Saturday, April 29, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once at 3:30, finally waking at 7am and getting up at 7am.

I’m trying something different today. Since I usually don’t have more than a spot in my pad at the end of the day, I cut one in half to wear in my underwear. I think positioning will be the most important thing but if this works, I can cut my costs in half.

I left the apt at 9am and had a latte in Eduardo Madrid. I saw a single bagel for sale so I bought it and returned to the apt by 11am.

In round 4 with the 115^th pick the Chicago Bears selected Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas.

We had a little drizzle early in the afternoon.

Teresa left at 1am to get a manicure repair.

In round 5 with the 133^rd pick the Chicago Bears selected Tyler Scott, WR, Cincinnati, with the 148^th pick, they selected Noah Sewell, LB, Oregon, and with the 165^th pick they selected Terrell Smith, CB, Minnesota.

Teresa called me at 3:30 and asked me to meet her for coffee in Parva. When I arrived for some reason she said she didn’t like their lattes so we moved to Eduardo Madrid. While we hung out, we each had 2 lattes and she had a small sandwich for 38,000 pesos. Teresa received a call from her sister Vickie and they might go to their brother James’ house in Caldas so we soon returned to the apt.

I googled “Chicago Bears 7^th round selection” and learned it was Travis Bell, DL, Kennesaw State with the 218^th pick. (This is the first player ever drafted from Kennesaw State.)

A little later Teresa learned that someone couldn’t find a babysitter so the get-together will be another time.

I watched a couple more episodes of Boardwalk Empire.

Well, my first day with my half pad was a success. Tomorrow we’ll see how the other half does.

tRump’s Arrest

Friday, April 28, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, Teresa was a little noisy so I moved to the guest bedroom, got up once during the night, finally waking at 5am and getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to the mall. I recycled a few items, picked up a Gente newspaper, then printed the confirmations for our hostel in Madrid.

Upstairs I completed my workout in Smartfit and showered and dressed. I made an ATM withdrawal then had a latte in Urbania. I left at 11:15, bought a 9V battery, 2 bags of milk and a large box of man pads in Exito and returned to the apt by taxi.

I dropped off my gym stuff, picked up my PSA test and ordered a Didi. I was downstairs literally a second from stepping into the car when Teresa called to inform me my 2pm appointment with Dr. Castano has been changed to next Tuesday at 1:40pm. I gave the muchacho 2mil and apologized for having to cancel the ride.

I still hadn’t had lunch so I walked to Otra Parte where I had their chicken pasta with a limonada de coco. When I finished, I went to Parva but they had a guy doing a roto rooter job on some lines. I had a small latte in Los Porteños for a couple hours and returned to the apt by 3:30.

We had a little rain in the afternoon.

I was tuned in for round 2&3 of the NFL draft at 6pm. In the 2^nd round with the 53^rd pick the Chicago Bears selected Gervon Dexter, DT, Florida and with the 56^th pick Tyrique Stevenson, CB, Miami. In the 3^rd round with the 64^th pick they selected Zacch Pickens, DT, South Carolina.

We had a light drizzle in the evening.

I was tired so I went to bed at 9:30.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Thursday, April 27, 2023

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

In Cine Colombia today we have

Evil Dead Rise (7.2) at 6:25

Renfield (6.7) at 6:20

Mafia Mamma (5.6) at 5:10

I left the apt at 8:30 and walked to Olivenza in Sao Paolo, about a 20-minute walk.

I had a latte until Glenn arrived at 9:20. He gifted me a small bag of salted-in-the-shell peanuts to tide me over until my Amazon order arrives. Tonight is the 1^st round of the NFL draft and I’ll be enjoying some of the peanuts with a Coke. Glenn had a slice of pound cake and a drip coffee while I had their French toast and another latte. The French toast included 3 slices of bread cut into triangles with maple syrup and slices of banana and strawberry which was quite good.

I left at 11:10 and walked back to the apt.

I lost my first game to Troyclough in the past 10 games dropping my rating to 1592 and increasing his to 1527.

I left the apt at 2:15 and had 2 small lattes in Los Porteños. Brit was sitting at the next table and when I saw 2 men bringing large propane tanks into his building he mentioned they are for a hyperbaric chamber in his apt. I received a text from Gisela at Innovation Corp informing me I have 3 packages and 3 envelopes waiting for me in Florida. I thought after last Friday’s discussion at least my package of peanuts was on the way. I told her I’d send the details within the hour after I return to my apt.

I paid my bill and left right away.

I returned to the apt by 5pm and I didn’t have any internet. Just what I need if I can’t watch the NFL draft tonight. I restarted the router and did a Windows analysis and got internet again. Whew!

I downloaded Whatsapp to my laptop and linked it with the one on my cellphone. I made screenshots of my purchases and copied them to my Whatsapp account for Innovation Corp.

Next door at Ara workers built a concrete, rebar reinforced ramp for part of the sidewalk connected to the parking area.

I’m connected to NFL Game Pass and ready to watch the 1^st night of the draft. Wow, I ate about half my peanuts the first night. The Chicago Bears traded down one spot to #10 and selected Darnell Wright, offensive tackle from Tennesee.

Attendance at the NFL Draft in Kansas City was reported to be 125,000.

I went to the very last round when it ended at 11pm.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt at 8am, completed my exercise routine in Smartfit and was back in the apt by 9am.

Teresa returned at 10am and we left at 10:30 and took a Didi to Clinica Las Americas on Avenida 80. Teresa went in to consult with her doctor and I went to De Lolita, a new separate café near the clinic entrance, and had a latte. Teresa returned about 45 minutes later and said she was starving. We walked 100 yards to the Arkadia mall and on the 4^th floor we arrived at Crepes & Waffles right at their noon opening. Teresa had some type of salad with chicken with a bottle of water and I had a Cesar salad with a mango juice for 65,650 pesos ($14.50). We went down to the basement where I thought I would find an ATM. Back up on the main floor I asked a cleaning lady where I would find a Davivienda ATM. She put her cleaning supplies away and took me personally to an elevator and up to the 3^rd floor to the banking wing. I found a Davivienda ATM and made a small withdrawal. I have to remember this location for the future.

Back downstairs we went out and crossed the street to Pricesmart. For the first time our purchases were (just) over 1 million pesos. I didn’t find prunes so I bought dates as a substitute. For the first time in 6 months or so we found the Butterball turkey breasts and bought 3. I couldn’t find the Centrum Silver tablets so I asked at the information desk. A young man took me to the last aisle and there they were. I had skipped that aisle because I thought it was only for babies since it contained diapers and formula. Sadly, this time they didn’t have Knotts Berry Farm strawberry preserves. We returned to the apt by taxi.

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

At 4:45 a light drizzle started but didn’t last long.

I watched another episode of Boardwalk Empire.

Wow, Teresa finally found the little emerald and gold cross with gold chain I gave her for Christmas that has been missing since then. She found it behind a floor cabinet in the dining room.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

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

I left the apt just after 9am and stopped at the Bancolombia kiosk in La Buena Mesa where I had about a dozen medical result pages printed for Teresa for 5,500 pesos. I continued on to Parva and set up my laptop.

Remember I have a $467.80 credit with Avianca and a $515.50 credit with COPA.

I looked at an Avianca & COPA round-trip MDE to ORD for Friday, September 22^nd to Wednesday, September 27^th.

Avianca - $875.55

Friday, 9/22 8am – 7:28pm

Wednesday, 9/27 10:57am-10:05pm

 

COPA - $689.15

Friday, 9/22 6:58pm – 9:51am (Saturday)

Wednesday, 9/27 8:38am-5:17pm

I read that COPA has a 10% senior citizen (over 60 years old) discount, depending on the country of origin and destination and I can learn more by calling them at 1-800-359-2672.

I then looked at the original Orbitz email and found:

How credits and vouchers work

Airlines set the policies for their credits. Typically, airline credits expire 1 year from the original booking date (this can vary by airline). The airline may charge a fee when you use the credit to book new travel. Expect to pay any fare differences, as well as taxes and fees. You can use the credit for Copa flights. Their policies might limit your choices when rebooking (like fare class and destinations). You can use your credit for airfare only. Credits cannot be used for add-on items like bags, seats, or upgrades. When using your credit, you'll need to book new flights that leave from the same country as your original ticket. Airlines do not allow us to combine credits. Only the person on the original ticket can use that credit. To book new travel with your credit, be sure to book your flight separately from other parts of your trip. We can't apply credits toward a flight purchase that is part of a vacation package. We can't apply a credit after a flight is booked.

The significance of this is I personally only have a $233.90 credit with Avianca and a $257.75 credit with COPA because the other half is for Teresa. ☹ (Maybe we need to use the credits on a short trip somewhere like Aruba.)

Marcos called me using Whatsapp from Madrid and told me the hostel (Hostal Inter Plaza Mayor) is very basic but close to everything and sent me these photos of their room:

I think I’m ready to book our room there for September.

About 11:30 I returned to our apt. Workers at Ara are removing the part of the parking that is basically a ramp from the street.

Well, I finally found my PSA result (0.02 ng/mL) on the Cedimed website (I had changed the password from my cedula number to one I commonly use) but I couldn’t figure out how to print it so I saved a screenshot to my PC.

I booked and paid for Hostal Inter Plaza Mayor for 8/30 – 9/1 and 9/12 – 9/14 for $104 each set of days.

It’s 2:30 and I hear some rumblings. Looking north I see blue skies with white fluffy clouds and to the south there is a dark cloud with thunder and lightning. 😊 It soon got dark with lots of wind and thunder but no rain. Correction: it rained hard for about 5 minutes then a few minutes later the skies cleared.

I watched a couple more episodes of Boardwalk Empire and finished season 3.

We had a little more rain in the evening.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Monday, April 24, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up at 1am, 4am, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

I left the apt about 7:30 and took an Envigado bus to Calle 7 in Medellin. Workmen were working together to pull this cable/tube out of a manhole.

Inside Cedimed I went through the usual process of getting a blood draw. I remembered to bring a regular Band-Aid with me to have the phlebotomist put over the little circular one they use. While waiting a few more minutes in their waiting room, I asked a lady working there about what password I should use to access their website. She said to use my cedula number for both username and password. Then she demonstrated something and now I understand I won’t be able to enter the website until my results are actually ready for me to retrieve.

I took a bus back to Envigado, got off at Sao Paolo Plaza, went to the restaurant Olivenza and ordered a latte. Glenn arrived a few minutes later. He had a cinnamon roll and a French press coffee and I had calentao with scrambled eggs and another latte.

I sent a text message to Marcos and learned he and his gf are in Rionegro waiting for their flight to Bogota. 😊

Glenn left and I walked across the street to Bodegón de la Frontera where I bought containers of Heinz yellow mustard and Bull’s Eye BBQ Sauce for 55,000 pesos.

I walked back to the apt.

I found the following email from Capital One 360:

“We have completed your transfer request.

Amount: $100

Transfer Date: 4/24/23

Fully Available On: 4/27/23.”

I left again at 1:30 and this time took a bus to La Frontera and walked across the street to Olivenza in Sao Paolo Plaza. Glenn arrived a few minutes later. He had a bowl of tomato soup and I had their short pasta with bolognesa sauce.

When I left, I stopped in Carulla where I found Smucker’s strawberry preserves so I bought 2 10oz. jars for 26,850 pesos.

I took a bus back to La Buena Mesa and the stupid driver dropped me off next to a wall and I had to walk about 100’ with motorcycles and cars coming up behind me.

At Los Porteños I had a small latte and chilled out for an hour or so.

I picked up 2 bags of milk on my way back to the apt.

Teresa called to tell me she’s trapped in El Tesoro due to a rainstorm. She’s starving so she’s going to J&C Delicias for something to eat. She returned to the apt by 7:30.

This is very strange: I can see emails in my yahoo account with my cellphone but not my laptop. I had to forward some of Teresa’s medical results to my Hotmail account in order to copy them to a USB drive for later printing.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Sunday, April 23, 2023

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

We left just after 10am, walked to Ayurá station and took the metro to the Exposiciones station. Downstairs we went across the street to a Tienda D1 where Teresa bought 2 Cokes and a package of plantain chips. Back across the street was a bus leaving for La Ceja so we took it. I think the trip was about an hour and 20 minutes and cost 20mil total for the 2 of us. When we got off it was a long 3-block walk to the town square. Pretty typical with a church at one end, a few restaurants along the side, and vendors selling their wares at small booths.

Teresa asked a couple people for a good place to have lunch and it was at the other end of the square. I wanted to sit on the balcony so I led her upstairs. Turns out it was a different restaurant called La Reserva with no customers. I went through the menu while Teresa was talking to the waiter/bus boy/bartender. I saw enchiladas on the menu and told Teresa I wanted to have lunch here. I ordered the chicken enchiladas and a mango juice and Teresa ordered salmon Thailandia. A few people came in and took seats on the balcony and ordered drinks. Unfortunately, my enchiladas were cold and dry. I guess they couldn’t have been too bad since I finished them.

After we finished eating I asked to see the menu for dessert. They had helado frito (fried ice cream) so I wanted to try it. Teresa wasn’t interested – too much fat – but I ordered it to share anyway. When it arrived Teresa tried the ice cream, declared it wasn’t too sweet, and helped me finish it.

The total check was 110,000 pesos ($25), including 10% tip. I took some photos of the restaurant and realized it was half Mexican and half Asian.

We walked around the town square a while and found what may be the only café, called Un Café.

We hung around there for an hour watching the people come and go then Teresa asked for directions to the bus station. It was about 4 blocks away and looked like a smaller version of Medellin’s Terminal Sur. We bought 2 tickets for 22,500 pesos and got on the bus. I think it was about a 90 minute ride back to Medellin. We got off a block from the Exposiciones station and returned to Ayura by metro. Downstairs we took a taxi back to our apt.

 

tRump’s Arrest

 

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 2am, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

In my last game vs Troyclough I got his queen but had to give up too much material, a rook, a knight, and 2 pawns, for it but ended up getting a draw by repetition.

I left the apt at 9:30 and had a café con leche in Parva. At 11am I went to the restroom but both of them had buckets of water sitting in the sink. I decided now was a good time to leave. I did my business back in our apt.

Teresa wants to go to La Ceja or El Retiro tomorrow. Her plan is for us to walk to the Ayurá station, take the metro to Exposiciones station, then take a “colectivo” to the pueblo. She said there were lots of colectivos going to La Ceja when she went on Palm Sunday but I reminded her that was a special day. This is her plan; we’ll see how it goes.

Using an email they sent me I finished setting up my Capital One 360 checking account. (I have a credit score of 736, not to shabby for not even being in the country.) I requested a transfer of $100 from my USAA account to my new account which should be completed in a couple of days. 😊 A confirmation email they sent reminded me, “when your debit card arrives, don’t forget to activate it.”

I left again at 1pm and had a latte in Los Porteños for a few hours. Teresa called and asked me to pick up a loaf of pan sano from Parva and reminded me to bring milk and a bag of Fab (laundry detergent). In Parva they didn’t have pan sano and it took a few minutes to get the muchacho and Teresa together on the phone. They ended up giving me a small loaf of something and I returned to the apt with the bread, milk, and Fab.

Teresa had another massage session. Not bad, 10 massages for 200,000 pesos ($44).

I watched a couple more episodes of Boardwalk Empire.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Friday, April 21, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 5:15, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

I left just before 9, gifted the chocolate bar from yesterday to the portero and walked to the mall. I recycled a couple batteries then showed a security guard my package of underwear with the security tag still attached. He put a paper tag on the package and a young man took me to Exito where another young man removed the security tag. At Auros I had them print Teresa’s blood test results and my list of the top 10 position rankings for the NFL draft which begins next Thursday and I picked up a Gente newspaper.

The mall is having what I thought was an auto show throughout the mall but I also saw bicycles, dune buggies, motorcycles and an airplane.

I went up to the 4^th floor and entered Smartfit using my userid and password without any problem. I completed my regular routine with only a few seconds of waiting on other people. (I still have a little discomfort on my right knee when I do the seated leg curls. ☹) I took my shower this time in the 3^rd stall from the far end with no problem. I guess I’m getting used to the cold water especially since I’m overheated.

I went down to the 1^st floor and had a latte and a glass of ice water in Urbania. The English-speaking chica seemed to already know about my embarrassing encounter last Friday. She told me tomorrow is her birthday so I wished her an early birthday and many more.

I left about 45 minutes later and returned to the apt by taxi.

Teresa returned just after noon.

I left the apt about 2:30 and walked down to the Servientrega store on Ave Las Vegas where I showed a screen print of my Tigo/Une bill at the $efecty window. He couldn’t find my account from that so I showed him my bill from the previous month which didn’t work either. I showed him the entire bill Tigo/Une sent me last December and then he was able to find my account and I paid the bill of 68,492 pesos ($15).

I went next door to Maca but the inside was gutted so either its under remodeling or it’s closed for good. I walked across the street to another strip mall to a café called Cannell. I saw some cookies that looked like macadamia nut with chocolate chips but the chica said they were blueberries with something else I didn’t understand. I had one with a latte and went through my cellphone for an hour or so.

I stopped at Mercado Madrid on my way back to the apt and bought 2 ripe plantains that Teresa requested.

I had an Amazon order delivered in Florida on March 27^th (my salted-in-the-shell peanuts) so I Whatsapp’d Gisela to ask about it. She informed me it was in their Miami warehouse along with 2 other packages and 4 envelopes. I asked her to forward me everything she has for me. I hope they arrived in time for the NFL Draft next Thursday.

I finished season 2 of Boardwalk Empire (8.6) on MTV.

For supper I ordered Peruvian food from Chiclayo. I wasn’t hungry so I just ate the French fries and saved my entrée for tomorrow.

Teresa was tired but wanted to see her soap opera at 9:30 so I suggested she take a nap now and I’d get her up when it starts. After I got her up I soon went to bed.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

Teresa left at 7:15 to pick up one of her monthly medications, we’re going to meet for breakfast at Los Porteños, and then I’m going to meet Marcos in Parva at 9:30.

Teresa returned by 7:30 with her medications and informed me she’d be making breakfast here.

Marcos texted me, “…have to cancel café today. The plan was to leave Colombia Monday, April 24^th. As of this writing she [Marcos’ girlfriend] is not going. Problems with her son and school. Will call when we or I return to Mde”.

Teresa is going to meet a girlfriend in Laureles this afternoon so I’ll be on my own for lunch.

After breakfast I had coffee in Los Porteños where I finished my Woodpecker Method test. I watched a small dog play “fetch” by himself by carrying a ball up an incline and then dropping it.

😊 I checked Cine Colombia and they have Beau is Scared (7.4) opening with a 1:50pm showtime.

On my way back to the apt I picked up a sleeve of 6 bagels for 18,300 pesos ($4) in Eduardo Madrid bakery.

I soon left again and walked to the mall. On the way I heard jackhammers in McDonald’s parking lot. It looks like they’re going to replace the asphalt.

Cine Colombia still had their gates down so I went up a level and had lunch in Only Roastbeef for 35mil ($7.75). Back downstairs I bought a preferred seat for 15,600 pesos. I made my last trip to the restroom, bought a Cine Combito for 15,300 ($3.40) pesos and entered the theater. Twice during the movie an usher came in and walked up the aisle; I wonder if this is a new security procedure. The 2 hour 59 minute movie was very strange, just not as strange as Everything, Everywhere, All at the Same Time which I walked out of. Teresa called me about 4:30 and I messaged her I was in a movie and I would be back by 5:30. After the movie I bought 2 bags of milk and 3 bananas in Exito before returning to the apt by taxi.

Teresa was supposed to have a 6pm massage but Kelly cancelled on her at the last minute. Teresa told me Kelly is diabetic and has to take insulin 3 times a day. That can’t be cheap. Well, maybe here.

I watched another episode of Boardwalk Empire.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Wednesday, April 19, 2023

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

Teresa informed me that her current gym schedule is semi-private lessons on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Smartfit on Tuesdays.

I left the apt about 8am, completed my workout in Smartfit and was back by 9am.

Teresa returned by 10:15. She’s taking her mother to a doctor’s appointment sometime in the afternoon so I may go see a movie.

My Amazon package sent directly to my apt arrived 9 days after my order.

I left the apt at 1:45 and walked to the mall. I was surprised to see this fishing boat outside the entrance.

In Cine Colombia I purchased a preferred seat to I Love My Dad (6.4) for 7,000 pesos ($1.50). I tried to use my points to purchase my popcorn combo but again I had to pay for it, 15,300 ($3.25) for a small popcorn, small soda, and a chocolate bar.

 I took my seat in the last row of the general section and I was the only one there. A few minutes later a few people came in and filled the row ahead of me. During the coming attractions another couple large groups came in and filled the 2 preferred rows behind me. This was an unusual audience. During the coming attractions a man came up the stairs and looked at the people in the preferred section then stood in the aisle by the row in front of me for a minute. During the movie, people kept getting up and leaving the theater especially the man sitting directly in front of me who must have gone back and forth half a dozen times. And an usher would come in and walk up both aisles to the to like she’s looking for something or someone.

The movie was interesting, a little short and could have had a happier ending.

In Auros I sent a screenshot of Teresa’s gynecology result from my cellphone gallery to their Whatsapp account and they printed it. I returned to the apt by taxi.

I gifted the chocolate bar to one of the porteros.

Teresa called me just before 7pm and told me she’s on a bus back to the apt and she wants to go to Gloria’s for pizza.

She called me at 7:30 and asked me to order a Didi. I did and met her and MT outside our porteria and we took the Didi to Antica Pizza.

At one point I heard some gringos behind me talking in both English and Spanish.

When we left we bought the usual pastries for the porteros in the bakery down the hill and returned to the apt by taxi.

 

tRump’s Arrest

 

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 2:45, made a trip to the bathroom, took an allergy pill, quickly fell back asleep, finally waking at 5:30 and getting up at 6:15.

Teresa has a blood draw scheduled for this morning then 2 doctor’s appointments in the afternoon in El Tesoro so she may not be back until around 7pm this evening.

I left the apt at 7:30 and walked to the mall. Jose arrived about 10 minutes later. I showed him my most recent games against Troyclough and told him about my progress planning our Greek vacation and we each had their complete breakfast which has increased to 23,400 pesos.

We went upstairs and I had Black in the first game but lost on time in an even game. With the White pieces in the 2^nd game he checkmated me in 20 moves. ☹

I also lost my first game to Troyclough after 7 straight wins dropping my rating to 1605 and raising his to 1518.

Jose left and I went to Only Roastbeef and bought a small roast beef sandwich to go for 21,200 pesos and took it down to Cine Colombia. I tried to order a small soda using my 963 accumulated points but I guess that’s only for combos. I checked out the movie marquees and learned that:

Blanco Facil aka Easy White is in French

Una Famiglia Mostruosa aka A Monstrous Family is in Italian.

Maravilloso Desastre actual title is Beautiful Disaster (5.4)

I bought a bottle of AOX Therapy supplements for Teresa for 208,000 pesos ($47) then had a latte in Santa Lena for 8,900. I took the backway through the garage to Exito and paid the Epm utility bill. I bought a large carton of eggs and a bag of granola then returned to the apt by taxi.

A few weeks ago, I bought a 3-pack of underwear to replace some old ones I’ve throwing out. Today I went to open the package and inside they still have that security thingy holding them together.

My Charles Schwab Travel Notice for 4/28/ - 5/11 has been approved.

I watched a couple more episodes of Boardwalk Empire.

Teresa didn’t get back until 7:30 but at least all of her test results were negative.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Monday, April 17, 2023

 Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 2:15 with Teresa breathing heavily, made a trip to the bathroom, took an allergy pill, moved my sheet and pillow to the guest bedroom and fell back asleep quickly, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

Teresa left for the gym just before 9am and I left a few minutes after. Since today is the beginning of a new 2-week period in my notebook, I raised the weight a little for each of my exercises. I was back in the apt by 10am. Besides the extra strain on the muscles it does help my cardio some. I then spent about 30 minutes cooling down before I jumped in the shower.

After Teresa’s gym class she’s going to get her nails down and then she will call me and we’ll meet somewhere nearby for lunch.

At 1:30 I was getting a little antsy when Teresa returned and suggested we have lunch at Otra Parte. She had the menu of the day which included chicken and a mora (blackberry) juice. I had a bowl of onion soup (which was so so) and their chicken wraps for a total of 77,574 mil ($18).

Teresa returned to the apt and I went to Parva where I had a café con leche and a pastel de arequipe and I got a pastel de guayaba to go for Teresa. I went back and forth between doing some chess puzzles and reading news & sports on my cellphone.

I left at 5pm and bought 2 bags of milk on my way back to the apt.

In my latest game against Troyclough I think I may be able to trap his queen. We’ll see.

Teresa had a massage from 6:15 to 7:15.

I watched more episodes of Boardwalk Empire.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45pm, woke up at 4:15, made a trip to the bathroom, took an allergy pill, returned to bed, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up at 5am, worked a bit on my computer, and went back to bed at 5:45. I finally fell asleep and was awakened by my alarm at 7:30.

Troyclough resigned our game increasing my rating to 1614 and lowering his to 1502. 😊 I think my tactical studies are paying off.

At 8:40am, I ordered a Didi, a minute later it was cancelled, and the next driver couldn’t turn left off of southbound Ave Las Vegas because of Ciclovia but I still arrived at Pergamino only a few minutes after 9. Glenn and Bianca were already there waiting for me. We started with a large latte for me and large cappuccino and bottle of water for Glenn. I gave him Teresa’s suggestion that he should get an endoscopy here to learn the cause of his stomach problems. He had one when he was in NY but they didn’t find anything and believes what he needs now is an MRI but doesn’t want to go through the Sura health system. Teresa sent me a voice mail message asking me to pick up lettuce on my way back to the apt. I texted Jose asking if he’s available for chess on Tuesday and so far, so good, he replied. I had a small latte and an almond croissant intending to have the granolada later but it never happened.

On our taxi ride back to Envigado our driver inquired if we happened to have a $2 bill, which he understands is a lucky bill to have. I got out across from Mercado Madrid, bought a head of “lechuga crespa”, and returned to the apt.

At noon the transit police showed up and chased away 6 cars parked illegally in the no parking lane.

I sent a request to the cruise line asking for a quote on the least expensive outside cabin for 2 or 3 people.

We had more rain in the evening.

It’s 6:30 on a Sunday evening and outside Ara cars are parked in all 7 parking spots, 2 taxis are in the street with their emergency flashers on and 2 cars are parked illegally in front of our building.

6:45pm and the transit police are back.

The rain finally stopped just before bedtime.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45pm, took a while to fall asleep, woke up at 3am, made a trip to the bathroom, took an allergy pill, and returned to bed. Teresa was breathing hard and it took a few of my movements for her to settle down, I fell back asleep, woke up at 6:30, made another trip to the bathroom, did my Kegel exercises, fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 8am.

A fumigation guy arrived just after 9:15 (all the towers were scheduled this week) and sprayed the outer walls. I assume this is mainly for cockroaches, luckily, we seldom see them here.

I’m trying to find reasonable flights (time and price) for a trip to Chicago in September to renew my driver’s license. Quite the challenge.

Teresa informed me she’s going with her mother to Panamericana to buy more sprinkles for her jackets. I took a pass and planned to meet Glenn at Barrio Sur for lunch.

Glenn and I ended up at Black Pepper. He ordered corn soup and I French onion soup. I also ordered a burger and a limonada de coco and he a Cesar salad. The waiter informed me they didn’t have French onion soup so I switched to the corn soup. When I reminded him of the limonada de coco he soon returned and said they didn’t have that so I switched to a bottle of war. While we were there it started raining pretty heavily. We took our time leaving and he ordered a Didi and I walked around the corner to Los Portenos.

I haven’t heard so much English in a long time. A couple with 2 kids were sitting outside speaking both Spanish and English. A young man came in with his son at the age where they lose their baby teeth and the father spoke Spanish to his son who answered in English. Interesting.

At Teresa’s request I stopped in Tienda D1 and bought her a package of arepas before returning to the apt.

Later Teresa called and invited me to join her and her mother for epinadas at La Estacion. I wasn’t hungry so I took a pass. She returned with morcilla (blood sausage) for herself and I had an apple with peanut butter.

I found a combination in my game against Troyclough and I’m up a rook and a pawn.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Friday, April 14, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45pm, quickly fell asleep, woke up at 4am, made a trip to the bathroom, took an allergy pill, and returned to bed, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

Today for the first time in my 10 years here I had a run-in with a Colombian.

I left the apt just after 8am and walked to the mall. I completed my usual exercise routine in Smartfit. This time I took my shower in the next to last stall and the door catch worked and the water seemed a little less cold for some reason and lasted at least 10 seconds before having to push the button again.

I went to Exito where I picked up a Gente newspaper. Back inside the mall proper I paid for our cellphone plans in Claro. Going down the escalator I thought I saw an available table at Urbania. There was a 4-top but since I didn’t need that much space, I took the last small rectangular table that was available. On one side of the table there is a bench you sit on and on the other is a single chair. Only problem was there was stuff sitting on the chair. I saw 2 guys sitting at the next table and on the other side were 6 ladies with tables pushed together and they were working together on laptops. My mistake is I moved the stuff from the chair to the floor so I could put my stuff (gym bag, tech bag, and fanny pack) on the chair. I sat down and a couple minutes later the guy sitting at the next table closest to the stuff started giving me a hard time. Over time I understood he brought a chair from another table and put it there so he could put his stuff on it. I don’t know how I was supposed to know that. My mistake was I didn’t ask everyone if the stuff was there’s. He repeatedly used the word, “respect”, and as he was finally leaving he even started complaining to the ladies at the next table. I’d finally had enough and gave him the middle finger. Just a misunderstanding but he wouldn’t let it go. He soon left with his buddy and I stayed about an hour. Laura texted me about joining us on our vacation in Madrid and Athens. I sent her our “hotel” reservations and the approximate cost. If she wants to join us she can just pay for the room upgrades.

In Exito I ran into Jerry in the soda aisle. He was with a lady friend visiting from Denver. We chatted a bit about touristy things and promised to meet over coffee soon. I picked up an 8-pack of Coke and returned to the apt by taxi.

Around noon Teresa texted that she was with a gf and asked me to meet her for lunch at Otra Parte at 1:30.

I arrived a couple minutes early and at 1:40 I called Teresa and it sounded like she answered but it sounded strange. She arrived 5 minutes later and informed me her cellphone battery was dead. I had their dish called Mama Pastora (pasta and chicken breast with teriyaki sauce) and a mango juice and Teresa had Ajiaco soup and a bottle of water. I tasted the broth of her soup for the first time and it was pretty good. The check came to about 64mil ($14) including tip and I paid in cash. Teresa had a jean jacket with her and she returned to the apt to start working on it. I walked to Los Porteños where I had a small latte while solving chess puzzles for an hour. Workers brought 8 large bags of coffee that were taken upstairs.

Teresa texted me about seeing a movie tonight. The only title I can figure out is “I Love My Dad” which starts at 5:10pm and 8:10pm.

I picked up 2 bags of milk on the way back to the apt.

Teresa started decorating one of the denim jackets.

I checked where we’re staying in Madrid and Greece and gave Laura the approximate difference, that she would have to pay, if we had to upgrade to a larger place.

I finished season 1 of Boardwalk Empire (8.6) on MTV.

 

tRump’s Arrest

 

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45pm and quickly fell asleep but was awakened by Teresa’s snoring at 3:15. I made a trip to the bathroom, took an allergy pill, and returned to bed. Teresa soon started snoring again, not loud, but loud enough. I would change positions in bed and she would be silent for a minute then start up again. I repeated that several times then the last time just before I was going to move to the other bedroom, she was quiet long enough for me to fall back asleep, finally waking/getting up just before 7am.

I arrived at Parva with my laptop by 9am. I ensured each of the “hotels” I’ve chosen include free WiFi. I ordered a cruise brochure to be sent to my gmail account.

Marcos arrived by 9:30.

He leaves April 24^th and will return May 30^th. He said he will let me know about Hostal Inter Plaza Mayor in Madrid and if all is well I’ll book it right away. I asked him about how to convert from the Americas 110V to Europe’s 220V and he said all you just need a simple plug adaptor. He has 2 and will loan them to me when he returns.

I’m thinking I’ll reserve the least expensive cabin for the cruise and use the savings for shore excursions. I see I can get travel insurance for the cruise for about $7 per person.

Marcos suggested Teresa and I meet with him and his girlfriend for dinner Saturday night so I suggested the Peruvian restaurant Rocoto.

Teresa texted me and asked me to pick up a kilo of potatoes in Ara on my way back to the apt. I left about 11:30 and stopped in Ara. I know a kilo is 2.2 pounds but it took me a bit to figure out that one of the sides of the scale is in kilos and the other is in pounds and ounces.

Opening today in Cine Colombia are:

Blanco Fácil aka Easy White

El Tifón aka The Typhoon

Mañana Antes Despues aka Tomorrow Before After

Maravilloso Desastre aka Wonderful Disaster

Te Quiero Papá aka I Love You Dad

Una Familia Monstruosa aka A Monstrous Family

I’m going to have to check the original titles in Cine Colombia tomorrow.

Teresa had a massage from 5:15 to 6:15.

For supper Teresa wanted to go to Antica Pizza but I wanted her to be sure the restaurant was open. She found out Gloria wasn’t working tonight so we had it delivered. The check was 38,500 and I didn’t want to get rid of all my small bills so I gave him 50mil and told him to keep the change.

I never heard back from Marcos and Teresa seem indifferent when I suggested it to her so I don’t know if the Saturday night get-together is going to happen.

 

tRump’s Arrest

 

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, made a trip to the bathroom at 4:45, took an allergy pill, soon fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

This morning, on my laptop, when I tried to go to the internet I received the message, “Hmmm…your internet access is blocked. Firewall or antivirus software may have blocked the connection.”

Windows says I’m connected to the internet and I have no problem accessing websites from my cellphone. I hope someone didn’t mess me up when I was at Viva Envigado yesterday.

I went to the gym and completed my routine in less than an hour.

When I returned to the apt, I restarted my router, restarted my computer, Windows did some updates and now I’m back to normal. Whew!

Teresa wanted to make lentil soup for lunch but she didn’t have any lentils. She asked me to change clothes and go next door to Ara and buy a package. Uh, no. I had her call the muchacho to deliver it and she also ordered a ripe plantain and a few cloves of garlic. It was 14,500 pesos and I gave the boy 17mil.

My order for a Kensington cable lock was cancelled by Amazon due to unavailability. I had to go to the Kensington website to order one.

Teresa came back and told me when she showed her jacket to her friend in the gym, 4 others placed orders to have one decorated by her.

In the afternoon I returned to Los Porteños and worked on My Woodpecker Method chess puzzles for an hour.

Teresa got another massage while I was gone.

I watched a couple more episodes of Boardwalk Empire on MTV.

For supper I just had a gala apple with peanut butter.

 

tRump’s Arrest

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, made a trip to the bathroom at 1:30, took an allergy pill, soon fell back asleep, woke up at 4:45, made another trip to the restroom, did my Kegel exercises, the birds were singing so it took a little while to fall back asleep, finally waking/getting up at just before the alarm went off at 7am.

Troyclough resigned our game and my rating is now 1609 and his is 1509.

With my laptop, I left the apt at 8am and met Teresa at Los Porteños for breakfast. I then ordered a Didi to take us to Viva Envigado. Teresa had a rumba class and I had some vacation confirmations printed then had coffee in Urbania. I found a nice apt in Athina Apartments and made a reservation for September 6-8. It’s located near the Pireaus port so we’ll be close to our cruise location.  Later, Teresa met me then did a little shopping. She called me about 1pm and asked me to meet her for lunch at Wilson’s restaurant. I paid for my latte, made a trip to the restroom, made an ATM withdrawal then walked to Bocados Restaurant and Bar. We both had chicken breast which included lentil soup and we shared a bottle of water.

This is what Ikea looks like now, outside completed on the east side but lots of work to be done on the south side.

I returned to the mall to print my Athina Apartments reservation, bought 2 bags of milk and another box of man pads and returned to Bocados. I ordered a Didi to take us back to our apt.

I left about 2pm and had a small latte in Los Porteños while doing puzzles in my Woodpecker Method chess book.

Chris Cojeleas came by and we chatted a bit. He told me 2 weeks and 2 days ago he came down with some bug and is now just starting to feel better. I told him that’s exactly when I returned to the gym for the first time in 3 years. He goes to the Smartfit in Viva Envigado because it’s across the street from his apartment.

I returned to the apt by 4:30.

Teresa wanted to go for pizza but at 6:30 it started raining. I checked both my weather apps and they both said the rain would stop by 7:15, which is exactly what happened.

On our way to Antica Pizza it started raining again. We were surprised to find the restaurant closed. The driver didn’t want to take us to La Buena Mesa and ended up dropping us off on Calle 37 sur where it would be easy for us to catch a taxi. Five minutes later we were on a taxi and had him take us to Chiclayo. We each had their pollo saltado with papas on the side and shared a bottle of water. Luckily, the rain stopped before we finished eating and we were able to walk back to the apt.

 

tRump’s Arrest