Tuesday, May 6th, 2014

Last night I sent an email to my dentist.  I’ve had a sore spot, on and off, on one area of my gum since he cleaned my teeth last month but I may have possibly aggravated it with a toothpick.

Just when things were looking up: I went to bed at 11pm, didn’t fall asleep until after 1:30am, got up once at 4:30, and finally woke/got up at 6:45.  Sigh!

I received a reply from my dentist to see him today at 3:30pm.  Sorry, Harry, but this is more important.  This morning my lip definitely looks swollen.

I had coffee and croissant at Los Mejores, ordered 2 lunches from Likke’s, had an orange juice at Redd’s, and another coffee at the Tinto store.  I saw Beatriz sweeping outside but she was slow coming back out with my clean clothes and I had to leave.  She asked when I’ll be back and I said probably 1:30 this afternoon.

Olga arrived right on time at 9am.  I tried to buzz her in but either the system didn’t work or she doesn’t know to push the door when I buzz it so I had to go downstairs and manually let her in.  She was impressed with my new refrigerator and, with the cloth shampoo I bought, she cleaned all my kitchen chairs and the small sofa.  She found some bad spots on one of my large plants (#2) and she sprayed it with insecticide.

At 9:30 I received this message from A Foreign Affair: “Thank you!  Your letter and background info has been received by our system and sent to the (114151) email address.”  That is Yuri’s profile number and I haven’t sent her anything since March 26^th.  The last email I sent using AFA’s email system was to Rubi on April 22^nd.  Sunday night (May 3^rd) I sent an email to Luz Amparo but I sent it from my own email system not through AFA.  So, being very confused as to what is going on, I sent a reply to AFA seeking clarification. 

I really didn’t expect to hear from Yuri again; at 42 she’s probably too young for me.  Cute though she is, not having any children she might still be in her “baby making phase” and I have no interest in that!  She also took the easiest way out and tried to send me her cell phone number but hasn’t made the effort to contact me again.

Olga told me I need a stiffer broom for sweeping the floor so I gave her 5mil and she’s going to buy what I need.  She also told me the mop is finished and I need to buy a new one.  She said I shouldn’t store it in a bucket of water with bleach like I have been doing.

I sent Teresa an email inviting her to meet me for a date on Saturday.  I also sent her another very short email asking how she liked my bed.  (Interestingly, Sunday she took me into my bedroom and asked me which side I sleep on.  Hmmm, I wonder what that’s about?)

I received a reply from AFA “This email is to confirm that Yuri (114151) has accepted your background form and received your letter.”  That’s interesting!  Now there’s potentially a 4^th lady for me to consider: Teresa, Luz Amparo, Rubi and now Yuri.  I wonder if I’m ever going to hear from those 2 ladies who said they were busy and would answer my letters later.  I hope not, I don’t need that further complication in my life.

Here are the stats on Yuri:

·       Yuri is 42, 5’7”, 141#, 36-27-39, brown eyes, black hair, no children, doesn’t drink, college, and is a psychologist.

And her pictures are probably the most recent because her profile number is so high.

Since Olga will be buying me a new broom I gave her another 10mil and she is also going to buy a new mop for approximately 6,500.  She left at 1:25 and I walked down to the corner store where Beatriz gave me my clean laundry.  I bought a slap of pineapple for 1mil and put it in my refrigerator for later.

After hanging up my clean, ironed shirts I waited for a bus at Avenida 80.  There were a couple of other buses parked right in front of the bus stop and when what looked like a Circular 302 bus pulled up next to them I just jumped on behind a couple of ladies.  I was reading my Nook not paying much attention and I panicked when the bus turned a corner much earlier than I expected.  Thinking I was on the wrong bus I hustled to the back and got off.  I was near the intersection of Avenida 80 and Calle 30 and after a minute I regained my bearings and realized I had been on the right bus – it was just going through the traffic circle.  I got on the next bus a minutes later and it was almost empty.  This time I noticed the store I had seen with the caned chairs was another “rattan” store although from a distance they didn’t look like the rattan I saw last week.  At one point I saw the result of a motorcycle accident that was blocking one of the lanes of traffice.  I took the bus to Avenida Las Vegas and walked up the hill to my dentist’s office.  I got there 15-20 minutes early but he wasn’t there yet.  He came in about 10 minutes late.  He “popped” my inflated absess, took an x-ray and informed me I have something like dead pulp tissue and I need a root canal.  (According to Wikipedia it sounds like it’s Pulpitis (inflammation of dental pulp tissue.))  He gave me a prescription for 21 Amoxycillin (Amoxiclina in Spanish) and we made an appointment for my first treatment at 5pm tomorrow.  I am to take 1 500mg capsule every 8 hours until they are all gone.  I stopped at a pharmacy (Farmacia Pasteur) a block away (pharmacies seem to be everywhere here) and it cost me a whole 4,175 for 20 tablets.

I walked a couple more blocks to Oviedo and bought a ticket for 9mil to the 4:50 showing of Spiderman 2.  I bought a small popcorn for 7mil and large Pepsi for 5,100 – the same price I paid yesterday, I believe.  Surprisingly, it started about 15 minutes late and then there were 30 minutes of coming attractions (Godzilla and Edge of Tomorrow) and a couple shorts.  I finished 60% of my popcorn before the feature even started.  After 30 minutes I realized I wasn’t enjoying it so I left (cutting my losses so to speak).  According to the movie posters outside the theater, Tarzan and Homefront are coming soon.  After the mandatory trip to the restroom, I walked down the hill and quicly caught a Circular 303 bus.  It was packed and I stood up the whole way.  Of course, traffic was awful and I had to pee real bad so I got off at SaludCoop.  I walked a hundred yards to the entrance and I saw it was dark inside and the guard was limiting admittance somehow.  I remembered the Belen library and some sort of campus is right behind it so I hustled over there and located the restroom in time.  I got on another bus after only a 2 minute wait and after a few more stops even got a seat.

Back at the apartment I received an email from someone at AFA headquarters in Arizona that said “The "accepted" message means that the woman has now accepted (acknowledged) receiving your Background information, once she accepts that information your actual letter is forwarded to her personal e-mail address. Once she receives your actual letter she can reply directly to your e-mail address, but it is completely up to her whether she wants to respond (we cannot force the women to do anything). Since she did accept your background form I can give you her actual e-mail address and you can try contacting her again through that, it is XXXXXXX@hotmail.com” and she gave me Yuri’s email address.  I ate the slab of pineapple I had bought earlier.

T-shirt of the day: I like young and loving (on a young lady’s t-shirt)

Monday, May 5th, 2014

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake/get up until 6:45.  I feel great!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!  I read Wikipedia’s account of Cinco de Mayo and it’s only a Mexican celebration so, never mind!

I double checked the movie showtimes and there have been some changes:

·       Captain America (8.2) is playing at Oviedo at 6:20.

·       Spiderman 2 (7.6) is playing at 1:55 in Los Molinos, 1:50pm (3D) and 3pm (3D) in Santafé, 2:40pm (3D) in Unicentro, 2:30 and 4:50 in Oviedo, and 4:15 in Vizcaya. 

·       Fading Gigolo is playing at 1:50 and 4:20 at Vizcaya.

I had coffee and croissant at Los Mejores followed by a little study time at Mall de Laureles.  The orange juice store was closed today.

After my Spanish lesson I stopped at Exito and bought a loaf of bread (4,430), a package of ham (5,960) and liter of milk for 2,170.  Back at the apartment I used leftover lettuce, cheese and mayonnaise to make myself a quick ham sandwich.

I caught a Circular Sur 302 bus at 12:45 and was across from Monterrey at 1:30.  I caught what I think was a Poblado 133 bus but it turned at Parque Poblado so I got off.  I walked up a block and caught another bus (Poblado 334?) and got off a block from Vizcaya.  I bought a ticket to Fading Gigolo (6.4), a comedy starring John Turturro, Woody Allen, Liev Schreiber, Sharon Stone and Sofia Vergara for 5mil, a small (85 ounce!) popcorn for 7mil and a large soda for 5,100.  So the whole trip cost me only about 22mil.

Walking back down to Monterey I noticed Poblado 130, 134i, and 334 buses going up towards Viscaya.

On the bus back to Viva CC I noticed a store selling what appear to be caned chairs but all I saw were rocking chairs.

I understand at one stop they make on the way home, Las Americas, there is supposed to be a small movie theater so I’ll have to check that out also some day.

Tonight I’m going to stay in, have another sandwich, a few crackers and some of my orange juice that no one wanted yesterday.

T-shirt of the day: A is for Awesome, B is for Brainy, C is for Cute.

No-Go Areas in Medellin

From this month's Medellin Living:

 

No-go areas in Medellin

May 2, 2014 posted by Flora Baker

Medellin has made massive progress in both public safety and tourism over the past decades. However, as the city slowly becomes a recognizable tourist destination, there are plenty of places a traveler should not wander either for his own safety or to avoid wasting his time.

Some of these places are the stomping grounds of prostitutes and drug addicts; others are where pickpockets and thieves congregate, or the places embroiled in gang-related violence. There are also places that are blatant tourist traps simply not worth the bother.

This arbitrary list should not be interpreted as a travel warning, but rather an invitation to explore the parts of the city not mentioned below.

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Comuna 13

The 13th District, locally known as the Comuna 13, is known to be one of Medellin’s most troubled and dangerous districts, and is continually suffering from gang warfare and violence.

In 2011, the city installed outside escalators onto the mountainside. The six sections of escalators give residents of Comuna 13 free access to 1,260 feet of movable stairs – the equivalent of about a 28-story building – and make the journey up and down the mountain both quicker and safer for locals.

MORE: How art helps Medellin’s embattled Comuna 13 define itself

However, the escalators are not to be thought of as a tourist destination. The area around them is frequently disputed by gang members who are often responsible for murders, and it is highly unsafe to wander around the upper regions of Comuna 13 – particularly alone and as a foreigner.

That’s not to say that the neighborhood is entirely off limits, as the 13 the district has a fascinating culture and sparkling nightlife of its own. Particularly the area close to the metro station is worth a visit if you want to see what the real Medellin is like. Just be aware that the higher up the mountain you go, the more danger you will potentially face.

Alternative

• Comuna 13 (the lower part of the district)

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Parque Lleras

Parque Lleras, in the upscale Poblado neighborhood, is filled to the brim with restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs. Almost without exception, these places are expensive, pretentious, and utterly non-Colombian.

The park is widely promoted as the place to go when visiting Medellin for the first time which consequently made it the preferred area of most travelers visiting Medellin when it comes to nights out. Hostels seem to consistently recommend Lleras and Poblado to their guests as the best area for nightlife, meaning that the park and its surrounding streets are populated by wandering backpackers, often tailed by eager cocaine dealers looking for an easy sell.

You’re more likely to bump into a foreigner than a local when spending time in Parque Lleras, unless you’ve attracted the attention of female “gringo hunters” who also spend their time here.

Lleras has created an impression of being the “upper class” area of the city, but there are much more authentic experiences in this vein to be had in other parts of the city.

Alternatives

• Parque Poblado
• Rio Sur
• La Strada
• San Fernando Plaza
• Las Palmas
• La 33

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Parque de las Luces

Tourists would never have dared venture to the modern-day Parque de las Luces when Pablo Escobar was still alive. A building on the plaza, then called Plaza Cisneros and located across the street from the city hall, used to house the drug kingpin’s cartel headquarters.

MORE: Medellin’s Parque de las Luces

That same building is now the Ministry for Education, and the newly renovated plaza contains dozens of huge white vertical poles fitted with lamps that are lit up at night – a controversial project called “Medellin is light” from architect Juan Manuel Pelaez. The plaza is now used as a public space for markets and city events and borders Medellin’s administrative center, but problems still persist.

The plaza is a magnet for drunks, drug addicts and the homeless, and the level of street crime here is rife. Knife attacks are not uncommon, and it is recommended to never visit the plaza after dark.

Alternative

• Anywhere else

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Parque San Antonio

In 1995, a guerrilla planted a bomb at the base of a bird sculpture in Parque San Antonio – one of many larger-than-life sculptures from artist Fernando Botero that are scattered throughout Medellin.

MORE: Medellin’s Parque San Antonio

The resulting explosion killed 23 people and injured a hundred others, but Botero refused to have the ruins of his sculpture removed. Instead, he sculpted a second bird, taller than the first, and placed this ‘Bird of Peace’ sculpture beside the original, damaged piece.

Sadly, the park is known for pickpocketing and the theft of phones, wallets and loose change, particularly when there are less people around or when it gets dark. It’s particularly not recommended to walk through the park alone.

Alternative

• Anywhere else

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Parque Periodista

This bohemian central square is a prime student hangout and often features a hefty amount of marijuana smoking, which police seem to turn a blind eye to. There are often drug deals taking place in the square and occasional shootouts when those deals go awry, or when competition between local dealers gets too fraught – particularly at night.

MORE: Medellin’s Parque Periodista

Parque Periodista has a variety of rock and alternative bars surrounding it, which are usually pretty empty during the week but spring to life from Thursday to Saturday, when the atmosphere is a great taster of the underground scene in Medellin. The vast majority of people sit outside in the park on weekend nights, drinking beers and smoking marijuana, in amongst spontaneous freestyle performances from guitarists, rappers, and anyone else who fancies taking a turn in the spotlight.

A visit to Parque Periodista is guaranteed to be an insight into Medellin’s more alternative side, but it’s worth being aware that the area is well known for breakouts of danger.

Alternatives

• Carlos E. Restrepo park
• Poblado Park
• “Bantu”

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Pueblito Paisa

Atop a hill in the center of Medellin sits Pueblito Paisa, a reproduction of a small Antioquian village typical to the region.

If you don’t have any chances to journey outside of the immediate city during your time in Colombia, then you might gain some enjoyment from a visit to the fake “village” – otherwise, don’t bother. There’s something rather sad about a fake village filled with vendors desperately trying to flog their wares to tired tourists.

Truth be told, the site does offer a spectacular view over the city.

Alternatives

• Mirador de Las Palmas (for the amazing view)
• A real village (for the authenticity)

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Prado

Prado, located downtown on the northern side of 10th district, is the old residential neighborhood for the city’s wealthy. The neighborhood has been deemed cultural heritage because of its spectacular architecture.

However, the neighborhood is also a hotspot for crack cocaine dealings and child prostitution. The area around it, known as La Candelaria or El Centro, has the highest homicide rate in Medellin.

During the day, El Centro is also filled with bankers and business people hard at work in office buildings, but between 6PM and 8PM all commuters and cops go home and the downtown area becomes one of the most desolate districts of the city. Prado even more so.

MORE: Welcome to my neighborhood, downtown Medellin, a.k.a. ‘El Centro’

While Prado makes for a good walk, this is only recommendable when in a group.

Alternatives

• Bombona (which also has some pretty cool architecture)
• Bogota (Colombia’s capital city)

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Barrio Trinidad, a.k.a. ‘Barrio Antioquia‘

When anyone in Medellin is looking to buy drugs, Barrio Trinidad is where they go.

If you live in the city and know how things work, then you’ll probably be fine — but if not, it’s a minefield of unsavory experiences.

Quite apart from the possibility of a drug deal going wrong and putting you in danger, there’s also the prospect of policemen waiting to arrest you.

Alternative

• House of Memory (a museum dedicated to victims of Colombia’s drug-fueled armed conflict)

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La Sierra

The 8th is a district full of cluttered houses on the slopes of Medellin’s eastern hills. The “La Sierra” neighborhood sits between Medellin and northeastern Antioquia’s coca and marijuana fields, making Comuna 8 a crucial element for whoever wants control of the city’s underworld.

Two powerful crime networks, the Caribbean-based Urabeños and Medellin’s own Oficina de Envigado crime syndicate, have vied for control of the neighborhood for years, causing repeated territorial wars in the streets of Comuna 8.

The neighborhood received some international fame after a 2005 documentary about the neighborhood aptly called “La Sierra.”

Alternatives

• Buenos Aires (a nearby neighborhood with an amazing nightlife)
• Stay home and watch the documentary

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Museum of Antioquia

The Antioquia Museum is counted as one of Medellin’s main attractions, but the vast majority of works inside the museum are the hundreds of pieces Colombian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero donated to the city. It’s much more interesting to happen upon his statues that are dotted around outside, in the city’s parks and plazas, instead of actively wandering through rooms of his work that fill the entire third floor.

MORE: Medellin’s Museum of Antioquia

The museum also features collections of Colombia’s religious artifacts and paintings of Colombian independence heroes, plus a modern art exhibition. None are very impressive.

Alternative

• Medellin’s modern art museum MAMM
• Botero Museum in Bogota

Sunday, May 4th, 2014

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, it took a little while to fall asleep, I got up at 5am and took 2 Excedrin Migraine and finally woke/got up at 7:45.

Yesterday I saw men setting up for a party at the community center.  Today everything was gone except a few red and blue pieces of paper on the ground.

As I entered Mall de Laureles I saw a worker standing on a table with a long pole trying to wrap it around the string attached to a children’s mylar balloon.  A few minutes later he had it down.

This morning I had something different for breakfast.  At Pasabocas Krocantes I had a small coffee and Palitos de Queso (literally, small bread with cheese) for 4mil.  

I practiced some Spanish until Harry arrived.  He explained he had a lot of trouble with his computer which is why he was going back and forth between LM and Exito yesterday.

He is still having some troubles and I agreed to come to his “office” at 2:30 on Tuesday.  I hurriedly packed up and left about 10:35 because Teresa was to arrive at 11am with her daughter.  

As I was walking through the park I heard something and when I looked towards the other end of the park I saw Teresa and Laura.  We walked to my apartment where I showed Laura the apartment and Teresa took note of what she might need to make lunch.  Luckily she thought I had everything except food.  We walked down to Exito and bought all the food and it only cost me 60,630 which I charged to my debit card.

Back at the apartment she started preparing lunch while I watered the plants and took care of other things.  Laura, like most American kids, played with her cell phone.

Teresa made chicken legs with mushrooms and a large salad.  We all had Coca Cola with it.

Afterwards, Teresa and Laura quickly cleaned up, Teresa took a nap, and I gave Laura a chess lesson.  She was familiar with how the pieces moved, I just had to reminder her about things like castling and pawn promotion.  We played 4 or 5 games, I gave her some tips, and she improved somewhat as the games went on.  After Teresa’s nap, I showed them some photos on my laptop that included my 1^st and 2^nd wives.  Then we each had a small pastry that we had bought at Exito.

About 5pm we took a bus to the Aguacatala metro station and as we were walking up the stairs Teresa recognized a bus below that she could use to get much closer to her mother’s house in Envigado.  We waited about 5-10 minutes for the next bus and then they left.

I’m going to stay home tonight, take a shower, make some popcorn and watch a movie on my laptop.

T-shirt of the day: No animal testing on this shirt.

Saturday, May 3rd, 2014

Last night when I got to the chess tournament no one was there except Dario and 4 kids.  He and I played a number of 10 minute games for about an hour and he won most of them.  A couple of other men came in and after Dario said he had enough I asked one of them if he would like to play.  The man talked to Dario and decided it would be a tournament game.  This was at 8:15 at night and he played VERY slowly.  For example, he took almost 5 minutes for his first move.  Again I had the black pieces and was able to play my opening although he wasn’t matching exactly the moves I usually saw white make and I got into a little trouble.  Eventually he made a mistake and he resigned right away so we were done my 9pm.

I went to bed at 10:30 and had great difficulty getting to sleep.  There was some type of party going on outside and a little down the street but my bedroom being at the back of the apartment I just closed my door and the louvers to my window and all was quiet.  I got up once about midnight and again about 1:30am.  I finally got to sleep shortly after that.  I woke up at 7:15 and got up at 8:15am.

I had my usual breakfast at El Comedor de Chava.  Augusto stopped by and went through all 201 of my Spanish regular verbs.  He did miss a number of them; I’m sure he knew the verbs, he was actually testing himself on the English equivalent.  

I had my usual weekend lunch at Pizza Americana.

Dario stopped by and borrowed my demonstration chess set because he’s going to teach them how to record moves.

I left the apartment at 2pm, took the bus to the Aguacatala metro station and there was a long line.  I lost about 10 minutes there.   I got to Exito about 5 minutes late and Teresa showed up a minute later.  

We walked about 20 blocks (that’s what she said, I’m not so sure it was that far) where we caught a bus to El Poblado.  We got off across from Parque Poblado and walked up to Parque Lleras.  It was pretty quiet at that hour.  We stopped at La Esquina Bistro in the heart of the park and we each had a strawberry juice for 6,300.  I like that’s she seems to often be open to ordering the same as me.  They had Wi-Fi so we sat for about an hour, enjoying the scenery and chatting using iTranslate on my iPad.   She seemed to get hung up with my one lunch date with Lucia.  When I put an end to that she asked about the other 2 ladies.  I told her the truth – I haven’t heard from either of them since I told Teresa about them.

That’s when I found out her daughter Paula is coming with her tomorrow.  Actually, she asked me if it was ok and of course I said yes.  But I asked her when I’m going to be able to get her alone again in my apartment.  She didn’t answer but I think she is open to the idea and I made it clear that I’m looking forward to it.

We walked around the streets of the park and finally found Mu restaurant.  We found a nice spot across the street and I had an iced tea and she had a lemonade for a total of 10mil.  I left a 2 mil tip.

A little after 6pm we saw somebody go in Mu so we knew it was open.  We got a nice spot upstairs overlooking the street.

I mistakenly thought the big ribs they serve were beef ribs but they are pork ribs just cut in a different direction.  We ordered the small order of 5 ribs with French fries (that’s all they serve) but there were 9 ribs so I was pretty sure they mistakenly gave us the large order.  It turns out they gave us so many ribs because they deemed there wasn’t enough meat on them so they gave us more.  We ate 3 each and Teresa took the rest in a doggie bag.  We also shared a brownie with ice cream.  The total bill came to 76mil and I gave the waitress a 4 mil tip.  

We walked through Parque Lleras again and there were definitely more people but it was still far from crowded as it was only about 7:30.  We walked down to Parque Poblado where we caught a bus to Envigado. We walked down the hill to her mother’s house and that’s where we split.

I gave her directions to my apartment and we plan to meet at 11am.  After seeing my apartment we’re going down to Exito and buy whatever we need in order to make lunch.

We held hands all night and touched each other on the thigh and kissed.  One problem I have is that she seems to resist French kissing.  If we don’t French kiss then I’m not going to enjoy kissing her.  And if I don’t enjoy kissing her I’m certainly not going to enjoy making love to her.  And … there won’t be a relationship.  We’ll see how that works out. She told me I should get an apartment in Envigado so we can be closer together.  A little premature I think!

I took the metro back to Aguacatala, walked across the street and waited for a bus.  It was about 8:45 and I was certain that they were still running.  I decided to wait 15 minutes and then if I didn’t see one I would take a taxi.  A half a block away I saw a young man that also appeared to be waiting for a bus.  I walked over to him and just then a taxi drove up with a woman in back and all I understood was Avenida Ochenta (the road I was on) and San Juan (the road I needed to get too (almost).  I got in the front next to the driver and the other man got in the back.  I’ve never done that before but I have seen others do it.  A few minutes later he picked up another man.  The two men got out a few minutes later.  Each person gave him what appeared to be the same as bus fare and I gave him 1,800 pesos.  He dropped me off at Viva CC.

When I got back to the apartment I was happy to see a message from Luz Amparo.  It sounded good even before I ran it through the translator. 

After translation I understood that: she spent 2 weeks taking care of her brother; he is doing well and soon starts chemotherapy; she went back to work 8 days ago; now she is resting because she is very tired; she liked the long note I sent her; she wants me to tell her more; she is waiting for another long note and hopes to see me soon.

T-shirt of the day: Invest your money.

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

Last night I sent Teresa an email telling her I know a very good restaurant for ribs in El Poblado.  The only problem is they don’t open until 6pm.  I suggested we find a place in Parque Lleras and have a drink unless she has a better idea.

Also on Sunday we will probably need to go to Exito to buy food and additional kitchen utensils before she can begin cooking.

The family across the street came home and the mother and youngest daughter were arguing about something from the moment they got out of the car and continuing when they entered the house.  Of course I have no idea what they are saying but they both were complaining at the same time.

I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4:40am, and finally woke/got up at 6:25.

I had my usual breakfast at El Comedor de Chava followed by an orange juice at Redd’s.

For my Spanish lesson we had a drink at the Tinto Store while Jhon tested me on the 200 Spanish regular nouns.  I got about 95% of them right using the multiple choice format but I still need to learn them better.

Opening today in the USA is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (7.6).

Locally, Captain America (8.2) is playing at Oviedo at 6:20; Spiderman 2 (7.6) is playing at 3:40pm and 4:10pm (3D) in Santafé, 1:30pm (3D) in Unicentro and 4:15 in Vizcaya.  I have the chess tournament tonight but next week I should be able to see one or more of them.

1:15, back in my apartment, and it’s started raining.  2:10 and it appears to have ended.  I’d better head to Viva CC before it starts raining again.

On my way to Viva CC I passed an old man who said “How are you?”.  I barely got out “fine” as he went by.  I have no idea who he is.

Sitting in the food court I updated some of my Spanish notes and then read more of my Nook book.

At 3pm I had a ham sandwich from Subway and a small strawberry shake from BK.

Before I left I remembered I wanted to see if the Juan Valdez kiosk on the other side of the mall had Wi-Fi.  It would be nice if I could get a good internet connection somewhere in this mall.  At 4:20 I ordered a medium Mocca Latte for 4,800.  While I waited for it I looked at the pastries they also sold and was SHOCKED to see what looked like carrot cake.  I could see 3 slices left and it sure looked like pieces of carrot inside.  The only thing that appeared to be missing is the cream cheese frosting on top.  After I sat down with my drink I realized I didn’t have my iPad with me, I had my Nook.  I tried to locate the option where I would need Wi-Fi but couldn’t find it.

As I left Viva at 5:15 it was raining lightly.  I checked my records and May is the 2^nd rainiest month with 24 rainy days and a total of 7.854 inches.  

It’s time to be on my way to the last day of the chess tournament.  I hope it’s more than just trophy award night.  I hope I get to play a serious game.

T-shirt of the day: Tommy Hilfiger (whoever this guy is, he sure is popular here!  lol)

Thursday, May 1st, 2014

Last night there wasn’t any opponent for me at the tournament so Dario and I just played a number of 10 minute games using my chess clock.  All I can say is I won at least my share.

As I was leaving I told Dario I would see him tomorrow night but he said “no, tomorrow is a holy day” so we’ll meet again on Friday.  But maybe he meant “holiday”.

Back at my apartment I went back and updated my blog with my April 15^th meeting with Luz Amparo because I didn’t really do her justice.  I’ve repeated the changes here so you don’t have to go back and look it up:

“She called to me from a distance and my first impression as she walked towards me was that her figure was as nice as any I’ve seen in Medellin.  She was in black slacks, high heels, and a sheer but multi-layered blouse.  She did tell me in one of her letters “I have very good health and I have a good figure because I like to feel me sexy.”  She also has a nice looking face that is very attractive.  Interestingly, after she sat down next to me, and for the rest of the afternoon, I didn’t feel nervous or self conscious at all and basically forgot about her beautiful figure.”  

I went to bed at 10:30, got up once during the night, woke up at 6am and got up at 6:30am.

I was up and out so early I walked over to Los Mejores and had my usual coffee and croissant.  Traffic was MUCH lighter than usual and that’s when I realized that it was a holiday (May 1^st) and people were sleeping in.  I walked over to Redd’s but there wasn’t any orange juice stand.  I went to LM and studied for a bit until my Spanish class.  I think Lucas coached his young female cook because she came over to my table and said “good morning” and started laughing because she didn’t know anything more.  I told Lucas “if she knew 6 more words of English I would marry her”.

I had some difficulties in Spanish class today.  English is structured in that you say “I like Maria” or “Maria likes me”.  I can almost accept “Maria I like” but “I Maria like” in Spanish I have trouble with.  Jhon’s going to try to find a different way to introduce me to that subject and we’ll try again on Monday.

Jhon also interpreted my email from Teresa.  Apparently the rib place she had in mind isn’t open any longer.

After class on my way back to my apartment I saw I had a call from Harry about 10am.  I tried to call him back but I think I ran out of minutes.

I had to wait 10 minutes to catch a Simon Bolivar bus and thought I would be that late but there was almost no traffic and got downtown only 2 minutes late.  Interestingly, I noticed as we passed the park of lights about 100 policemen in their green uniforms, a dozen on horseback and several dozens dressed entirely in black like ninjas (local SWAT team?).  When I got off the bus downtown Reina’s mother was there to meet me.  Apparently Reina wasn’t feeling well so her mother took me a block away to Pan y Ricuras at Carrera 50 #46-96 and we had lunch upstairs on their patio.  (On the way several motorcycles passed with a policeman on the front and a ninja on the back.)  We both had bandeja paisa (chicharron for her and pork for me) and a juice for a total of 25,400.  All the stores were closed so I guess I’ll have to wait to get my umbrella fixed.

I was back at my apartment by 2pm and we had a short rainstorm 20 minutes later.

I found the remainder of my deposits for the month in my checking account.

I stopped at the corner store and added 10mil to my phone.  A/N was playing some team whose name I didn’t recognize, the first half was almost over and they were losing 1-0 and the guys were going crazy with each shot on goal.

For dinner I had a bowl of chili and a mango juice at El Comedor de Chava.  At one point there was a roar a few feet away as A/N tied up the score.  That ended up being the final.

T-shirt of the day: Guns don’t kill people.  Dads with pretty daughters kill people.