Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Last night we went to bed at 11pm as usual.  I couldn’t get to sleep so I got up at midnight, read my book for 30 minutes, went back to bed and quickly fell asleep.

I woke up once during the night, woke up at 6:45 and got up at 7:30.

I don’t think we got any rain overnight.

I did all but one of my exercises in an hour and 50 minutes.

I got some strange text messages from Laura about moving in with her grandmother and selling shoes wholesale with a friend.  I explained to her that she should become an au pair and later go to college, get a degree and become a professional.

Teresa left to show the gringo John the finca.

I had lunch with Laura at Deli Hoy.  I briefly met another gringo there named Joe from Connecticut who told me he works right around the corner.  Laura went back to the apt and I took a bus down Avenida Las Vegas, got off a block past EAFIT, and walked up the hill to Oviedo.  I was an hour early for the 3pm showing of Solo: A Star Wars Story (7.2).  I bought a general seating ticket for 5,250 pesos – I had the only seat in the house at that point. 

I read some from my Reader’s Digest then bought a small popcorn and medium soda for 13,200 leaving me with a balance of 17,600 on my Cine Colombia card.

I saw trailers for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (8.3) coming out June 22^nd and Skyscraper starring Dwayne Johnson coming out July 13^th.

There were 6 other people in the theater with me.

I enjoyed the movie as it had quite a bit of action but the theater itself was cold.

I think the total ticket count I have on my Cine Colombia card (since February?) is now 13.

Outside the mall I quickly caught a bus back to Envigado and even had a seat the entire way.

Teresa told me that the gringo John was very interested in the finca.  I understand he will probably sign a 12-month contract but pay month to month.  Teresa told me that her cousin Jorge would paint the finca and I wouldn’t have to pay him until September when he returns from Spain.  (She also said that he plays chess.)  I understand Teresa will be going to the finca with Jorge the next couple days to buy paint and start painting part of it.  Teresa just talked to Esmeralda and now she’s afraid to rent it to him because he doesn’t have a fiador (cosigner).  Again I told her that it’s her finca and she can do whatever she wants.

We had ribs delivered from La Casita Parilla with sodas for 28mil.

Teresa left just before 8pm to visit a little with her mother.  She came back at 9pm and at 9:15 it started raining.  It stopped by the time we went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Call me BABE.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

I woke up twice during the night finally waking/getting up at 7:30am.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show, changed into jeans and t-shirt and headed out the door.  There is now a sign announcing that they are building a school in the back area of the park – Escuela Superior Deborah Arango.

In the little park across from the library I can see they are first building a concrete tiled sidwalk around the perimeter.

I walked down to Herman’s orange juice stand.  He was there and I got his cellphone number – (305) 366-5588.  Supposedly he knows someone who might be interested in renting the finca.

After my glass of OJ for 2,000 pesos I walked over to Exito.  I first had a small café con leche in Juan Valdez for 4,000 pesos.  At the bottom of the receipt they have the wifi password of the day.  I read some news on my cellphone for about 45 minutes.  I looked for Planters crunchy peanut butter but they didn’t have it.  I picked up a package of lettuce and loaf of bread.  I was back at the apt by 11:30.

I received an email from the gringo, John Joseph, who has a 9:30am appointment in Caldas tomorrow so he might meet up with Teresa to see the finca.

At 3pm it started raining but only lasted about 20 minutes.  Then about 5 minutes later it started up again only heavier and didn’t stop until 4:30.  Teresa and I took a nap from 3:30 to 4:30.

In the evening Teresa was going to visit her mother but then it started raining, even though it was lightly.

I put John Joseph’s cell phone number in Teresa’s cellphone and she tried calling him a couple times but she said he didn’t answer.   He said “hola” on Teresa’s Whatsapp number but she doesn’t know how to type or use Whatsapp.  She starts asking me questions: “How old is he?”  “Is he single?”  “Does he have a fiador?”  I told her to ask him because I don’t have any more information.  She told me she thinks the finca is too dangerous for a gringo to live there.  I give up trying to help her rent the finca – it’s all on her now.

T-shirt of the day: In case problem press Ctrl 2.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Happy Memorial Day to everyone back in the States!

I woke up at 5:45 to some bird that sounded something like an owl and kept hooting until 6:15.  I finally fell back asleep and woke/got up at 7:30.  I took my shower and was sitting at the dining room table when at 7:45 we heard the buzzer.  We looked outside and saw Andres with 2 policemen.  Did he spend the night in jail?  Teresa invited them up and then pushed me into the bedroom so they wouldn’t see the gringo.  I heard them talking in the living room and finally about 8:15 I heard them on the stairs and finally outside.  I figured they were leaving and I opened the door but immediately saw their green police helmets on the living room table.  I stepped back into the bedroom and closed the door.  Finally at 8:45 they all left and Teresa came to get me.  Teresa told me that Andres won’t be coming back.  I can only hope!

After breakfast I watched the first 45 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I did all of my exercises in an hour and 55 minutes.  My hamstrings are feeling better although I have backed off on the number of reps.

I decided, at Jose’s recommendation, to see I Feel Pretty (4.6) aka Sexy por Accidente playing at 3:30 at Vizcaya.  I left the apt at 2:20, waited 5 minutes downtown for a bus, got off by Parque Poblado, and took another bus up the hill to the mall.  I was there by 3:10, added 50mil to my Cine Colombia account, bought a ticket for 6mil, waited 10 minutes, bought a small popcorn and small soda for 12,600 leaving me a CC balance of 36,050.

There were only 5 other people in the theater.  I see from the trailers that we have some good movies coming up including Ocean’s 8 and a remake of Overboard (5.5).

I thought the movie was a little ridiculous.  For example, more than once Renee says “you don’t know/recognize me, but…” and she’s wearing a necklace that says “Renee”.

I walked down Calle 10 and caught a Sabaneta bus after a 5-minute wait.  It was standing room only until we got about half way through the Gold Mile when someone got up and I got their seat.

I got off at the detour 2 blocks from our apt.  I stopped at the corner store and bought a couple bags of milk.

I spent part of the evening practicing some of the options playing against the computer in Shredder 10.

I kept seeing ads for something called Rappi.  I googled it and apparently it’s a Colombian start-up delivery system – they specifically mention groceries and food.  I downloaded it only to find out that Envigado is not within their delivery area.  So much for my idea of having ribs delivered from Mu.

T-shirt of the day: I live for Girl Scout cookies.

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Today is election day here in Colombia.  I understand if there isn’t a winner today then there will be a runoff on some date in June.

I got up 3 times during the night, woke up at 6:30, gave up going back to sleep and got up at 7:30.

Teresa informed me that it rained all night.  I didn’t hear a thing but I can see the streets are wet.

I left the apt about 9:30 and walked down the hill to the larger Exito.  First I had a café con leche at Juan Valdez for 4,000 pesos.  Then I picked up 3 pairs of thin white socks for 26,900.  I picked up the lettuce and 2 avocados Teresa asked me for.  In the meantime Laura texted me and asked me to also pick up salt and sugar.  I went outside and bought a container of Bi-Pro protein powder for 89,000 pesos.  Everything fit nicely into the GFS bag my brother had given me.  I was back at the apt by 11am.

Interesting headline I noticed on the ColombiaReports.com website: Central Colombian woman grows potato in vagina in ill-advised contraception attempt.

After you’ve read that article, it reminds me of something that my mother-in-law recommended for me when I once had a chest cold.  She told me to rub Bengay on my chest before going to bed.  She meant Vics VaporRub – worst night of my life.

From about 1pm to 3pm traffic was backed up outside as, I guess, people were coming and going to vote.  The polls closed at 4pm.

Teresa told me she wants to change her phone number because Andres keeps calling her.  I told her just to not answer.

I put a handful of popcorn kernels in a paper bag and microwaved it for almost 2 minutes.  It was okay but not the same as the microwave popcorn I buy in Exito.

Well, in the presidential contect Duque finished first and Petro second but neither got 50% of the vote so I understand there will be a runoff election on June 17^th.

Andres is back!  From 9 to 9:20 he rang our doorbell nonstop.  I took the phone off the hook but the buzzer must be separate as it continued buzzing.  Finally Teresa called the police and I saw 2 police officers who arrived on their motorcycle talking to him downstairs.  A few minutes later Teresa came back upstairs with another man.  His name is Jorge and he is a policeman and also Teresa’s middle cousin.  After a bit Jorge told Andres to go and he was seen walking in the direction of the metro.  Teresa told me if Andres wouldn’t leave Jorge was going to beat him up.

T-shirt of the day: Slut whisperer.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

I got up twice during the night, waking at 6am and getting up at 7:30.

I left the apt about 9:15 and took a bus to Envios Market.  I picked up the 2 packages of prostate vitamins I ordered from GNC, my June Reader’s Digest, and I paid 39mil for June’s rental.  I took a bus to Starbucks where I had another white mocca.  I read some from my May Reader’s Digest and then caught a bus back to Envigado.  Just as we arrived in Envigado it started raining and was coming down harder as I exited the bus.

I have no idea what time Laura came home last night; Teresa and I went to bed at 11pm and I didn’t hear her after that.

I sent John a few photos of the finca.

About 2pm it finally stopped raining.

Laura looked at the trailer for Solo and I understand she’s no longer interested in going.

Some days ago I was playing around with some settings on my cell phone – trying to save space or battery power.  A few days later I noticed that my Contacts list no longer displays the telephone numbers next to the contact names.  A few days after that – today – I see that almost all of my Contacts are completely gone.  The only ones I see are ones I’ve used very recently.  Anyone out there have an idea what I did and what I can do to fix it?  I’m afraid it will happen again.  I showed it to Laura and she went to my Whatsapp list and used it to add the names and number back to my Contacts list.  But of course that didn’t work for everyone, for example, the restaurant Mu I never message with Whatsapp but I would call with Contacts.

I checked my Shredder chess software and found I have the following chess engines.  I did a quick google search and came up with the corresponding ELO ratings but they might not be accurate.

Chess Engines

Comet B68 – 2382

Crafty 19.19 – 2487

Fritz 5.32 – 2540

Shredder 10 – 2600

Stockfish 8 64 – 3305

About 3:30 Teresa asks me if I want to go for Chinese food tonight.  I said “sure” and she tells me she knows of a good place in Mayorca mall.  She wants to bring her mother who is bored alone in her apartment and I said good idea.

I was looking forward to maybe having some cashew chicken so I even looked up the Spanish translation.

I reorganized my datbase of all my recorded games against Jose Cruz to be in the order in which they were played.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,875 to the US Dollar.

We left the apt at 6:15, quickly caught a taxi down the hill and MT was waiting for us at the other end of the small park.  In Mayorca we went up to the 4^th level and Teresa took us to the Chinese restaurant that she said was next to Parmessano – it was Sarku’s - the Japanese restaurant.  Sigh!  We ended up eating at J&C Delicious but I still want my Chinese food.

We had a nice dinner for 122,152 (about $43) including tip and tax.  On our way back we dropped MT off a block from her apartment.  As I was getting out of the taxi across the street from our apt my cellphone vibrated.  I checked it real quick and found that I had a wifi connection from our apt.  That might be good to know in the future for calling taxis and Uber cars.  We were back at the apt by 9pm.

T-shirt of the day: The quicker you run the faster you’ll be done.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Last night I got up twice during the night, waking at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

Teresa told me that if she’s not in the apt when I get back from the gym that she’ll be at the finca showing it to another prospective renter.  I told her that I’m going to Papa Johns for pizza - with Laura if she’s interested.

At the gym I did all of my exercises in an hour and 55 minutes.  I still don’t have confidence that my hamstrings are okay so I’m still taking it easy with them.  I didn’t see my friend Jose so I texted him and he told me he needs to work today.  I told him he needs to decide which is more important work or gym.  Lol.  I asked him about seeing Solo and he said he saw it at Majorca at 3pm in 3D and that I have to see it.  I traded a few Whatsapp messages with someone named John that might also be interested in renting the finca.

I stopped at Confama on my way back to the apt and picked up a Gente newspaper.

Teresa was still at the apt and she notified me that I forgot to pay the Direct TV bill.  I told her that’s because I had gotten a bill each of the last few months to remind me.

Teresa soon left.

When I came out of the shower Laura said Teresa called and she’s having lunch down at Deli Hoy and she wants Laura to bring her cellphone that she forgot.  I asked Laura if she was going to join me at Papa Johns for pizza.  She was very reluctant because she’s afraid it will make her fat.  (She doesn’t have an observable ounce of fat on her.)  She couldn’t decide so I told her that I’m leaving for Papa Johns at 1pm, if she’s with me fine, if not then I’m going alone.  Laura finally decided she would order something else at Papa Johns or go next door to another restaurant for something else.  First of all, there is no other restaurant nearby and I looked online and the only other things besides pizza were cinnamon rolls and cheese sticks.  Real healthy!

When Laura returned from delivering the cellphone we walked to Exito and took a taxi to Papa Johns for the exact minimum fare of 5,400 pesos.

When Laura saw the alternatives she changed her mind and we split a medium pizza for 39,500 pesos.  Laura, who is so afraid of getting fat, ordered hers with chicken and bacon.  What?

Afterwards I gave her bus fare back to the apt and I walked, stopping at a health food store for a loaf of multi cereal bread for 7,900 pesos.

I dropped the bread off at the apt and walked to $efecty where I paid the 200,700 Direct TV bill.  I bought a Condorito for Chuck, had something printed at the copy center and stopped at Bartolos for a coconut lemonade.  Today is a warmer day – probably in the lower 80s.  The waiter explained that the mixer wasn’t working so I had a cold fresh juice instead.  I walked over by city hall where I trimmed my finger nails and then returned to the apt.

Teresa came back at 7pm and wanted to go to Bocados Bar for dinner but I had work to do on my laptop so I convinced her to go to La Casita Parilla Instead.  (Laura left with us but she went to Colombia Immersion school to practice speaking English with gringos.)  Teresa had solomito (steak) and I had their ribs for a total of 30mil.  I tasted Teresa’s steak and found it to be pretty good.  Each of our plates also included a small salad, baked potato and arepa with a slice of mozarella cheese on top.  We also each had a soda.

Recent headline “Indiana middle schooler returns to class with 2 guns, shoots peer, teacher”.  For those of you who aren’t keeping count this is the 21^st for 2018.

Among new US movie releases, I would like to see Solo: A Star Wars Story (7.0) and In Darkness (6.0).

Locally, Solo is playing at 3pm and 6pm at Vizcaya in 3D.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump misrepresented what he’s doing for members of the armed forces when he spoke Friday to graduates of the United States Naval Academy.

TRUMP: “Going to have new equipment and well-deserved pay raises. We just got you a big pay raise. First time in 10 years. We got you a big pay increase. First time in over 10 years. I fought for you. That was the hardest one to get, but you never had a chance of losing.”

THE FACTS: That’s not right. U.S. military members have gotten a pay raise every year for the past 10 years and several have been larger than this year’s 2.6 percent increase. Pay increases in 2008, 2009 and 2010, for example, were all 3.4 percent or more.

___

TRUMP: “We have now the lowest number of ships that we’ve had since World War I, and very soon you’re going to get to 355 beautiful ships. 355. That’s almost a couple of hundred more ships.”

THE FACTS: No it isn’t. The Navy now has 283 ships.

And a 355-vessel battle fleet is not going to be achieved “very soon.” The Navy plans to reach 355 in the 2050s while saying that could happen in the 2030s if it gets more money and extends the normal life of ships in the fleet.

Talk about rising to your level of incompetence!  Or the president is just a chronic liar.

Teresa proclaimed that the rainy season – spring, fall, winter whatever they call it here – is over.

T-shirt of the day: I’m the queen of my dog’s heart.

Thursday, May 24, 2018

3 more weeks.

I only got up twice during the night but was awakened at 8am to Teresa saying “call the police”.   Sounds like I’m not going to get any more sleep.  As I got up I heard the buzzer for the apartment.  I asked, “Is this Andres again?”  Teresa said “yes”.

When I was coming out of my shower I could first hear her talking to him on the outside stairs and then inside the apartment.

After I got dressed I learned that someone stole his clothes and something about he’s selling candy.  (Life in the big city can be hard.)

I called Jose Cruz to let him know what’s going on.

We gave Andres 10,000 pesos and he left.  I understand he’s looking for a job here for awhile before he returns to San Andres.

Teresa and I left the apt about 10:15 and quickly caught a taxi outside.  Teresa told the driver Laureles as he drove down the street and I handed him the card with Jose’s address on it.  He stopped and said he doesn’t know where this place is so we got out and right away got into another taxi.  Driving up Avenida Las Vegas traffic got very heavy and the driver finally made a right turn and I could see that there was no one driving on the upcoming bridge so there was probably an accident in front of it.

On the way we observed a street entertainer balancing on a rope with a ball on his head and juggling 3 bowling pins.  I gave him 1,000 pesos.

We arrived at Jose and Marie’s house about 11am for a 19,000 peso taxi ride.

Jose and I played 2 games over the next few hours and he won both of them.   Grrrr!  In the middle of that time Maria served us a nice lunch including a great carrot cake for dessert that almost reminded me of a Christmas fruit cake.

Jose showed me his ChessX software he uses to save his games and to practice with.  It gave me some ideas for my own Shredder software.

We left about 4:30 and arrived back at the apt for another 19,000 pesos.

Teresa and I again had a short discussion about moving.  I understand an additional reason now is to get away from Andres.

I put my memory stick in the computer and got a “USB Device not recognized” message.  I tried it again twice more before I got it to work.

Teresa informed me that she’s going to the finca to show it to another prospective renter.

I think that will give Laura and I a chance to have pizza at Papa Johns – we haven’t been there since March.

Uh-oh, I had Teresa cook a couple burgers for me only to find out that we are out of buns so we had to use to slices of bread.

Wow, no rain today!

T-shirt of the day: Better luck next time.  In memory of when I used to care.

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

I fell asleep quickly last night and didn’t wake up until 4am.  It was still raining lightly and the pitter patter of the raindrops was soothing but not enough for me to fall back asleep so I got up at 5:15.

In the news (TV and newspapers) they’ve been talking about a new hydroelectric dam that’s being built.  Apparently there is a problem with its construction that’s serious enough that they’ve had to evacuate some people from nearby villages.  See ColombiaReports.com for details.

At the gym I completed all of my exercises in an hour and 50 minutes.  Jose told me he’s going to see Solo: A Star Wars Story (6.3) tomorrow.

The following is from an email from the US Embassy in Colombia.

Presidential elections will take place throughout Colombia on Sunday, May 27, 2018.  If needed, a second round will take place on Sunday, June 17, 2018.  There is the potential for demonstrations, traffic disruptions, and visible police presence during the campaigns leading up to the elections.  There will be road closures through Bogota and other major cities on May 27 and June 17 if the second round is held.  Alcohol sales will be restricted and ciclovia may be canceled in some cities. 

Actions to Take:

·        Monitor local media for updates.

·        Avoid demonstrations.

·        Maintain a high level of vigilance, especially in popular public areas.

I took a short nap from 1pm to 1:30 while Teresa was making lunch.

I left the apt at 4:30 for the 5:30 movie.  There was a bus waiting for me downtown.  As usual I sat in a seat right across the aisle from the buzzer to facilitate getting off the bus.  In front of me was a young couple that was intent on making out.  I considered asking them to get a room but they probably wouldn’t understand.  I also thought of taking photos of them with my cellphone but I was a good boy and resisted.  A couple nuns got off the bus by the religious grotto.  The first one got off successfully but the bus started pulling away while the second one was still on the steps but lots of people noticed and shouted to the driver to stop.  Traffic was heavy starting at the Envigado/Medellin border and the trip took 30 minutes.  I got off at Santafe and walked the last block to Oviedo. 

I bought a preferred seating ticket (half price Wednesday) for 7,250 pesos.  I read my Reader’s Digest for 10 minutes and then bought a small popcorn and small soda for 12,600 leaving me with a Cine Colombia card balance of 4,650.

There were dozens of people in the theater taking advantage of the discount.  The movie, 7 Days in Entebbe (5.8), was good but not great.  Again because 2 of the main characters were speaking in German I had to rely on the Spanish subtitles.  I quickly caught a bus back to the apt.

Teresa made 16 thin burgers and I wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them into ziploc bags. 

T-shirt of the day: I’m super normal.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

I only got up once during the night finally waking at 5:45 and getting up at 6:15.

I finished entering my chess games with Jose into my database but I counted 7 games where he’s playing the White pieces but 12 for me so obviously I missed something as it should be more even.  I counted 21 games recorded in my little game book so that just confirms it.  Time to do an audit!  According to my scorebook I have played 11 games with White and Jose has played 10 with White.

I watched the first 15 minutes of the Today show and then left the apt.

I had to wait about 15 minutes downtown to catch a bus and traffic was the worst I’ve seen – just crawling all the way.  At Envios Market I picked up another envelope from MetLife about my Sears retirement annuity.  I waited 5 minutes for another bus to take me to Starbucks – again crawling through the Gold Mile.  At Starbucks I had my usual white mocha latte.  I sat outside and read some of my Reader’s Digest.  I walked across the street and waited about 10 minutes for a Sabaneta bus to pick me up.  It was standing room only but I soon got lucky and got a nearby seat.

Crossing the street opposite La Casita Parilla I could see that they now have a hood above the cooking area that vents the smoke out to the roof.

Back at the apt I installed the HV-H2237U software that came with my headphones which allowed me to increase the speaker and microphone settings.  That should help my minor hearing loss.

At 2:15 it started raining but it only lasted about 30 minutes.

I left the apt at 3:30, made my last stop for the month at the ATM (no more cash in my checking account), paid the Une (wifi) bill of 85mil, and stopped for a café con leche at Bartolos.  I couldn’t get a wifi signal so I paid for my coffee and went down the street.  There weren’t any tables available at the bakery so I sat across from city hall for a while and checked out my cellphone now that I had wifi.  At 4:45 it started raining so I returned to the apt.  It didn’t stop until 8pm.

Instead of using prepackaged burgers again Teresa made one up with the ground beef we bought last weekend.  I asked her to make it thicker next time and she replied that if she did that the inside wouldn’t cook thoroughly.  She suggested cooking 2 patties next time for one burger.  Sounds reasonbable.

It started raining again in the evening.

It took me until 10pm but I think now I’ve got all of my games against Jose Cruz entered into my database.  And it matches my little book – 11 games with White for me and 10 with White for Jose.  Now if I could just figure out how to sort my database list chronologically.

It was still raining lightly when we went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Better luck next time.

Monday, May 21, 2018

I slept pretty well despite getting up 4-5 times during the night.  I have to work at drinking fewer liquids in the evening.

I started entering more of my games with Jose Cruz into my Shredder database and my system crashed.  Rebooting the computer didn’t help so a message was sent to Microsoft.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  Oscar pointed out a taxi driver named George who has lost over 100 pounds in the last 3 years coming to the gym.  I did all my exercises in an hour and 55 minutes.  On my way back I saw that La Casita Parilla was open and they now have the cooking area closed in by glass. 

At noon it started raining but it only lasted for a few minutes.

At 1:30 our buzzer rang and we all looked at one another.  Teresa checked but it wasn’t Andres.

Laura left at 2:30 to pick up the finca electricity bill from Caldas.  I understand afterward she’s going to her girlfriend Cindy’s house to celebrate her mother’s birthday.

Teresa and I tried to take a nap from 2:45 to 3:45 but there was some incessant pounding coming from somewhere.

In the farthest end of the park behind the library there are now 7 work sheds set up and all the grass is torn up with a trench built at the farthest end.

I received an email from Envios Market that I have a document waiting for pickup.  Probably tomorrow since I’m playing chess with Jose on Thursday.

T-shirt of the day: Ice cream is cheaper than therapy.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

I got up twice during the night, finally waking at 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Just before 6am someone buzzed us from downstairs.  Andres?  No doubt.  He came back and continued at 6:30 and this time I was sure Teresa was awake.  He even called out something but it didn’t sound like Teresa’s name.  She got up and asked me for 50mil to give to him to go away.  I did, and she buzzed him in and had words with him just outside our door.  By this time I was up and dressed in my casual clothes.  He left, without the cash, and I believe Teresa called the police on him.  He was soon seen walking down the hill in the direction of the metro.  I hope that’s the last we see of him.

Teresa left the apt with Laura to meet Enrico and his wife to see the finca.  I went to Exito and first had a café con leche at Juan Valdez.  After killing 30 minutes or so I picked up bananas, bread, cheddar cheese and nacho chips.  Exito has reorganized a lot of their aisles in the food department so it took me a little longer than usual.  The net result is they appear to have increased the produce area.

I returned to the apt and started repackaging the cheddar cheese into 2-packs.  I was almost finished when Teresa called me and invited me to join her for lunch at Deli Hoy.  I said I’ll be there in about 10 minutes.  I finished repackaging the cheese and headed down to the restaurant.  Teresa was there without Laura and we had their buffet for 15mil each.  I first got a bowl of soup and the server brought me the other food – chicken leg, slice of pork and cooked vegetables but I told her I wanted to finish my soup first so she took it away.  After my soup and a small potato salad they gave me she brought back the rest of my meal.  Teresa told me the couple – he’s German and she’s Colombian - are interested in the finca and will let Teresa know if they are going to rent it.

I spent most of the afternoon studying how my Shredder software works.  I finally figured out the proper procedure to save the games I’ve played with Jose but I still haven’t figured out the best way to computer analyze them.

I watched season 2 episode 5 of Westworld on Direct TV.

I understand next Sunday will be Colombia’s election – perhaps just a primary – so all the bars will be closed.

There was another mass school shooting in the US on Friday.  If they treated these shootings as they do airplane crashes, every time one happened, something would change to try to prevent the next one.  Colombia – where they don’t shoot their kids!

T-shirt of the day: There is no option B.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

I slept pretty well despite getting up 4-5 times during the night.

We finally woke/got up at 7:45.

After a quick breakfast of cereal I thought we were going to leave right away for Mayorista but we didn’t get out until about 10am.  I had turned on the TV about 9:30 and we caught the early part of a rebroadcast of the wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.  Lots of precedents set there: she’s American, divorced and part African American.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,922 to the US Dollar.  It’s nice to see the peso get above 2900 again.

With Laura’s help we picked up about 500,000 pesos worth of groceries and took a private car back to the apt.  The driver was very talkative and I learned that he worked for something like 17 years in England and some time in Massachusetss but doesn’t speak English.  Hmmm, maybe it was New England and not England.

Teresa made spaghetti ala Juanita and I made garlic bread.  Delicious!

Laura left about 4pm for Santafe mall.

About 4:30 our doorbell rang; Teresa looked outside and it was Andres from San Andres.  She asked me to just ignore it.

At 5:30 it started raining and it didn’t stop.

T-shirt of the day: Breaking up is not the end.  It’s the beginning.

Friday, May 18, 2018

I heard the rain sometime during the night.  I only got up once finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

Well, the plan for today is first gym, second lunch, and then a trip to Mayorista for groceries.

I understand Teresa is going to show the finca on Sunday to someone that contacted me on Facebook.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I asked Jose when he would like his chess lesson and he said he’s a busy man but maybe Sunday.  I told him I would let him know if I’m available.  I completed all my exercises in an hour and 50 minutes.

We walked down to Deli Hoy where we had their menu of the day.

After lunch Teresa informed me that it looks like rain so she wants to go to Mayorista tomorrow.  It soon started raining but it only lasted for an hour.  We took a nap from 2:15 to 3:15.  At 3:30 I remembered that I needed to buy a Q’Hubo newspaper so Chuck will have his Condorito.  I have to get in the habit again.  Luckily the newspaper stand was still open and after buying it I stopped at Bartolos for awhile where I had a coconut lemonade.

When I got back to the apt I found that we had lost our wifi connection.

Among new US movie releases there isn’t anything I want to see.  Locally, I would like to see 7 Days in Entebbe (5.8) playing at 6:20 in Oviedo.

I asked Teresa where she wanted to go for dinner and at 8pm we left for Antica pizza.  We met MT down the hill and quickly caught a taxi.  It was misting a little but we had 2 umbrellas with us.  The restaurant was still crowded but after about a 10 minute wait we had a table – actually 4 stools at one of their counters.

Five slices and 4 drinks cost me 64,000 pesos (about $22.50).  We walked down a street and quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

The plan for tomorrow is to have a quick bowl of cereal for breakfast, make a grocery trip to Mayorista and then I think Teresa is going to the finca.

The wifi came back on at 10pm.

T-shirt of the day: There is no finish line.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

It took me maybe 30 minutes to fall asleep last night; probably because of the medium soda I drank at the theater.  In the future I’ll try to remember to drink a small soda in the evening to reduce my Caffeine consumption a little.  As usual I got up several times during the night, waking up finally at 5am and getting up at 6am.

Since I got up early I left early - 8:30am - for my chess match with Jose.  I quickly caught a bus and called him to let him know I would be there early.  We arrived just about the same time just before 9:30.

I had the black pieces to start and I played my new opening and it was close but he blundered in the ending and I won the first game.

We went to Tropical again for a nice lunch of the day for 10,000 pesos each.  He told me that the next chess tournament they have posted is for the August flower festival.  There is supposed to be another at the end of June but there isn’t any details available for it as yet.

Back at the chess league I had white and I thought I was going to be able to attack his king but I blundered a pawn which gave him an attack and he won the second game.

I bought a kilo of strawberries outside Envigado station on my way back.  I was going to stop for a coconut lemonade at Bartolos but there weren’t any outside tables available.

I received some responses to my finca ad on Facebook but they had additional questions.

I asked Teresa how much land the finca is on and she wrote down 6,400,000 metros quadrados or 6 million 4 hundred thousand square meters.  I converted it acres on my laptop and that came to 1,581 acres.  I went back to her and asked her again and she said 6 thousand 400 square meters so I scratched out three of the zeroes she had written and showed it to her.  I know now that I can’t trust her when it comes to math.  Btw, 6,400 sq meters comes to 1.58 acres – but a lot of it is vertical.

I watched Season 1 Episode 6 of The Rain (6.1) on Netflix.

I finished reading James Patterson’s Kiss the Girls: Alex Cross #2 on my Nook.

T-shirt of the day: The best memories are in your heart.