Friday, August 30, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4:30, finally waking/getting up when Teresa woke me at 7:30. Last night I tried something different. Usually I take one of my allergy pills at 9pm and another with my sleeping pill at 9:30. Last night I didn’t take the 9pm allergy pill but took it when I got up to use the restroom at 4:30. I’ll probably try that again.

I completed my (10# less) routine in Smartfit then had a latte in Los Portenos. I left at 11am and bought 2 bags of milk in Ara on my way back to the apt.

Teresa called to inform me she’ll be tied up at the beauty shop getting her hair done so I should have lunch on my own.

I left the apt at 1:30 and paid 20mil for an InDrive ride to Philly Steaks in Poblado. 

Carmen stopped at my table and asked how my brother is doing. I replied, “fine, and he’ll probably visit here again next February.” I ordered a smash burger and he convinced me to try their new French fries which were pretty good. The total, with Coke and tip, came to a little less than 90mil.

I walked uphill (my cardio appears to be shot) to the block before Hotel Diez but the DirecTV office is no longer there. I went to Pergamino #2 but it was so crowded I decided not to stay.

I took an InDrive car to Viva Envigado for another 20mil. I bought a large carton of eggs in Exito; they’ve reorganized more aisles and I had to ask where they moved the eggs – they’re no longer in the 2^nd aisle, they’re closer to the middle of the store. 

I then had a latte in Urbania. Teresa called that she was still at the beauty shop.

At 4pm I returned to the apt by taxi.

I found 18 of the 21 Stonewall Dutch games from the video course in my ChessBase 16 Mega database 2000. The remaining 3 I had to recreate myself. I had the computer analyze them all and copied them as pdf print files to my USB drive. Tomorrow I’ll print them in Auros.

I checkmated Mekael965 in 20 moves increasing my rating to 1589.

Teresa returned a few minutes later with Kelly who gave her a massage.

I watched a couple more lessons in my Noel Studer chess course.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Thursday, August 29, 2024

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

Nothing good opening this week in Cine Colombia. ☹

DirectTV hasn’t worked in months so last night I took a video of the error message appearing on the screen and today I plan to go to their office in Oviedo mall and see what they can do. Teresa asked me to drop off a chafing dish to her mother’s porteria on the way. I left at 8:45 and took a Didi to Portal del Sur where I dropped off the chafing dish with the portero then continued on to Oviedo mall. My driver, David, spoke some English. He’s 20 years old and has been driving (very cautiously I might add) for 5 years.

I went upstairs and asked a security guard where the Direct TV office is and he said they moved to Santafe mall. I walked over to Santafe mall and asked the security guard for Direct TV and he said they aren’t here. ☹ What a wild goose chase.

I went to Valentina’s café and had a latte for a couple hours.

I returned to Envigado by bus; it looks like the fare has gone up another 100 pesos to 3,300 pesos; that’s still less than a US dollar.

At 1:45pm a downpour started and then we lost our power, probably a blown transformer. The power came back on 30 minutes later but it’s still pouring outside. The rain finally stopped about 2:30.

Troyclough resigned our game increasing my rating to 1586.

I remember now a Direct TV office on Calle 10A near Hotel Diez. I think I’ll try that tomorrow afternoon.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:15am. I had my recurring dream again about being in college. I think I’m working on a Master’s degree. Again, I was behind on my math homework and still had the same book yet to read. Again I got a little lost finding my building so I could return to my room. I had the impression I was experiencing current times, not some years ago.

Teresa had a 7am class so I didn’t expect her to be here but she was. She told me her legs were too tired from yesterday’s class so she decided to skip it. I don’t know why she goes to classes two days in a row, the body needs time to recuperate.

I left at 9am and completed my usual (-10#) workout in Smarfit. I was walking past the restaurant Olivia when a woman asked me something. I thought I heard “La Vaquita” at the end so I asked her to repeat it. She did and then she asked me if I speak English. I gave her directions to Calle 37 then 3 blocks east to the park. She said someone told her it’s close to here. That sounded familiar. I asked a waiter I saw in Olivia and he gave directions to the old Consumo location. Then I remembered it was now La Vaquita and I gave her directions to it first in English then in Spanish.

All the outdoor tables were taken in Los Portenos so I took an outside table at Ganso & Castor and had a latte. I think the girl sitting next to me was a gringa but I didn’t bother her as she was concentrating on Excel spreadsheets on her laptop. I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

Bobski21 resigned our game increasing my rating one point to 1577.

I checkmated ONEIPAMETATO1453 in 43 moves increasing my rating to 1581.

I left the apt at 3pm and had a latte in Eduardo Madrid while waiting for Teresa to join me after her art class. (At the next table two ladies were busy with some art project. With their permission I took this photo and sent it to Teresa.

Teresa arrived at 5:30 and she said the ladies were working on macrame. We shared two chicken sandwiches on Kaiser rolls. She liked the rolls so much she told me to buy them whenever I come to buy bagels.

We left at 6:30 and returned to the apt.

I emailed my Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Request (FPCA) to Cook County in Illinois.

I watched another lesson on the Stonewall Dutch.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10:15, got up once at 2:30, again at 4am, finally waking/getting up at 6:30am.

I left at 7:45 and walked to the mall where I had a simple breakfast in Habia Una Vez for 18,900 pesos.

I recycled a few plastic bottles then went to Auros where I had my signed voting application (FPCA) scanned to my USB drive.

I tried to make a withdrawal from a Didi ATM but it said, “transaccion con problemas. Intente luego” aka “try later”. Next to it were two guards, one with a revolver and the other with a shotgun, both weapons at the ready. I’m guessing they were waiting for their comrade to arrive with the cash.

I went up to the 2^nd floor and made a 2,000,000-peso withdrawal, starting to accumulate cash for next month’s apt rental payment.

I went down to Urbania where I had a latte while continuing my Simple Chess book. Teresa arrived at 10:15 and had a yucca waffle with maple syrup, actually looked more like honey, and a latte.

We went to Home Center where she bought a palo (handle) for our mop and a new dish drainer for the kitchen sink. We returned to the apt by taxi.

I’ve been communicating by email with The Athletic over their monthly withdrawals of $1.99 since my subscription has expired. I saw online they’ve returned at least one $1.99 payment and hopefully they won’t continue to make withdrawals in the future. Later I received an email from Paypal confirming my $1.99 refund.

I watched Anna Cramling playing in the Maia chess open on Twitch which she won against a 1899 rated player.

At 2:30 I went to Eduardo Madrid where I ordered 6 sesame seed bagels for pickup tomorrow afternoon and had a latte there. I left at 4:30 and returned to the apt.

Kelley was just leaving from a massage as I entered.

I’m watching video lessons on a variation of the Dutch defense called The Stonewall Dutch.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

 

Monday, August 26, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 2am, again at 4am, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 4:20, returned to bed at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 6:30am.

Teresa made me breakfast and I left for the gym at 9am. I completed my set with no problem. (Last week I had pain on my right kneecap on the first rep of the seated leg curl machine.)

I had a latte in Los Portenos and briefly met a couple, he from San Diego and she originally from Chicago. I left at 10:30 and returned to the apt.

Jose texted me he has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow so can’t meet for chess.

I left the apt at 2pm and had a latte and chocolate chip cookie in Ricotto, or whatever it’s called.

At one point I observed a young lady crossing the street with her arms extended and her hands in the air. ???  I have no idea what that was about.

At 4pm I paid 14mil and stopped in Eduardo Madrid but was told that they don’t sell mop handles separately which is what Teresa wanted me to pick up.

I called USAA and set up automatic payment of my credit card from my checking account AND I got my closed Citibank account no longer appearing on my screen. But it took something like and hour which was manageable using my MagicJack and my headphones.

I watched a couple chess lessons on my laptop.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Sunday, August 25, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during at 2am, finally waking/getting up at 6:30am.

We left the apt at 10am and walked to Ayura station. We took the metro to Exposiciones station, went downstairs and immediately got on a bus to El Retiro. Traffic was good and we arrived in only one hour; only 19mil ($4.75) for the two of us. We walked up the hill to the same restaurant as last time, Lomo fino. The steaks do look mighty fine. Teresa had salmon and I the chicken breast, which was huge, with a baked potato and a limonada de coco.

I couldn’t finish my chicken so we got it to go. (Will it still be safe to eat if it doesn’t get back to the fridge until 7pm?) The total including tip came to 127mil ($31.50).

We walked around the park and Teresa stepped inside the church where she ran into a lady she knew who used to live in Medellin. They chatted for about 30 minutes then we went to Café El Retiro where we hung out for a couple hours

me going through my chess book and Teresa working on her latest purse (which is almost finished). When we left at 4:30 our bill included 3 lattes, 1 cold cappuccino, 1 slice of apple cake with nuts, and 1 bottle of mineral water was only 47mil ($12) including tip.

We walked down the hill and got on the next bus to Medellin. Traffic was heavier than before and we arrived at Exposiciones 90 minutes later. It was a 7-minute wait for the next metro train and at Ayura station we took a taxi back to the apt for 8mil.

Next Sunday will be our last for day trips for a while as most Sundays I’ll be occupied with Bears football.

I lost a game with the black pieces to ONEIPAMETATO1453 in 23 moves, again guilty of moving too quickly, lowering my rating to 1576.

I recreated my FPCA.gov form in order to vote in the November federal election.

Tomorrow Teresa has to go to eps for something so I may be having breakfast in Los Portenos if she doesn’t return quickly enough.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Saturday, August 24, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during at 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

ONEIPAMETATO1453 resigned our game increasing my rating to 1586.

Since we won’t have water until 2pm Teresa wants to go to El Tesoro to shop and have lunch.

I left at 8:45 for my 9am haircut and arrived 10 minutes early. Daniel was busy with a woman; I think he was tweezing her eyebrows using that string method. I got my usual haircut, paid him 50mil then took a Didi to Todo Drogas. I picked up 5 medications for 365,500 pesos ($90). The most expensive medication was another container of Exania for my skin blemishes.

It was an 11-block walk from there to Ganso y Castor where I had a latte while going through the news feed on my phone.

Teresa called at 11am and asked me to return to the apt. From there I ordered a Didi to take us to El Tesoro mall. I stopped at a copy desk but while I was waiting I noticed I hadn’t gotten the addresses correct on my voting application. (I have 3 addresses: one in the US, one in Colombia, and my mail forwarding address in Florida.

We had a nice lunch in J&C Delicias. Zara is still closed and they had a door open but the only thing I saw inside was a step ladder. Teresa wanted ice cream but I wanted a latte so first we went to Percimon where she had a frozen yogurt with the fixings. We were sitting on a sofa outside H&M and there was a young couple sitting on the sofa across from us. They had two dogs and the one on the couch would bark his head off everytime ie saw another dog. Really annoying! At one point a mall employee spoke to them and they soon left. Not sure if the employee complained about the noise or the fact the small dog was on the sofa but at least they left.

We went to Valentina’s where I had a latte and a slice of carrot cake (which unfortunately didn’t taste very fresh). On our way to the taxi stand we passed 3 security guards, 2 with shotguns and 1 with a revolver. We returned to the apt by taxi.

We had a shower about 5pm that lasted about 20 minutes.

Tomorrow the plan is to go to El Retiro for the day.

 

FUNNY

Friday, August 23, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 11:30, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I left the apt at 9am and completed my workout in Smartfit. I had a latte in Los Portenos while continuing chess play on my phone. I also solved a few online puzzles. This outdoor location is no longer so desirable since they cut down the tree in front of it and now there isn’t as much shade.

I left at 11am and returned to the apt. I found this notice in the elevator. Apparently, Envigado is having its own sillatero parade.

Following Rob’s instruction, I put the DAZN icon on my Amazon Fire Stick home page.

I checkmated Mekael965 in 39 moves increasing my rating to 1577. I thought I started another game with him but now I see it’s Bobski21, rating 1184, from the United Kingdom.

Troyclough overlooked something and I checkmated him on the 31^st move, raising my rating to 1582.

I left the apt at 3pm and at the Gana kiosk I paid this month’s Tigo/Une Wi-Fi bill. In Eduardo Madrid bakery I found 2 “con todas las semillas” (all seeds) bagels which I bought to go and had a latte there. I received an email from Shedrain that my umbrella was delivered the day before yesterday.

I contacted Nebraskja and she confirmed it had arrived and will release everything.  I left at 5:30 and returned to the apt.

Teresa suggested we order ribs from Mu which I seldom disagree with. The ribs arrived after a reasonable amount of time and they were wrapped in paper so well that the ribs were still hot.

Teresa received a call from the portero then she informed me we will have no running water tomorrow from 8am to 2pm. I guess we’ll be having lunch out together.

I watched some CNN on IPTV.

When I went to bed at 10pm it was raining lightly.

 

FUNNY

Thursday, August 22, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4:45, waking/getting up at 6:30.

Again, Cine Colombia doesn’t have any decent new movies. ☹

ONEIPAMETATO1453 resigned our game increasing my rating to 1574.

I left the apt at 9:15 and on my way to the mall I noticed the Texaco station is now a Shell station; no words to that affect but I recognized the logo.

In Auros I printed the voting application, signed it and scanned it back to my USB drive. I took a seat in Urbania and while having a latte reread the application and found I had one more page to sign and only needed to scan 2 of the 3 pages. ☹ While having a latte Teresa joined me about 10:30.

Outside, we took a taxi to Mayorca mall. The main objective was for me to buy a new pair of walking shoes, my current pair have holes in the mesh above my big toes. I finally found a pair of Skechers in the Champs outlet store the right size and a style I liked for 449,999 pesos ($112). The toe area seems to be reinforced. Teresa bought some skin creams in Medipiel for 249,000 pesos ($62) and we had a nice lunch in Crepes & Waffles.

Nebraskja texted me that the envelope they thought contained my umbrella instead is the missing notebook.

I told her we’ll wait for the umbrella to arrive and then we’ll send everything to Medellin. (Later I checked for a reply from Shedrain and found my request for a tracking number in my draft folder so I sent it.)

We left Mayorca about 2pm and returned to the apt. I took a short nap then left at 3:30 and had a latte in Los Portenos. Suddenly the chess puzzles I’ve been doing have gotten much harder. Instead of 5 minutes on each one I’m often spending 10-15 minutes and still can’t solve it. ☹ About 5pm the restaurant started getting a little busy so I paid my check and returned to the apt.

I watched episode 3 of Hard Knocks on the NFL Game Pass website; much better than the first 2 episodes.

I did some damage to my salted-in-the-shell peanut supply while I watched the Bears defeat the Chiefs 34-21 in their last preseason game.

I heard lightning so I unplugged the surge protector above my desk.

It was raining lightly when I went to bed at 11:30.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4:45, waking/getting up at 7am.

I lost a game to Troyclough lowering my rating to 1570. ☹

I left the apt at 8:45 and walked to Smartfit. I had no problem entering but was very surprised they’ve reorganized all the machines. All my usual machines are there I just had to search for them.

I completed my usual routine but lifting 10# less than before and only completed a 5-minute walk on the treadmill at the speed of 6km/hr.

I stopped in Envios Market and talked to Nebraskja. There is a package in FL but she’s pretty sure it’s the umbrella. I asked her to check on the notebook and Whatsapp me the results.

I went to Los Portenos where I ran into Bill from Memphis and met his sister Diane who is visiting for the week. Nebraskja texted me that the notebook isn’t in their warehouse. Hmmm.

I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

I left the apt at 1:30 and walked down to the cafe Riccoto (or however it’s spelled) and had a latte and tried one of their Crookies.

It appears to be a chocolate chip cookie made with croissant dough. Quite crumbly and much too big for me to finish. I changed tables twice to avoid the sun so it’s probably not the best place to visit on a sunny afternoon. I completed another 3 pages in my chess puzzle book but got 3 of them wrong. I left at 3:30 and returned to the apt.

Teresa showed me her first completed purse.

She’s asked me to try to sell it; I don’t think so.

I started the process of registering to vote in the November federal election.

Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears still doesn’t appear on DAZN.

I watched some of the Democratic National Convention.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1:30, waking/getting up by alarm at 6:30.

At 7:20 I started my search for an Uber ride to Unicentro. Traffic was heavy and my driver went another exit further north before coming back south. I arrived at the restaurant about 8:15 and Jose was waiting for me.

We each had their French toast with coffee. We adjourned to the food court and I had the Black pieces in the first game. I got a nice attack going until he exchanged his rook for my knight and I no longer had a plan to follow and he eventually checkmated me on the 32^nd move.

It was only 11:15 when we started the 2^nd game where I had the White pieces. I was able to block his pieces from moving and he resigned on the 41^st move.

It was only 1:30 when I ordered an Uber for 15mil but when they “expanded their search” I cancelled and used InDrive to take me to Viva Envigado for 20,000 pesos cash.

I had the chicken teriyaki with a limonada de coco in Sarku’s then went downstairs to Urbania for a latte. Well, this milk decoration is different.

I left at 4pm and returned to the apt by taxi.

At 8pm I looked for the 3^rd episode of Hard Knocks but it isn’t up yet. I’ll try again tomorrow.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Monday, August 19, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, waking/getting up at 6:30.

Today is another holiday, Assumption Day.

HBO Max emailed me that Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears is not available in Colombia.

I asked them to cancel my subscription and refund my payment.

The next email from them said that they would.

At 10am I went down the hill to Las Vegas complex but the café Peccato was closed, probably because of the holiday. I went to Tostao where I bought a large café con leche and easily found a table outside. I completed 3 more pages of chess puzzles getting all of them correct.

I left at 11:30 and stopped in Eduardo Madrid and bought a few things Teresa requested but for the third time in the past week there is no broccoli.

I left the apt at 2pm and walked to the mall. I recycled several plastic bottles then bought a large carton of eggs, a head of broccoli and three red onions in Exito. Urbania was full so I went up to Santa Leña where I had a latte while continuing to go through my new chess book. At 4pm I asked for the check plus a chocolate chip and pistachio crookie to go.

They didn’t have either of them so I just paid for my latte and returned to the apt by taxi.

In the evening I watched some of the Democratic National Convention.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Sunday, August 18, 2024

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

I checkmated ONEIPAMETATO1453 on the 24^th move increasing my rating to 1579.

I googled Carmen de Viboral and was surprised twe’re supposed to go to the north terminal when it’s southeast of Medellin.

Teresa suggested we invite her mother to join us but I didn’t like the idea taking her someplace we don’t know firsthand. We decided we’ll invite her and go to El Retiro.

At 10:15 we were in the porteria waiting for MT to arrive by taxi. I guess something went wrong because the next thing we’re doing is walking to MT’s complex while keeping an eye out for her in a taxi.

We found her at her porteria and quickly found a taxi to take us to terminal sur. By then it was 11am and we’ve missed the 10:40 bus. We bought round-trip tickets to El Retiro for the 11:40 bus. We stopped at a kiosk and bought some snacks.

There were lots of seats available as the bus left on time at 11:40. Leaving Medellin on Las Palmas traffic was crawling. After 10-15 minutes our driver turned off an exit ramp and headed on a side street up into the hills. When he got back on Las Palmas we had no traffic for about 5 minutes. Then we hit the same bumper to bumper traffic. Teresa said it must be because this is a Puente (holiday weekend). Note to self: Don’t try to leave town on a holiday weekend.

It was 1pm when Terresa commented that we should be near El Retiro. I wasn’t so sure as I thought I recognized a small strip mall on our right. I said we haven’t even reached Indian mall yet. Change of plans: we got off across from Indiana mall and walked across the street to it.

They had an arts & crafts fair going on under tents at ground level. We first made a stop at the restrooms then I guided them up and across the street to a restaurant named El Corral that my brother and I ate at 5-6 years ago.

It was 1:30 when we sat down and they ordered some type of special chicken and I the steak pimiento, a baked potato and a Coke.

Our food was delicious although pieces of my meat were on the rare side instead of the medium-well I prefer. The total came to 266,155 pesos ($66).

I went to the other end of the mall to Santa Leña for coffee while the ladies went down to check out the fair.

I had a latte and the milk design on top looked like a little bear (Go Bears!) instead of the usual leaf.

The ladies joined me around 3:45 but they didn’t have anything to eat or drink. Teresa worked some on her art project while I spent my time on my phone.

Just after 5pm I made my final trip to the restroom, paid the bill and we walked down to the highway. We walked around the corner towards Medellin (almost stepped on a dead rat) where we waited in the shade for a bus. The first two buses that stopped by weren’t from El Retiro and wouldn’t take out tickets. The next bus was a blue El Retiro bus and we got on and thankfully a couple guys got up and gave their seats to the ladies. I stood up and held on which wasn’t too bad because we never hit heavy traffic so it was a straight shot to the Exposiciones metro station.

We took the metro to Envigado station where I took this photo of the moon coming over the eastern mountains.

We quickly caught a taxi, dropped MT off by La Bahia and continued on to our apt.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

Saturday, August 17, 2024

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

I reminded Teresa again about the football game. She thinks her friend is going to be having an art booth at a fair in Parque Envigado.

I left the apt at 9:15 and walked to Ganso y Castor where I had a latte while completing another 3 pages of chess puzzles, getting 2 of them wrong.

I left at 11:15 and returned to the apt.

I managed to download the DAZN app to my Amazon Firestick and entered the correct password on the third try. While looking for the Bears game I found Hard Knocks: Training Camp for the Chicago Bears. 😊 They have it here so I don’t need to sign up for an HBO Max subscription.

I watched the Bears beat the Cincinnati Bengals 27-3 while eating some of my salted-in-the-shell peanuts with a Coke. Looking good! After, I watched the first 2 episodes of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears.

I was down two pawns to Troyclough but held on for a draw lowering my rating 2 points to 1575.

Teresa wants to go on a day trip tomorrow to Carmen Viboral. I googled it and even though it looks to be south the internet says we should catch a bus at terminal norte.

 

DEALING WITH ENTITLED & RUDE PEOPLE

 

Friday, August 16, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1:15, again at 5:15, finally waking/ getting up at 7:15.

The street is a little wet so we must have had some rain overnight. It’s also very overcast so maybe we’ll have more rain soon. Accuweather says rain starting in 26 minutes but The Weather Channel says rain ending in 15 minutes. 😊

MT has a 4pm hearing appointment in San Fernando Plaza so I’ll be going with them later.

I left the apt at 9:15 and walked to the mall. I usually cut through the gas station but today the electric and natural gas area was tarped off. Probably some construction coming soon. I had to walk down to the corner of McDonald’s before continuing south,

I recycled a few items then went to Urbania where I had a latte while solving 3 more pages of chess puzzles, getting all of them correct. I left at 10:45 and bought a number of things in Exito and was happy that were was no wait in the express line to check out. I returned to the apt by taxi.

I finished the 5 episodes of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants on HBO Max.

Shedrain’s last email: “Thank you very much. We can confirm that you were sent an AOAC Jumbo Compact Umbrella instead of the AOAC Compact Umbrella that was ordered. We have put through a request to have the correct umbrella sent out with expedited shipping. In the meantime, please feel free to keep the extra umbrella, gift it to a friend or family member, or donate it, as this was our mistake.”

I googled and found a phone number for HBO Max at 1 (855) 942-6669. I called and explained that I see the Hard Knocks series for the NY Giants and Miami Dolphins but not the Chicago Bears. An hour later and after elevating it twice they told me they’d investigate it further and contact me by email.

I googled San Fernando Plaza, looking for a café, and found Bread Factory.

We were waiting in the porteria at 3:30 when MT picked us up in a taxi. At San Fernando Plaza we took the escalator up a couple levels and I commented that they reminded me of Comuna 13. We turned left and as we walked to the other side I noticed a food court with a Café sign in the back. We passed a Juan Valdez on the left. At the other end of the floor MT led us to this GAES store. They went in and took a seat and I walked back to the food court. It turned out there is no café, I just saw the word CARE from a distance. 😊 I went in to Juan Valdez and ordered a large latte and a blueberry yogurt muffin. I hadn’t finished it when the ladies were back. (I found out later that MT just got her hearing aids cleaned.) Teresa asked about the coffee and I told her to order café con leche as the lattes aren’t good her. She asked where there is another café and I told her to ask the security guard standing 10 yards behind her. She did and they moved back near the GAES tienda. I soon joined them and it was a simple Bread Factory kiosk but there weren’t any tables available as they were sitting on a bench with no back support. Teresa then decided she’d rather have ice cream in Santafe mall. we took the escalator down and walked across the parking lot to the street and quickly caught a taxi. Because of all the one-way streets it took some time with lots of side streets to get us there. (It was walking distance, like 6 blocks but I didn’t want MT to have to walk that far.)

In Crepes & Waffles Teresa asked me what was the ice cream I ordered when we were in Cartagena. I found it on the menu -Suprema and we both ordered it although hers was lite ice cream.

MT had a mini waffle with ice cream and strawberries.

They checked out Zara but reported there was nothing new. Teresa did learn that the El Tesoro location should reopen in September.

When we stepped out of the exit by the taxis at 5:30 the road was jammed with cars so we decided to stick around the mall a little longer.

We went down to Valentina’s where MT and I ordered lattes. Teresa worked on her art project while I did a little reading in my Simple Chess book.

We finally left at 7:15 and returned to the apt by taxi.

I reminded Teresa I have a noon football game to watch tomorrow.

 

DEALING WITH ENTITLED & RUDE PEOPLE

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1:15, again at 5am, finally waking/ getting up at 7:30.

I met Marcos at Los Portenos (from here on just assume the ‘n’ is an ‘ñ’ because I’m tired of typing it) at 9:15 and we discussed politics, football and their upcoming trip to Madrid and Marrakesh. He left at 10am and soon another gringo sat down at the next table and I met Bill from Memphis. He retired her about 18 months ago and bought an apartment down the hill still under construction at Terrazas de Rio.

In the afternoon I went to the Otra Parte patio; it appears the sun is behind the building by 2-3 pm making it a nice place to sit (no umbrella needed). I briefly spoke to a couple from Texas visiting the woman’s family here. For the first time I noticed the Coke bottle tops have an “Excess of Sugars” warning printed on them

I watched the first four episodes of Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants on HBO Max.

Shedrain responded to my email, they think a similar but larger umbrella was sent. They asked me to send them the PO code on a tag inside the umbrella to be sure.

Jose sent me a link to the Liga de Ajedrez website and I was able to confirm the names and ratings of my opponents from last week.

I finished reading Lee Child’s The Secret on my Kindle. Now time to return to my behemoth read Truman.

 

DEALING WITH ENTITLED & RUDE PEOPLE

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1:15, finally waking at 6am and getting up at 6:30.

I don’t remember if I already mentioned it but I received an email from our realtor that our rent goes up to 2,486,531 pesos on the 30^th of October.

Jeannie & Jacob have moved to a 2-bedroom home in Highland Park, next to a park, but they haven’t sold their condo yet so they’re paying 2 mortgages.

I left the apt at 8:15 and walked to Olivena in Sao Paulo plaza. I ordered a latte and French toast with scrambled eggs and bacon. I didn’t touch the bacon because it wasn’t crispy.

Glenn arrived with Bianca and we discussed my HBO Max problem, He believes it should work with Teresa’s debit card if I sign up as Teresa, even though I use my email address. We discussed politics and the Olympics, chess, and pinocle. The owner of his apt wanted him out so he could charge more for rent but he ended up settling on a 800,000 pesos increase for this year.

I left at 10:45 and stopped at Envios Market. Nobraskja wasn’t there (doctor’s appointment) but a man I haven’t seen before spoke a little English. I explained about my booklet that arrived in FL didn’t get included in my last delivery. I want to ensure it’s still there in FL and ask if it would be difficult to have that single small item delivered her or would it be better to wait until my next large shipment. I gave him my phone number and Nobraskja will call me.

In their courtyard is a Bancolombia kiosk and in less than a minute I managed to deposit 100,000 pesos into Teresa’s savings account.

I stopped in Ara and bought 5 tomatoes, a bag of milk and lettuce but they didn’t have broccoli.

ONEIPAMETATO1453 resigned our latest game increasing my rating to 1577.

Teresa left at 1:45 for her art class. I left at 2:30 and on the sidewalk in front of Tienda D1 were 2 policemen in the new blue uniforms (so I’m thinking they are your typical beat cops) with a young man they were talking to who was handcuffed behind his back. ☹

In Eduardo Madrid I had a latte while solving another 3 pages of chess puzzles, missing 1. Late in the afternoon the bakery got busy and Teresa finally arrived at 5:30. She had a latte, I had another, and we split something that reminded me of a chicken pot pie but open face. We then shared a slice of fresh (I know because I noticed the cake hadn’t been cut yet) carrot cake. I paid for it all and we returned to the apt.

One of the things that arrived in my package was a Shedrain umbrella for Teresa. I got this particular one because the website said it was 10” long so it would fit in Teresa’s bag. It doesn’t fit so I measured it and it’s 15” long. I sent Shedrain an email notifying them of that; we’ll see what they say.

I set up an account with HBO Max using Teresa’s name, debit card but my email address. I logged in and I see Hard Knocks for Dolphins and Giants but not the Bears. I’m guessing I’ll have to watch the Tuesday night episodes as they are released and catch up on the earlier episodes later.

 

DEALING WITH ENTITLED & RUDE PEOPLE

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once at 1am, finally waking at 6am and getting up at 6:15.

Well, that was earlier than expected. I texted Jose I’m up earlier than usual but I’m not aiming to get there at 8am but if I get there earlier than 9am I’ll have a latte until he arrives.

I tried signing up for HBO Max - Monthly Standard for 24,900 pesos a month but it wouldn’t accept my USAA debit card. I texted Glenn for advice. He said I’ll need to set up a VPN first. We’re going to meet for breakfast tomorrow so he can help me. I soon had another idea: Teresa has a savings account with a debit card but I’ll need to put some cash in it first.

I met Jose at Parmessano in Unicentro mall at 8:15. I had the French toast with a latte and he had an egg casserole and a double Americano. The total came to about 30mil each.

We moved to the food court where we went through my nine games. (My final record was 4 wins and 5 losses.) We finished by 11:15 and we’ll probably meet for chess next Tuesday.

I took a Didi to Viva Envigado and the driver spoke English because he lived in Australia for 9 months. He asked me what music group I liked from the 60s and I said, “The Association”. He keyed something on his cellphone and soon I heard “Never My Love, “Windy”, and “Cherish”. Probably because we were talking, he missed the exit for Envigado and it took another 10 minutes of back streets to drop me off at Viva Envigado.

I had chicken teriyaki and a limonada de coco in Sarku’s for 33,800 pesos, tip included.

In Claro I paid this month’s cellphone bills and made a 2,000,000-peso withdrawal form an ATM.

I bought another container of Cetaphil hydrating cream for 105,000 pesos in Linea Estetica. Hopefully, this will be my last as it’s almost a year since we returned from Europe and my skin problem started.

I went downstairs to Urbania where I had a latte while starting my new book Simple Chess.

Teresa called and asked me to meet her at 4pm in Perinto’s café. I left at 3:30 and paid the epm utility bill in Exito Wow then walked across the street to the café. Teresa and MT each had a yucca waffle and lattes plus a latte for me and the total came to 82,500 pesos.

We walked abuela the 2 blocks to her apt and it started raining lightly. Teresa walked her up to her apt while I ordered a Didi to return us to our apt.

 

DEALING WITH ENTITLED & RUDE PEOPLE