Tuesday, February 17, 2026

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

At 7:15 I started the process of ordering a Didi for 22,788 pesos. Traffic was bad but I still arrived at the mall by 7:45. I walked around it once to kill time then went up to Parmessano and Jose joined me 5 minutes later. I ordered the French toast but without their honey because today I brought my own bottle of maple syrup. The bottle is almost empty and I finished it there. I also had a couple scrambled eggs and a latte for 55,000 pesos.

We moved to the food court where I had the Black pieces in the first game. He quickly got an attack against me and I resigned on my 24^th move.

It was only 10:15 as we started the next game. I got a cramp in my left thigh but quickly massaged it out. ☹ Again, I made some bad decisions and resigned in the endgame on the 32^nd move.

It was only 1:45 when we said goodbye and I ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 18,200 pesos. I had my usual granola with yogurt bowl in an unusually not full Pergamino. I went next door to a tienda naturista and inquired if they had the Creatine capsules I’m currently taking.

The lady told me they only have it in powder, not capsules, and it sells for 135,000 pesos ($37).

I withdrew 2,000,000 pesos (all 100s) from a Servibanca ATM then went down to Urbania for a latte.

This is a painting my half-sister completed recently:

I left at 3:30 and bought a few items in Exito (they still had imported oranges so I bought three) and returned to the apt by taxi.

I watched the documentary Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich (6.1) on Netflix, the last half of The Chris Hayes Show then a little reading before going to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Monday, February 16, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, finally waking at 5:30 but not getting up until 6am when Teresa had already left for her gym class.

I understand today is Presidents Day in the US and also Annie James is 5 months old.

Yesterday I learned that Teresa was thinking about renting the finca, having Laura move in with her gf Cindy, and Teresa was going to move to Spain to live with a gf. Then I came along, and as they say, the rest is history.

Teresa didn’t return from her gym class until 7:45. She made breakfast and I returned to bed to take a nap for an hour.

I left the apt at 9:15 and found Smartfit not very busy. Today I added 10# to each of the weight machines so now I’m back to moving the same weight from before our vacation last month. I saw a trainer standing next to the new fancy scale machine so I went over to see if he would give me a demonstration but I learned you have to join a plan first. No thanks. I completed 18 minutes on the treadmill, today occasionally taking my hands off the side supports to work on my balance.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor and three bomberos (firemen) walked through the park and down to the new steakhouse.

A fire truck backed up and they unloaded a ladder

which they took around back probably checking everything is up to code.

I stopped in Eduardo Madrid looking for bagels but didn’t see any. If I understood correctly, they should have some later. (We ran out of muffins this morning.)

After lunch Teresa went for a nap.

I left the apt at 1:30 but when I arrived at Los Porteños I found I didn’t have my cellphone with me. ☹ I returned to the apt and got it and returned to the restaurant and had a latte in for a couple hours.

I messed up the opening with the Black pieces against chesswiz98 and wasn’t able to castle but I followed up with some good moves and he resigned on his 25^th move, increasing my rating to 1545.

I left at 4:30, stopped in Eduardo Madrid and bought a sleeve of 6 sesame seed bagels and a slice of carrot cake. I stopped in Ara and bought 2 pairs of reinforced kitchen gloves for Teresa before returning to the apt.

I watched the mini-series documentary Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (7.1) on Netflix, 

the first half of The Rachel Maddow Show then a little reading before going to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Sunday, February 15, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, finally waking at 5am but not getting up until Teresa got up at 6:30.

The plan for today was to go to El Retiro but Teresa and I had an argument and by the time it was “resolved” we had missed our window to leave.

We decided to have lunch in La Buena Mesa but it rained for a couple hours. Finally, it stopped raining and we left at 3:30 and had lunch in Asados Familia Garcia. Teresa had the sobrebarriga (flank steak) which she shared with me and I had a small sopa albondigas (meatball soup). We each had a Coke and I don’t remember the bill but it seemed high.

I talked to Teresa about maybe going to Chicago for Annie James’ baptism but decided it would be too expensive and too much trouble.

I tried to get her to go a block away to Los Porteños for lattes but she wasn’t interested so we just stopped in Ara for a few groceries on the way back to the apt.

I watched 60 Minutes, some news, then finished reading Lee Child’s Exit Strategy (Jack Reacher #30).

It was raining when I went to bed at 9:30.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 5:30, finally getting up at 6:30.

Happy Valentine’s Day! (Later I read that the relics of Saint Valentine are stored in a Catholic church on a Greek island.)

My plan was to go to Viva Envigado this morning but Teresa wants to take her mom to El Tesoro and we’ll have lunch there.

I won a game against Troyclough in 19 moves, increasing my rating to 1535.

I collapsed on the recliner, eyes too tired to keep them open.

We left the apt at 1pm in a Didi, picked up MT at her apt and continued on to El Tesoro mall for 21,600 pesos.

We had lunch on the deck of J&C Delicias. While there we had a drizzle for about 30 minutes which cooled things down. I had my usual Penne Carmela and the total check was 179,841 pesos ($49).

We went up to Valentina’s where we had lattes and snacks. I wanted to talk to Teresa about Boston and Chicago but it was too noisy for the translator to work.

The ladies stopped in Zara then H&M where Teresa found 2 pretty blouses for 260,100 pesos ($71).

We stopped in Medipiel where I bought 2 bottles of my skin cream that were on sale for 96,400 pesos each and some expensive “serum” for Teresa for a total of 373,050 pesos ($102).

Chesswiz98 resigned our game on the 11^th move increasing my rating to 1540.

We stopped in Carulla and only bought a medium carton of eggs and pasta sauce but the line was slow.

Outside I ordered a Didi to return us to Envigado for 27,091 pesos. First time I’ve seen this: whenever we approached a speed bump a buzzer went off on the driver’s dashboard.

We got out at Ara where Teresa bought arepas and cheese.

Because of the work on the sidewalk, they have a pedestrian detour made of yellow tape. Teresa ducked under it but I walked around it. They put one of those cement blocks they use to make curbs as a step up to the actual curb. I remember thinking I certainly don’t need that half step but then stumbled on the block. To catch myself I had to drop the eggs. I wasn’t hurt, other than my ego, especially after Teresa made some comment comparing me to her mother. ☹

Back upstairs we only lost a couple eggs due to catching the toe of my shoes that I didn’t want to buy originally because I thought they were clunky.

I think my recent napping is due to insufficient sleep so tonight I took a whole zopiclona before going to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Friday, February 13, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up twice during the night, woke up at 5:30, finally getting up at 6am.

After breakfast I returned to bed for an hour and got a little more sleep.

The sidewalk outside Ara is almost finished:

I found Smartfit not as busy as usual but still had to change the order of my routine. Usually, the problem is women hogging the leg machines but today it was men on the upper body machines.  Once again I completed 18 minutes on the treadmill. Next week I add 10# to the machines to match what I was lifting before our trip to the DR.

I had a latte outside Ganso y Castor and caught the red squirrel taking the peanut. He climbed up to the next crook of the tree to eat it.

I stopped in Ara on the way back to the apt to buy tomatoes and lemons.

I lost a game to chesswiz98 in 24 moves, lowering my rating to 1529.

I watched The Decline then Untold: The Fall of Favre on Netflix.

Teresa got a massage from Kelly from 4pm to 5pm. We had a brief rain while she was here but it stopped by the time she left.

I bought the latest John Grisham book on Amazon, read some more of my Reacher book on my Kindle, and went to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

NOT SO FUNNY

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 6:30, finally getting up at 7am.

Teresa returned from her gym class just after 7:30 and made breakfast.

Workers pouring cement for the new sidewalk:

I met Marcos at Tostao at 9:30. He informed me that Johana did not get a US Visitor Visa as Trump does not want Venezuelans, along with 19 other countries, in the US. Marshall still sleeps 20 hours a day, only getting up to eat. Marcos checked with a rabbi and he can be buried in a Jewish cemetery in Medellin for $3,000.

He left at 10:15, I soon after and stopped in Mercado Madrid to purchase a few groceries for lunch.

Annie James

After lunch we took an hour nap then I finished the series, Safe on Netflix.

My daughter notified me that Annie James’ baptism will be on Saturday, May 16^th at 11am with lunch to follow. We’re supposed to be in Boston around that time so maybe we can make a quick trip to Chicago. I’ll have to talk to Teresa about it and see how much more expensive it will be for 3 one-way flights: to Boston, to Chicago, to Medellin.

I watched The Queen of Chess (7.8) on Netflix, then the news, then my reading time before going to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

NOT FUNNY

 

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 4:15, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 5am and read for an hour before returning to bed, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

Work continues on the sidewalk outside Ara:

After breakfast I updated my blog and only had 30 minutes remaining for a nap. I left the apt just after 9am and found Smartfit not as busy as usual but still, I had to reorder my routine a couple times. Once, a guy on the leg extension machine left his damp sweaty towel on the bench. ☹

I completed my workout including 18 minutes on the treadmill.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor and discussed yesterday’s thigh cramps with ChatGPT. It appears my not salting my food may have caught up to me. To counteract that I’m going to put a little salt on my eggs on gym mornings.

I left just before 11am and found a 2,000-peso bill folded up outside Black Pepper; maybe it’s my lucky day.

I had a short nap after lunch.

At 2:30 I checked the temperature on the balcony and it was 86 degrees. It’s been a week since it last rained so maybe Teresa is right and we’re in the dry season. I put on my shorts and sleeveless t-shirt and left the apt. As I was walking up Calle 30 I heard thunder and noticed a dark cloud coming in. At Los Porteños I took a seat purposely not my usual seat on the end which is more pervious to rain. It wasn’t long before a downpour started and I moved inside. It only lasted about 30 minutes but now it was noticeably cooler.

I left at 5pm and found Teresa waiting for me in Eduardo Madrid bakery. She was hungry so we each had a pie de pollo (similar to a small chicken pot pie) and latte for 52,800 pesos. I showed her the flights to Boston for Sunday, May 3^rd and we narrowed it down to two. Now to check with Laura.

We returned to the apt and I watched another episode of Safe on Netflix before switching to the news.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, finally waking at 6:15 and getting up at 6:30.

I ordered a Didi to take me to Unicentro mall for 17,788 pesos. Traffic was horrible, I arrived at Parmessano at 8:15 and Jose was already waiting for me. I shared some of my latest challenges and he agreed with me that I should just pay the most recent epm bill.

For breakfast I had French toast, 2 scrambled eggs, a latte and a bottle of water to go for 54,411 pesos.

I had the Black pieces in the first game and got an attack against his king but again didn’t find the correct moves to put him away and ended up resigning on the 41^st move. (When I was about 2 hours into that game I got a cramp in each thigh but easily massaged them out and stood up. I don’t recall that happening to me before.)

In the second game I had the White pieces and quickly lost a pawn but it gave me attacking chances and he ended up resigning on the 38^th move.

It was 2pm when I said goodbye and ordered a Didi to take me to Viva Envigado for 16,900 pesos.

I stopped in Habia Una Vez and had their simple 2-egg breakfast with a mini croissant and latte.

In Auros I had a chess page printed, withdrew 2,000,000 pesos from an ATM, and paid the epm bill. I went up to Claro where I paid our most recent cellphone bills.

I went down to Urbania and had a latte. Teresa called and asked me to pick up apples from Exito. I bought 4 red apples, 4 green apples, and 3 imported oranges and returned to the apt by taxi. (Btw, those oranges cost about $1 apiece.)

I finished reading Tiffany D. Jackson’s Allegedly on my Kindle and started reading Lee Child’s Exit Strategy, #30 in the Jack Reacher series. This was released last year so, unless I’ve miscounted, it’s the last in the series and I’ll have to wait in the future for new books to be released.

Today I tallied 1,863 steps.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Monday, February 9, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 6:15 and getting up at 6:45.

Today is my son’s 39^th birthday; Happy Birthday Jim!

I left the apt at 9:30 and completed my workout in a busy Smartfit.

I moved to Ganso y Castor where I had a latte for a little over an hour. On the way back to the apt I encountered this truck trying to back into the auto parking lot:

I wish I could have caught it a few seconds earlier where they had to move the pedestrian columns to give him extra room.

Today they started replacing the sidewalk in front of Ara.

ARA

We tried taking a nap after lunch but too noise with the jackhammers.

I left the apt at 2:30, stopped at the Bancolombia kiosk to print a couple pages, then stopped at Gana and paid the Movistar bill.

I had a latte in Los Porteños while going through some chess notes.

Troyclough resigned our latest game on the 14^th move, increasing my rating to 1540.

Annie James

A new restaurant has opened in La Buena Mesa, a steakhouse named Biftek.

My 2025 combined gross income is under the threshold where I would need to file… so I do not have to file again this year. 😊

Teresa received a massage from Kelly from 5:15 to 6:15.

I watched another episode of Safe on Netflix, watched some news then read for an hour in my Kindle. After reading the first chapter of Lee Child’s The Secret I realized I’d already read it. ☹

Today I tallied 4,890 steps.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Sunday, February 8, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 6:30 and getting up at 7:30.

I left the apt at 8:30 and found Glenn with Bianca waiting for me when I arrived at Olivenza.

Glenn has his electrocardiogram this week. We discussed the virtues and deficiencies of ChatGPT.

I left at 10:45am and returned to the apt. Teresa was just leaving for her beauty shop appointment.

Chesswiz98 resigned our game in 30 moves, increasing my rating to 1544.

Teresa called at 1:45 and asked me to meet her outside Asados Rogelio (which I know is closed on Sundays). When I arrived she wanted something different so she led me across the street to Quilombo, the Argentinian steakhouse. Inside was pretty busy and noisy so I was happy when she chose an outside table. She talked briefly with a waiter and I understood we would both be ordering the solomito (steak). The waiter didn’t return quick enough for her so she got up and we left.

She led me back across the street to Asados Familia Garcia which was just as busy be not as noisy. She ordered the Sobrebarriga (which literally means on the belly) and I the ribs. We each had a Coke and the total came to 155,000 pesos.

Teresa was going to visit her mother so she returned to the apt and I continued on to Gardenia where I had a latte and went through a couple chess books.

I lost a game to Troyclough, lowering my rating to 1535.

I returned to the apt and Teresa had 3 epm bills for our apt. One for January, one for February and one for last July. I tried to explain to her that I pay bills when I receive them, if I don’t receive a bill I can’t pay it because I don’t when its due or how much it is. I’m pretty sure if I didn’t pay the bill last July, they probably charged more in August.

At 6pm I put on NBC for Sacramento, California where I got a buffer-free connection. Teresa left at 6:15. As soon as the game started, I got some buffering so I switched to Omaha, Nebraska. I nearly finished my next to last bag of peanuts with a Coke. My favorite commercial was the one for Dunkin Donuts. I wasn’t much interested in the game but the Seattle Seahawks won.

It was 10:30 when the game ended so I read for about 30 minutes before going to bed.

 

I got in 4,484 steps today.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 6:30 and getting up at 7:30.

Blueberry pancakes with pecans for breakfast. Yum!

I was ready to leave the apt and walk to the mall when Teresa asked me to drop off a large thick blanket at her mother’s apt. I ordered a Didi and this was the first time I rode in a BYD (Chinese) car. I dropped off the blanket with Portal Sur’s portero and walked a block away to Viva Envigado.

I had a latte in Urbania for a little over an hour.

I stopped in Exito for carrots, lettuce, and a bag of milk and returned to the apt in a new taxi. 😊

The plan was for Teresa to get her nails and hair done today then tomorrow we’d go to El Retiro but return in time for me to see Superbowl LX.

About 3:30 Teresa tells me she’s going to meet Rosemary in Viejo John’s in Sabaneta and she has a beauty shop appointment for tomorrow so I can meet Glenn for breakfast.

About 4pm a drizzle started and by 4:30 it looked overcast with dark clouds to the south. Teresa informed me that she won’t be meeting Rosemary after all. I told her I already made plans for breakfast tomorrow with Glenn.

We left the apt at 5:30 and walked 4 blocks to Picositas, a small restaurant with pastries.

We each had a pastel de pollo and a small latte for 52mil. I told Teresa there’s a new chess movie on Netflix, Queen of Chess. It’s about a real female grandmaster, Judit Polgar and its got a rating of 8.0.

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

I watched the news, read a little and went to bed at 10pm,

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Friday, February 6, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, it rained overnight, all night, got up once at 4:30, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 5am and read until 5:30, fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

Annie James

Teresa didn’t make it to the gym so she got up and made breakfast.

I left the apt at 8:30 and found Smartfit busier than usual and had to change the order of my routine. I completed 18 minutes on the treadmill and ChatGPT had this to say about today’s experience:

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor for about an hour before returning to the apt.

I’m starting to track flights to and from Boston for our May trip and it looks like it’s going to be around $1000 after adding our suitcases.

Teresa told me we have no food so she wants me to have my chicken rice leftovers for lunch and we’ll go to Pricesmart for some groceries. I checked my Pricesmart app and neither location has our turkey breast but only the Las Americas location has my Smuckers strawberry preserves so I convinced her to have lunch in Arkadia then we ‘ll go across the street to Pricesmart.

We left the apt at 1pm and took a Didi to Arkadia mall. We were standing in line at Crepes & Waffles when the gringo I’ve been running into a lot lately came up to me. He said he was there to renew his spousal visa. (If I’m going to be seeing him so often it’s best I learn his name. 😊)

We had a nice lunch in Crepes & Waffles for 71,650 pesos ($20) then went across the street to Pricesmart. As expected, I didn’t see any Butterball turkey breasts but did get my Smucker’s Strawberry preserves.

We returned to the apt by taxi.

It was now about 3:30 and it felt like rain so I didn’t go out.

We didn’t get the rain but I did hear a loud peal of thunder that caused me to unplug the television but nothing else happened.

I watched the first two episodes of Harlan Coban’s Safe on Netflix and The Chris Hayes Show on MS NOW.

 

I completed 5,535 steps today.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Thursday, February 5, 2026

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

I see my Capital One transfer in my USAA account.

Workers are laying cement for the 2^nd new sidewalk section.

 

It was about 8:50 and I had some time to kill before meeting Marcos at 9:30. I didn’t want to get there too early because sometimes he doesn’t show up at all and that makes for a long wait. I went to bed and set my alarm for 9:15, got up, dressed and down the street I ran into Chris Cajoleas on his motorcycle. He’s getting an MRI to see if he needs a shoulder replacement. He has a new business idea, a game I’ve never heard of, but I don’t want to mention it here as it might still be a secret. I told him about my zopiclone problem and he seemed to think I still might be able to find it at a different pharmacy. He also seems to think that USAA no longer charges 1% for store purchases so I’ll be monitoring that.

I arrived at Tostao 10 minutes late and Marcos wasn’t there. Not sure if he was there and left or if he didn’t show at all. I texted him and we agreed to meet next Thursday.

I stopped in Mercado Madrid and bought a few vegetables for today’s lunch.

I chatted with USAA and asked for a second debit card but was told, “You can only have on (sic) active debit card from your account. If we do send another one, the other one will end up getting deactivated.” so I told them, “Never mind”.

Lunch was cheese broccoli soup. Yum!

We took a nap for about an hour after lunch.

We left the apt at 2:30 and took a Didi to Punto Clave (an old mall near Estacion Industriales) for 16,200 pesos. We took seats inside a clinic and within 30 minutes Teresa had an order for nueve eps to get an appointment. ???

Outside we quickly caught a taxi back to Envigado in a downpour, arriving by 4:45 for 25,000 pesos.

The rain soon stopped and we left at 6:30 and walked to Chiclayo where we had a nice supper: Chaufa de Pollo (Peruvian chicken rice) for me and Arrisotado ala Macha (some type of seafood with rice) for Teresa for 124,300 pesos ($34.10) which I paid for with my USAA debit card. I only hate half of my chicken with rice and got the other half to go.

 

I finished watching the series Fool Me Once on Netflix; pretty much the same as the book.

One of Peter Attia’s emails included the claim: “P—is indeed, low carb,” and Attia described his correspondence with Epstein as “incredibly naïve”, despite him being in his forties.

I watched The Chris Hayes Show, read a bit and went to bed at 10pm.

I completed 3,561 steps today.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

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

Last night my step counter registered 7,603 steps but that sounds too high. I suspect it wasn’t set to zero in the morning.

Teresa was already gone for her gym class. She returned at 7:30, made breakfast and I returned to bed for an hour nap.

I left the apt at 9am and found Smartfit busier than usual. I had to alter the order of my routine slightly and completed 18 minutes on the treadmill. I had some side pain starting at the 7^th minute and lowered the speed from 6 to 5kmh until the 10^th minute where I increased it back to 6kmh. Later, ChatGPT made the following recommendation for my Friday treadmill session:

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor but didn’t finish it because it seemed stronger than usual and my stomach didn’t like it.

I left at 11am and returned to the apt.

I logged into My Social Security and changed my deposit information to my USAA checking account. It won’t take affect until April so there will be one more deposit to Capital One I’ll have to transfer before I can close the account.

I’ve lost two games to chesswiz98 the past few days, lowering my rating to 1533.

I hadn’t seen my Apice (Daniel’s barbershop) baseball cap the past few days and thought I left it at Ganso y Castor last Saturday. This morning Teresa presented it to me as brand new – unknown to me she took it and cleaned it. 😊

I stayed in again today, watched a couple more episodes of Fool Me Once on Netflix, then a lot of the news.

Troyclough resigned our latest game on the 25^th move, increasing my rating to 1538.

Kelly came over and gave Teresa a massage.

Teresa wants to go to El Retiro Sunday and we’ll take her mother. I told her that’s fine but we’ll have to leave early not to miss the Superbowl which starts at 6:30.

Dr. Peter Attia, whose book I read recently and have been recommending, is named in the Epstein files:

 

I watched The Chris Hayes Show, read a bit and went to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, got up once during the night, finally awakened by alarm at 6:30. Drat, I forgot to turn off my alarm.

I requested Capital One 360 to transfer the balance of my checking account to my USAA checking account.

I left the apt just before 9am and walked to the mall. I withdrew 2 million pesos using my USAA debit card then went down to Urbania where I had a latte with a glass of ice water.

I left just before 11am and stopped in Exito to buy a few more imported oranges, a bag of milk and large carton of eggs then returned to the apt by taxi.

Teresa has been giving me a Colombian fruit called pitahaya that’s supposed to help regulate me. (It’s basically tasteless but contains lots of small seeds.) So far nothing’s happening.

I tried ordering a Didi for 10,000 pesos to take us to Santafe mall but the only driver that responded wanted 14,500 pesos. Finally, Teresa suggested we have lunch in Palo Grande so I cancelled the request. We had the lunch of the day in Palo Grande which was meatballs, a small salad, rice, a bowl of vegetable soup, and a drink.

We walked across the street and soon were in a taxi to Santafe mall.

Teresa went to Zara to exchange her blouse while I went down to Valentina’s for a latte.

Later Esmeralda joined us and she brought me the 4 boxes of zopiclone tablets for 104,000 pesos, that should last me 8-9 months if I can continue to take half doses.

We were sitting there at one point and we could hear a downpour hit the skylight 4 floors above us but it only lasted about 5 minutes.

We hung around until 7pm so traffic would lessen. We walked outside and across the street to Pan Americana where Esmeralda used Didi to order a motorcycle to take her home.

Outside Oviedo we caught a Sabaneta bus to take us back to Envigado.

It finally occurred to me I can’t close my Capital One account until I’m sure my SS is successfully being deposited in my USAA account.

 

I watched The Chris Hayes Show, then read a bit and went to bed at 10pm.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Monday, February 2, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 9:15, got up several times during the night, can’t say I slept well but we’ll see.

Teresa returned from her gym class at 7:30 and made breakfast. After breakfast I went back to bed for maybe an hour.

Happy Birthday, Papa Bear!

After conferring with ChatGPT again it appears my best option might be to open a Fidelity Cash Management Account when I’m in Chicago in September.

I understand Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so there will be 6 more weeks of winter.

I vegged out the rest of the day on the recliner. Having just finished the book, I watched the first four episodes of Fool Me Once on Netflix.

We had rain off and on throughout the day. When it wasn’t raining, we heard jackhammers breaking up the old sidewalk down the street.

 

I watched The Rachel Maddow Show, then read a bit and went to bed at 10:30.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

 

Sunday, February 1, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 5am, then tried to get back to sleep. When I looked at my clock, expecting it to be 6am, it was 7am so I guess I must have fallen back asleep at some point,

Just read a long comment from Expat, “Generally, Fidelity does not allow new customers who are currently residing outside the United States to open a Cash Management Account (CMA).”. That’s the same problem I had with Capital One 360. I confirmed it with ChatGPT.

After breakfast Teresa wants to go to Santafe mall because she needs to exchange a blouse she bought in Zara.

I ordered a birthday present for my son.

We left the apt at 8:30 and walked to Sao Paulo Plaza where we found Glenn with Bianca waiting for us.

Teresa asked about ordering hearing aids from the US and having them adjusted here. He didn’t recommend that for various reasons. He recommended she see Angelica Maria Bustamante 350 298-1956 in the Ophthalmology clinic (a block from Premium Plaza) of Medellin. He’s scheduled to get an electrocardiogram for his heart.

We left at 10am and since Teresa forgot to bring the blouse she wanted to exchange in Zara, we just walked back to the apt in a few raindrops.

NOW’S WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED

I’ve had some minor intestinal discomfort the past few days but today it got much worse with cramps. I would spend a few minutes on the toilet then a few minutes walking around. Teresa tried a number of different remedies on me: drink water, drink aromatica, drink a tablespoon of olive oil with lemon, but nothing worked, After 3 hours of that I finally decided we should go to the clinic. I got dressed and we took a Didi to Clinica Las Vega. We took a number and Teresa took a seat but I couldn’t sit down comfortably. I made a trip to the restroom but it was occupied. When our turn came we got registered. Back out in the waiting room we waited to be called again. This was triage and I understood they couldn’t handle this problem so they sent us to Hospital Pablo Tobon Uribe which I’ve heard from some gringos is the best hospital in Medellin. It’s also pretty far away as evidenced by the 22,000 pesos I paid for a Didi to take us there – on a Sunday.

Pretty much a repeat of the process from the clinic. This is a quick video of the waiting room:

After triage where they checked my blood pressure, Oxygen with one of those finger things, and temperature I made a trip to the restroom and FINALLY pooped and felt much better. Soon it was our turn to speak to a general practitioner, in English, and he palpitated my abdomen. He recommended 3 medications (one for pain) and said I should return if the pain gets worse, I have a fever or vomiting. We waited about 5 minutes at billing only to find out the cost was 0 pesos because we have medical insurance (nueve eps which costs about $50 a month for the two of us).

Downstairs we stopped at their pharmacy where we picked up 3 medications for less than 100,000 pesos ($25).

Outside we quickly were in a taxi back to Envigado for 34,000 pesos.

Teresa was hungry so we stopped at Chiclayo but their kitchen was closing so we went a few feet more to Black Pepper. We took a table in front of a TV that played some nice music videos. Teresa had ribs (I ate one with some vegetables and mashed potatoes) and a Coke.

We got back to the apt in time that I could watch the first segment of 60 Minutes.

I finished my Kindle book, Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben.

I went to bed at 9:15.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6am. How regular is that?

More photos of Annie James

Some surprises ahead!

After breakfast I took a 20-minute nap then got dressed and ordered my Didi.

I got my usual haircut at Daniel’s barbershop for 50mil, including tip.

I checked google maps for Todo Drogas and it said it was closed permanently!?

That’s a surprise, then again it is a new year.

I checked google maps for Plaza de Mercado Envigado which is across the street from Todo Drogas. It’s a 10-minute walk which would equal the time I would need to order a Didi, be accepted as a ride, arrive, and take me there so I walked it.

Todo Drogas was open and I ordered my usual monthly medications and was told something about Zopiclona not being available. It sounded more serious than just being “out of stock” so I had it translated:

I understand now you need a doctor’s prescription to get it.  I stopped at a couple other pharmacies but was told they didn’t have it. (I thought I might be able to get a couple boxes, but it’s not like it’s out of stock.)

I stopped in Banco Caja Social and withdrew 1,500,000 pesos. (USAA reimburses foreign ATM fees but there’s a monthly limit so I wanted to get one in for January.)

I continued on to Ganso y Castor for a latte but I didn’t hang around long because it was busy and I didn’t want to hog an outside table. Btw, their lattes went up to 12,000 pesos, 13,200 including tip.

I asked ChatGPT about a sleep aid and it recommended 0.5-3mg of melatonin. I was taking 3mg of melatonin for some time, only stopping recently (a year or two ago?).

I returned to the apt and gave Teresa the bad news. She called Esmeralda who apparently knows a pharmacy where she can get medications without a prescription so we’ll see. I checked my last box and I have 25 pills remaining so I’ll probably cut them in half and see how that works for me.

Teresa says we have no food so we’ll probably be going out for lunch.

At 1:30 I ordered a Didi to take us to El Correo for 18,200 pesos. Teresa had the pollo faruk (Peruvian chicken) and I the steak pimienta (pepper steak) with a baked potato and we each had a Coke for a total of 186,943 pesos including tip. I tried paying for it with my debit card but it got declined twice by the girl and once by me (they let me see what’s entered into the machine) so I paid in cash.

I suggested we go somewhere for coffee but Teresa hadn’t brought her bracelet work with her and she was afraid we’d get trapped by rain.

I ordered a Didi to return us to the apt for 20,400 pesos.

I received a call from an unknow caller but I answered it because it was from the US (+1). I figured it would be the Chicago Tribune calling again to hassle me about a subscription but it was my USAA bank’s fraud department. I was on hold for about 20 minutes before an actual operator came on. For some reason my debit card triggered a fraud alert. They confirmed my identity and my most recent transactions and they unfroze my card.

I ended up hanging around the apt the rest of the day and evening watching the news.

I made plans to meet Glenn for breakfast tomorrow. Teresa wants to go with me to ask him some questions about hearing aids.

Esmeralda managed to get 4 boxes of Zopiclona for me, which, if I manage properly should last me for the next 8-9 months.

I took half a Zopiclona and my usual Diphenhydramine and went to bed at 10pm.

 

 

 

 

 

Today I forgot to put on my step counter so I don’t have a step count.

 

RELEASE ALL THE EPSTEIN FILES NOW!

 

FUNNY