Sunday, March 15, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 6:15 wondering what time it was.  (I had forgotten to bring my watch to bed with me.)  I got up and since it was closer to 6:30 than 5am I stayed up.


I left the apt at 8am and caught a Sabaneta bus while crossing Avenida Poblado.  I noticed there was no Ciclovia today; because of the virus?  I arrived at Ganso & Castor at 8:25 and Glenn and James were already there.  I had my usual granola with acia berries and Greek yogurt – and 2 café con leches.  Did the price go up by 5mil?


We walked across the street and looked for hand sanitizer in Exito.  They didn’t have any but I did see a couple packages of off brand toilet paper.  We walked to Pergamino where I had a cold caramel frappe again for 10 mil.  I saw a young lady get up and leave her purse and other things on her table and she was gone for at least 5 minutes.  Too trusting.  Later another young lady joined her and I think I heard them speaking German.  A vendor came by selling facemasks and hand sanitizer.  At Glenn’s encouragement I asked “how much?” and was told 20mil.  I told him ‘no’ but he wouldn’t leave.  He finally reduced the price to 5mil, the cheater.  I told him ‘no’ but he kept hanging around harassing me.  I said ‘adios, pues’ but that didn’t get him to leave.  Finally, I gave him the finger and told him to ‘fu*k off’ and he told me the same but at least he left after that.


Glenn had bought a Sunday El Tiempo newspaper at Exito and a large part of it was about the Corona Virus.  He gave it to me after he was finished reading it.


We left about 12:30 and James used Cabify to call a car.  The driver took the highway instead of Avenida Las Vegas and I was trying to figure out where I should get out.  I was about to request Ayura station when we passed it.  I found the driver spoke English so it was easy to explain my predicament.  He dropped me off at Avenida Las Vegas across the street from Viva Envigado.


I remembered Teresa was going to be in Mayorca so I just walked back to the apt.


Teresa returned about 2:30 and informed me that she and MT felt like they were the only ones in Mayorca.


I’ve made the decision that we’re going to move towards self-isolation.  For the next week or two, no gym, no chess with Jose, no Spanish lessons with Juan, and no chess lessons with Juan Castro.


We left the apt at 6pm and took a taxi to Euro in Mayorista where I helped Teresa pick up things.  They had lots of large packages of toilet paper; the only thing I couldn’t find was hand sanitizer.  At checkout the cashier was wearing a face mask, the only person I saw in the grocery store with one on.  They messed up my debit card payment by doing it in USD costing me an extra 3.5% and no amount of arguing could convince them they did anything wrong.  Our effective driver back to the apt also had a facemask on.


We were back at the apt by 8pm.


On second thought I will skip the gym due to the large gatherings but will rethink whether to go ahead with the individual meetings.


At 9:30 the Colombian president addressed the nation for about 10 minutes.  I’m sure I will learn what he said in the near future.


Btw, Colombia has closed its borders to all foreigners and Colombian nationals must submit to 2 weeks of self-isolation when returning to the country.  The country’s tourism industry has virtually collapsed with museums and other large-scale attractions closed.  The total number of infections in the country is now 34.


When I went to bed at 11:30 I felt like a had a slight nasal congestion.


7,418 steps today.


Joke of the day

A Chinese doctor can't find a job in a Hospital in the US, so he opens his own clinic and puts up a sign outside. 

It reads: 'GET TREATMENT FOR $20 - IF NOT CURED GET BACK $100.'

An American lawyer thinks this is a great opportunity to earn $100 and goes to the clinic.

Lawyer: 'I have lost my sense of taste.'

Doctor: 'Nurse, bring medicine from box No. 22 and put 3 drops in patient's mouth.'

Lawyer: 'Ugh, this is kerosene!'

Doctor: 'Congrats, your sense of taste is restored. Give me $20.'

The annoyed lawyer goes back after a few days to recover his money.

Lawyer: 'I have lost my memory. I cannot remember anything.'

Doctor: 'Nurse, bring medicine from box no. 22 and put 3 drops in his mouth.'

Lawyer (annoyed): 'This is kerosene. You gave this to me last time for restoring my taste.'

Doctor: 'Congrats. You got your memory back. Give me $20.'

The fuming lawyer pays him and then comes back a week later determined to get back $100.

Lawyer: 'My eyesight has become very weak I can't see at all.'

Doctor: 'Well, I don't have any medicine for that, so take this $100.'

Lawyer (staring at the note): 'But this is $20, not $100!!'

Doctor: 'Congratulations, your eyesight is restored. Give me $20.'