The Economist: Special Report - Colombia

http://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/20151031_colombia.pdf

Wednesday, November 4th, 2015

I fell asleep rather quickly getting up once at 3:50am; about 5 ½ hours isn’t bad for me.  I got up again about 6:30 and Teresa got up about 8am and I said I’ll be up in a few minutes.  I finally woke/got up 5 minutes to 10.

Laura didn’t make it to school again because of the heavy rain.

I found that my NIU Huskies beat the Toledo Rockets 32-27 for their first loss of the year.

Teresa told me to bring my towel back in because it was going to rain so I did and 15 minutes later it started raining but stopped about 10 minutes after.

We left the finca at 1:30.  I gave a dog biscuit to each of the large dogs but not the puppy.  :( The puppy looks so skinny I think he needs it the most.

After a 5 minute wait we were on a bus to El Poblado.  Traffic got real heavy just outside Medellin and it started raining but I told Teresa we still have time to get to her doctor’s appointment because it’s so close to the metro station.  Teresa said she saw the accident, I didn’t see anything but immediately the bus was able to move faster.  We got to the station at 1:45 and arrived at Dr. Hiller’s office exactly at 2pm.  Teresa went to the hallway waiting area while I went downstairs.  I took some cash out of the ATM although I had to scan my card numerous times before it was accepted.

At MBE I paid 87mil for November and December and picked up my pension deposit receipts, a Social Security benefits letter to renew my visa next month, and Social Security form #7161.

Back at Torre Intermedica Teresa was finished and waiting for me and I paid 145mil for her vein shot appointment.

We had lunch downstairs at the outdoor cafeteria for 30mil.  So for about $5.50 each we got a bowl of soup (I thought it was chicken vegetable but Teresa said it was tortilla), a small bowl of salad (cole slaw with 3 large tomato slices on top), a good sized portion of chicken breast, a large amount of rice, baked potato slices, and an 8 ounce cup of fresh juice.  It was so much food I wasn’t able to finish it.

We took a taxi down to the highway and after a 5 minute wait we were on a van/mini bus back to the finca.  At one point a man got on and passed out wafer cookies and packages of peanuts and I think he sold 4 of them.  Just outside Caldas a woman got on selling plastic sleeves with little sugar cookies for 1mil.  I think she only sold one and as she walked away from the vehicle it looked like she was starting to cry.  :(

At the base of the hill Teresa asked me to carry up a couple of small fence posts which slowed me down; it’s hard enough carrying myself up the hill.  We heard thunder in the distance on our way up.  We met a motorcycle coming down and a 4 wheel car going up.  A neighbor dog heard us coming and alerted the killer dogs.  I gave each of the large dogs a dog biscuit and again the puppy nothing.  He’s so skinny he needs it more than the others.  The boxweiler followed us down and started growling like he was expecting another dog biscuit.

We arrived back at the finca at 5:30 and it started raining a little at 6:30 and hard at 6:50 so we disconnected everything including the wifi.  It dwindled to a mild rain by 7:30 so we reconnected everything.

I had asked SS to send me form 7162 – Proof of Life – but they sent me form 7161 – for a person receiving benefits for a child or for an adult unable to handle funds.  I checked my notes and found this is the form that’s supposed to be used for recipients under the age of 90.

I watched Nova and then The Brain on PBS using USTVNow.

The COP is back over 2800 at 2837.

I took 2 sleeping pills at 11pm and went to bed.

T-shirt of the day: I’m not opinionated.  I’m just always right.

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015

Despite the sleeping pills I had great difficulty getting to sleep.  I’m thinking I’ll start needing to take 3 mg (the maximum recommended) of my sleeping pills instead of just 2.  I started with just 1mg but that only worked for about 2 weeks.  Since then I’ve been taking 2mg.

We got up at 6am, I let Tony out of the shed and put Peter in and we left the finca at 7am.  The killer dogs met us at Guillermo’s house, including the puppy.  I gave the boxweiler a dog biscuit and then one to the other dog.   The puppy wanted one too and Teresa told me to give him one.  I reminded her that Guillermo said that he was sick but I broke one in half and gave him one piece.  Probably because it was so small he grabbed it and his sharp little puppy teeth got my hand a little.  The other half I tossed to the boxweiler who hasn’t learned to catch it in the air as yet so he let it fall before eating it.  After he ate it he followed us up the hill.  Lately I feel comfortable turning my back on him without fear of getting bitten.

Walter was waiting for us at the top of the hill.  On our way to Envigado Walter was singing some song and in Spanish I said “Don’t worry, I can’t sing either” and everyone had a good laugh.  We got to Nueva eps at 7:45.  It was open and I saw that their hours are 7am-7pm M-F and 7-3 on Saturday.  Teresa took number 348 and they were serving number 333.

I walked over to Bancolombia and the lobby wasn’t open but there was already a line to get in so they probably open at 8am.  The ATMs were open and I took out some cash.

Back at nueva eps I gave Teresa 600mil to make all the monthly utility payments and medications.

I called Alan and told him I would be in the park in 2 minutes.  I believe he hung up as I was saying that I was going to leave my cell phone with Teresa.  In the park I didn’t see Alan so I set up the chess board in the one clean spot I found (with no bird poop).  There was a man cleaning the area so other spots were either still dirty or wet.

After about 15 minutes I figured Alan wasn’t going to walk around and find me so I put my set away and walked toward the south end of the park.  I found Alan right away and we went back to my original spot.  We played 9 games and I won them all; I don’t think he’s played in a while.  He got a little close to beating me in one game.  I learned that his wife’s name is Yani.

Teresa came over as we were finishing the last game and told me she’s hungry.  We finished, I said goodbye to Alan and we went to Carbón de Leña for breakfast.  Teresa told me I have a urologist appointment for November 27^th at 3pm at Calle 9CSur #50FF-116 in Guayabal.  We each had the calentao (scrambled eggs, rice and beans, with a large arepa) and coffee.  Afterwards I made a trip to the restroom and again there was toilet paper but no toilet seat.

We picked up a few things from Exito and then took a taxi to the highway.  We had to wait about 20 minutes for a bus.  In the meantime there were a couple of Jehovah Witness ladies studying their bible with brochures for anyone interested.  

At the sideroad they are tearing up more of the “new” highway across the street.  Teresa informed me they are going to rebuild the sideroad next Monday so we probably will stay in the finca so we don’t get in their way.  That will certainly help.

I started watching my alma mater the NIU Huskies playing against #24 ranked and undefeated Toledo Rockets on Slingbox.  I saw the Rockets (who must have the ugliest uniforms; they look like tweety birds) march down the field and score a touchdown.  On what I think was the Huskies first play they threw a long pass for a touchdown.  I think the score was about 17-10 in favor of Toledo when at 9pm, after watching Colombia’s La Voz, Laura wanted to watch some of The Voice from the US.  I switched to NBC but after about 30 minutes she had had enough because it seemed to be a compilation rather than a contest.  When I turned back to the NIU game it seemed like it was a biography or something else different so I finally just logged out.

Teresa talked to the kitchen cabinet guys and I understand someone can finish my chairs for 300mil which Teresa thinks is too much.  That’s only a little more than $50 a chair and I want them finished.  Maybe I can make a deal with the cabinet guys.

The Colombian Peso dipped below 2,800 to the dollar.

I took my sleeping pills (2) at 10pm and went to bed at 10:15.

I heard a lot of heavy rain overnight.

T-shirt of the day: Let’s heal the planet.

Joke

Dear paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers, if you find one, what's your plan?

Monday, November 2nd, 2015

I fell asleep quickly and got up once at 3:50am.  It took my quite a while to fall back asleep then the sun started coming up at 5:30 and a dog in the distance started barking.  Then about 6am Tony started growling probably because another terrier got too close.  I finally fell back asleep and woke/got up at 8:45.

Because of the US time change my usual 9am Today show now starts at 10am so now I have more time to sleep and I can shower before it starts.

The three of us watch Knock Knock (5.0) starring Keanu Reeves.

Teresa has about had enough of Tony and his aggressive ways; she mentioned she’d like to get rid of him.

In Chess Magnet School I was promoted to Admiral.  The moves are getting to be very difficult.  Only 3 more titles to the top.  Two years ago I only got to the next level and I probably don’t have as many brain cells as I did then.

At 9:40pm Teresa tells me she’s not sure Nueva eps opens at 7am.  Now she tells me.  We’re going to bed in 20 minutes, getting up at 4:30am, leaving at 5:30am to be in line outside the clinic at 6:30 and now she’s not sure of when they open?  Aargh!  I asked her to ask Laura to google when they open.

Teresa had Laura lock Tony up in the shed in back for the night.

I set the alarm on my cell phone to 6am, took my sleeping pills at 10pm and went to bed at 10:30.

T-shirt of the day: If you fuck with me, you’re fucking with the best.

Sunday, November 1st, 2015

I fell asleep quickly and got up once at 3:50am.  I couldn’t fall asleep again after that so at 6am I gave up and got up and took my shower.  Teresa will get up at 7am, or shortly thereafter, when the alarm goes off at 7am.

This morning the US turned their clocks back an hour so now Colombia’s time is the same as Eastern Time in the US so my usual noon Bears game will be starting at 1pm today.

We left the finca at 8:10am and were met by the two killer dogs just before Guillermo’s house.  They calmed down immediately and I gave a dog biscuit to each of them.  The rottweiler followed me up the hill and I gave him my last dog biscuit.

Well, now I see construction workers are tearing up the first southbound lanes they had built on the other side of the road.  I guess they were intended to be temporary.

We only had to wait 5 minutes for a bus to Caldas.  It looked like rain which would mean that Walter wouldn’t be able to get the taxi all the way up the hill and we’d have to carry everything up and down by ourselves.

In Caldas we walked a few blocks to Merkepaisa.  We filled a cart with groceries and Teresa paid about 480mil for them.  I know there are things we’ve held out from buying until we return again in the next week or so.

There were a lot of people out and about in Parque Caldas as we drove by but I didn’t see any tables with people playing chess.  We stopped at the pet store but it was so crowded we delayed purchasing more dog food but we did make a quick stop at the nursery where Teresa picked up a ceramic pot and metal stand.  She loves her plants.

We got up the sideroad only having to stop and have another go once before getting to the top.  We arrived back at the finca by 10:30.  I gave Walter 25mil for the ride and his help carrying things the last 50 yards to the finca.

Teresa and I took a nap from about 11am to noon.

On Direct TV today they are featuring an afternoon NFL game between the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets.  Boring!

I scanned pictures of dog breeds on the internet and I believe what I thought was a rottweiler is actually a boxweiler – a cross between a boxer and a rottweiler with tan and black fur.  I haven't figured out the breed of the other dog yet.

The Bears lost to the Minnesota Vikings 23-20 in regulation.

I saw the end of the NY Giants vs New Orleans Saints game that was won by the latter 52-49 in regulation.

Teresa and I ate the last taffy apple.  It wasn’t too good because the apple had turned bad.  I ate it but Teresa just scraped off the caramel and peanuts and ate that.

It started raining here about 5pm.

Tonight there is a good NFL matchup – the 6-0 Packers at the 6-0 Broncos.

I took my sleeping pills at 11pm and went to bed at 11:30.

T-shirt of the day: Whatever, I’m getting French fries.

Saturday, October 31st, 2015

Happy Halloween!

I got up twice during the night and again when the cell phone alarm went off at 7am.  I’ve finally realized it doesn’t matter that it was turned off.  I got up and cancelled the alarm but a reminder went off anyway 20 minutes later so I had to get up again.  I finally got up at 9am.

I called my brother and had Teresa talk to him.  I understood correctly, the test results were inconclusive and I need additional tests.  We’re going to nueva eps on Tuesday morning (very early) to request an appointment.  If that takes too long then we’ll consider going to the private Urologist I went to before in Medellin.

I called Juan Mejia, the man who spoke English that I played chess against in the January of 2014 tournament.  He’s working in Cartegenia but he will see if he can help me find out what chess tournaments are coming up in Medellin.

The sun was shining so nicely on the hills opposite the finca that I had to take the following picture.

Here is a flowering plant that Teresa pointed out to me.

Here is one of the plants (the one on the right) that I brought from my apartment and is obviously enjoying the fresh air here.

Teresa came in from working outside and told me Guillermo said the puppy is sick and I shouldn’t give it any more dog biscuits.  No problem, especially now that I have the older dogs starting to trust me.

Tomorrow we’re getting up early to buy a few things at Merkepaisa in Caldas.  The plan is to meet Walter at the top of the hill at 8am for a ride into town.  (Pray we don’t have any rain so he can make it up the sideroad.)  I set the alarm on my cell phone for 7am.

I took my sleeping pills at 9:50pm and went to bed at 10:15.

T-shirt of the day: Do you think I’m crazy.