Saturday, October 30, 2021

Recovery Day #127!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up three times during the night, woke up at 6:30am to the guy yelling El Colombiano! in the street, closed the window so as not to awaken Teresa, did my Kegel exercises and got up at 7am.

I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to the mall. I withdrew 2,000,000 pesos from the ATM and used that cash to pay for the apt. I withdrew another 1,020,000 pesos using my new Citibank debit card and after a 15-minute wait for a consignacion machine I paid for my health insurance, Teresa’s monthly gym membership and contributed 300mil to Angeles de Medellin.

I had a café con leche in Todo Fresa for about an hour. I stopped in Home Center to check out their toilet wax rings but the two I saw didn’t look like the simple things I remember from the States. I bought a 9V Energizer battery using the Citibank debit card. Now I know it works at ATMs and for store purchases. In Exito I picked up a few things, including a bag of mini Snickers, before returning to the apt by taxi. (I saw Heinz’ Sweet Relish on the shelves for the first time in months.)

I’m losing games to Angry_horse and Troyclough using the same defense with Black. I need to explore that further, so I don’t set myself up for failure next time I have the Black pieces.

I lost to Angry_horse dropping my rating 10 points to 1556.

About 3pm it started pouring but the rain stopped about an hour later.

I finally heard from Marcos. His surgery went well although he’s in some pain and he has to have his catheter in for two more weeks.

Finally I was able to enter my Citibank app without any problem and see my current balance.

For supper I ordered ribs and fries from Mu. I’ve figured out they always arrive 35 minutes after I place the order. I’m just slightly embarrassed I’m wearing my pajamas when I go down to the porteria to claim them. (Now, if I could just train the porteros to bring them to me for a 2-5 mil tip.)

I put in the new 9V battery and my TENS 3000 works fine again. (I remember the physiotherapist recommended I remove the battery after each use so it doesn’t run down too fast but it’s too difficult to get out so I’ll just watch it and see how long it lasts.)

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 72,569 ð 72,766 ð 72,707 new cases and 1,380 ð 1,365 ð 1,344 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,750 ð 1,604 ð 1,629 new cases with 35 ð 30 ð 33 new deaths. Medellin has 213 ð 171 ð 197 new cases from October 29^th to 30^th. Envigado has 13 ð 7 ð 8 new cases from October 29^th to 30^th.

T-shirt of the day

Enjoy where you are.

Friday, October 29, 2021

Recovery Day #126!

Last night I watched the end of the Packers vs Cardinals game. Incredible, surprise ending! I went to bed at 11pm, got up once at 4:15 (it was pouring outside), woke up at 6:30am to our new alarm clock (the guy yelling El Colombiano! in the street), did my Kegel exercises and got up at 7am.

Breaking news: Daniela’s November 20^th wedding is off. Well, all I know is her doctor said not yet, maybe March or April.

I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to the mall in a light drizzle. I scanned a copy of the earring receipt to my USB drive, recycled a few plastic bottles and went down to Todo Fresa for coffee.

I received a text from Nobraskja that they have a package to deliver.

I paid for my coffee, bought a large package of eggs in Exito and returned by taxi to the apt. (While waiting in line at Exito a young lady behind me reeked of marijuana.)

I put 15mil in an envelope for Envios Market and left it with one of the porteros.

It’s 2pm and only 76 degrees.

There was a knock on the door and it was one of the porteros with my “package”, my Citibank debit card. I activated it and destroyed my old ATM card. I’ll give it a try tomorrow.

I hoped to finish my book tonight before going to bed but I’m about 15 pages short. I wanted to return it tomorrow after I go to Todo Drogas and the tienda naturista. I’ve decided instead to delay that until next week and tomorrow I’ll just pay the first of the month bills if I can get enough cash from the ATM.

I got tired of the series The Good Doctor after finishing the first season so now I’m searching for something else.

Marcos should have had his surgery sometime today. I asked him to contact me when he feels like having a visitor.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 71,962 ð 72,569 ð 72,766 new cases and 1,395 ð 1,380 ð 1,365 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,680 ð 1,750 ð 1,604 new cases with 26 ð 35 ð 30 new deaths. Medellin has 225 ð 213 ð 171 new cases from October 28^th to 29^th. Envigado has 5 ð 13 ð 7 new cases from October 28^th to 29^th.

T-shirt of the day

No what. No one cares.

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Recovery Day #125!

Last night I took my first 3mg melatonin an hour before I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 2am, woke up at 6:30am to El Colombiano!, did my Kegel exercises and got up at 6:15.

Today is Dia sin IVA. IVA is like a national sales tax, usually 19%, added to the cost of most products. (At least here the price you see for a product already has the tax added.) Today, that tax is waved for many products so we expect stores will be busier than usual. There will be 2 more Dias sin IVA this year on November 19th and December 3^rd.

My prostate surgery was exactly 4 months ago. So where am I today? I guess my insides are still healing as I feel some discomfort when I walk too long or too fast. Everything downstairs looks normal but I’m still dealing with urinary incontinence. I would say I’m in the leaking stage, when I cough, sneeze, or stand up or sometimes just walking. I’m only changing my AD before going to bed and after my morning shower and the old ones don’t appear to be very damp. So why do I change them? You change your underwear everyday (I hope) and they aren’t wet. It’s more of the clean, comfortable feeling I’m after.

I was up 3 pawns to 2 in a rook endgame with Angry_Horse but we agreed to a draw after 49 moves lowering my rating 2 points to 1566.

I usually have 4 games going on Chess.com at the same time but currently one of my opponents, theGreekLad, has been on vacation for weeks (3 weeks remaining), the Iranian guy, rudarwolfs, keeps on playing although I’m up 2 knights and 3 pawns (all about to Queen) and he has 1 pawn. He should have resigned long ago so I’m going to stretch this out and Queen all my pawns before I corral and checkmate him.

We have 2 and 3 o’clock appointments to have our teeth cleaned by Dr. Rendon in El Tesoro. We were getting ready to leave to have lunch there first when his receptionist called. I handed Teresa the phone and she told me he can take us right away. We arrived by 11am by taxi. Teresa went first and I told her I’d be back in an hour.

I went down to the mall area to a store called Trendy where I bought Teresa a beautiful pair of earrings she admired last time we were there.

Back upstairs it was soon my turn for a teeth cleaning. I learned that Dr. Rendon took his family to Chicago last July. After a few days at a hotel downtown he mentioned they stayed a few days with a friend in Glenview. Hey, I lived in Glenview from about 1981 to 1995. I told him some stories about the now closed Glenview Naval Air Station which is now The Glen. I told him next time he plans on visiting Chicago to let me know as I have some out of the way places he could visit. No problem with our teeth after cleaning, I paid 360mil and we left.

We had lunch in J&C Delicias. I had my usual Cesar salad and she had salmon with vegetables. The total came to 73,480 including tip.

Teresa went shopping for a dress for Daniela’s wedding. She tried quite a few stores and came up with nothing she liked that wasn’t outrageously expensive.

On the hunt she stopped at a jewelry store and looked at earrings. Uh-oh. I was thinking, “it’s okay to look but if she finds something I’m going to have to give her the earrings now.” Then I thought she would probably want to wear them to the wedding so maybe I should give them to her today. When she came out of a dress shop I gave them to her. She was surprised but she thought I bought them at the jewelry store she had just come out of. I told her it was from another store. She said there was another pair she liked more. We went to the Trendy store and she looked and talked to a sales associate but either she couldn’t find them or she changed her mind.

We continued her hunt for a dress. At one point she said she wanted to call Vicky for advice. (I was thinking she meant Vicky, Daniela’s mother.) Problem was she forgot her cellphone and I don’t have Vicky’s phone number in mine.

We were looking for another dress shop when she spied Vicky, her friend with the dog, that lives nearby. She took us directly to a dress shop named Manitu. Teresa tried on a few and found a couple that looked beautiful on her. She finally chose one, I paid for it and was surprised how inexpensive it was. Not sure if I only made a deposit, paid half, or it was a rental. No idea. I guess I’ll find out when we pick it up after alterations are made.

We decided to go for coffee but on the way they stopped in an inexpensive jewelry store where Teresa bought hoop style earrings and a purse.

I made a quick trip to Banco Caja Social where I withdrew 300mil because I was soon going to have a cash flow problem.

On our way to Santa Leña Vicky’s dog suddenly stopped and peed on the floor. Vicky waited until he was done then kept on walking with me still standing there. She told me not to worry because the cleaning people will come clean it up. I told her I was concerned about people stepping in it. As we walked away I turned back in time to see a 2-year-old girl stomp in it like it was a puddle. Point made but Vicky claimed it was the fault of the father for not keeping an eye on his daughter. ☹

Outside Santa Leña Teresa saw Chef Burger and said she wanted a chicken burger. I had a hamburger, no cheese, no bacon with a Coke and she had a chicken burger. She said it was much better than McDonald’s so maybe we’ll be switching from iFood (McDonald’s) to Rappi (Chef Burger).

They went to look in a few more stores and I went to Santa Leña where I had a café con leche and waited for them to return.

After at least half an hour I paid and left to use the restroom and I ran into them returning. We said goodbye to Vicky and I asked Teresa if she would rather take a taxi or use Didi. She agreed to Didi and we went down to Torre Medica/Carulla where we would be easier to find. My app said a car would pick us up in 7 minutes. Half an hour later it arrived and I figured out my app was telling me he came from Mayorca mall to pick us up. For some reason he went down Calle 10A to Ave. Poblado before heading south. Maybe he knew something I didn’t because traffic wasn’t too bad.

When I put on the TENS 3000 connector I felt the current until I lift my foot and then it seemed to disappear.

I watched the end of the Packers vs Cardinals game which ended rather surprisingly.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 70,824 ð 71,962 ð 72,569 new cases and 1,400 ð 1,395 ð 1,380 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,428 ð 1,680 ð 1,750 new cases with 34 ð 26 ð 35 new deaths. Medellin has 269 ð 225 ð 213 new cases from October 27^th to 28^th. Envigado has 11 ð 5 ð 13 new cases from October 27^th to 28^th.

T-shirt of the day

Dibs.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Recovery Day #124!

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, got up twice during the night, again at 4:30, couldn’t fall back asleep, did my Kegel exercises and got up at 6:15.

It’s 6:30 in the morning and a man is walking down the street yelling, “El Colombiano”, the newspaper.

I left the apt just after 8am to meet Glenn at La Frontera. I crossed Ave. Poblado and a block past the creek the sidewalk ended. I retraced my steps and crossed to the west side and followed the sidewalk and this time there was a pedestrian detour that took me past Glenn’s apt complex. A couple more blocks and I was rerouted back up to Ave. Poblado. I crossed the street and Glenn and Bianca were waiting for me.

We soon were in a taxi to Poblado. The driver wanted to turn up Calle 7 but I insisted we continue to Calle 10 and we soon were in heavy traffic. (He probably was right and knew a shortcut.) When we arrived at Carrera 37 we found it was northbound only and I was pretty sure my Maps app showed it was southbound only. We got out and it was a short block to Botanika at Calle 9A #37-3. We got a table on the street side and ordered coffee. Not five minutes went by and I had already given out 3 1mil coins to street people. ☹ We moved further inside the restaurant with the other customers.

Glenn ordered a cappuccino and I ordered my usual café con leche (latte). She brought me an Americano coffee (I found out later according to the bill) with a little cup of milk. It didn’t taste like what I usually get either. I ordered an omelet with toast and Glenn ordered their French toast. Since his coffee looked more like a café con leche than mine I pointed to it and asked the waitress for the same. It WAS a cappuccino, so I never got to enjoy a café con leche.

I told Glenn I had another place for us to try for breakfast, Parmessano in La Strada.

We agreed that here in Colombia at least “bodega” means “storage”.

The bill came to 63,900 including a 16% tip which is unusual, usually they only add a 10% tip. The waitress, Andrea, handed me a card which requested a Trip Advisor review. I thought the food was good but I didn’t care for the coffee. I would give them another chance to see if they get the coffee right, however.

We quickly caught a taxi but for some reason before we got in I asked the driver if he could take us to Viva Envigado. He told us he wouldn’t go to Envigado.

The next taxi driver agreed but I knew something was wrong when he took the bridge over the river instead of turning onto Ave. Las Vegas. My mistake as I forgot to mention Ave. Las Vegas. The driver took Ave. Guayabal south through Itagui until turning onto Envigado’s Pan de Queso bridge. I got out across from Viva Envigado and Glenn continued on towards his apt.

Teresa called and asked me to buy broccoli in Exito but only if it wasn’t prepackaged like before. If I couldn’t find it she wanted me to go to Mercado Madrid. I bought a small tube of Acyclovir and a bottle of Melatonin. (Only later did I discover they were 3mg capsules that I can’t divide in half. I need to be more attentive.) Exito didn’t have the broccoli that Teresa wanted so I took a taxi to Mercado Madrid, bought a head of broccoli and walked the 2 blocks back to the apt.

I left at 2:30 and stopped at Tienda D1 because Teresa thought they sold ADs. Nope! I had coffee at Parva, bought a 20-pack of ADs at Pasteur and returned to the apt.

Tonight, when I did my TENS 3000 exercise I couldn’t feel anything. I checked all the connections and even switched the cable to the other side of the device and still nothing. We’ll see what happens tomorrow. Maybe I need to change the battery.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 70,291 ð 70,824 ð 71,962 new cases and 1,440 ð 1,400 ð 1,395 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,536 ð 1,428 ð 1,680 new cases with 32 ð 34 ð 26 new deaths. Medellin has 218 ð 269 ð 225 new cases from October 26^th to 27^th. Envigado has 16 ð 11 ð 5 new cases from October 26^th to 27^th.

T-shirt of the day

Cheer Leader.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Recovery Day #123!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 3:15, woke up just after 6:15, did my Kegel exercises and got up at 6:45.

I left the apt just after 8:30 and took a taxi to Unicentro mall. I printed my SS backup codes and 2021 SS benefits letter in their Auros print shop. I walked 4-6 blocks (depends on which side of the street you’re using to count) to Inter-Col. I handed Daniela the benefits letter and I understand I’m done until they contact me again. I walked back to Unicentro mall as I recall they had a café area. I found Passion Café, Parmessano, and Todo Fresa next to each other.

I walked into what I thought was Todo Fresa but the waiter handed me a Parmessano breakfast menu. I took a quick look at the menu which had eggs and French toast. I googled Parmessano but it said their locations open at 11am or noon.

But they had an ad on the table that said their locations at Oviedo, Tesoro, and La Strada open for breakfast at 8am.

Interestingly, they were playing music from (before?) my dad’s time, the 1930s. The last song I heard as I was leaving included the lyrics, “When my sugar walks down the street all the little birdies go tweet, tweet, tweet.” Well, it was a nice change from Colombian and rap music.

I stopped at a paper store where I bought a couple of Pilot G-2 07 pens and a packet of hole reinforcement stickers for 18,500 pesos.

I went to the restroom to pee and they didn’t have toilet seats. I went downstairs to another restroom and the same thing. I ended up squatting over it to do my thing.

I bought a bottle of French’s Cattlemen’s BBQ Sauce for 13,950 that I found in Exito.

I walked out to the line of taxi and asked four of them before I found one willing (or able?) to take me back to my apt in Envigado.

I finished season 1 of The Good Doctor.

Teresa returned at 12:45. She has a 3pm doctor’s appointment on Calle 7 so she suggested we have lunch next door and after her appointment go to Santafe mall so she can check out the sales.

Our taxi driver didn’t know the back way to Calle 7 but with Teresa’s guidance he went up Ave. Las Vegas to the Aguacatala traffic circle then east to Ave. Poblado. I was a little surprised to see we moved pretty quickly down the Gold Mile arriving at our destination 90 minutes before her appointment.

We had lunch at El Boulevard, Teresa had a prepared Mexican salad and I had their menu of the day – soup, salad, pork with rice, and a drink – both for 20mil each.

We killed some time on our cellphones before her appointment an hour later. Next door she went to her appointment and I had coffee outside at their Il Capuccino café. Teresa soon returned and reported all is okay.

We took a taxi to Santafe mall. Teresa did some shopping then wanted something to eat so we went up to Crepes & Waffles. I wasn’t hungry – I shouldn’t have had that muffin with my coffee – so I just ordered a café con leche and she ordered vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce. Of course she couldn’t finish it so I helped a bit. I paid the bill then pointed out a nearby table where a couple was eating something in bread bowls. I showed her a photo of Panera Bread and all the things they offer in bread bowls and right away she wanted one. While she ordered I made a trip to the restroom.

The lock was broken on the first stall, the toilet was running nonstop on the second, a 7-year-old boy was standing at the door of the third like he didn’t know what to do, and the fourth and fifth were occupied. I went back to the first and did my thing with no interference.

I returned to the restaurant and Teresa had a chicken with mushroom bread bowl. I had a taste but refused to help her further. I paid the second bill and we went outside to the taxi area. A taxi driver refused to take us to Envigado because of heavy traffic. It was only 6:30 so Teresa suggested we check out the movie theater. We did but the only good movies in English (with Spanish subtitles) started at 9 and 9:30.

We sat down at a table nearby and killed time on our cellphones (glad I brought the external battery) until 8pm.

We went outside and this time, even though there was a slight drizzle, Teresa convinced the driver to take us to Envigado. As I was getting in I noticed he was using Waze so I downloaded the app right away. On the way, Waze at one point asked if the accident was still there – it wasn’t. Traffic was still heavy but we arrived back at the apt by 8:35. I tipped the driver 2mil.

I have another good game with my Russian opponent Angry_Horse. I managed to repel his attack so far and I’m up a piece to pawns so if I can hold, I should be able to win in the endgame.

I did my TENS 3000 procedure and for the first time I turned the intensity up from #4 to #5. I really didn’t notice a big change so maybe I should have tried that sooner.

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 72,644 ð 70,291 ð 70,824 new cases and 1,508 ð 1,440 ð 1,400 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,369 ð 1,536 ð 1,428 new cases with 35 ð 32 ð 34 new deaths. Medellin has 244 ð 218 ð 269 new cases from October 25^th to 26^th. Envigado has 12 ð 16 ð 11 new cases from October 25^th to 26^th.

T-shirt of the day

Man’s ruin.

Monday, October 25, 2021

Recovery Day #123!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, woke up just after 6:30, did my Kegel exercises and got up at 7am.

Continuing with my SS verification struggles I again went to

https://secure.ssa.gov/RIL/SlcspView.action

and chose “Create a new account” & “Sign in with Login.gov”.

I entered my email address & password I setup yesterday.

I’m back to “Authentication method setup”. My choices are:

1.   Security Key: Use a security key that you have. It’s a physical device that you plug in or that is built into your computer or phone (it often looks like a USB flash drive). Recommended because it is more phishing resistant.

2.    Government Employee Id: Insert your government or military PIV or CAC card and enter your PIN.

3.    Authentication application: Get codes from an app on your phone, computer, or tablet. Recommended because it is harder to intercept than texts or phone calls.

4.   Phone: Get security codes by text message (SMS) or phone call. Please do not use web-based (VOIP) phone services.

5.    Backup codes: We’ll give you 10 codes. You can use backup codes as your only authentication method, but it is the least recommended method since notes can get lost. Keep them in a safe place.

# 5 – Phone - Get security codes by text message (SMS) or phone call. Please do not use web-based (VOIP) phone services.

Well, for some reason my cellphone doesn’t seem to receive SMS message as I’ve already tried that with Citibank, Didi and others. I don’t know if somehow I’ve turned that feature off on my phone or what’s going on.

 

#1 – Security Key - Use a security key that you have. It’s a physical device that you plug in or that is built in to your computer or phone (it often looks like a USB flash drive). Recommended because it is more phishing resistant.

After researching Security Keys I learned one of the cons is:

·        The USB security key would permanently occupy a USB port, which means you would lose one of your USB ports forever.

Well, that won’t work for me.

 

I think I’m going to have to go with #5 Backup codes. I selected that and clicked continue…

Are you sure? We’ll give you backup codes to save and use.

Backup codes are not very safe because they can easily be lost or stolen. If you can, choose a different method (use a phone, download an authentication application, or use a security key).

If you continue with backup codes, keep them safe. We’ll give you 10 codes that you can download, print, copy or write down. Later, you’ll have to enter one every time you sign in.

I selected this option and they gave me a list of 10 backup codes, each one of which looks something like X5T3-Y47I-8F38.

I took a screenshot and also copied them to a word file.

Now it says, “You’ve created an account with Login.gov. We’ll share this information with SSA.”

I’m finally in the Social Security website…

You must be able to verify some information about yourself and:

- Have a valid email address;
- Have a Social Security number;
- Have a U.S. mailing address; and
- Be at least 18 years of age.

 

Here’s where it gets dicey...re: my U.S. mailing address. I entered the newest address for my ship forwarding company in Florida. They then asked for more information, and I gave them my IL driver’s license.

Of course, they had to send an activation code to my landline. Sigh! I quickly plugged in my MagicJack and put on my headphones. Nothing. I asked them to resend it and actually received a call with the 8-digit activation code. I entered it and now I’m in. I now have an account with My Social Security. Yay!

I couldn’t find anything about next year’s payment, but I did see where I could print my current Benefit Verification Letter if I had a printer. They had an option “What can you do if you need a paper copy and don't have a printer?”

I clicked on that and all they said was

• If you do not have access to a printer, you may request a paper copy of your Benefit Verification Letter be mailed to your address on record. This address can be found at the top of your electronic Benefit Verification Letter PDF.

• The letter should arrive within 10 business days.

 

A lot of help that would be. I need it now!

Back at the Benefit Verification Letter I clicked on the print icon and saw “Microsoft Print to PDF” and was able to send it to my USB drive. Whew! I think I’m done here. I finally found the logout in a drop-down box for my name.

In his attack Angry_Horse blundered a rook and resigned increasing my rating to 1562.

I was getting dressed about 1:30 to go to Parva for coffee when Teresa suggested we go to Mayorca. Okay. But first she had to take a 5-minute nap and then a shower. I was already dressed so I just laid down on the recliner for a short nap. At 2pm it started drizzling. At 2:30 she was ready to go but then we heard a loud peal of thunder.

At 4:30 I changed into my pajamas. Obviously we’re not going to Mayorca and I missed my opportunity to go for coffee.

After some tests and conferring with Glenn we’ve decided the most cost-effective way to get your dollars here in pesos is:

1.   A no fee Debit/Credit card.

2.   Remitly, using their economy (3-day prior) option.

3.   World Remit.

4.   Currency Exchange (the absolute worst)

We’ve excluded the option of doing a bank to bank transfer from the US to Colombia which might be necessarrry if you need to transfer a very large (more than $1000) amount.

At 4:58 Teresa suggested we order sandwiches from Los Portenos. I reminded her they only deliver from 1pm-5pm.

At 6pm she suggested we order burgers (McPollo for her) from McDonald’s. I managed to defer until 6:15 then placed the order and it arrived by motorcycle at 6:45.

Teresa is getting antsy to return to the gym. I told her to go ahead and have fun with her amigas but just take it easy at first.

My plan for tomorrow is to take a taxi from here to Unicentro mall, print my official benefit statement then walk to Inter-Col about 8 blocks away.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 73,365 ð 72,644 ð 70,291 new cases and 1,513 ð 1,508 ð 1,440 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,660 ð 1,369 ð 1,536 new cases with 38 ð 35 ð 32 new deaths. Medellin has 262 ð 244 ð 218 new cases from October 24^th to 25^th. Envigado has 11 ð 12 ð 16 new cases from October 24^th to 25^th.

T-shirt of the day

Forever or never.