Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7am.


Medellin (including the metropolitan area) have instituted “pico y cedula”.  For example, since my and Teresa’s cedula end with a ‘7’ in Envigado we are only allowed to go to the grocery store, pharmacy, and bank on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Of course a secondary rule says only one person from the family can go out.)  There is a 932mil penalty for violations.

I saw an “interesting” movie on Netflix this afternoon called The Platform.


Per the evening news, Colombia has 470 coronavirus cases, and today they experienced their 4^th death, a 76-year-old.  Most of the cases now fall in the 20-40 year-old range.  Antioqia has 59 cases.


Victoria from Envios Market emailed me that there is a 55mil charge for my last package.  I emailed back that my package contained 20 N95 facemasks and that I would like to donate most of them to a local hospital if there is a need.  A few minutes later I got 2 Ziploc bags and marked one with my name and one with Teresa’s.  I put my mask inside my bag but she doesn’t like how hers fits.  It’s too tight so she “fixed it” which probably means it no longer works correctly.  I know they are tight and warm and uncomfortable but otherwise they don’t work.  I’m slightly concerned mine won’t fit correctly because of my beard. (Imagine being a healthcare worker and having to wear one all day every day.)


If I understood the news correctly, some town wants their citizens to use the transmilenio only at specific hours (5-6am, 6-7am, 7-8am, 8-9am) depending on their cedula number.


At 8pm more applause for the healthcare workers joined in by several dogs howling.


About 9pm I noticed police checking papers of a couple waiting outside Exito.


I don’t claim to be a writer or a historian but in my “free time” I’ve been working on a timeline of the Trump administration as it relates to its response to the coronavirus.  I hope everyone will read it and feel free to reply with any corrections.


Joke of the day

It was the beginning of a new academic year at the college, and the freshmen were beginning to arrive.

The job of introducing the newcomers to their new surroundings belonged to the Dean of Women.

During the opening speech of the lecture, the Dean saw fit to bring up the subject of sexual morality, in line with the college's conservative values.

She asked the freshmen: "In moments of temptation, ask yourselves just one question: Is an hour of pleasure worth a lifetime of shame?"

The freshmen half-heartedly muttered in agreement, and the lecture went on without interruption. 

At the end of the lecture, the Dean decided to ask the freshmen if they had any questions.

One of the girls shyly raised her hand and asked: "How do you get it to last for a whole hour?"