Sunday, September 6, 2020

 

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, got up twice during the night, finally waking at 6:15 and getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt just before 8am and walked up to Avenida Poblado. A number of people were out exercising but it didn’t appear to be an official ciclovia. I didn’t immediately see a bus so I started walking north. I got just about to Papa John’s when I caught a Sabaneta bus. I got off at Calle 7 and walked up the hill – first time in my N95 mask but I didn’t find it too difficult. This was my first time in Parque Lleras in 5 months and 3 weeks. I arrived first at Ganso & Castor but it’s no longer there. The entire inside of the restaurant has been gutted, obviously closed permanently. Glenn and James had an Uber problem and arrived 5 minutes later. We decided to walk some of the side streets until we found some place where we could have breakfast. Around the corner we found Al Alma café. We inquired as to whether they had eggs and were told “yes”. I had French toast and the others had eggs at one of their outside tables. At most there were a few people at 2 other tables. We chatted briefly with another older gringo just before leaving.

We walked some of the back streets. Lots of closures but then again it was Sunday morning so it was hard to tell what might have been closed for the day versus permanently. We walked to the Peregramino Café on the other side of Calle 10A where we had more coffee and continued chatting. I got a text from Marcos in Arizona that his Sept. 10^th flight was rescheduled to Sept. 27^th. I think he’ll be lucky if he gets here before December. We took an Uber back and I got out at Viva Envigado about 1:30.

Wow, what a change from yesterday. Very busy with the food court close to packed. I skipped Crepes & Waffles because there was a line of about 6 waiting outside. I skipped Parmessano because there were 2 parties waiting ahead of me. (Keep in mind that tables might be closed off reducing maximum occupancy.) I ended up having ribs and a Coke at Sport Wings.

I was back at the apt by 3:30.

The Chicago Bears kick off the 2020 season next Sunday at noon. My son has been having problems with the slingbox in his apartment so I’ve been looking into alternatives. I signed up for NFL Game Pass but so far have struggled getting it to work. I’ve traded several emails with the company trying various things. If push comes to shove I guess I can just watch NFL Redzone in order to see the highlights – if they have any.

Teresa returned about 6pm. She got some more cash from the finca renters.

Since I had a late lunch I didn’t have any appetite until late so I just had a bowl of cereal.

 

Coronavirus cases are rising in 22 of the 50 U.S. states, according to a Reuters analysis, a worrisome trend on a Labor Day holiday weekend traditionally filled with family gatherings and parties to mark the end of summer.

 

President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that the job market is doing “really well,” despite millions of Americans out of work and nearing eviction or foreclosure.

“Our Economy and Jobs are doing really well. Next Year will be a Record Setter. Stay Tuned!” tweeted Trump on Sunday afternoon ahead of Labor Day.

It is a tragic example of a president too out of touch with the struggles of everyday Americans. While many of Trump’s fans took their high-priced boats to celebrate the president on waterways across the country, others were packing their apartments after being evicted.

So far, South Carolina has been among the worst states in the country for evictions, with what is being described as a “tsunami,” that experts expect will hit records.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported heartbreaking numbers showing unemployment is still twice what it was when turned over to Trump in 2017.

In June, Trump celebrated the 13.3 percent unemployment calling it “an affirmation of all the work we’ve been doing” during his administration. He claimed earlier predictions were “the greatest miscalculation in the history of business shows.”

Trump has maintained that his economy is why he should be reelected, but his failures on every other issue have proved to bring down much of the economic success. His prized stock market took a hefty tumble, and for those not wealthy to be able to trade stocks, job insecurity and instability remain high.

“While the numbers still reflect enormous levels of American unemployment, the jobless rate improved from the dramatic 14.7 percent in April, which was the worst rate since monthly record-keeping began in 1948,” reports explained. “The US economy added 2.5 million jobs in May, after 20.7 million positions vanished in April.”

 

A number of secretaries of states warned on Sunday that voters may not see finalized results until weeks after Election Day.

Citing concerns over voting during the coronavirus pandemic, election officials across the country are making contingency plans should counting ballots accurately become difficult.

“We should be prepared for this to be closer to an Election Week, as opposed to an Election Day,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The bottom line is we are not going to have the full results and a counting of all of our ballots on election night.”

 

The US has 6,217,833 ð 6,241,869 ð 6,291,045 coronavirus cases with 187,600+ ð 188,000+ ð 188,700+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 650,062 ð 658,456 ð 666,521 cases with 21,412 deaths.  Medellin has 49,932 ð 50,942 ð 51,618 cases, an increase of 631 from September 5^th to 6^th. Envigado has a total of 2,730 cases, an increase of 27 from September 5^th to 6^th.

 

Joke of the day

A man travels on a ship. Two days in, the ship encounters a storm and sinks. Hanging on weakly to a piece of the mast, he manages to survive and gets washed up on an unknown island. Only problem is, it's so unknown that no ship ever comes near it.
10 years pass on the island, and the survivor has been alone all this time, that is until one day, he suddenly notices an unusual speck in the distance.

“It’s certainly not a ship,” he thinks to himself. No ship has ever come.

As the speck gets closer and closer the man starts to rule out the possibility that it’s a small boat or even a raft.

Suddenly, emerging from the surf is a beautiful blonde woman wearing scuba gear and a wetsuit.

She approaches the man, who can’t believe his eyes.

She tells him she has a boat nearby, and she just took a swim. The look of the poor man makes her feel a great wave of pity for him.

“Tell me, how long has it been since you’ve had a cigarette?” she asks the man.

“It’s been 10 years,” he replies.

With that, the woman reaches over and unzips a waterproof pocket on her left sleeve and pulls out a packet of cigarettes.

The man takes one, lights it and takes a long drag.

“Man, that is good!” he says, sighing in pleasure. 

“And how long has it been since you’ve had a sip of bourbon?” the woman asks.

Trembling, the castaway explains that it’s also been 10 years.

Sure enough, the woman reaches over, unzips her right sleeve and pulls out a flask.

The man opens it and takes a swig.

“This is the best day of my life,” he says, grinning.

The woman starts unzipping her long zipper that runs down the front of her wetsuit and looks at the man seductively.

“Now, how long has it been since you’ve had some real fun?” she asks seductively.

With tears in his eyes, the man falls to his knees and sobs.

“Dear lord! Don’t tell me you’ve got a set of golf clubs in there!”