerned about having enough cash.  I was expecting to pay for pizza but I had taken a little extra so I had slightly more than 100mil.  Luckily the bill came to less than 90mil.  I joked with Teresa that if I didn’t have enough cash she could always wash dishes.

We walked back to the apt and arrived at 10pm just in time for me to start my sleep procedures before going to bed.

T-shirt of the day: Mermaid on duty.

Friday, October 27, 2017

I slept well, despite getting up twice during the night, probably because I’m falling asleep (and back asleep) quickly.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see Jigsaw (6.7) and Snowman (5.2).

Locally, I would like to see Geostorm (5.8) but it’s only playing in 3D at El Tesoro at 3:10 and 6:15.

It is still playing at a few smaller theaters but only in Spanish.  I might have missed my chance.

I did my lower body exercises at the gym in 55 minutes.  The side streets around the park were closed off because workers were putting up Christmas decorations.

I met Chuck in the park at 2pm.  He was with another gringo named Doug from Canada.  We had a number of differences of opinion – mostly about Donald Trump.  He recommended St. John’s Wort for sleeplessness but back in the apt I saw it’s mainly recommended for depression.  I gave Chuck the pieces of velcro that I had in my toolbox.  He was unable to find it at Home Center and he needs it to keep his curtains closed.

After a couple hours we moved across the street to a small bakery where I had a café con leche with pastry and Chuck had a tinto (small black coffee) and an almojabana (another type of pastry).

Doug left and then Chuck took me about 3 blocks away to an old dusty bookstore that has some books (mostly paperbacks) in English.  First I’m going to go with Laura to the library to see what they have in English.

Teresa and I watched episodes 15 &16 (season 6) of The Walking Dead.

T-shirt of the day: Dreams don’t work unless you do.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Last night I fell asleep quickly after we went to bed at 11pm.  I woke up once at 2am and again at 5:30am.  I had no difficulties getting back to sleep after each awakening.  I catnapped until 7:30 and finally got up.

I pulled the medical folder out of my storage box and found the original prescription for my Isoklon that Dr. Uribe wrote on November 18, 2014.  Wow, I can’t believe I’ve been taking these sleeping pills for almost 3 years. 

We left the apt at 8:45 and after a 5 minute wait caught a taxi to Mayorista.  Entering the compound I saw an advertisement for Washington apples.  I helped Teresa find a few things to put in our shopping cart and then I headed across the street.  At the same small store as last time I ordered a café con leche.  The girl asked me if I wanted canela with it.  I told her I didn’t speak much Spanish, so whatever.  When I got my coffee I saw cinnamon sprinkled on top and that’s when I remembered that canela is Spanish for cinnamon.  It was a small cup for 2,500 pesos but it was hot and pretty tasty.

Back in the grocery store I walked around the store twice and couldn’t see Teresa or our cart anywhere.  Finally I walked deeper into the meat section and that’s when I saw her standing behind a pillar.

While our groceries were being loaded I could see a new building under construction – probably to replace the stores that were destroyed by fire.  At this point it looks to be about 3 stories high.

We saw a few raindrops on the windshield as we were returning to the apt but we got everything inside before it started raining seriously.

Laura took photos of my Isoklon prescription, empty boxes and receipts and sent them to someone.

I wanted to see American Assassin (6.5) playing at Santafe at 2:55 today but they must have changed their showtimes so I’m going to see The Mountain Between Us (6.2) playing at 2:30 at Mayorca.

I left the apt at 1:45, walked to the corner and soon was on a bus to Mayorca.  I took several escalators and on the 4^th floor I was 2^nd in line at the ticket booth.  As usual the girl didn’t speak English but I got a general seat for 15,500 (about $5.50).  I took another escalator up another level and bought my medium popcorn and large soda for about 15,000 pesos (about $5).

Entering the theater I was surprised to see that the seats were nice like El Tesoro’s fancy theater.  I was the only one there until a couple took seats behind me a few minutes later.  I put my seat in the reclining position and watched the movie, which was okay, nothing special.  Afterwards I returned by taxi and had the driver drop me off a block from Parque Envigado.

When I got back to the apt Teresa’s friend Esmeralda (sp?) was visiting and the ladies were looking at catalogs that looked like Avon catalogs.

I started watching Thursday night football and then I switched to a new episode of El Socio while Teresa and Laura were at the gym.

I took my medicine in the usual way and went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Hate you 2.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Two months until Christmas!

Last night at 10pm I took half a melatonin, read my book for an hour, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.  I fell asleep quickly but still woke up briefly twice during the night.  I finally woke up at 7:30 and got up at 8am.

This morning I had toast (with strawberry jam) instead of an arepa with my scrambled eggs.  The arepa just doesn’t do anything for me.  Teresa even had a slice of toast and declared that she prefers it over an arepa also so I guess that just leaves Laura to eat the arepas.

On the way to the gym I passed a small bookstore (size of a closet) and when I looked I thought I saw a copy of Gone With the Wind.  Hmm, maybe I’ll buy it, read it and return it to the bookstore.  I wonder if they have other titles in English.

I did all my exercises in an hour including increasing my time on the treadmill to 8 minutes.

When I got back to the apt I found the epm bill.

At 12:15 it started raining but it didn’t last very long.

I wanted to see a movie today but Teresa told me I could go tomorrow so we could go grocery shopping at Mayorista but she put it off and put it off until it started raining and that took care of that.  Now I understand she’s going with Laura tomorrow.

Teresa and I watched episodes 13 & 14 (season 6) of The Walking Dead.

Teresa went to the gym tonight for her personal training session.  (Last night she was too tired.)

Tonight I prepared myself for sleep in the usual way.

T-shirt of the day: Never be a never be.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Last night at 10pm I took half a melatonin tablet, read my book for an hour, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.  I fell asleep quickly but woke up twice during the night finally waking /getting up at 7:15.  Teresa had already gone.

I left the apt just before 8am.  I walked past Bancolombia and Exito at 7:58am and there were a couple people waiting to get into Exito and there was already a line outside the bank.

I had calentado and café con leche at Carbon de Leña for 8,500 pesos ($3).  I saw men connecting the poles with wires that they will need for putting up Christmas decorations.

Back at the apt I watched the first 90 minutes of the Today show.

I met Chuck downstairs at 12:30 and we walked down to Deli Hoy.  Today was a buffet.  Laura arrived about 20 minutes later.  She and I thought today’s lunch was only so-so but Chuck really liked it.  Go figure! 

Chuck headed to Home Center, Laura went to MT’s apartment and I headed back to the apt.

I met Chuck at Bartolos at 2:45.  As usual we had coffee, I told him some jokes from my file and we solved all the world’s problems.  (Well, at least we tried.)  At one point we noticed a gringo and 2 gringas in the park looking at something (a map?) and discussing it.  Thinking they might be lost I walked over to ask them if they were lost and could I help them.  They were from a Spanish class and believe it or not they said they were on a scavenger hunt.  (Their instructions and what they were looking for were in Spanish.)  The guy was from Chicago, the actual city, not the suburbs like me.  I pointed out where they could find a few things and then I rejoined Chuck.

Later we saw John, the Englishman, and we chatted with him awhile.  He gave me his email address so I could send him photos of the finca.

Chuck and I said goodbye thinking we would probably get together on Thursday to go pick up my Isoklon refills once I know where to go.

The last few days two guys have been painting the fence outside the apartment building.

Today was a very cool day – the high only reached 73 degrees – and I loved it.

Laura had called Bogota using MT’s house phone and then told me I have to get a doctor’s prescription for the Isoklon and send it along with photos of the boxes (and probably the receipts) to someone in order to get refills.  To save the cost of a doctor’s appointment we might be able to get a prescription from a doctor at Nueva eps.

I packaged photos of the finca and sent them to John.

City workers are putting up Christmas decorations in the park behind the library.

At 10pm I took half a melatonin, read my book for an hour, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.  (What am I going to do when I finish the only paperback book I have?)

T-shirt of the day: Fuck the dark side.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Last night at 10pm I took ½ a melatonin tablet (1.5mg), read my book until 11pm, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.  I fell asleep quickly, woke up at 3:30, heard Laura leave about 5am, woke/got up at 8am for another good night’s sleep.

I met Chuck at Bartolos Bar at 2:15.  He had coffee and I had a café con leche.  He introduced me to a gringo named Scott that was walking by.  He has an apartment (he called it a penthouse) near the border of Envigado and Poblado and has online businesses including gambling (sports booking) and travel.

After Scott left we walked across the street where we each got an ice cream cone.  I learned that the flavor I chose that included peanuts is macadamia.  We went over to the bakery where we had more coffee.

We left about 5:15 and Chuck went to a store to buy some Extra gum and I went back to the apt.  (We planned to meet tomorrow and go to Mercado del Rio for lunch and then head over to the office where I get my Isoklon refills.)

Back at the apt I told Teresa of our plans.

I sent the following message to Chuck “When i got back to the apt I got out my index card with the name and address of the place where i get my Isoklon refills.  Written on the top was a telephone number, not in my handwriting.  I told Teresa of our plans to go there today.  After some translation difficulties i now understand:

1. that location doesn't do refills any longer.

2. the telephone number (in Bogota) is where we have to call to find out if there is a new place in Medellin where we can get refills.

(What upsets me is we've had that number for months so why hasn't she called already?)

After lunch today Laura is going over to Mother Teresa's apt and will call Bogota and ask if there is another location to get refills.

If you want you can still come over at 11am and we'll go to Mercado del Rio for lunch or we can just put this all off until another day like Thursday.  Hopefully by then we'll have another location to go to for refills.  

Or you can come over at 12:30 and we'll go down to Deli Hoy for lunch and we can go to the park for coffee after.”

Teresa did her hour with Jose at the gym from 8-9pm.  Laura went with her.

I watched some of Monday Night Football until they returned.

At 10pm I took half a melatonin tablet, read my book for an hour, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.

T-shirt of the day: I want to be here.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Last night I took 3 small pieces of melatonin at 10pm, read my book for 45 minutes, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.  I fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake up until 5am.  Yay!  I fell asleep again waking/getting up at 8:15.

At noon I made popcorn, poured myself a glass of Pepsi and settled down to watch the Chicago Bears vs Carolina Panthers.  At halftime the Bears were up 17-3 due to 2 defensive plays (interception & fumble recovery) that Eddie Jackson turned into touchdowns.

Laura called Frisby and ordered lunch to be delivered.

I can see city workers are decorating the park next to the library for Christmas.

About 2pm it started raining lightly but it only lasted about 20 minutes.

The final was Chicago Bears 17, Carolina Panthers 3.  Next up, the Bears at the New Orleans Saints.

I received an email from Amazon that my tech bag has shipped.

I watched NFL Redzone for the rest of the afternoon.

Teresa left for mass at 6:45 and I watched a little of a football game until she returned at 8pm.

At 10pm I took ½ a melatonin tablet (1.5mg), read my book until 11pm, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.

T-shirt of the day: Wasted youth.

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Last night at 10pm I took 3 small pieces of melatonin, read my book until 10:35 and went to bed.  After a few minutes I was thinking “did I forget to take my sleeping pills?”  I thought so but I was soon asleep anyway.  Good sign, but I woke up at 1:45, again at 5:45, finally waking at 7am and getting up at 8am.  Still, I felt good.

After breakfast I made a trip to the post office (Envios Market) where I picked up 2 packages for Teresa and paid 21,000 pesos ($7).  It was the body crème she asked me to order from the US. 

When I got back I took the map I had printed yesterday (oops, I think I forgot to mention that) and walked down a few blocks noting which direction the one-way streets run.  Now, instead of sitting in the MetroPlus construction traffic when returning via taxi we can turn earlier and take a couple side streets back to the apt.

Wilson stopped by after lunch and picked up MT’s plastic chair and a few other things.  He says his mother is doing much better.  I told him now he needs to find her a job.  Lol.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,931 to the US Dollar.

I caught Laura taking a photo of herself so I told her, using Google Translate, “it’s called a selfie because narcissistic is too difficult to spell.”  I got hit for that comment.

I see another “for rent” sign on the building across the street – that makes 2.

I sent Maria Montes, my landlady back in Laureles, some photos of the finca.  Teresa said she’s asking 300 million pesos for the sale and 1 million for rent.

Teresa made popcorn (old kernels left over from the finca) and we watched Season 6, episodes 11 & 12 of The Walking Dead on Netflix.  We had some buffering problems with episode 12.

I took 3 small pieces of melatonin at 10pm, read my book for 45 minutes, took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.

T-shirt of the day: Today’s outfit.

Friday, October 20, 2017

Last night I took 2 small melatonin pieces at 10pm, read my book until 10:45, took my 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.  I fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake until 5am.  I heard Teresa get up about 6am, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.  That was a nice night’s sleep.  The exercise yesterday probably helped also.

Teresa left early for an exercise session with Jose.  I understand she will have sessions with him M-Th 8-9pm and 7-8am on Friday because he is a bouncer at a disco on Friday nights.

I watched the first 45 minutes of the Today show.  The ending of last night’s football game was so unusual they showed it on the Today show.  At the gym I did all my lower body exercises in 50 minutes.

On the way back to the apt I saw men restriping our street with parking lines, speed limit, school warning, etc.

I received an email that my Nook has shipped.

Among new US movie releases, I would like to see Geostorm (6.5) and Dealt (8.7).

Locally, I would like to see American Assassin (6.5) playing at Santafe at 2:55 and 5:45.

I received an email that I now have a $3.62 credit at Barnes & Noble from the settlement. 

I met Chuck in the park at 2pm.  We were soon joined by a gringo named Jeff and his Colombian girlfriend MariLin.  He is from Colorado and was an illegal marijuana grower.  He said the price dropped 35% when they made it legal.  He told us stories of hiding marijuana in car tires.  He said he met his girlfriend outside a bar in Cartagena.  She’s 27 years old with a 3 year old daughter and I would estimate he’s in his 40s.

They left and Chuck and I went across the street for ice cream cones.  I don’t know what my ice cream was called – I just know it contained pieces of peanuts and I liked it.

I stopped at Todo Drogas and 2 other pharmacies but none of them carry sublingual melatonin.

I ordered a replacement tech bag from Amazon.  The original price was $28.29 but I used my son’s gift card so I didn’t have to pay anything.

I found sublingual melatonin on the GNC website but I’m going to wait until I reorder my Mega Men Prostate & Virility tablets again and include the melatonin in the order.

At 10pm I took 3 small pieces of melatonin, read my book until 10:35 and went to bed.

T-shirt of the day: Go Buffaloes.

Miscellaneous Photos

I am remiss in not including photos with my blog postings.  Here are a few that i should have posted over the past few weeks.

This first photo is for my old buddies Jack and Jim who are from Aurora Illinois.  It says, in Spanish: Aurora, specialized center for skin cancer.

This is an interesting choice of names for a small restaurant outside Monterrey Mall in El Poblado.

Laura is trying to decide which color shoes to buy.  She ended up getting the silver pair.

An early morning exercise class going on in Parque Envigado.

My new girlfriend.  For some reason Teresa isn't jealous.

The current entertainment going on in the "lobby" of Santafe mall:

Chuck and I were sitting outside a bakery in Parque Sabaneta when the following parade went by.

Parque Sabaneta:

Laura sitting outside Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in El Poblado.

The new gringo we met yesterday - Jeff from Colorado.  He's about 6'3" tall.

His 27 year old girlfriend from Cartagena holding up a photo of her daughter on her cellphone.  If her mouth looks a little strange its because she has braces.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Last night was the same as the previous in that I took my Melatonin at 9:45, read a couple chapters in my book, took my sleeping pills at 10:30 and went to bed.

Unfortunately it took something like an hour to fall asleep, I woke up at 1am, again at 5am, and only briefly fell back asleep between 6 and 7 when I got up.

At 8am our power went out but it came back on a minute later.

I watched the first 45 minutes of the Today show and then left the apt. 

I took the metro to the stadium station where I checked out a bike.  I rode about 30 minutes to the airport and then stopped at a station by the waterpark and checked in my bike.  I walked across the street and had a juice at a Colchesas (sp?) store.  When I got back to the stand I checked out what I thought was the same bike but I noticed this one didn’t have a bell on it so it must have been exchanged.  When I got back to the stadium that’s when I realized I had left my tech bag with my Nook in it in the basket in front of the bicycle.  Drats!

Five minutes later Alex arrived in a taxi.  Even though he lives an easy walking distance away he still hasn’t figured out how to get around outside his apartment.  I even printed out a map for him but he admitted he’s not good at directions.

We had a leisurely lunch (food is actually breakfast) at El Viejo y El Pancake.  He told me about his upcoming trip to Putomayo (sp?) to see a real Shaman.  He leaves next Wednesday and will be gone for 19 days.  He bought 2 round trip tickets, the other for his interpreter.  He hopes to get temporary rights to market the film that the Shaman starred in.

After lunch we said goodbye and I took the metro back to Envigado.  I bought a kilo of strawberries on the bridge.  I walked over to Exito but didn’t find a tech bag like I had bought years ago in Laureles.  I walked up to the park and had a limonada de coco hoping to see Chuck.  After 25 minutes I walked over to the flower store and bought a bunch of fresh flowers for 6,000 pesos ($2).

In the evening Teresa and Laura went to the gym.

I finished Michael Connelly’s Echo Park: Harry Bosch series #12) on my iPad and downloaded Charles C. Mann’s 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.

I tried to order a new Nook Glowlight Plus from Barnes & Noble but they said they were “Temporarily out of stock online”.  I did find a company selling them on eBay so I ordered one.

I watched the Kansas City Chiefs vs Oakland Raiders game until 10pm.  I took 2 small pieces of melatonin, read my book until 10:45, took my 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.

Just before going to bed I took a peak at the game and I saw literally the last “00” seconds of the game where Oakland scored a touchdown and extra point to beat Kansas City by 1 point.

Funny grammar errors: Bad grammar makes me [sic].

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Last night at 11pm I took .3 mg of Melatonin and read 2 chapters of The River of Doubt.  I finished at 11:45, took my 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.  It only took about 20 minutes to fall asleep and I didn’t wake up until 5:30.  Now that’s what a good night’s sleep feels like.  After that I just rested and finally got up at 7am.

I watched the first 45 minutes of the Today show and then headed for the gym where I completed all my lower body exercises in about 55 minutes.  On the way back to the apt, at Teresa’s request, I bought a ripe avocado from a street vendor for 5,000 pesos.

When I got back Teresa told me that her cousin Mary, whose family owns all the El Rancerito restaurants, said we could put a “finca for sale or rent” sign with photos in each of their restaurants.

I received an email from Barnes & Noble that I will be receiving another credit as part of a legal settlement with Apple.  Sweet!

I left the apt at 1:45, quickly caught a bus downtown and got off at Santefe mall.  I walked up the hill, entered the mall, walked to the back and took the elevator up to the 5^th floor.  I bought a general admission ticket to Blade Runner 2049 (8.5) for 5mil (about $2).  I was 15 minutes early so I checked the billboards and I see coming soon to Santafe are Murder on the Orient Express and The Mountain Between Us (6.2).  I bought a small popcorn for 8,500 ($3) and large soda for 6,300 ($2.25).  The movie was interesting but it was 2 hours and 43 minutes long.

When I left the theater I walked to the elevator and saw that it was on sub-level 2 (parking garage).  I sat down next to a man (Man #1) sitting on a bench.  We didn’t say a word to each other.  Another man (Man #2) came over and he was chattering something in Spanish so I assumed he was talking behind my back to the other man (Man #1).  I saw the elevator was on level 4 coming up so I walked to it and got on as soon as the doors opened.  I saw Man #2 running towards the elevator as the doors were closing so I hit the open button.  He chatted up a storm while we were alone on the elevator and my usual “I don’t speak much Spanish” didn’t deter him one bit.  Lol.

I walked outside and across the street where I found a Sabaneta bus waiting for me.  I got on, paid my 2mil and it left right away.  All the seats were taken so another man and I were left standing in the back.  About a mile later a couple got off from the back seats and the 2 of us grabbed their seats.  I was wedged behind a seat and I had a difficult time getting the knees of my 6’ frame to fit behind the seat.  Traffic was good and surprisingly I was back at the apt before 6pm.

Teresa tells me she found someone interested in seeing the finca for possible purchase.  I understood she had Laura send them some photos.

I received an email from Envios Market that one of my packages has arrived.  I’ll wait until all 3 have arrived before going to pick them up – hopefully Saturday.

Funny grammar errors: Let’s eat grandma.  Let’s eat, grandma.  Commas save lives.

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

I’ve been receiving emails from Paul, one of my blog readers, about the benefits and use of taking Melatonin.  He recommends a dose of about .1mg to .3mg and I have 3mg tablets so I’d been taking maybe about 10 times the dose that I should.  He recommends taking the .3mg dose about 30-45 minutes before bed and to not view any lighted screens (e.g. TV, cellphone, iPad, Nook) the last hour before bed.

Using my pill cutter and cutting each 3mg pill into eighths I will have approximately a .3mg size taking into consideration the little powder lost with each cut.

One thing I’m not sure about is whether to take the Melatonin with or without my sleeping pills.

Last night I took a .3mg Melatonin at 9:45 but then we got involved in a Robert Redford movie that kept us up.  I DID NOT take any sleeping pills when we went to bed at 11pm.  Still awake at 1am I got up and took 2 sleeping pills.  At some point I heard some strange buzzing noise coming from outside so I got up and closed the window.  The last time I looked at my watch it was 3am.  Yikes!  I fell asleep soon after and woke up at 7:30am and got up at 8am feeling pretty good.

Obviously this is a work in progress; each night for awhile I’ll try different combinations.

Teresa tells me she believes the rainy season is over.  It has been a few days and today is warm but luckily there’s a nice breeze.

I watched the first hour and 45 minutes of the Today show.  I stopped at Bancolombia and made a small withdrawal.  I stopped at a watch repair kiosk that I’ve seen on my way to and from the gym.  I handed him my Timex watch with a note saying that its 4 minutes slow but he doesn’t have to repair it, just advance it by 4 minutes.  As he was struggling with the buttons he told me he can change the month, day, day of the week and hour but he can’t change the minute.  Same problem I had when trying to update it.  Finally he figured it out and I paid him 2,000 pesos.  I stopped at $efecty and after a short line the lady told me I have to go a block away to a different store – Cotrafa – to pay my Une bill.  At that store there was a longer line and only 2 cashiers.  After a 10 minute wait I paid my bill and headed over to Exito where I bought a head of lettuce and 5 tomatoes so Teresa can make a salad for lunch.  I was back at the apt by noon.

I left the apt at 3pm and I saw a taxi outside the corner store.  I asked him if he was free and he said yes.  I asked him if he could take me to El Tesoro mall and he said yes.  I understood he wanted to grab something at the store as he motioned me to get in the car.  When he got in he asked me where I want to go.  I said you don’t remember and I said Santafe mall.  (At least I think I did.)  Twenty minutes later when he turned up the hill by Santafe mall he asked me which entrance.  (And I thought he had found a shortcut to El Tesoro.)  That’s when I realized my mistake, admitted I was wrong as I wanted to go to El Tesoro.  I still arrived at the dentist’s office 15 minutes early.

At 4pm I was taken into his office and over the next hour he completed restorations on 2 of my lower teeth.  I asked him about something that was sticking out of my inside gum and he said that was just bone tissue and nothing to worry about.

I had to wait 40 minutes in line for a taxi back to Envigado.

Teresa told me that she believes the rainy season here is over.

She made arrangements with Jose to continue her private lessons from 6 to 7am.  Wow!

Laura went to the gym, Teresa went to visit with her mother and I watched Season 6 Episodes 9 & 10 of The Walking Dead on Netflix with minimal buffering problems.

At 11pm I took .3 mg of Melatonin and read 2 chapters of a soft cover book my son gave me last Fathers Day.  (The book, about Teddy Roosevelt’s exploration of South America, is The River of Doubt by Candice Millard.)  I finished them at 11:45, took my 2 sleeping pills and went to bed.

Funny grammar errors:

How to write good:

1. Avoid alliteration always.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. The passive voice is to be avoided.

4. Avoid cliches like the plague.  They’re old hat.

5. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

6. Writers should never generalize.

Seven: be consistent.

8. Don’t use more words than necessary.  It’s highly superfluous.

9. Be more or less specific.

10. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Monday, October 16, 2017

Last night I took my sleeping pills at 10:30 and went to bed.  I fell asleep quickly and even though I got up 2-3 times during the night I always fell back asleep quickly, finally waking/getting up at 8:15.  (Now that sounds like I slept for almost 10 hours but I probably wouldn’t need that much if it was continuous deep sleep.)

Today is another holiday here.

I watched the first 45 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I did all my lower body exercises in 50-55 minutes.  (Because of the holiday there wasn’t much street traffic but the gym was packed.)

I did a quick budget analysis and found that we’ll have to wait until January to have enough cash to have the finca painted.  (We have my visa renewal next month and Laura’s tuition payment in December.)  Of course that could change if Teresa finds a renter or buyer for the finca in the meantime.

I left the apt at 2pm and met Chuck at Bartolos where we had a drink.  He wanted to do something different so we took a taxi to Parque Sabaneta.  It was very crowded and we couldn’t find a free table in the park itself.   We walked around a few blocks, up to the Exito and back down to a bakery where we finally caught a lucky break and got a table.  He had a double black coffee and I had a churro with a café con leche.  There was some type of a religious parade going on that went right down the main street next to us.  I told him about my brother wanting to visit the coffee region next year when he visits and Chuck recommended Manizales, Armenia, and Parera (sp?).  We took a taxi back to Envigado park and said goodbye.  I told him I’ll probably be busy Tuesday and Thursday.

I stopped at Exito where I picked up a few things and was back at the apt shortly after 6pm.

Teresa told me she wants to go to the finca and check out the “pipes” whatever that refers too.  She said she wants to leave like 7am in the morning so I don’t know if that’s going to happen for me.

At 9:45 I took about a 0.3mg melatonin and went to bed at 11pm.  Teresa told me that she wasn’t able to get in touch with “someone” by phone so she’s not going to the finca tomorrow.  Notice no sleeping pills, more on that tomorrow.

Funny grammar errors: Every time you make a typo, the errorists win.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Last night I took 2 sleeping pills and we went to bed at 10:30.  I quickly fell asleep and didn’t wake until 5am.  I woke up again at 7am but quickly fell back asleep finally waking/getting up at 8:30.

Teresa told me Laura didn’t come home until 3am as she was enjoying dancing so much.

I didn’t know it at the time but Laura sent me a WhatsApp message at 10:55 asking me to tell her mother that she would be home soon.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,929 to the US Dollar.

I watched the Chicago Bears beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-24 in overtime then I watched some of NFL Redzone.

I think Teresa was getting antsy what with being at the finca and then stuck in the apartment with her mother so we went to Santafe with Laura so they could do some shopping.

After they came out of Zara and declared everything there was ugly we had dinner at J&C Delicias for 97,600 ($34.40).  Afterwards they checked out Forever 21 and Tennis with the same result so we went back to the apt.  I think Teresa was just very happy to get out of the apt.

I took my sleeping pills and we went to bed at 10:30.

Funny grammar errors: Hyperbole is the BEST thing ever.

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Last night I took my sleeping pills at 10:15 and we went to bed.  We weren’t happy to see the neighbors across the street (same level) having a party but at least there wasn’t any music, only talking.  (This is a holiday weekend.)  The music started about 5 minutes after we hit the bed but at least it wasn’t loud.  I fell asleep within 15 minutes, got up once during the night, finally waking at 7am and getting up at 8am.

I got a manicure and pedicure over an hour for 24,000 pesos ($8) at Nohelia.

I met Chuck in the park and we went for lunch at Carbon de Leña.  He had a burger, I had a caesar salad and we both had limonada de cocos.  From there we went to Bartolos where we had coffee.  Chuck mentioned there’s a place in Envigado called Checko’s where gringos meet.

While sitting there a young Colombian man came up to our table and started talking to us in English.  He introduced himself, said he loves speaking English, and that he wants to sell Chiclets but a box costs 5mil and he only has 2mil.  I gave him the extra 3mil.  We watched men installing huge tall poles around the park.  Chuck says they are only there for supporting the Christmas decorations and then they take them down again.  Hard to believe.

Chuck wanted to show me a restaurant in the Magnolia area of Envigado so we left the park.  Walking past a store I saw Minnie Mouse in the entryway so I stopped and Chuck took our picture.  

We walked a few blocks up Calle 36Sur to a nice looking restaurant on a corner.  I recalled walking past it the one time I got off an Envigado bus and was a little lost.  We stopped at an English language school and Chuck spoke briefly with Victor the owner/teacher.  Victor invited us to come back at 6pm as he was having a BBQ.  Chuck asked if there would be dancing girls and Victor said “next time” I said I would come back next time.  We walked to a church called Iglesia San Mateo.  Across the street we stopped at a bakery where he had a Gatorade and I had a Pepsi and a churro for a total of 6,000 pesos ($2).  Across the street I thought I saw a gringo – baseball cap, shorts, flip flops or fancy sandals.  Chuck called him over and they eventually realized they had met briefly one time before.  Gary Stone, originally from Toronto, was most recently in Panama but has been in Envigado for the past 4 months.  He said Panama is mostly hot, filthy, and the people aren’t nice to Gringos – they just want their money.  Gary and I exchanged business cards.

We walked back to downtown and said goodbye and I continued on to Exito where I picked up a few things we needed.

Back at the apt I showed Teresa and Laura the photo of me with Minnie Mouse.  I told her she’s my new girlfriend.

I watched a movie that Alex intends to market to a US movie distribution company.

I see that the chewable Vitamin C lozenges I bought each contain 500mg.

I took 2 sleeping pills and went to bed at 10:30.

Funny grammar errors: This sign was made in the PAST for you in the FUTURE who is PRESENT.

Friday, October 13, 2017

Uh-oh, today is Friday the 13^th.

Last night I took my sleeping pills at 10:45 and went to bed.  Again, for some reason, it took me hours to fall asleep.  The last time I looked at my watch it was 3:15.  Double Yikes!  I got up a couple times during the night finally waking and getting up at 8am.  I took an Excedrin Migraine and soon was feeling my regular self again.

I watched the first 45 minutes of the Today show and then left for the gym.  I saw a husky on the way and another in the park sitting on one of the concrete planters.  It was very friendly and as I petted it, it started licking the bottom of my water bottle.  At the gym I did all my lower body exercises except the Abdominal machine in 50 minutes.  Two girls were sharing that machine for quite some time so I gave up. 

Walking back to the apt I noticed a few soldiers with their weapons standing in the park.  No idea what that was about.  I saw a man sitting outside Exito reading a Gente newspaper and that gave me the idea to peak inside Exito where I found a rack of newspapers.  I grabbed one – now I just have to remember to check there every Friday morning.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see The Foreigner (7.5) and maybe Happy Death Day (6.5).

Locally, I would like to see Blade Runner 2049 (8.6) playing at Santafe mall at 2:30 and Vizcaya at 3pm.

I showed Teresa and Laura the trailer for Blade Runner 2049 and I think Laura wants to go with me.

Albero arrived at 1:30 and took MT back to her apartment in his car. 

Teresa convinced me to wait until she could go to the movies with me.

Albero and Wilson showed up at 6:15 and took most of MT’s personal belongings, including lots of medications, back to her apartment.

Teresa informed me that the woman renting the finca will only do so until November.  I told her I could cover Laura’s college tuition but we still need to find a renter.  Or sell it after we get it painted.

I spent most of the afternoon and evening checking out the Top 100 songs of the 50s, 60s, and 70s and compiling a list that I would like to download to my iPod someday.

Funny grammar errors: What’s the difference between a cat and a comma?  One has claws at the end of it paws; the other has a pause at the end of a clause.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Last night I took my sleeping pills at 10:45 and went to bed.  Again, for some reason, it took me hours to fall asleep.  The last time I looked at my watch it was 1:15.  Yikes!  I got up once during the night finally waking at 7am and getting up at 8am.

My new daily morning vitamin regimen is this:

My MegaMen Prostate & Virility from GNC contains the same contents as Centrum plus other ingredients which I guess are specifically for the prostate.  The MegaMen recommended serving is 2 caplets but I’ve only been taking one each day after breakfast.  (I remember buying them a few years ago for only $9.99 but now they are a bit pricier at $23.99.)  The MegaMen and the Centrum each include 300mg of vitamin C.  So now, after breakfast, I’m going to take a MegaMen caplet, a Centrum tablet and a 500mg capsule from my Exito purchase.  That should give me a total of 1,100mg of vitamin C.  We’ll see if that seems to provide any improvement in my aches and pains and getting colds.  (I understand you can’t overdose on vitamin C, any excess simply flushes from the system.)

At 10:30 I asked Laura why she isn’t in class.  She said it’s a holiday until next Tuesday.  I asked her if she would like to go to Krispy Kreme today for a donut.  I think we’re going to do that after lunch and I’ll stop first to pick up my document at Envios Market.

According to Medellin GURU, Colombia qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia with Tuesday night’s draw against Peru.  I also heard the USA was eliminated from World Cup competition.  Instead of the usual “wait until next year” it’s “wait four more years”.

Laura took MT to get her hair done and when they returned Laura went to get her hair done.

Laura and I left the apt at 4pm, quickly were on an Envigado bus and it left the bus stop right away.  Thirty minutes later we got off at Parque Poblado.  (On the way I noticed the Dann Carlton Hotel is featuring North American food this month.  Of course that could be Mexican or Canadian but I doubt it.)

At Envios Market I was given my document – a funny greeting card from my brother.  It was postmarked September 23^rd and it arrived on the 10^th so it took about 2 ½ weeks to arrive.  My brother told me it only cost him 44 cents – the cost to get it to Florida.

Laura and I took a bus up to Krispy Kreme where we got an original glazed to go for Teresa and a couple donuts for each of us plus American coffee for me and milk for her.

We took our time and when we left we ran into the English speaking guy who sells peanuts.  I told him Laura was my girlfriend but I don’t think he believed me – anyway, Laura probably corrected my lie when she talked to him in Spanish.  She thinks he’s very cute but I think she deserves someone a bit more professional.

After only waiting a couple minutes we were on a Sabaneta bus.  We had to stand but a block later a mother and daughter sitting right in front of us got off and we got their seats.  We were back at the apt by 6:30.

Tonight on Thursday Night Football it’s the 4-1 Philadelphia Eagles at the 4-1 Carolina Panthers.  Should be a good game!  (I forgot to mention that the only buffering I experienced in last Monday’s game was during halftime.)  The Eagles ended up winning a close one 28-23.

I took my usual 2 sleeping pills and went to bed at 10:45.

Funny grammar errors: You can’t run through a campground.  You can only ran, because it’s past tents.