Friday, March 30, 2018

I got up a couple times during the night.  The last time about 5am it took me some time to fall back asleep.  I finally woke/got up at 8am.

Again the machine at the gym didn’t recognize my fingerprint and this time the girl working there – that I’ve never seen before – asked to see my ID.  I showed it to her and she let me in.

I did all of my exercises in an hour and 45 minutes.  Jose was there and he told me he wants to see The Killing of a Sacred Deer.  I checked and it has an imdb rating of 7.1 so that’s good.  I see it’s playing at Vizcaya at 4pm.

When I left the gym a religious procession was blocking my way across the street.  I walked down a couple blocks and managed to cross at the park.

Back at the apt I had an email from SmartFit – something about confirming my registration – now what’s that about?  The time on the email was almost exactly the time I entered the gym.

I showed Teresa the movie trailer, she really likes Nicole Kidman who stars in the movie, and she told me she wants to go to the 6:40 showing.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see The China Hustle (7.0).

Locally, I would like to see The Killing of a Sacred Deer (7.1).

I solved more puzzles on Chess Magnet School and was promoted to Warden.

Teresa informed me she’s going to take her mother to visit a friend in Caldas tomorrow so I’ll be having lunch by myself.  That’s good because I want to watch the Loyola Ramblers play Michigan in the NCAA Final Four at 5pm.

We left the apt at 5:30 for the 6:40 showing at Vizcaya mall.  I tried using Tappsi, Easy Taxi and Uber to call for a ride.  I couldn’t get any of them to keep our correct address.  We ended up going down the hill and catching a taxi.  On the way to the mall I got 2 calls – probably from Tappsi and Easy Taxi – asking where we were.  I wonder if they were actually in front of our apartment or closer to MTs apartment.  Anyway, Teresa took care of it.

At Cine Colombia there was a line but luckily we got in the preferred Colombia Card line and the cashier showed us that the only general seating was in the front row.  For preferred seating there were only 2 separate seats in the back and they weren’t even in the same row.  Hopefully, now Teresa understands why we shouldn’t go to movies on weekends at night.

I suggested we go to Mu for dinner.  She was concerned that it might be closed.  While I had the theater’s internet access I googled Mu and it said it was open and I got the exact address to boot.  We walked the 6-8 blocks to Mu and found it closed.  I told her there are lots of restaurants in Parque Lleras so we walked a few more blocks.

We stopped at the Greek restaurant The Greek Connection and checked out their menu.  It’s the same location I ate at 4 years ago when it was Mykonos and it was god-awful.  The menu looked good so we went in.  Luckily, I had grabbed an extra 50,000 pesos from my “safe” just before leaving the apt.  I could see that I had about 90,000 pesos on me besides what we might need for a return taxi.  Teresa had their lemon chicken with a couple beers and loved it.  I had their pastitsio and Lulo juice and it was also delicious.  At one point Teresa asked me if one of the waitresses was as skinny as Ana Maria.  She was very thin but she had a figure so I told Teresa “no one in this world is as skinny as Ana Maria”.  Lol.

We talked to the owner several times – he brought over a sample of meat that was cooking on their spit.  Later he put on a video that showed his restaurant with the same name when it was in LA.  There was a belly dancer who could turn over coins and open and close dollar bills with her stomach.  I asked the owner if they had stuffed tomatoes and peppers and he said they do; a good reason to return.  He also has the meat to make a gyro sandwich, so I know I’ll be returning.  The total check came to 101,000 pesos and I had just enough cash to cover it and the taxi ride home.

It rained hard for about the last 30 minutes we were there but it finally stopped and we walked over to Calle 10 where we soon caught a taxi.

When we got back to the apt I had an email from Uber that the driver waited too long and I owe them 2,500 pesos.

I made arrangements to meet Chuck for lunch tomorrow at 12:30.

I solved more puzzles on Chess Magnet School and was promoted to the title of Warden.

T-shirt of the day: Not my problem honey.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Today is a holiday – Maundy Thursday – commemorating the last supper of Jesus Christ and his Apostles.  Outside the streets are nearly empty as everyone has probably gone away for the long weekend to their fincas.

I slept pretty well despite getting up 3 times during the night.

Teresa informed me that the bank is closed today so I might have to wait until Monday to retrieve the cash I sent myself using World Remit.

I’m learning that while showtimes change on Friday in the States, here they change on Thursday.  Tomb Raider is now playing at Oviedo starting at 9:40pm, too late for me.

We left the apt at 9:45 and walked down the hill where we quickly caught a taxi to Mayorista.  First we stopped in El Langostinos where Teresa picked up some seafood.  Then in Euro she picked up meat and a few other things.  I looked for an imported lemon for my tea and a few imported oranges but today they had neither.  I charged both purchases but had I known it was going to be so inexpensive I would have just brought cash.

Just before we left the grocery store it started raining.  Our driver had an umbrella for Teresa to hold over him while loading our groceries into his trunk but it quickly came apart.  In the old car he had to wipe away the fog from his windshield.  He didn’t have the defroster setting set on his heater and his umbrella was under the windshield anyway so I’m guessing it probably was out of order.  He helped us carry our few bags into the apt and I gave him 10,000 pesos.

After lunch I met Chuck in the park.  On the way I noticed that Calle 37Sur is now open and I saw 2 people playing chess at the chess room.  Chuck was already sitting with Ron, his older brother visiting from the States, and Willie the Belgian.  They all had lunch while I had café con leche.  Chuck told me that there is a religious procession that is supposed to start tonight at 8:30.

The others left and Chuck and I walked down to the bakery where I had a croissant with a café con leche.  Willie eventually showed up again and I told him a lot of jokes.  He’s a very good audience as he often cracked up.  I finally left about 5:30.

I received an email from Amazon that my can opener has shipped.

I was watching a new episode of Mayday when my TV Listener headphones started dying.  I managed to finish the episode by periodically turning off and on the headphones.  I need to buy 2 new rechargeable AAA batteries for the headphones.

Starting about 8:30 I could hear a loud voice over a PA system so I guess the religious procession has begun.

I spent some time solving puzzles on Chess Magnet School.  In the future I think the best place to start over again, if possible, would be with the title of Yeoman.

Well, Teresa didn’t celebrate this religious holiday.

T-shirt of the day: Spread your own ideas.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

I slept well only getting up once during the night at 3:30am, finally waking at 7:30 and getting up at 7:45.

Teresa left for the gym at 8:45.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show then I left for the gym.  I did all but one of my exercises in an hour and 45 minutes. On the leg curl machine I could feel something in my left hamstring but it wasn’t painful.

I asked Teresa if she would go see Tomb Raider with me at 5:20 at Oviedo.  She said she would rather go tomorrow.

I placed 2 online orders - a new chess book Small Steps lead to Giant Improvement and a simple old-fashioned can opener.

Teresa told me she wanted fish for dinner so at 7pm we walked over to Buena Mesa and chose the Tex-Mex restaurant Tepito.  

Atletico Nacional was playing someone on their big screen and by the time we left it was still 0-0.  Teresa had their shrimp and I had the chicken burrito, we each had strawberry juice and the total including tip and tax came to 71,565 (about $27).

We walked back to the apt and were back by 8:30.

Teresa told me she wants to go to Euro tomorrow to buy meat.

T-shirt of the day: We were born to die.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Last night I only got up once during the night, woke up at 6:30 and got up at 7:30.

The street down the hill is usually one-way towards the expressway but today there is a traffic cop directing traffic in the opposite direction up towards Avenida Poblado.  It seems to me that Avenida Poblado must be closed off for a block and they are detouring traffic arround it.

I sent myself another $100 using World Remit and carefully documented the process before I start sending myself some serious money.  Laura will have to assist me again this afternoon in picking it up.  I’ll probably buy her an ice cream cone afterwards as a reward.

I saw an ad for a new chess book that seems to concentrate on pawn play.  It included a sample chapter that I downloaded and added to my memory drive.

After breakfast I walked down to Home Center looking for an old fashioned can opener.  No luck.  I stopped in Exito where I picked up cheddar cheese slices, arepas, a new soft toothbrush and 3 new pairs of underwear.

I walked back up the hill and looked in RiMax but they didn’t have the can opener I was looking for either.  I stopped at the copy center where I had the chess pages printed out from my memory drive.  The pedestrian walkway outside Exito was closed so I had to make a 1 block detour to get across Avenida Poblado.

Back at the apt I received a call from Teresa.  She was having a healthy waffle in the gym café when she met a gringo.  I talked to him and he invited me to meet him and some other gringos for lunch at noon at Carbon de Leña.  It was now 11:30.  I got Teresa’s okay for the change in lunch plans and soon hung up.  Laura came home and asked if she could go visit a friend in Manizales.  I told her it was okay with me and I would fund her trip to the tune of 200,000 pesos (about $75) but she would need her mother’s permission.

I got to Carbon de Leña where I met Jake, a light skinned African American former marine with the muscles to prove it.  We were soon joined by 3 other black men from various locations in the States.  We waited awhile for another one to join us but then we gave up and we all ordered.  Most of the guys ordered burgers but I ordered a Caesar salad without the ham.  (Next time I’ll try to remember without the bacon also.)  The 4^th guy finally showed up and he ordered the ribs.  When his ribs arrived he took one look at them and refused to accept them.  I had no idea why he didn’t like how they looked.  Later I figured out it was because he was expecting a continuous slab like the photo in the menu and these came in 3 separate little slabs.  After that the other guys continuously kidded him about the ribs and the menu.

I left there about 2:20 and walked across the street to the park where Chuck soon showed up.  We couldn’t find a table at Bartolos so we walked over to the bakery by city hall.

Colombia was playing Australia in what they call a “friendly” and it ended in a 0-0 tie.  How exciting!

I received a text message from Laura asking which metro station is closest to the south bus terminal.  After a little thought I correctly told her Poblado Station.  With all my exploring I know Medellin better than Teresa and Laura.

After we had coffee and a pastry we moved back to Bartolos for another coffee.  Rick Grimes soon joined us and we argued politics for awhile.  About 3:30 it started raining and finally about 5pm it let up a bit and we all made a run for it.

Teresa received a call from Laura that she had arrived in Manizales.  Teresa believes it’s about 5 hours away.

At 10pm after taking my melatonin I starting reading the free sample chapter from the chess book Small Steps to Giant Improvement.

T-shirt of the day: I like rainy days.

Monday, March 26, 2018

I had another good night’s sleep.  I went to bed at 11pm, fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake up until 5:15, finally getting up at 6:30.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and then left for the gym.  I’m sure Teresa left for the finca soon after.

I completed my exercises in an hour and 45 minutes.  If you recall last week I stopped doing the Leg Curl completely.  I usually perform this exercise with 80#.  Today I tried it with 30# and it felt like nothing.  I moved up to 50# and finally felt a little strain.  I did 3 sets of 15 reps each.  We’ll see if I feel any after effects.

After the gym I went next door to Nueva eps where I picked up a little jar for Teresa’s urine specimen.  I used a note she gave me and had a little fun kidding with the ladies working there.

I was promoted to Yeoman on Chess Magnet School.

At 1:30 I called Teresa and Laura answered and informed me they are still at the finca.  I told them I’m going to get something to eat and then go to a movie.  I had a hamburger – very good – for the first time at La Casita Parilla. Along with the Coke it came to 10mil (about $3.50).

I caught a bus to Oviedo where I bought a general admission ticket to All the Money in the World (7.0) for 10,500 pesos.  I bought a small popcorn and medium soda for 13,200 leaving me with a balance on my Cine Colombia card of 59,050.  I think my total ticket purchase count is now 7.  The movie was very good even though there were only about 10 others in the theater.  At one point I heard thunder and after the movie ended there was still a very light rain.  Outside the mall I immediately was on a bus back to Envigado.

Teresa reported that the guy doesn’t seem interested in the finca because he doesn’t have a car.

I received the latest Direct TV bill along with a monthly guide.  I used the Microsoft Translator app on my phone to take a photo of the movie description and it did a pretty good job of translating it to English.

Teresa and Laura left the apt at 7:45 for the gym.  They came back a couple hours later.

Wow, the Colombian Peso dropped below 2,800 for the first time.

T-shirt of the day: Michigan State Spartans.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Only 9 months until Christmas!  Sorry, the date made me do it.

Today is also Palm Sunday, the beginning of Semana Santa aka Holy Week.

Last night we went to bed at 11pm, I fell asleep quickly and didn’t awaken until 5:45.  That’s almost 7 hours of uninterruped sleep.  Wow!  Teresa soon stirred and I told her its 6am, time to get up and get ready for church.  She said “later”.  I finally fell back asleep and woke/got up at 8:45 feeling great!  No eye tiredness, no fuzziness in my head.

Outside I noticed 5 people walking down the hill – there appeared to be 3 German men, 1 German woman, and 1 Colombiana.

After finishing breakfast at 9:30 Teresa invited me to join her to go to church and I said “fine”, as long as it doesn’t interfere with my seeing 60 Minutes tonight.

It’s 10am and Teresa is watching some exercise Youtube video on her cellphone.

I walked through the park and stopped at the chess room where I didn’t see anyone playing chess.  I stopped at the only open Gana store I saw and added 20,000 to my cellphone minutes.  I stopped at Exito and picked up a few things including Pan de Maiz which literally translates to corn bread.

For lunch Teresa made Spaghetti de Juanita and I cut up some bread slices and put the garlic spread on it and we put it under the oven broiler for 5 minutes.  It was delicious, but too much food.  (I think next time I’ll put some butter (actually margarine) on first and see if that melts into the bread itself.

Wow, we had an awful thunderstorm come through between 3 and 4pm so we just took a nap until the fireworks ended.

I watched 60 Minutes on my Slingbox.

Teresa was supposed to go to the clinic early tomorrow for a blood draw but now I understand she’s showing someone the finca tomorrow and then she’s got a 3pm Stella Duran massage appointment.

Well, it’s time to go to sleep and Teresa never mentioned church all day.

T-shirt of the day: Buy now or try later.

Saturday, March 24, 2018

I didn’t sleep well last night so I took ½ an Excedrin Migraine and was soon feeling better.

After breakfast I walked to Cotrafa where I quickly paid the wifi bill.  I walked past the billiard parlor (hereafter I think I’ll refer to it as the chess room) where I saw one chess game in progress.  I stopped at the copy center where I had some pages printed - How to Use Google Translate.  I stopped at Exito where I picked up a few things.

Back at the apt I took a 45 minute nap.

I played around with taking photos of Spanish articles and having Google Translate translate it to English.  It’s far from perfect.

The Colombian Peso closed at 2,842 to the US Dollar.

Using my Slingbox I watched the (Chicago) Loyola Ramblers defeat Kansas State 78-62 to go on to the final four in the NCAA tournament.  I remember listening to Loyola on the radio back in the 60s.  We did have television back then.  No, really!

I made waffles for dinner for the first time in a long time.

I believe I’ve mentioned the Proof of Life form before.  It’s the form that old people like me need to fill out and sign every 2 years if they have a foreign address.  I was pretty sure that MT’s ended with an odd number, meaning she would have to send one in by the end of the year in order for her checks to not stop arriving next February.  Teresa checked with her and her SS ends in a ‘9’ so that confirmed it.

Laura left at 8:30 to meet with friends and see a movie.

Teresa tells me she wants to go to mass tomorrow morning at 7am.  (Good luck with that!  Do I want to join her?  Not at that hour.)

T-shirt of the day: Make progress not excuses.

Friday, March 23, 2018

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  On the way I picked up a free adn newspaper and found a free Gente newspaper at the Gana store.  At the gym I saw Glen and he asked me to send him a few photos of the finca from a distance.  Teresa left early as she had a doctor’s appointment.

When Teresa returned to the apt she reported that she got a physical and everything is okay.

Because she came back late Teresa and I had lunch at La Casita Parilla.  Laura was taking another driving lesson so we got ribs to go for her.  According to the TV, Colombia is playing against France today at 3pm.

Back at the apt Teresa and I took a nap for about 45 minutes.  When I got up it was 3:30 and France was already ahead 2-0 but Colombia came back to won 3-2.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see Paul, Apostle of Christ (7.4) and maybe Midnight Sun (6.0).

Locally, I would like to see Mary Magdalene (5.8) (Laura wants to see it) is playing at 5:15 at Oviedo; All the Money in the World (7.0) is playing at 2:20 and 5:10 at Vizcaya and 3 and 6pm at Oviedo; Tomb Raider (6.9) is playing at Oviedo at 6:30.

The umbrellas I ordered have arrived at Envios Market in Florida.

T-shirt of the day: Live fast.  Die last.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

I watched the Today show and then met Chuck outside my apt at 10:30.  We took a taxi to Pricesmart where I got Chuck in as my guest.  We took our time walking around and he picked up a set of bed sheets, a package of almonds and something else I forget.  At one point there was a young lady handing out free samples.  We couldn’t tell exactly what it was.  She spoke very good English and informed us it’s cake.  The package said it’s Black Cake made by Aunt White.  She said it’s her aunt.  She is taking the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test soon and was happy to be able to practice speaking English.  She hopes to go to USC to study.

I found a jar of garlic spread that I bought for 13mil.  Sadly, I didn’t see the carrot cake I saw previously.  We had lunch in their food court – a slice of pizza and a soda.  I picked up a dozen chicken wings for Teresa and Laura to share for lunch.

Downstairs we quickly caught a taxi back to my apt in Envigado.  I ran into Laura leaving for another driving lesson.  I dropped off the chicken wings (hot) and the garlic spread (cold) and we walked to the park for coffee.  I saw Jason, one of the personal trainers from the gym, having lunch with his wife.  Chuck told me he’s meeting another Gringo at 7pm at Consumo and he’s going to take him to the bar where other gringos met on Thursday night.  He invited me to join him and I accepted.  We’re going to meet outside Exito at 6:45 and we’ll go together to Consumo.

Walking back to my apt I ran into Ron.  I told him about the gringo meetup and invited him to join us.

Back at the apt I took 2 acetaminophen and lay down for 30 minutes but they didn’t help much.

I left the apt at 6:35 and arrived at Exito where I saw Chuck talking to Ron.  After a few minutes Chuck excused himself as we needed to leave.  I asked Ron if he wasn’t going with us.  Obviously, Chuck didn’t know I had already talked to Ron and invited him to join us.  We all walked down to Consumo and soon John, the Englishman, joined us.  He led us 4 blocks east to a corner bar where about 5 other Englishmen were meeting.  We talked for about 90 minutes and when we left we first stopped across the street at a rib place La Estacion that John recommended.  Inside I recognized a guy from the gym although he didn’t speak as much English as I thought.  An order of ribs was 20,500 pesos.

We walked back to Exito where we all split up.

T-shirt of the day: I’m with the band.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

First day of Spring!

I watched the first 30 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I was working on one of the machines when Glen, the guy from Norway, stopped by and starting talking to me.  After about 10 minutes I had to tell him I would love to talk to him more but I have to finish my workout so why doesn’t he email me and we’ll meet for coffee sometime.  A few minutes later as Teresa was leaving I pointed out Glen to her.  I walked her over to him and introduced them.  They went to the juice bar/café just outside where Teresa showed him photos of the finca from her cellphone.  I joined them a few minutes later.  Towards the end I was chatting with Glen and Teresa was talking to the bartender.  Later Teresa told me that the bartender’s brother is looking for a finca and he soon called and Teresa made plans to show him the finca that afternoon.

She left and I met Chuck in the park.  After coffee he stopped at a nearby furniture store where he bought a small table and a couple chairs.  With the owners help we carried them back to Chuck’s apt.  Trying to get the table into his bedroom we found that the table was about ½ an inch too wide.  We took off the door and easily got it inside.  I then helped him install a new TV onto a wall stand.

When Teresa returned she informed me that the guy isn’t interested because he couldn’t get his car up the hill leading to the finca.

I keep getting these “supposed emails from Apple” stating that someone using my AppleId has made some strange purchase like “Marvel Contest of Champions”.  I’ve never received a corresponding withdrawal from my checking account so I’m not too worried about it.

T-shirt of the day: In memory of last night.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Despite getting up 2-3 times during the night I felt I slept well.  I read somewhere that magnesium tends to make one drowsy so instead of taking it after lunch I’ve been taking it just before going to bed and it seems to be helping me get to sleep faster.

Teresa left for the gym and took my small umbrella.  I told her the reason it’s called “my umbrella” is because it’s my umbrella.  Why don’t you buy one for yourself?

I watched the first 30 minutes of the Today show and left without an umbrella.  I checked the weather on my cellphone and if there’s to be any rain it should be soon.  Hopefully I’ll be on the metro by then.  I caught a Metro bus after just a 5 minute wait.  I noticed that the Calle 38 Sur route is now open for Metro buses.  I got off the Metro at the Alpujarra station and walked to the Encicla office.  There was no line and I quickly stated my problem in my broken Spanish “last week my Civica card didn’t work on one of the automated machines.  It’s been almost exactly a year since I got my card.  Do I have to renew it every year?”  The answer was “yes” and then she proceeded to confirm my account information – cell phone, emergency contact, address, etc.  By 10:35 I was done.

I walked back to the metro station and retraced my route back to Envigado.  From where the bus let me off across from the park and I walked the 2 blocks to the bookstore where I exchanged Robin Cook’s The Crisis and 2,000 pesos for Ken Follett’s On Wings of Eagles.  I walked back to the park and arrived at 11:25.  A waiter or waitress never asked for my order until Chuck showed up at noon.  What, they like him better than me?

While we were chatting a lady showed up with a lady friend and started talking to Chuck.  I understood her husband is a golf nut so I gave her David Maddox’s phone number – the golf nut from Costa Rica.  Her name is Sylvia and I thought she was about 45-50 and a gringa but she’s 60 and originally a Colombiana.  Chuck told me he’s trying to install a TV on the wall and needs another set of hands so I’m going to help him tomorrow after lunch.

Chuck was getting hungry so we walked over to La Casita Parilla where he had chicken breast and I had their ribs.  The total check came to 28,000 pesos or ($9.50).  He said next time he’d like to try the ribs so I guess he plans to return.

He went on to try to find his friend Maria Angel and I bought 2 bags of milk and returned to the apt.

I found Esmeralda visiting as she and Teresa were talking at the dining room table.

I ordered 2 mini umbrellas from Shedrain and soon received an email that they had been shipped.

We had a thunderstorm come through between 5 and 6pm.

Teresa went to her mother’s apartment for awhile so I made myself a toasted cheese sandwich for dinner.

T-shirt of the day: Don’t kill the magic.

Monday, March 19, 2018

I did most of my exercises in an hour and 40 minutes.  I didn’t mention that when I got out of the taxi last night something didn’t feel right behind my left knee.  Today while I was doing the leg flex exercise I knew something wasn’t right so I stopped.  Now I know where the hamstrings are.  I’ll rest this week and try to continue next week.

Laura went to Caldas to visit with friends.

Teresa and I left the apt just after 4pm and after watching a taxi driver (using my Tappsi app) try to find us while driving down the hill until we finally got a 9,000 peso ride to Oviedo mall.

The theater was a little full so I bought 2 preferred seating tickets for 15,500 each with my Cine Colombia card.  (My purchase count is now up to 8.)  We went downstairs where we shared a turkey sandwich at Subway.  Back upstairs there were 4 long lines at the concession counter.  We got in one and about 15 minutes later we had a small popcorn and 2 medium sodas for 19,200 (about $6.75).

We saw the movie Stronger (7.0) and we both enjoyed it.

We stopped at Carulla where we bought a bottle of Pam cooking spray and outside quickly caught a taxi back to the apt for 9,000 pesos.

I haven’t heard from Jose Cruz, my chess playing friend, so tomorrow I plan to renew my Civica card for Encicla and meet Chuck for lunch at Bartolos.

T-shirt of the day: Stoned.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

I woke up at 3am and it took me an hour or two to fall back asleep, finally awakening at 7:15 and getting up at 7:45.  Still I feel pretty good.

Teresa cleaned the fridge and then we went to Euro in Mayorista.  I helped her find a few things and then I stopped by the butchers where I picked up a couple turn numbers.  I went outside where I had 2 café con leches while reading my Nook.  Teresa came out a little later and reported something about a line and that’s when I gave her my numbers.  Back inside I saw she already had the cart in line so I guess we’ll be picking up meat another time.

We decided to see the movie Stronger (7.0) today but as usual Teresa wants to go to the late showtime – 8:10 – which means I’ll probably have to take my melatonin while still in the theater.

I purchased an “Infinity Peecoin” for $15 which now gives me unlimited access with no ads to the Runpee app.

We took a nap from 3:30 to 4:30.

I solved more puzzles on Chess Magnet School and was promoted to Knight.

Laura left late afternoon to meet with her girlfriends in Santafe mall.

Teresa and I left the apt at 7:30 and I called a taxi using my Tappsi app.  I watched as my driver drove around (down the hill from us) trying to find our address.  Finally he figured it out and came up the hill using the only access road possible.  He dropped us off at Oviedo mall for 10,000 pesos.

There were lines for the movie theater but at least with my Cine Colombia card I was in a shorter line.  I called Laura and she left Santafe for Oviedo.  After a short wait I added 100mil to my card giving me a new balance of 132,950 pesos.  When she showed me the choice of seats the only thing available for both general and preferencial was in the first row.  I told Teresa that’s the problem with going to the movies at night.  We’ll try again tomorrow for the 5:10 showing.  Laura joined us and reported that she had a hamburger with her friends at Dogger.  Teresa and I shared a large sandwich from Subway and a macadamia cookie.  We easily caught a taxi back to the apt for 8,200 pesos.

T-shirt of the day: Your own ideas.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

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

Teresa asked me if I would go to Home Center to buy something she wrote down that looked like metal polish.  That’s what it turned out to be and while there I also bought AA batteries and some chip clips.  On the way back to the apt I walked past the billiard parlor where I saw 3 chess games underway.  I stopped at the copy center where I printed out information (courtesy of Medellin Guru) about a new food court called Mercado del Tranvia which is east of the San Antonio station on the Tranvia bus route.

https://www.tripadvisor.co/Restaurant_Review-g297478-d13341660-Reviews-Mercado_Del_Tranvia-Medellin_Antioquia_Department.html

Teresa went to meet with her mother and I met Chuck at Bartolos.  For lunch we each had their menu of the day for 12,000 pesos (about $4.25).

A friend of Chuck & Darnely stopped by, Maria Angel, a pretty 35ish lady with 3 young children back in Venezuela.  They have helped her out on various occasions with food and other things.

Richard, from SF (previously Chicago), stopped by and we chatted for awhile.  Chuck and I went over to Noah’s Ark for coffee. 

When we left he went to see if he could find Maria in the park and I went to the billiard parlor.  I found a few available boards and sat down at one and set up the pieces.  The 3 billiard tables were in use and 4 men were playing what looked like Rummy at a nearby table.  Two men were playing 2 minute speed games with others watching; It appeared to be some type of round robin tournament.  I waited 30 minutes but no one stopped by my board to play so I left.

The Colombian Peso closed at 2,855 to the US Dollar.

I’ve been completing lessons on Chess Magnet School again but I’m just up to the level of Herald so I’ve got a long way to go.

Teresa discovered Youtube on her cellphone and now she watches/listens to videos nonstop for hours.

I finished reading the paperback novel The Crisis by Robin Cook.  It was very good – I think I’ll read his #1 bestsellers in the near future.

T-shirt of the day: Wake up and train.

Friday, March 16, 2018

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, quickly fell asleep and didn’t wake up until 6:15 (noisy garbage truck outside) and got up at 6:45.

Catastrophe!  Teresa announced that the TV wasn’t working.  All the connections were good, we have electricity, so I suspected the remote control.  I used the buttons on the front of the box and discovered that we’re not getting a satellite signal.  It came back about 30 minutes later.

I picked up a free adn newspaper outside Exito.

It’s obvious there is going to be a Metro Plus station on Avenida Poblado the block between Exito and Parque Envigado.

At the gym I did most of my exercises in an hour and 45 minutes.  I added 15# to one of my exercises and 5# to another.

I stopped at Consumo and picked up a free Gente newspaper.  In one article it showed hiking trails in El Salado park.  I told Teresa you never showed me those.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see Tomb Raider (7.1) and 7 Days in Entebbe (4.8).

Locally, I would like to see Stronger (7.0) playing at Premium Plaza at 3:10 and Oviedo at 5:15; Tomb Raider (7.1) playing at Oviedo at 6:30 and Vizcaya at 1:30 (3D), 4pm (3D) and 6:30.

Teresa says she likes both of the trailers so we’ll see if I can get her to go to at least one of them.

I told Teresa it’s okay if she wants to go to visit Ana Maria’s finca but later when they talked, Teresa told her that I’m not feeling well and we can’t go.  Interesting!

I called Rosetta Stone and they want to charge me $19.99 to fix the 4118 Error that I’m getting.  Alternatively they said I could fix it by email or chat with a rep.  She sent me an email and I followed their instructions to remove and reinstall the lessons but now the error just comes up sooner.

T-shirt of the day: Normahl.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

I slept well last night, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I watched the first hour of the Today show.

We got some rain overnight and it’s still very overcast.  The temp is only 71 degrees with an expected high of 79.  I left the apt dressed in shorts and a muscle t-shirt.

I took the metro to the Estadio Station where I checked out a bike.  I rode to the water park and noticed they have resurfaced an area for biking and added striping (on the other side of the fence).  I checked in my bike at the automated station and stopped across the street at Cosechas for a juice.  I was unable to check out another bike from the machine – my best guess is I need to renew my Civica card with Encicla.  (It’s been almost a year now that I’ve had it.)  I walked down to the nearest bike station with a human operator but it was obvious they had no bikes to check out.  Then it started misting.

I took a taxi to Estadio Station and walked to the chess league where there I found a tournament underway.  I walked to Obelisco mall where I had lunch at a Mexican restaurant named Tropical.  I had a chicken burrito, baked potato, and mango juice.  I also ordered a salad which never arrived – either at my table or the check.  The total came to 18,000 (about $6.25).

On my way back to the station it soon started raining.

Back in Envigado I took a chance and took the Metro bus.  This time the traffic wasn’t as heavy and the driver turned one street early and a traffic cop gave us the right of way and it only took 10 minutes to get near the park.

I met Chuck at Bartolos at 2:30.

An acquantiance (30-something black attractive black lady) stopped by and chatted.  She sold marshmallows a few months ago when she met a black guy we were with.  I understand they emailed each other for some time and then for some reason he dropped her.  (My guess is he dropped her when she started asking for money.)

Teresa told me we are invited to spend the long weekend (Saturday – Monday) at her friend Ana Maria’s finca in San Vicente which looks like its about 2 hours east of Medellin.  To be determined.

T-shirt of the day: 3 stripe life.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Happy Pi (Π) Day!

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I saw Charles there for the first time in quite a while.  I forgot to mention that I added 15 pounds to my Lat Pulldown exercise.

After my shower I left the apt about 12:05 and stopped at Deli Hoy for lunch for the first time alone.  I managed to switch my order from the usual churrasco to chicken breast.  After a nice lunch I walked to the metro and got off at Aguacatala station.  I took a Circular Sur 303 bus from there to Los Molinos mall.  I arrived right at 2pm and Dario was there waiting for me.  We played 3 games, I won the first two and he won the third.  He invited me to join him with a McDonald’s ice cream cone (2,000 pesos) but I declined.  I backtracked my steps to the Envigado station.  I took the Metro Bus but it soon got bogged down in traffic.  What should have been a quick 5-10 minute ride up to Parque Envigado ended up taking 40 minutes and I even got off a block early at Avenida Poblado.  The reason for the congestion was the usual Calle 38 route was closed due to construction on the new Metro Plus line.

When I returned to the apt I immediately jumped in the shower to get the dirt and sweat off me.

In the evening I received two robo calls to my cell phone asking me to vote for some judge in Chicago.  I didn’t think they could reach me without entering the country code for Colombia.

T-shirt of the day: No grind no glory.