Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Tuesday, October 30, 2018



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

Teresa soon left to get her hair done and I went to Carbon de Lena for breakfast.

I couldn’t get the new roll of tape open for the life of me even after cutting through a couple of layers.

I left the apt about 7:30 and the frog was still lying low on the fence.

I had my usual breakfast plus a 2nd cup of coffee for 12,200 since the mall doesn’t open until 9am.

I made a quick stop to another electrical store a block away but they don’t have our light switches either.

Walking down the hill I saw a couple of garbage cans now gracing the remodeled park.

I stopped at a small store and bought another permanent black Sharpie that we might need to mark boxes we’re moving.

Outside Exito I found a recycling center where I got rid of a used AA battery I had.

Outside Home Center I showed the security guard my new roll of tape so he could put a sticker on it.  Another guard came over, he spoke very good English I explained my problem.  He managed to find the end of it quickly and I had him hold it in place while I put it in the dispenser.  He said he learned English by only using Duolingo.  Imagine that.

Teresa called me and reminded me of her 10:30 appointment and I told her I’m on my way.

We left the apt at 9:45 and caught a taxi to El Tesoro mall.  At the doctor’s office we arrived at 10:15 for her 10:30am appointment.  She was finally taken at 11:15.  (I noticed from the doctor’s office that the old Cinemark sign now says CMK.) 

The doctor said she merely has a cyst but he wants her to get a mammogram.  It’s been about 3 years from her last one and I have reminded her occasionally that she needs one every year.
We looked in a furniture store at a nice table and chairs but the price was something like 5 million pesos.

I added 10mil to Laura’s cellphone so she could start calling Une and Direct TV.  Une says that Teresa has to call and Direct TV told her to call back later.

I understand we’re going to take the dining room table, chairs, sofa, and living room table to the antique store to sell on consignment.  If we haven’t sold the table and chairs after 4 months we will move them to the finca.
Teresa then informed me that the woman at the antique store would only pay 500,000 pesos for the tables and chairs and since Teresa paid 2 million we’re going to keep them.
Teresa and I had lunch at J&C Delicias for 93mil for 2 lunches, 2 juices and a lunch to go for Laura.

About 2pm a rainstorm came through.  We’ve been pretty lucky with the weather thus far.  Unfortunately the light rain continued for throughout the day.

Don and another man arrived at 2:30 and helped dismantle the large, heavy dining room table.

We all carried the two pieces, chairs and more bags of clothes and a couple suitcases of clothes and glassware.

I thought I was going to have to walk over to the new apt again but Teresa and Laura sat in the cab with Don and I and the other man squeezed into the back and held on for dear life.

We unloaded everything and the 2 men carried everything up AND put the table back together.

About 5pm the ladies were putting clothes away and I asked if anyone wanted to see the movie tonight.  Teresa wasn’t interested in Bohemian Rhapsody and she said Laura had to stay and help her so I went alone.

It’s about a 6 block walk to the mall.

I added 40mil to my empty Cine Colombia card and then asked to buy one ticket.  The only regular seats were in the first row and there were NO preferred seats available.

I walked back to the apt.  In the darkness I could see the bright lights of a restaurant just down the hill from us – Tito’s Pizza.  I was a little surprised when the portero (doorman) said “hello Terry”.

About 6:30 we left the apt, I with my gym bag to refill and Laura with my suitcase filled with plastic bags.

She put the suitcase in the front seat of the taxi and we all got into the back seat.

At the old apt I offered to switch my gym bag for the suitcase.  As soon as I picked it up I knew something was wrong.  It was heavy, too heavy to contain plastic bags.  Teresa was already in the building but with Laura standing next to me I said “this isn’t my suitcase.”  I carried it upstairs and said “I hope we’re not bringing back something we already took to the apt”.  Upstairs we opened it and it contained glassware.  Uh-oh.  Teresa had a fit and I tried to calm things down by saying that none of the 3 of us noticed it wasn’t the right suitcase.

She told Laura to go get the right suitcase and I tried to get Laura to eat first.

Teresa and I had dinner at La Casita Parilla and we got a dinner and juice to take back for Laura.

Laura came back at 9pm.

Teresa has an 8am appointment tomorrow morning to get a mammogram.

Joke of the day
Today more money is being spent on breast implants and Viagra than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

MOVE IMMINENT
Today, Wednesday, we plan to move the beds so obvioiusly we’ll be sleeping in the new apt for the first time tonight.  Either late today or tomorrow we’ll move the refrigerator and washing machine and a few leftover items.

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Monday, October 29, 2018


I woke up at 5:30 and got up at 6:15 as the movers were supposed to arrive at 7am.  I took my shower and had a quick breakfast of granola.

I packed some more of my clothes and the remainder of my books.
The movers arrived (Don and 2 other middle aged men) at 7:30 and we filled the truck.  (Teresa said we’re going to need younger, stronger men when it comes time to move the refrigerator and dryer.)  Teresa and Laura went in the truck cab with Don and I walked to the new apt with the two men.  One of them told me he worked in Massachusetts as a taxi driver for a few years.

I set up the bed in the guest room and there was barely enough room to put a small end table next to it and still be able to open the closet doors.

About 10:30 we walked the 3 blocks up the hill to Avenida Poblado and another block to the little Aymara restaurant where we had a more traditional breakfast for 25,600 pesos.

The ladies returned to the new apt and I returned to the old.  I tried to take a nap but just ended up resting for about 30 minutes.  I updated my blog and then left at noon.

I went to Home Center where I bought another roll of packing tape.  (I think we’re going to need it when it comes time to “wrapping” the refrigerator and dryer.

Well, what do you know,the remodeled Home Center has self checkout registers.  Just like Home Depot back in the States there was a young lady there to guide me through the process.  I paid 5,900 pesos cash for a 40 meter roll of topex cinta de empaque.
I arrived back at the apt in about 10 minutes at 1pm.

About 2pm we all walked up to La Buena Mesa, the restaurant area, where we found the restaurant Asados Rogelio (276 1133).  They have a menu of the day that changes each day and we had a nice lunch with fresh juice for 15mil each.

We walked back to the new apt, I took a nap and Teresa called for a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow.

Emeralda arrived at 5pm and gave us a ride back to our old apt.
I received an email from Envios Market that I have a document Esmeralda left about 7:15 with a couple bags of clothes and an accessory table we had.  She is also interested in our exercise cycle we had in the finca although she will have to make payments little by little.

Last week I sent an email to the US embassy in Bogota regarding MT’s missing SS payment.  Today they responded and, no surprise, I have to contact the foreign SS office in San Jose, Costa Rica.  Luckily they gave me an online address that I could fill out instead of having to worry about making a call.

We were both tired so we went to bed a few minutes earlier than usual.

Joke of the day
A man wanted to get married. He was having trouble choosing among three likely candidates so he gave each woman a present of $5,000 and watched to see what they did with the money.

The first gets a total makeover. She goes to a fancy beauty salon, gets her hair done, new makeup; buys several new outfits and dresses up very nicely for the man. She tells him she has done this to be more attractive for him because she loves him so much.

The man was impressed.

The second goes shopping to buy the man gifts. She gets him a new set of golf clubs, some new gizmos for his computer, and some expensive clothes. As she presents these gifts, she tells him she has spent all the money on him because she loves him so much.  Again, the man is impressed.

The third invests the money in the stock market.  She earns several times the $5,000. She gives him back his $5,000 and reinvests the remainder in a joint account. She tells him she wants to save for their future because she loves him so much.  Obviously, the man was impressed.

The man thought for a long time about what each woman had done with the money he'd given her.

Then he married the one with the biggest boobs.
 Men are like that, you know.

Monday, October 29, 2018

Sunday, October 28, 2018


I was awakened at 4:30 by passersby talking loudly, whistling and laughing.  They were probably drunk.

I finally fell back asleep after 6am and then was awakened at 8am by men trimming trees right outside our bedroom window.  Sigh!

Teresa mentioned that Juanita is married to the woman who cleaned our apartment yesterday.  Interesting!

Teresa and I had some disagreement about when we’re making the final move or when we’re moving all the beds and sleeping in the new apt for the first time.  She seems to want to move all the beds tomorrow.  She told me movers are coming at 8am and I’m supposed to get up early enough to shower, have breakfast and disassemble 3 beds?  I don’t think so.  For the hour (11am-noon) before my Bears game I wanted to take my gym bag full of stuff to the new apt and return with my empty suitcase.

I ended up disassembling the guest bed and ran out of time to do anything else.

The ladies left at 11:30 and I stayed to watch my Bears game.  I drank a bottle of root beer and ate ¼ # of salted-in-the-shell peanuts and watched my Bears have their way with the New York Jets 24-10.  The Detroit lions had already lost to the Seattle Seahawks. 

After the game I changed clothes and walked over to Carbon de Leña where I had chicken shish-kebab and a mango juice for 15,500.  I then watched some of the undefeated LA Rams vs Green Bay Packers game.

Chuck arrived at 6:15 and when I walked outside I took a photo of a small frog/toad hanging on to a wicket of our fence.

We took a taxi to Parque Lleras and grabbed an outside table conveniently located in front of a large TV at Patrick’s Irish Sports Pub.  I saw the last few minutes of the Packers lose to the Rams.  Then Patrick came and removed the TV.  He said the main event tonight is the 5th game of the World Series so we had to go inside to watch Sunday Night Football.  Chuck was cheering on the New Orleans Saints to win and I was cheering on the Minnesota Vikings to lose and sitting at the table behind us was a young man from Minnetonka, Minnesota cheering for the Vikings to win.
Chuck and I shared a pepporoni pizza during halftime and we enjoyed watching the Saints prevail 30-20.  My Chicago Bears are now in 1st place by ½ a game over the Minnesota Vikings.

The game was over by just after 10pm and we caught a taxi back to Parque Envigado.  On the way back I noticed a new Starbucks has opened on Calle 10A.

Back at the apt Teresa had returned my suitcase and I spent some time filling it up again before going to bed.

Joke of the day
Cookies by Douglas Adams (author: "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy")
This actually did happen to a real person, and the real person was me. I had gone to catch a train. This was April 1976, in Cambridge, U.K. I was a bit early for the train. I'd gotten the time of the train wrong.

I went to get myself a newspaper to do the crossword puzzle, a cup of coffee and a packet of cookies. I went and sat at a table.

I want you to picture the scene. It's very important you get this very clear in your mind.

Here's the table, newspaper, cup of coffee, packet of cookies. There's a guy sitting opposite me, perfectly ordinary-looking guy wearing a business suit, carrying a briefcase.

It didn't look like he was going to do anything weird. What he did was this: he suddenly leaned across, picked up the packet of cookies, tore it open, took one out, and ate it.

Now this, I have to say, is the sort of thing the British are very bad at dealing with. There's nothing in our background, upbringing, or education that teaches you how to deal with someone who in broad daylight has just stolen your cookies.

You know what would happen if this had been South Central Los Angeles. There would have very quickly been gunfire, helicopters coming in, CNN, you know. . . But in the end, I did what any red-blooded Englishman would do: I ignored it. And I stared at the newspaper, took a sip of coffee, tried to do a clue in the newspaper, couldn't do anything, and thought what am I going to do?

In the end I thought I'll just have to go for it, and I tried very hard not to notice the fact that the packet was already mysteriously opened. I took out a cookie for myself. I thought that settled him. But it hadn't, because a moment or two later he did it again. He took another cookie.

Having not mentioned it the first time, it was somehow even harder to raise the subject the second time around. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice . . ." I mean, it doesn't really work.

We went through the whole packet like this. When I say the whole packet, I mean there were only about eight cookies, but it felt like a lifetime. He took one, I took one, he took one, I took one. Finally, when we got to the end, he stood up and walked away.

Well, we exchanged meaningful looks, then he walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back. A moment or two later the train was coming in, so I tossed back the rest of my coffee, stood up, picked up the newspaper, and underneath the newspaper were my cookies.

The thing I like the most about this story is the realization that somewhere in England there has been wandering around for the last quarter-century a perfectly ordinary guy who's had the same exact story, only he doesn't have the punch line.
(Excerpted from "The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time" by Douglas Adams)

Sunday, October 28, 2018

WARNING - ANTICIPATED SERVICE INTERRUPTION

In the next few days we'll be making the move to the new apartment and i don't know how long it will be before we restore Internet service so be patient.

Btw, i forgot to mention that on our way back from the pizza place last night we passed a bar with 5 horses parked outside.  I've seen that in Caldas, but in Envigado?  Incredible.

Saturday, October 27, 2018


I got up 3 times during the night, finally waking at 6:30 and getting up at 7:30.

Teresa told me a man is coming over at 10:30 to take the vertical blinds (or just their measurement?) to the new apt and add additional blinds if necessary.  She said I will be on my own for lunch.

Teresa went around the apt and showed me light switches (4) that have cracks in them.  I understand she thinks we should replace them.  How should I know, maybe they would charge us some exorbitant amount for them to replace them.

She asked me to go to an electrical store by the La Vaquita supermarket.

I left the apt just after 9am, made what I hope is my last ATM withdrawal for this month, and found La Bombas right across the street from La Vaquita.  So far, so good.

I told a man working there I don’t speak much Spanish but I showed him a photo of the light switch and told him I need four.  I understood they don’t have them but he was trying to tell me where to go to get them.  He finally said wait a second and got a man who spoke English.  He told me to go to the end of the block, turn left and after 2-3 blocks I would find a small park and Electricos de Itagui will be across the street.

I followed his directions and at the 3 block mark I thought I saw a small park a block away.  But I continued on my way another couple blocks and finally stopped and turned around.  I stopped at a small store called “Wow!” where I asked a lady if she knew where Electricos de Itagui might be.  The best I got out of her was “well, electrical” in Spanish.

I continued a couple more blocks and then headed towards where I thought I saw the small park.  It was a small park, very small.  I checked out all the stores around it but couldn’t find Electricos de Itagui.

I walked back toward Parque Envigado.  I stopped at Cotrafa where I waited 15 minutes in line to pay the Une bill.

At city hall I got an internet connection, I googled Electricos de Itagui and they only gave a phone number with no address.  I texted Laura and asked her to call that number and ask for their address.  She answered in about 60 seconds gave me the address of Calle 35 Sur #39-26 and I headed out again.

I ended up at the same park and Electricos de Itagui was right across the street on the corner.  I don’t know how I missed it the first time; I must have been practically standing under their sign.  I showed the photo to a young lady and she pointed to a display on the wall behind me.  There were about 20 different light switches but not exactly like what we had.  She said if I wanted exactly the same thing I would have to go to…wait for it… Home Center.  Exactly the place I first thought I would try until Teresa derailed me with this trip.

On the way back to the apt I stopped at a health food store where I bought a bottle of 30 1000mg L-Arginine softgels for 25,400.
Back at the apt the ladies were gone…of course, and so were our vertical blinds.  I couldn’t wait to get out of my jeans and heavy t-shirt.

I called Chuck and asked if he was free for lunch.  He finally called me back at 11:40 and we agreed to meet at Bartolos at noon.
I logged out of my computer, changed into shorts and sleeveless t-shirt and met Chuck at the park at noon.  He was already sitting at a table talking to a guy named Byron, a black guy who I believe I’ve met before.  We all started with coffee and then Byron and I had lunch as Chuck had had breakfast not long before.

Sitting a table away we met David from Florida, who was a little secretive about where he was from, and his younger Colombian wife whose name I don’t recall.  (He claims we met before but I searched the last 2 years of my blog and I don’t see mention of it.  He’s probably one of those gringos who are hiding from the CIA.)
We talked for sometime then Byron left and Chuck and I walked back to my apt.  I exchanged a few things and while there I got a text from Laura to please bring her iPhone charger.  We walked down to the mall and inside entered Home Center through their new 2nd floor entrance.

I found the light switch area and after checking dozens of them came to the realization that none were exactly the same as what we had – it didn’t appear that any of them were even the same brand.  I asked at the electrical desk and the young man said that those are old switches and you won’t find them anywhere.

I received a text message from Laura to please buy a bottle of glass cleaner and Chuck led me directly to that section and I picked up a bottle of Mr. Muscle.

Chuck was looking for a toilet plunger and believe it or not we couldn’t find a “plumber’s friend”.  He also wanted to look at futons which I thought were temporary beds that you had to blow up somehow.  What we looked at were more like sofas that convert into beds.  While looking we met a couple from Miami – he spoke English and she didn’t.

I paid 7,900 for the bottle of glass cleaner and Chuck wanted to go for coffee and something sweet so I took him upstairs to my favorite place Café Arangos for carrot cake.  He agreed it’s the best he’s had in a long time.

I got some texts from Laura like “where are you?” and “why aren’t you at the apt already?”.  After a few minutes Chuck returned to his apt for a nap and I walked the few blocks (8 minutes?) from the mall to the new apt.

The portero (doorman/security guard) let me in with no problem.  In the apt a cleaning lady was busy doing what they do and soon would be cleaning windows.  Also, the vertical blinds were in the master bedroom instead of the balcony and they were obviously 4” or so too long as they were scrapping the floor.  Teresa said that they balcony window is too long so they will only work in the bedroom.

Now, some background information.  There is something like 40 yards between out building and the one facing us.  So, there’s our building, a patch of grass, fence, sidewalk, 2 lane street, their sidewalk, their fence and then their building.

The previous owner of this apt had a cat so they had this netting put up around the balcony and the master bedroom windows.  They were installed using slightly open eye hooks drilled into the brickwork.  Juanita was there and she had already removed the netting for the balcony.  Since I’m taller and my arms are longer I helped her with the one in the master bedroom.  Interwoven into the netting was cord that they then attached to the eye hooks.  I easily removed the cord from the eye hooks except for the corners.  The cord was so tight there wasn’t any slack to move it off the eye hook.  Finally, I got the idea to untie the two ends of the cord which were tied with 3 half hitches (I was a boy scout).  I got 2 of them off but had difficulty with the 3rd.  Juanita tried to use a Phillips screwdrives to lossen it (don’t ask) and I went to take care of something else for a minute.  When I came back she had finished untying it.  Now all we had to do was remove the cord from the eye hooks on the other side but the other window pane doesn’t open.
I was leaning out trying to hold onto the window without falling, to reach the eye hooks.  My arm wasn’t long enough.  Juanita gave me the screwdriver but I still came up short.  Someone handed me a broom handle and that got me to the required distance.  I managed to remove the cord from the upper eye hook but the net itself was caught.  I worked on that for awhile then something across the street caught my attention.

There was a woman dressed in a red sexy costume, with long hair coming down her back and the only thing covering her ass was 2 strips of red material.  A man was visible in the doorway with a fancy camera taking photos of her.  (Btw, I never saw her except from the back.)

I heard simultaneously from Teresa and Laura “no mirando” (no looking).  I said “Estoy occupado” (I’m busy) and “Estoy trabajando aqui” (I’m working here) while Juanita was laughing her head off.  (Welcome to the neighborhood.)

Juanita and I finally got the cord and webbing off the hooks and the couple were gone.

We sat around waiting for the cleaning lady to finish, I gave her 50mil and we all left.

Juanita jumped on her motorcycle and Teresa, Laura and I walked back to the old apt.  On the way Teresa mentioned that the couple I saw across the street are bisexual.  A minute later she said they were transsexual.  (I’m not sure how she is privy to their sexual proclivities.)

Back at the old apt we did some more packing.  Teresa called some guy she knows from the finca and I heard repeatedly “car” so I didn’t know how she expected to get 6 suitcases and multiple huge full plastic bags into one car.  Multiple trips?  He finally showed up at 7:30 and (surprise #1) he had a good sized truck.  And you wonder why I’m confused?  His wife stood guard outside the truck while we carried everything down and packed it in the truck.

Laura got in the cab with them and Teresa and I stood in the back of the truck.  Surprise #2: Teresa hoped the police wouldn’t see us because standing in the back of the truck is illegal.  At the new apartment surprise #3: the guard wouldn’t let the truck on the grounds so we had to park just outside the gate.  Surprise #4: I thought we would take everything straight to the elevator but Teresa headed straight for the storage room.  Surprise #5: Teresa couldn’t find a key to open our storage room.  Once we had everything set down outside the storage area Teresa found the correct key, opened the door and we started loading Christmas stuff into the storage area.  Then we started taking stuff to the elevator and up to the apt.

After everything was upstairs I paid Don (I think his name was) 50mil and they left.

I quickly emptied my suitcase, hung shirts in my new closet, and put some books in the closet.

I was done and we were waiting on Laura to put on makeup as she’s going out later.

Sitting on the balcony (in the dark) I noticed the windows of the apt across the street have their windows soaped over so you can’t see in – but no drapes or blinds.  Also one of the bedrooms was very brightly lit like a photo studio.  Hmmm!

When Laura was ready we went downstairs and the portero called us a taxi which arrived in about 2 minutes.

We took the taxi to our usual Antica Pizzaria in the Mesa neighborhood.  I felt quite cool standing outside in my shorts and sleeveless t-shirt.  After about a 15 minute wait we were inside and soon were guzzling down our pizza.

We took a taxi back to the apt and Laura continued on to Parque Lleras.

We were both exhausted and we soon went to bed.

Joke of the day
For several years, a man was having an affair with an Italian woman.
One night, she confided in him that she was pregnant.

Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a large sum of money if she would go to Italy to secretly have the child.   If she stayed in Italy to raise the child, he would also provide child support until the child turned 18.

She agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born.

To keep it discrete, he told her to simply mail him a postcard, and write 'Spaghetti' on the back. He would then arrange for the child support payments to begin.

One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife.
'Honey,' she said, 'You received a very strange post card today.'

'Oh, just give it to me and I'll explain it later,' he said. The wife obeyed and watched as her husband read the card, turned white, and fainted.

On the card was written: 'Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.  Three, with meatballs, two without.  Send extra sauce!!!!!

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Friday, October 26, 2018


I got up once about 3 or 4am, again at 6:30, finally getting up at 7:40.

We obviously got some rain during the night.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  As Teresa was leaving the gym she said something about my having to pay IVA of more than 300mil for the apt.  Not understanding completely I told her I would talk to her about it later at the apt.  I received a text message from Bart Roepke the Minnesottian asking if I wanted to meet for coffee.  He said he was in Mayorca getting his phone fixed.  I told him I was at the gym and after shower and lunch I would be available.  I completed all my exercises in 2 hours.

Back at the apt Laura told me it was an IVA of only 33,250 for the new apt.  (I understand IVA as being like a sales tax.)  I gave her the cash and she went somewhere and paid it and I emailed a photo of the receipt to the RE agency.

Among new US movie releases, I would like to see Hunter Killer (6.6).

Among local movies, Searching (7.8) is playing at 7pm in Santafe mall, Halloween (7.5) is playing at 6:10 in Viva Envigado and Bohemian Rhapsody (8.4) is playing in Viva Envigado at 6:10 in their iMax theater.

I emailed Chuck suggesting we go to Patrick’s Irish Sports Pub Sunday night to watch the Vikings vs Saints game.  Alternately, there’s Philly Sports Bar in Laureles that Bart told me about.

Bart texted me back and said he finished whatever he was doing in Mayorca and we would meet up another time.

I took a nap from 2:40 to 3:10.

Teresa told me that the apartment owners (husband and wife) are going to arrive at the agency at 5:30 to sign the contract.

I packed one of my suitcases with clothes from my closet.  My other suitcase is already packed with miscellaneous stuff that I occasionally dip into.  Teresa spent a good part of the afternoon repairing the walls from the nails and screws we used to hang paintings and stuff.

Laura sent me a list of requirements from the Au Pair agency.  The problem is that it sounds like it was written for England as they are asking for various certificates and CDTs (whatever they are).  I asked and Laura confirmed that she translated it from Spanish to English.  Ah, that explains it.  I asked her to ask the agency for the same information in English.  She said she’ll ask Laura on Monday.

Teresa asked me if I really want to go to the movies tonight and I said yes so at 6pm we were all dressing to go to the 7pm showing of Searching at Santafe.

The ladies were finally ready at 6:15, we walked down the hill and surprisingly it took us 5 minutes to catch a Taxi.

At Santafe mall the ladies went window shopping at Zara while I went upstairs to buy tickets.  I was surprised there was no line but there weren’t any good general seating tickets available for 10mil so it cost me 15,500 apiece for preferred seats.

Laura texted me that Teresa was hungry so we met at the food court.  It was now 6:45 and there wasn’t really any place you could order and eat in 15 minutes so we returned to the theater.  The ladies ordered hotdogs and sodas for themselves and I ordered popcorn and a soda.  While they went ahead and started filling their soda cups a young cashier started asking me questions in English:

Where are you from?  USA

What state?  Chicago, uh, Illinois.

How long have you been here? Almost 6 years.

Then a young girl standing in line with her boyfriend starts talking to me in English:

Why did you choose Medellin?  Beautiful weather, beautiful women and a low cost of living.

I asked where she was from and she said she’s from Miami and has been here 3 months.

I excused myself and caught up with Teresa and Laura.  When we got inside the theater a couple were sitting in 2 of our seats.  I showed them my tickets and they moved.

Oops!  A lot of the movie was computer texting and it was all in Spanish.  Luckily, most of the words I could figure out.  The movie was very good with a surprise ending.

Outside the mall we caught a taxi after waiting only a couple minutes.

Teresa informed me that the woman from the antique store no longer wants to buy our finca table and chairs.  But she does want us to put it in her store for her to sell.  I said first let’s look at other tables and get an idea of what they cost.  I think we’re going to check it out tomorrow afternoon.

Joke of the day
An old woman was sipping on a glass of wine, while sitting on the patio with her husband, and she says “I love you so much, I don’t know how I could ever live without you.”… 
Her husband asks, “Is that you, or the wine talking?”…
She replies, “It’s me, talking to the wine.”

Friday, October 26, 2018

Thursday, October 25, 2018


I got up once during the night, again about 5:30, finally fell back asleep after Teresa got up about 6:30, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I left the apt at 8am and arrived at Carbon de Leña for calentao and café con leche for 9,200 pesos ($3).  I could get wifi but I couldn’t get an internet connection.

Back at the apt I watched the first 45 minutes of the Today show.

I made plans to meet Chuck for lunch at Bartolos at noon.
I tried calling SS but they said all their operators are busy and to try later.

Our current apt is in strato 3 but the new apt is in strato 5 so our utilities should be more expensive.  This explanation isn’t in perfect English, but “When a member of the public services and belong to strata 1, 2 and 3 have a subsidy of up to 60% compared of invoice value. The layers 5 and 6 contribute 20% to the value of the service consumption (kWh month).”
In other words, us being in strato 5, we will be contributing something like 20% towards the support of the lower stratas (poor people).  (Socialism at its finest!)

I put 100mil on the kitchen table to remind Laura to schedule driving lessons.  (I wonder if I could go with her on one of her later lessons to point things out.  For example, you just changed lanes without putting on your turn signal – that will cost you $100 (half a weeks salary) in the States.)

Teresa said something about the administration for our new building wants us to move all our things in one day.  Teresa already has several bags of clothes packed; it would be nice to move those in and be able to reuse the bags another day.

I finally managed to get my Uber app working but I’ll try not to use it during peak times.

I called SS at 10:38 and was told there was a 55 minute wait.  This is going to be close regarding meeting with Chuck at noon.  They finally answered at 11:45.

I learned that the problem with MT not receiving her money is a problem with Bancolombia.  She can call the US embassy in Bogota and they should be able to help her.

I asked if Teresa could be her spokesperson if we filled out something like a Power of Attorney.  The rep said we can set up a Representative Payee but first we have to go through the foreign office in San Jose, Costa Rica at +506 2519 2228 Fax: +506 2291 1032 or email: FBU.costarica@SSA.gov.

I had found “If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call our toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.”  I asked the rep if this might work as MT probably doesn’t type and she certainly doesn’t speak English.  She didn’t know so I guess I’ll have to call the number myself and see what happens.

I finished with the call at 11:50, changed clothes, and arrived at Bartolos 5 minutes late and Chuck was waiting for me.  We got a table outside and after waiting 10 minutes for service we walked down to the new Italian restaurant Il Vizzto Pasta y Carne.  We had the menu of the day for 13mil each.  I had the lasagna which included mushroom soup, a small salad and juice.  There were also a couple pieces of dry toasted bread with what looked like a butter stain on top.  (I should teach them how to make garlic bread.)

After lunch we walked down to the corner bakery where I had a churro with café con leche and Chuck had a couple cookies with a tinto.  Chuck questioned whether Sport Wings would stay open until the Sunday Night Football game ends about 10:30.  (Later I checked and responded that the mall closes at 8pm on Sunday so it’s difficult to believe the restaurant would stay open much after that.  We need to come up with an alternate plan.)

All in all we talked for a couple of hours then walked over to the new Colpatria bank where Chuck tried to withdraw first 800mil then 550mil using his (for emergencies only) Discover card.  In both attempts the machine said “I can’t do that right now.”
We said goodbye and I headed back to the apt.

Nobody was there so I texted Laura asking her location.  She replied that she was at the new apt and that I should come.  I walked down to Avenida Las Vegas down the street to McDonald’s and up the road a bit and turned north.  I arrived at the apt complex in 16 minutes and the portero (security guard) thankfully was expecting me and let me in without question.

Everyone was there including Juanita the saleslady.  My simple wish list for a new apt included: elongated toilet seats, hot water showers, and windows not facing south.  I won on all counts.  We looked over things more carefully.  For example, I measured the height of the balcony wall and it was 100 centimeters (3’4”).  We opened all the windows and got a good breeze.  Almost every window faces west so we won’t be getting a lot of sun during the day.  Juanita went over the place carefully and wrote down things that needed fixing.  She called someone and for 90mil a guy changed the front door lock.  (I understand we get the keys after the owner signs the contract.)  I measured the balcony sliding glass doors and wrote it down as 115 cm and now I can’t see that that’s correct; way too short.  On our way out Juanita showed Laura the storage space in the garage – number 88.

Esmeralda was waiting outside for us and she gave us a ride back to the apt.  She tried the exercise bicycle but I don’t know what she decided.  I took varous measurements of it for her and I understand she’s going to see how it fits in her apartment.

Teresa and Esmeralda went to the mall to shop and Laura and I stayed behind in the apt.

I think I’ll watch some Thursday Night Football tonight.

Teresa informed me that: 1) the new apt owner might sign the documents tomorrow, 2) if he does then we can start moving things in on Saturday, 3) we don’t have to move everything on one day as long as we restrict ourselves to Saturday from 8am to 1pm, Monday thru Friday from 9am to noon and 2pm to 5pm, 4) Teresa talked to the woman at the antique store where we bought our living room furniture and she said we could exhange our large, heavy six person finca dining room table for a smaller one that seats four, 5) if our patio blinds are too small to fit in the new apt we can get a longer thingy that attaches to the ceiling and just add more vertical blinds, 6) I’ll measure the bedroom windows and buy cheap horizontal blinds at Home Center and install those.

Joke of the day
A married couple went to the hospital to have their baby delivered.
Upon their arrival, the doctor said that the hospital was testing an amazing new high-tech machine that would transfer a portion of the mother's labor pain to the baby's father.  He asked if they were interested. Both said they were very much in favor of it.

The doctor set the pain transfer to 10% for starters, explaining that even 10% was probably more pain than the father had ever experienced before.  But as the labor progressed, the husband felt fine and asked the doctor to go ahead and kick it up a notch.
The doctor then adjusted the machine to 20% pain transfer. The husband was still feeling fine. The doctor then checked the husband's blood pressure and was amazed at how well he was doing.

At this point they decided to try for 50%. The husband continued to feel quite well.
Since the pain transfer was obviously helping the wife considerably, the husband encouraged the doctor to transfer ALL the pain to him.

The wife delivered a healthy baby with virtually no pain and the husband had experienced none. She and her husband were ecstatic.

When they got home they found the mailman dead on the porch.