Monday, February 27, 2023

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

I spent about 30 minutes talking to a Charles Schwab rep. She confirmed my debit card was blocked and she unblocked it. My Travel Notice is still only good for 2 weeks. To change that I would have to set my checking account when I’m in the States. The account number and routing number on my checks are different from my regular account because the latter was just to fund my checking account. She showed me where to go on their website to transfer $1000 from USAA to my CS account.

I left the apt with Laura just after 9am. She stopped at Los Porteños for breakfast and I continued on to Parva with my laptop. I found the 3 hotels the wedding planner is trying to get a block of rooms for in September and they are all $1200 to $1700 for 4 nights.

Marcos arrived and I showed him the ceremony & wedding video, the 3 hotels and cruise information. He was hoping to marry his gf on a cruise but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen. About 11:30 I returned to the apt.

About 1:30 I texted Teresa asking if we’re having lunch in the apt. At 1:45 I walked to Otra Parte where I had their turkey roll sandwich with a fresh mango juice and yucca chips.

At 2:30 Teresa answered my text me, “no”. 😊 My bill, with 10% tip, came to 40,426 pesos ($9).

I returned to the apt and asked the porteros if they had the key to the gym. I told them I just want to look inside for a couple minutes. Their multipurpose exercise machine has the name “Greco Romana, Itagui, Antioquia” on it. I explained to the guard I’m looking for some exercise for my stomach a year after my surgery. He suggested the treadmill or the exercise bicycle. I need to get started on something.

I returned to the apt and watched a couple more episodes of The West Wing and Teresa returned at 5:30.

About 6pm a strong breeze picked up with some distant thunder but we didn’t get any rain.

Laura returned at 8pm.

 

Today I got in 3,316 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, waking/getting up at 7am.

The street is wet so obviously we got some rain overnight.

I left the apt at 8:30 and had to wait 10 minutes outside Smartfit for an Envigado bus. I still arrived at Sweet Georgia by 9am and Glenn was waiting for me.

We met a couple US Marines stationed in Bogota and Calvin Alexander who is teaching technology (he specifically mentioned Python) to students in Comuna 13. I mentioned I was previously a computer programmer and an instructor and he took down my contact information in case he had some questions for me.

I informed Glenn I thought he could still get a lifetime subscription to MS Office 2021 from TechSpot for $39.

I showed Glenn my paperback The Magus and he believes he read it years ago before a trip to Greece. I exchanged my paperback for Ken Follett’s Code Zero.

When the checks came, mine was 57,200 which included 2 lattes at 9,500 each. Before I thought they were included with the meal. I’ll have to pay more attention to the menu next time.

We shared a taxi back to Envigado, they got out at Jumbo and I continued on to Viva Envigado. I printed another set of August/September calendars at Auros, bought a bottle of AOX Therapy for Teresa in Linea Estetica then went upstairs and ordered 8 pieces of chicken at Frisby to go. I requested only the chicken (sin arepas, sin guantes, sin cubiertos plastico, sin salsas, sin serviettas). They got it right except they still included the arepas. ☹

I returned to the apt by taxi and the driver commented multiple times about the smell of chicken. 😊

I’ve been watching some Anna Cramling (a female chess FIDE master) Youtube videos so I subscribed to her Youtube channel, whatever that means.

I made plans to meet Jose for chess on Tuesday.

We had a little shower in the afternoon.

I was messaged by Jason Mullin, a friend of Michael Sito. His son Eli is into chess so we’re going to try to play a game on Chess.com.

I made a haircut appointment with Daniel for next Saturday, March 4^th at 9am.

I asked Laura if Teresa is comfortable with the new iPhone and Laura informed me she will be moving the sim card back to the old phone. I told her, “Good luck, since you cut the sim card to fit into the iPhone”.

I watched a couple more episodes of The West Wing on MTV.

I’m only 17 moves into my new game with Troyclough but I’m certain I have a forced checkmate coming soon. I won the game 2 moves later.

Just before 7am the ladies were talking about going for pizza but Laura would have to take a shower first. At 7:30 she still wasn’t ready so she asked us to go ahead and order 2 slices of Hawaiian (pineapple) pizza for her. We left 10 minutes later and took a Didi to Antica Pizza. Neither Gloria nor her husband Ramon were there. We had a 10-15-minute wait to get seats inside. Laura arrived 5 minutes later just in time for her pizza. She ordered an Uber to take us back to the apt but when we arrived she didn’t get out of the car but said, “see you tomorrow” and I asked where she’s going. She said she’s meeting with her gf Cindy. I asked where and she replied, “Caldas”.

 

Today I got in 3,539 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

 

Saturday, February 25, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once during the night, waking/getting up at 7:15.

I left the apt at 9:15. I stopped at our gym but they had recently washed the sidewalk so I saved that exploration for another time.

At Parva I created a new vacation calendar from Tuesday, August 29^th through Thursday, September 14^th. I also studied a chess opening and did some more chess tactics.

I left at 11:15 and returned to the apt. I checked out the gym again but this time it was locked. If I can see the manufacturer of their multi exercise equipment maybe I could find it on the internet to see if there is something specifically for exercising the stomach.

At 12:30 the transit police showed up again. I didn’t see any cars parked illegally but maybe they already chased them away.

Teresa and I each had an hour-long nap after lunch.

Teresa has been asking me if the wedding is going to be “elegante”. I showed her the Island Art & Taste video where the ceremony and reception will be which answered that question.

In my recent game against Troyclough he’s been making moves at 4am so I asked him if he’s now working night shift and he replied he’s in Paris.

I finally finished reading John Fowles’ 656-page The Magus, not an easy book to read. It seemed like every page had a word I’ve never seen before. For example from page 58, “I read the Greek poems and saw them for what they were: undergraduate pieces, without rhythm, without structure, these banalities of perception clumsily concealed under an impasto of lush rhetoric.” And from the same page, “My face set into a stiff mask, like that of an acroterion.” And there were Greek and Latin phrases mixed in with lots of Shakesperean references.

 

Today I got in 1,992 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Friday, February 24, 2023

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

It was exactly 1 year ago that Russia invaded Ukraine. The war still goes on but with the support of democratic countries Ukraine, if not winning, is certainly holding its own.

The ladies were heading out the door to the gym as I walked into the dining room.

I left at 8:15 and walked to the mall. I tried to make an ATM withdrawal with my Charles Schwab debit card but got the “transaccion con problemas. Intente luego” message. I picked up a copy of Gente newspaper and after waiting in a short line in Exito paid the Tigo/Une bill. Upstairs in the mall proper I tried making another ATM withdrawal but got the same message. I went downstairs and had a latte in Urbania café while solving some chess tactics.

Teresa texted me to have lunch on my own.

As I was leaving the café, I was surprised my latte cost 9,300 pesos; that may be a high for Medellin. They may have to compensate for the digital nomads that take up counter/table space and don’t buy much of anything.

Upstairs I tried another ATM with my CS card and received the same error message. I went to the next ATM and this time it worked with my USAA card. (Does that mean my Travel Notice is only good for a month now?)

Now that I had some cash I could eat. I went to Only Roastbeef and had their medium BBQ combo for 29,750 ($6).

I picked up milk, eggs, and tomatoes in Exito and got in a long line that took at least 15 minutes to get through. I returned to the apt by taxi.

I have lost something like 5 games in a row to Troyclough and he was winning this one but he erred late in the game and I escaped with a draw.

Teresa was supposed to have a massage this afternoon but the girl didn’t show up.

Last night Laura spent a considerable amount of time trimming the card from Teresa’s Samsung phone and putting it in the iPhone Laura gave her. Today Teresa is having trouble using it but I already explained I wouldn’t be able to help her with an iPhone.

Some time in the afternoon Teresa mentioned something about “keys” and “closet”. When she said it again this evening I asked her what closet. She led me to our bedroom and showed me that her closet was locked and she didn’t remember where she put the keys. (Almost every interior door in our apt has keys that we leave in the lock. I don’t know why the agency did that because we don’t use them.) I hope this isn’t another example of trying to hide things from the massage girl.

Today I watched a couple more episodes of The West Wing.

I think I’ve finally gotten rid of my cold; only took 3 weeks. ☹

About 9:15 Teresa reported that she found the keys to her closet, something about “shoe drawer”. 😊

 

Today I got in 5,023 steps.

Single-Panel Comics

 

Thursday, February 23, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, waking/getting up at 6am.

I had a diarrhea when I woke up so I decided to stick close to home today.

Uh-oh. The Whitney Houston movie isn’t playing in Cine Colombia any longer. That was a missed opportunity.

We had a little rain in the afternoon.

I watched more episodes of The West Wing. Any series that gives me goosebumps multiple times must be doing something right. 😊

Teresa had a massage in the late afternoon.

For supper I ordered ribs from Mu and they arrived in only 30 minutes.

Today I got in 77 steps. I’m sure it was more but I don’t carry my phone with me as I move from room to room.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up twice during the night, waking/getting up at 6:45.

Teresa and Laura left at 7am for the gym.

I left the apt at 7:45 and soon realized today is Ash Wednesday so we must be about 6 weeks from Easter.

I arrived at Los Porteños at 8am but the ladies didn’t show up until 8:30. We had breakfast together then at 9:30 I moved to Parva where Marcos joined me by 10am. I had my laptop with me and he helped me with some decisions.

The Madrid hotel he is going to stay at in April is the 2-star Hostal Inter Plaza Major in downtown Madrid. If I booked it next week it would be $84 a night so I estimate something similar for September.

Our cruise ship is Celestyl (sp?) Olympia (registered in Malta) and I estimate our cabin for the weekend cruise (including food and drinks) will cost about $2000.

Jacob & Jeannie’s wedding ceremony and reception will be at Island Art & Taste, Vari 166 72, Vari, Greece.

I think 7 days in Athens before the wedding might be too much so I’m going to look at reducing it by 1 or 2 days.

While eating peanuts and drinking root beer I finished season 1 of The West Wing and quite the cliff hanger it was.

Teresa and Laura had massages from 8pm to 10pm.

 

Today I got in 1,734 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once during the night, waking at 5am, gave up getting back to sleep and got up at 6am.

I don’t want to call this an anniversary but my hernia surgery was exactly 1 year ago today. For some time after the surgery the only way I could get out of bed was to roll on my side. Sometime in the past few months I’ve been able to “sit up” with the help of my elbows so that’s a little progress.

I tried to order more Calendula (Marigold) flower capsules from PipingRock.com but they are temporarily out of stock. I gave them my email address for when they receive more; I’m still good for a couple more months.

After breakfast I returned to bed for another hour.

Teresa asked me to go to Mercado Madrid and buy a package of Rancherito salchichas (hot dogs). I told her I’m not going that way. She said to check in Ara and I said I would.

I had another set of August & September calendars printed at the La Buena Mesa location. In Parva, someone sitting at a table of 3 said, “hello”, and I asked, “who’s speaking to me in English”. A woman said, “I did”. She said she works way in the back of the store. I asked if she’s a baker and she said she comes up with ideas. I assembled another calendar page for the end of August and beginning of September.

I left at 11:30 and found the hot dogs in Ara but there was a short line with full carts. A cashier opened another station and I only had to wait for the cart ahead of me to be scanned and I bought the hot dogs for 13,800 pesos ($3).

For lunch we had frijoles with a hot dog cut up in it; the Colombian version of pork & beans.

I received another reply from Greek Cruises and this time they sent me a color chart and I can see the September 8-11 sailing (they call it 3-days, go figure) is Season B (next to most expensive). Now I have to figure out the deck layout so I can decide what cabin we want.

Laura left at 8:15.

Today I watched more episodes of The West Wing on MTV.

 

Today I got in 1,891 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Monday, February 20, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once at 4:15, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

I texted Jose I’m available for a match on Tuesday but he responded that he has an appointment.

I made plans to meet Marcos in Parva Wednesday morning at 10.

I left the apt at 9am and bought broccoli, sugar and decaf coffee in Mercado Madrid. Teresa has a gynecology appointment in El Tesoro. I had 2 lattes in Los Porteños then bought a sleeve of 4 sesame seed bagels in Eduardo Madrid before returning to the apt.

I left again at 2pm and had a chicken wrap with yucca chips and fresh mango juice in Otra Parte.

I texted Laura and asked when she returns to Massachusetts and she replied March 3^rd. I asked her to check on when Cirque de soleil will be in Colombia as I would buy tickets for her, Teresa, abuela, and myself. She sent me info that appears it’s going to be in Bogota March 29th to April 9^th.

I returned to the apt by 3:30 and Teresa and Laura had returned.

I had sent the following email question to Greek-Cruises.com:

When are cruise seasons A, B, C, and D?

 

They responded:

Seasonality has always been one of the most critical issues in determining the demand variation for every touristic destination or package. It affects all areas of the tourism industry, from marketing (packaging, distribution and pricing), to the labour market (employment, skills, sustainability) as well as business finances (suppliers and intermediaries), environmental (ecological carrying capacity of a particular destination by overcrowding and overuse during the peak period) and all relevant aspects of operations.

 

It is often defined as the tendency of tourist flows to become concentrated into relatively short periods of the year, which are then classified as business cycles of off-season, low-season, shoulder season and peak season, or low, medium and high season.  In this way the cruise that happens during a date of high season A is pricier than a cruise that happens at lower seasonality D.

 

Looking forward to your reply At your disposal for any additional information Best regards,   Maro Poulimenakou

Sales Representative

 

I replied: Thank you for your prompt reply but you didn’t really answer my question. What specific dates are associated with Seasons A-D?

 

Dear Mr. Andersen,

Greetings!

 

Thank you for visiting www.greek-cruises.com  

 

I am Maro I will be your Travel Consultant, It is our pleasure to assist you booking your trip to Greece

We would like to inform you that the 3 day cruise sails every Friday from Lavrio port in Athens

Vessel is Olympia

 

I replied: I am planning on a 3 or 4-day cruise for September, approximately the 8^th to the 15^th and would like to budget for the correct season.

We had some rain in the late afternoon and evening.

At some point Teresa mentioned that Alejandro is gay.

Teresa and Laura left just before 7pm for a private lesson with a personal trainer.

I think I’m at the tail end of my cold symptoms.

 

Today I got in 3,830 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up 1:45 (Laura was still out), again at 6am (Laura was in), finally waking/getting up by my alarm at 7:30.

I left the apt at 8:30 and quickly caught a Sabaneta bus outside Smartfit. I noticed the fare has increased 200 pesos from 2,650 to 2,850. I got off at Parque Poblado and ran into Glenn crossing Ave Poblado. We were both surprised to find Sweet Georgia open when we arrived at 9am. We started with coffee and got caught up on some things. He suggested we skip staying in Madrid and just go on to Athens because there’s more to do there. I mentioned I’m going to check on 3-5 day cruises of the Greek islands. He sent me info for an arm table that clips on the side of a sofa. He ordered toast, potatoes, and scrambled eggs and they brought French toast instead of toast. I ordered scrambled eggs and pancakes with blueberries but they came plain.

When I went inside to use their restroom, I noticed what looks like a lending library of about a dozen books including Ken Follett’s Code to Zero.

We shared a taxi back to Envigado. In Viva Envigado I picked up 2 bags of milk and put them into a bag usually used for vegetables. I was looking in the coffee aisle when the bottom of the bag fell out. They didn’t have our usual Nescafe decaf instant coffee nor the large packages of our favorite egg brand. I bought what I could and returned to the apt by taxi.

Just after noon I heard a siren. I went out on the balcony and a transit officer had arrived on a motorcycle. He started taking photos and within 5 minutes the 5 cars that were parked illegally had left. Thirty minutes after the police left, cars were parked illegally in the street again.

We left the apt at 2:15 and walked to La Buena Mesa where Teresa wanted to have lunch at El Trifásico but when we arrived all tables were taken and there was a waiting line.

Teresa and I ended up at Black Pepper and Laura across the street at Almejal because she wanted ajiaco soup. I had the ribs with rustic potatoes and Teresa had their salmon.

We reunited about an hour later and returned to the apt.

At 4pm Teresa and Laura left for Santafe mall where they were going to meet with family.

I watched more episodes of The West Wing and the ladies returned at 9pm.

Today I got in 3,721 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Saturday, February 18, 2023

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

I hung around the apt until 11:30 when the massage table was delivered. It cost 350mil plus 14mil for delivery and it looks really sturdy.

At 2pm Teresa had a massage on the new table. She suggested we get rid of one of our extra beds so she can keep the massage table in that bedroom. I agreed under the condition the next apt we move into will be only 2 bedrooms.

I left at 3pm and bought a cake in Pepo’s Cake for 20mil and had a café con leche in Parva until about 4pm when I decided I should get the cake back into a refrigerator.

Speaking of the refrigerator, I raised its temperature from 5 degrees Celsius to 6 degrees Celsius. (Occasionally glasses of water or tea freeze so I think it must be set too cold.)

Laura left about 4:30 to visit a girlfriend.

I made plans to meet Glenn tomorrow for breakfast.

At 5pm we took a Didi to Esmeralda’s apt in Belen. I rang the buzzer for apt 301 but no one answered immediately. Teresa asked a woman at a next door store if she sold bottle of water. She said, “no”, so I went to a next door bar. There music was so loud I had to put my fingers in my ears and yell if they had a bottle of water. It was 3 mil and I returned to the apt and rang the bell again. Alejandro opened the door for us.

 She’s on the 3^rd floor so we had to walk up 2 flights of stairs. Esmeralda’s foot is a bit swollen and a month after surgery it’s no surprise she still can’t put weight on it. Alejandro showed me the driver’s license he just got.

We each had a slice of the cake I brought. About 6pm Alejandro left to go to a meeting of his church youth group.

We left about 7pm and took a Didi back to the apt. The driver had some American music playing softly. He also had the air conditioning on so I tipped him an extra 2mil.

Today I got in 1,952 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Friday, February 17, 2023

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

The ladies were soon out the door to go to the gym.

I left at 8:30, had breakfast in Los Porteños and checked out the bagels in Eduardo Madrid. I saw a sleeve of 6 sesame seed bagels but didn’t want that many and certainly didn’t want to carry them with me until I returned to the apt. If they’re still there in the afternoon I’ll probably buy them. I walked to the mall where I found a Gente newspaper and had a latte in Urbania.

I left at 11:30 and returned to the apt by taxi.

The Bahia tea is working so well I’m going to start drinking it on Mon/Wed/Fri instead of every day.

Samsonite is having an online weekend sale of 3 pieces (S, M, L) for about $360. In my investigation I’m having trouble with the sizes. For example, Samsonite’s Large 75/28 air spinner is 76.2 cm long but international flights allow a maximum length of 75cm. That’s just one example, when you compare linear cm international maximums, Samsonite seems to be just a few centimeters too long.

I called Marcos about this quandary and he took a different tack. Why spend all that money on suitcases you won’t often use. He suggested we go to downtown Medellin where we can find something comparable for much less.

I mentioned this to Teresa and she’s sure we have 2 or 3 suitcases in our garage storage unit. She might be right because I haven’t seen the back of the storage unit for 5 years.

Teresa had a massage from 3:30 to 4:30. I helped the chica translate a few words on Teresa’s new device and plugged in the adaptors and the chica knew how to use it from there.

We had a short shower while the chica was here.

I’ve started watching The West Wing (8.9) with its 155 episodes so that should keep me entertained for a while.

Laura left at 9pm for what obviously is a night out.

Today I got in 3,518 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

The street is wet so obviously we got some rain overnight.

Teresa left early to pick up her medication but was back by 7:45.

I Want to Dance with Someone: Whitney Houston’s Story (6.7) is playing in Viva Envigado at 2:30, 5:45, and 9:25.

I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to Parva where I had a café con leche while researching flights, hotels and Athens attractions. While there we had a drizzle for a while.

Teresa stopped by at noon on her way to get her eyelashes fixed. She should be back about 1pm and we’ll go to lunch somewhere nearby.

She wanted to have lunch at La Bahia but I didn’t want to carry my laptop with me there and then we were to go to Itagui to buy a portable massage table. We had lunch at Asados Rogelio for 52mil then I dropped off my laptop at the apt. When I returned to the restaurant Teresa had changed her mind about going to Itagui today.

She returned to the apt and I went to Envios Market where I paid 495mil for the device I ordered for her. I also received 8 envelopes which contained all my 1099s and the annual federal tax withholding reminders.

About 6:30, Teresa left to meet Laura at the porteria then they were going on to Santafe mall.

We had another drizzle in the evening.

I still have my cold but hope it will be ending soon.

 

Today I got in 3,818 steps.

  

Single-Panel Comics

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, got up once during the night, was awakened by my alarm at 7am finally getting up at 7:45.

Laura left just before 11am for a private lesson in Itagui on how to do nails.

I watched Finding Forrester (7.3) on MTV.

Teresa informed me she has a massage appointment for 4:30 to 5:30 this afternoon.

Tomorrow Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (6.8) opens here. I’m sure Teresa will want to see it but we’ll see what the showtimes are.

I left the apt at 2:30 and walked to the mall. Still leaking. I recycled a few plastic items, bought a blueberry muffin in Starbucks, made an ATM withdrawal, paid our cellphone bills then had a latte in Urbania.

I’m still dealing with my cold. Two weeks later and still some running and stuffiness.

I bought a dozen tomatoes and a bag of milk in Exito before returning to the apt by taxi. The taxi driver informed me there’s a 2^nd Ara in Medellin, in Bello. That’s all the way on the north side of Medellin.

Teresa had a massage from 4:30 to 5:30.

Laura returned at 7:15.

I watched Manchester by the Sea but I don’t see the point of the movie.

I called my daughter for some more information. They are going to arrive in Greece on Friday, September 1^st and stay until 2 days after the wedding on Thursday, September 7^th when they are going to move to Santorini. They will be staying at a $350 a night hotel but understands if we want to stay somewhere else as there are lots of hotels in the area. Their “save the date” letters are going out to guests this weekend.

The no parking signs they painted in the street are being completely ignored.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Teresa and Laura are going shopping in El Tesoro so I’ll be on my own for lunch. I’ve already made plans to meet Marcos in Parva at 11am to take a look at the airline websites.

Marcos arrived early in Parva as I was just finishing setting up my laptop. He showed me how to switch the default language of Spanish on some airline websites to English. We tried a number of airline and date combinations and if I act quick it looks like we can fly roundtrip direct from Medellin (MED) to Madrid (MAD) for about $1200 per person using Air Europa. The plan is to fly to Madrid around the end of August, rest there a couple days then to use a regional airline to fly to Athens, Greece, arriving a few days before the wedding. Then we have a few days after the wedding, hopefully long enough to take a ferry or small cruise to a couple of the Greek Islands. We then reverse the process returning to Medellin.

Marcos left and I researched a number of other date combinations and Teresa and I can fly Economy Standard round trip to/from Madrid for about $2416. Next I’ll try adding selected seating and see how much that adds to the total.

I had beef lasagna with garlic bread and a mango juice next door in Na Pizza. I also got a bottle of water to go for a total of 46mil ($10).

I texted the ladies and asked if they wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Laura found a Greek restaurant named Egeo in the Click Clack Hotel and made a reservation for 8pm.

I put on one of the pairs of linen pants I had bought for Greece. They obviously need to be shortened a bit.

At 7:30 I started ordering a Didi and we arrived at Egeo 10 minutes before 8pm.

Laura ordered a pitcher of sangria and I ordered saganaki to share. Unfortunately, it didn’t come flaming so that will still be a surprise when we visit Greece. Laura also ordered babaganoush with pita triangles. I ordered the gyro sandwich, and Laura and Teresa ordered a number of ala carte items including the ubiquitous salmon and a Greek salad. The total came to 382,954 ($79.50) and we returned to the apt by Didi.

 

Fun pix

Monday, February 13, 2023

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

Teresa made me breakfast then headed out at 9am for a gym lesson. I left at 9:45 and Laura will soon be leaving for a doctor’s appointment in El Tesoro.

I had a latte in Los Portenos for about 90 minutes. I briefly talked to a gringa who has been here a year working for a Medellin foundation. I left at 11am and stopped in Eduardo Madrid but they didn’t have my sesame seed bagels.

I returned to the apt and Teresa notified me she ordered a loaf of bread from Eduardo Madrid that I can pick up in her name after 3:30.

I looked online for a couple of my 1099s but learned they have been mailed so I guess I’ll have to wait a little longer.

I had a latte in Eduardo Madrid and returned to the apt with the loaf of bread Teresa ordered.

I exchanged emails throughout the day with Nobraskja. It seems customs wants to charge me $68 for an item I ordered for Teresa. Usually there’s no tax for amounts less than $200. I showed proof that Amazon put the value at $142 but customs doesn’t appear to care.

About 7:30 a refrigerated truck came by for Ara but couldn’t find a place to unload despite the new no parking signs which customers seem to be ignoring.

I finished season 3 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on MTV.

Laura came back with a fingernail kit. I went down to the garage storage to get an extension cord for it. Because they charge so much to do fingernails in the US, I think Laura is going to start doing nails as a side business.

 

Fun pix

Sunday, February 12, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once at 4am, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

At 8am I started the process of ordering a Didi. Teresa strongly recommended I take a jacket as it was a cool overcast morning. I’m glad I did as I felt a few raindrops as I exited the garage. I arrived at Hija Mia Nomada 10 minutes early and Glenn showed up a few minutes later with Bianca.

I told Glenn about Marcos helping me with my flights to Greece and he suggested I check out Google Flights.

We left about 11am in a light drizzle. We quickly checked out Mija across the street then caught a taxi back to Envigado.

At 1:30 we had a short downpour.

Laura returned from Guatape about 2:30.

The ladies left at 8pm to have supper in Olivia’s in La Buena Mesa.

For the Superbowl I turned my MTV to Fox Sports Chicago and settled down with some salted-in-the-shell peanuts and a root beer, compliments of my brother.

I saw most of the commercials, didn’t care a whit about seeing Rihanna and the game was close as I wished with the Chiefs besting the Eagles in the last minute, 38-35.

 

 

Fun pix

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once at 3am, and when I returned to bed Teresa got up and said something about she wonders if Laura is back. I finally woke/got up at 7am.

I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to Parva where I had a café con leche outside while reading my New in Chess magazine. I left about 11am and ran into Jerry. I told him about our soccer match experience and we’ll meet again soon for coffee. I stopped at the Bancolombia window and had 2 Word documents printed, a calendar for August and another for September. Back at the apt I cut & pasted them together to plan for Jeannie’s wedding.

I understand Laura is going to spend the night in Guatape.

I had sent my daughter a check toward her wedding but she didn’t receive it. I just checked my USAA account and I sent it to her old address. ☹ I called USAA and they stopped payment on the check and didn’t even charge me the Stop Payment fee. Thank you, USAA!

I took my initial stab at searching for roundtrip flights on August 30 and September 15. The roundtrip charge per person varied from 3,944,815 COP for Avianca to 6,237,305 COP for American Airlines.

I opened a root beer and the Jumbo bag of peanuts my brother brought me and settled down to watch season 3, episode 2 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan. (Tom Clancy’s been dead 10 years now but he’s still producing movies and co-authoring books.)  😊

 

Fun pix

Friday, February 10, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up at 1am and 5:45am, finally waking/getting up just before 8am.

The ladies were just heading out the door so I’m on my own for breakfast.

I left at 8:45 and had breakfast at Los Portenos. I left in time to meet Marcos and Marshall outside Maca. By 10am they still hadn’t opened so we went across the street to Buneulos for coffee. Marcos informed me the flight to Europe (EU) will be the most expensive part of the trip so he recommended we fly to Madrid, Spain, stay there a few days to rest and explore then continue on to Athens, Greece arriving a few days before the wedding. Then repeat the process to return to Medellin. He recommended I start checking prices on Aireuropa, Iberia, Expedia, and Avianca.

When I left I walked past Maca and it still hadn’t opened. Across the street I caught a bus to Viva Envigado where I picked up a Gente newspaper, made a small ATM withdrawal, bought 2 bags of milk, a package of hamburger buns and a package of napkins and returned to the apt by taxi.

I finished season 5 of The Crown (8.7) on Netflix.

Teresa had another massage in the afternoon. I understand she has another one early tomorrow morning.

Laura texted me at 7pm asking if we wanted to go for dinner at 8:30. Not interested in going out that late, especially with my cold. (It’s still breaking up in my nose.)

She returned at 7:45 with her hair, nails, eyebrows, eyelashes, and makeup done. And she brought a dozen chicken wings to share with Teresa.

 

Fun pix

Thursday, February 9, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:30am.

Today is my son’s birthday. Happy Birthday Jimmy! I love you and hope you have a great day.

Laura left at 8:30 and took a Didi to El Tesoro for a dentist appt with Dr. Rendon.

I left at 2:30 and took a Didi to the mall. I bought a preferred ticket to The Whale (8.0) for 15,600 pesos ($3.30). Since I had some time to kill, I recycled a couple plastic items then paid the utility bill in Exito. I made my last trip to the restroom then took my seat in the last row of the theater. I thought it was in the middle of the aisle but because the preferred seats are larger it was definitely more to one side. Obviously, my seat selection is still a work in progress. The movie was very good with only 7 characters and near the end I had the impression it was from a play and the credits confirmed that.  I managed to make it through the two hour movie without a trip to the restroom, probably because I didn’t drink anything before or during.

I returned to the apt by taxi. Something new has been added, now there are 2 “no parking” signs painted on the far side of the street.

Laura was getting a massage from Teresa’s masseur.

I received a text from my son that he received the book I sent him, Hidden Games, and he thinks it looks interesting.

The ladies left at 7:15. First they’re going to visit MT then Laura will pick up some cash at Viva Envigado and they will have dinner in Crepes & Waffles. I declined because I was hungry now and I didn’t feel like shopping.

 

Fun pix

 

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

My daughter texted me she’s planning on getting married Tuesday, September 5^th in Athens, Greece.

I had sent my daughter a check towards the wedding but she said she didn’t receive it. I just checked with USAA and it was sent on January 20^th. It costs $29 to cancel the check so I’ll see if she wants to do a little more searching on her end before I do that. I sent a check for $138.36 to my brother as a refund for the pesos he left me. He should receive it in about a week.

Teresa left just before 9am for the gym.

Well, I timed out on using the toilet so I’d better be ready on a moment’s notice to head to the closest café.

I left the apt at 9:30 and was having a latte in Eduardo Madrid when Teresa arrived an hour later. She ate some type of sweet while complaining about Aymara’s coffee. I told her I no longer drink coffee in places where they serve it in cardboard cups. She left about 11:15 and I stood around a little longer before returning to the apt. Something new has been added, there are 2 “no parking” signs painted in the street, one in front of Ara and the other in front of our apt.

Laura’s plane landed on time, Carlos picked her up and Laura was here by 4:30. She paid me the $140 she owed me for sending her medications. We had some thunderstorms come through but no rain.

At 5:30 Teresa noticed the water was back on so we can flush toilets again.

I suggested we go to Olivia’s for dinner but Laura took a nap and when she got up it was too late so she ordered food delivered from Chiclayo.

My cold is still breaking up in my nose and throat.

 

Fun pix

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

I left the apt at 9:15 and took a Didi to the mall where I recycled a few plastic bottles. In Bancolombia there appeared to be few people waiting to see a cashier as a service rep helped me acquire my turn number by scanning a QR code. (It appears their procedure has changed once again. Maybe they’re taking baby steps toward this being a self-service procedure.) I only had a 5-minute wait and deposited 3 million pesos into Alejandro’s account.

At Teresa’s request I went up to Todo en Arte but they didn’t have the paints she wanted.

In Exito I bought a large box of MPs and 2 bags of milk before returning to the apt by taxi.

I watched True Spirit (6.9) then Apollo 11 (8.1) on Netflix.

Nobraskja texted me that Colombia wants me to pay a $68 import tax on a $142 item I ordered for Teresa. ☹

At 8:45 someone rang our bell and gave us a flyer that says we won’t have running water tomorrow from 9am to 6pm. Laura ought to love that.

 

Fun pix

Monday, February 6, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

The cold seems to be breaking up in my throat.

Teresa left just before 9am for a gym class then she’s going to get her hair done.

I left at 9:30 and took a Didi to the mall. Juan, my driver, didn’t seem to have brown eyes so I asked him if he had blue eyes and he replied, “green”. I replied, “like me”. I recently read that green eyes are the rarest color of eyes, like 16% of the world.

First I tried the ATM across from Exito but received the message, “transaccion con problemas. Intente luego”. I went upstairs and had no problem with the ATM in the banking area.

I looked up and noticed this sign:

There’s going to be a Pergamino café on the 3^rd floor in a not heavily trafficked area. Hopefully, people will be able to find it and bring more traffic to its neighbors like Todo n Arte. More traffic = more sales = more profits. I hope they have strong wifi as café Urbania is often filled.

I returned to the apt by taxi to veg out. I really don’t feel like hanging around with this cold.

When Teresa returned I informed her that I have the 3 million pesos in cash for Esmeralda and Teresa reminded me I’m supposed to deposit into Alejandro’s savings account.

I watched season 4 of The Sinner, starring Bill Pullman.

Teresa had a medical massage in the afternoon.

 

Fun pix