Immigration appointment email - google translated into English

Mr. Citizen:To the attention of your procedure Safe Conduct grateful consider the following:

    Number of procedure: 386,538
    Date: 12/23/2015
    Time: 15:30
    Facilitator Center: Medellín Calle 19 # 80A-40 Quarter Bethlehem La Nubia
    Average Processing time: 60 minutesIt is the document issuing temporary migration abroad that Colombia requires it. Not to stay illegally in the country and to show the time of temporary stay authorized by Colombian immigration authority.The documents to be submitted to meet its requirement of CLP are:

    Paperwork fill Unique Format facilitators delivered free at CENTERS IMMIGRATION SERVICES or through the website, www.migracioncolombia.gov.co
    Passport, travel document or valid identity card. in accordance with international instruments signed by the country.
    Photocopy of the biographical data of the passport or travel document or identity.
    Two photos of 3 x 4 cm, when Colombia Migration requires.
    In support of the application: Entity Charter, judicial or administrative documents, ticket outlet, application letter.
    Payment of $ 49,000, which is available in facilitators MIGRANT SERVICES CENTRES, using debit and credit cards or the receipt issued by the bank at the time of the procedure, in all authorized payment.Note: The safe passage to refugees, deported, expelled, asylum, court order or for reasons of temporary or conditional release, at the request of administrative authority, where PIP or PTP is canceled, those issued by discretionary criterion for Migration Colombia is free .Remember: Introduce 15 minutes early. Any concerns about the process can consult the website: http://www.migracioncolombia.gov.co, or our Contact Center Citizen [57-1] 6055-454 - National Hotline 018 000 510 454.

MIGRATION COLOMBIAMINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS2015.

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2015

I fell asleep quickly and only got up once at 6am finally waking/getting up at 9:15.

Teresa talked to Martha and I understood today we have to stop at her office and then go to immigration.

A few minutes later I received an email cancellation for my 1pm appointment from immigation followed by another giving me a new appointment at 3:30.

I’ll post an English translation (gracias a Google Translate) of their email so you will know what I had to work with.

We left the finca at noon, I gave the killer dogs their dog biscuit and after a 5 minute wait were on a Rapido Ochoa bus to Aguacatala.  From there we took a taxi to Martha’s office across from Unicentro.  We picked up some documents and my passport (without a new visa) and then had lunch at a local sidewalk restaurant for 14mil (a little less than $5) a few doors away. 

We got to immigration by 2pm and after a short wait they started processing my papers.  They unfastened the two stapled sets of papers I had and gave me back one page.  In another area they took my picture again and electronic fingerprints.  I paid 49mil for my new visa.  They gave me some other documents back and my passport, still without a new visa inside.

We took another taxi to Martha’s office, they took my passport and documents and I paid the remaining 460,000 pesos of the total 1,260,000 pesos.  Martha gave Teresa about a dozen brochures with her business card she wants Laura to give to the gringos she meets in the restaurant.

We walked a block to the Unicentro mall where we found their food court for the first time.  We each had a fancy ice cream at a Crepes & Waffles (ice cream only) shop for 15,200.  (Our lunch cost more than that.)

We both decided to visit the restroom before leaving the mall.  Outside a long corridor was a music store with violins in the window and I told Teresa I would meet her there.  Of course I was out first and coming out I noticed there were two different corridors coming out of the restrooms.  When I looked down one of them I could see a restaurant at the end so I knew I was going the right way.  And there were the violins in the window I saw when I went in.  After waiting 10 minutes I went and sat back down at the food court keeping an eye on the exit.  I got 3 phone calls that I just ignored since I don’t speak Spanish.  Finally I walked to the women’s restroom with the intention of yelling into the entrance “Teresa, where are you?” but there she was.  She gave me a hard time for not answering my phone (she borrowed a phone from a cleaning lady) and I gave her a hard time for not meeting me where we agreed.

We stopped in Exito where we picked up tomatoes, lettuce, and caramel syrup for waffles but I forgot to buy a Coke for my weekly Bears game.

Outside, after about a 5 minute wait we got a taxi to the highway.  On the way we passed the new river park area being built and I saw where the highway tunnel goes underneath it.  At the Poblado station Teresa told me we would probably have trouble getting a bus because so many people are heading to the fincas for the holidays but we were on a Tratam bus (with seats) after only a 5 minute wait.

Walking up the sideroad Teresa called Guillermo for some reason.  There was a nice full moon lighting our way.  Coming down the path the killer dogs came out and I gave each of them a dog biscuit.

We got back to the finca at 7pm.

I understood tomorrow we’re going to Caldas, have breakfast at Aymará, buy some much needed dog food and a couple other things at a grocery store.  With that in mind I set the alarm clock (on my cell phone) to 7am.

I took 2 sleeping pills at 10:45 and we went to bed at 11:15pm.

T-shirt of the day: Feeling fierce.

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2015

I fell asleep quickly only getting up once about 5:30.  Barking dogs kept me awake about another hour, finally waking/getting up at 9:10.

We left the finca at 12:50pm.  The killer dogs came out as we were going up the hill.  I gave each of them a dog biscuit but I’m running low on them.  We only had to wait a minute for a bus to Envigado.

We had the taxi stop at grandma’s so Teresa could drop off some clothes for Laura.  When we first got to Carbón de Leña all the tables were taken but we found Vicky’s daughter Laura there with a couple other ladies.  After we had the lunch of the day Teresa waited at the restaurant to have lunch with Laura and I went to the park to play chess.  First I stopped at Gana and added 50mil to my cell phone.

There are so many pigeons in the park there’s a real danger of getting pooped on.  I saw it happen to one man there – it hit him on his sleeve.  They have a large water fountain which is a perfect watering hole for the pigeons.  After waiting about 30 minutes I finally got to play the young man I had played before.  He won the first game with white, I won the 2^nd game with white, and he won the 3^rd game with white.  

Laura and Teresa arrived and I said hello and soon goodbye to her.  A few minutes later Teresa and I were on a bus to Santafe CC.  Teresa told me that Laura is very happy because she got tips from gringos of 40mil, 50mil, and 90mil.  

The mall was very busy and after waiting for Teresa in Forever 21 somehow she exchanged her blouse for some slacks without waiting in the long line I saw.

We stopped at Mezzalena Salad Bar where we each had a Coke and enjoyed sitting for a change.  I told her the crowds are worse in the States at Christmas time.  Teresa talked to Martha and I understand we will call her tomorrow to find out the status of my visa.

I finished reading the free Popular Mechanics on my Nook and found this good advice: “Wireless routers connect computers and an ever-growing list of vital home devices to the Internet and to each other, so when their signals get patchy it’s a nightmare.  …quick improvement… plug the router into a cheap electric timer set to briefly turn it off – effectively resetting it – every night while the house sleeps.”  Since Laura isn’t sleeping here anymore I’m the only one using the wifi so I’ll just turn it off at night and turn it back on in the morning.  I hope this helps me see my game next Sunday.

We had a slow bus ride back to Envigado, stopped at Gana and added 10mil to Laura’s cellphone, made a restroom stop at Exito for 600 pesos, and after a 10 minute wait were on a taxi down to the highway.

We tried unsuccessfully to get on a Tratam bus but soon decided to take a Fredonia even though we knew it would be stopping in Caldas.  The bus was full and we had to stand the whole way.  In Caldas a lady got on to collect fares and she asked people standing in the aisles to temporarily leave the bus.  We got off and Teresa walked a couple buildings down and up a couple floors and knocked on a door.  I guess she wanted the city tax bill but I guess they didn’t have it.  We managed to get back to the bus before it left.  When we got off at the sideroad there was a near full moon partially obscured by clouds.  Just barely enough light that we could see out way.  We got past Guillermo’s house undetected but further down the trail I heard the killer dogs come out and bark at us.  Too late for them.

We got back to the finca at 7:30.

I received an email from Colombia immigration that I have a 1pm appointment tomorrow to renew my visa.  I think that’s just routine – they don’t know I’m already in the process of renewing it through Martha.

I had some eye discomfort so I took an Excedrin with my evening Tamsulosin.

I took 3 sleeping pills at 10:30 and went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: “I really need new clothes.”  Me every morning.

Monday, December 21st, 2015

It took a little while to fall asleep, I got up at 3:45, again at 6:30, finally waking/getting up at 9am.

Teresa called Martha’s office and then told me we have an appointment in her office tomorrow at 11am and then we go to Immigration to get my new Cedula.  Martha called back a few minutes later and informed Teresa that the appointment was for someone else so I don’t know what’s happening.

We left the finca at 1:05 and the killer dogs came out to greet us as we walked past Guillermo’s.  The black dog seemed to chase one of the other dogs away.  I gave each of them a dog biscuit and the black dog followed us up the hill.  Someone had dumped some garbage (broken tiles, rocks, and dirt) on the sideroad.  I don’t think that’s going to make it easier for cars to get through.  We were on a bus after a 5 minute wait.  The north side of the bridge appears to be finished (meaning connected to the highway) and no one was working on or near it.

The bus had air conditioning, Teresa got the last real seat, and I sat on a jump seat that folded down near the front door.

We were in El Tesoro 50 minutes early so once again we stopped at J&C Delicias for lunch.  The dentist’s office called and told us we could come a little early and Teresa told them we will probably be a little late.  I had the fettucine Alfredo with chicken but there was so much chicken I couldn’t finish it all.  Teresa had the Peru surf & turf arepa and we each had a mango juice (actually Teresa had 2) for 54,300 (about $18) including tax and tip.  The restaurant had a TV and of course the big news was Miss Colombia losing her Miss Universe title.  Teresa informed me that Miss Colombia was a happy Miss Universe for 4 minutes and 20 seconds.  Teresa talked to Laura and to answer my question I learned that she even has to work on Christmas day.

We waited about 45 minutes for Teresa’s turn at the dentist.  After about 20 minutes she was done.  We have another appointment for next Wednesday the 30^th at 2pm.

We stopped in Carulla where we picked up hot dogs, hot dog buns, arepas, a loaf of bread, rice and a couple other things for about 54mil.

We had to wait about 15 minutes for a taxi to the Poblado station and another 10 minutes for an express bus.

When we got off the bus there was a nice ¾ moon fairly high in the sky.  That was good because it would soon be dark.  Coming up the top of the hill we could see the black dog waiting for us.  After we got through the fence I gave it a dog biscuit.  The German shepherd heard us and made a commotion and the boxweiler came out and I gave it one.  When the other dogs start to bark and give us a hard time then the black dog and boxweiler tend to join in.

We got back to the finca by 6:30.

At 10pm we watched Episode 10, Season 2 of Fargo.

I took 2 sleeping pills at 10:30 and we went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: I lost my temper but it came back suddenly.

Sunday, December 20th, 2015

I fell asleep quickly only getting up once at 6:30am.   That in itself is a good night’s sleep.  I fell asleep again finally waking at 9am and getting up at 9:30.

Teresa showed me a red headed woodpecker out back behind the finca.  It looks more like Woody the Woodpecker than those we have in the States because of its red crown in back.

Well, my Bears game isn’t on Direct TV today so I hope to see it on my Slingbox and I hope the weather stays dry long enough to see the game.  Actually, the rainy season shouldn’t start again until May when it’s almost as wet as October.

Just before 1pm (eastern time) in Mozilla Firefox when I tried going into Slingbox I got the message “A new SlingPlayer Web Plug-in is available”.  There are 2 options: “I DO NOT ACCEPT” and “I ACCEPT”.  When I click on the first option it just brings me back to the same message.  When I click on the second option I get a message “Firefox prevented this site from asking you to install software on your computer.”  If I select “Allow” I receive the message:  “The add-on downloaded from this site could not be installed because it appears to be corrupt.”

I tried Internet Explorer but never got past “loading”.

I had more luck with Slingplayer on my iPad.  At least I was able to get a connection.

Watching the first half was hit or miss, more miss than hit.  The 2^nd half was better, meaning I was able to see more of the game.

At 2:15, just before halftime it started raining but it only lasted about 10 minutes.

At halftime it was Vikings 17 Chicago Bears 7.

In the 2^nd half again I had trouble getting a connection.  Finally I “stirred the tanks” meaning I disconnected and reconnected the router and it started working again.  After that my connection problems were minimal.

The final was Minnesota Vikings 38 Chicago Bears 17.

At 4pm it started raining but only lasted for about 20 minutes.

Wow, Miss Colombia won the Miss Universe pageant – that’s two years in a row.  What? Are you kidding me?  The emcee made a mistake and Miss Philippines is Miss Universe.  Wow!  At least here on Direct TV they showed a continous loop of them taking the crown from Miss Colombia and putting it on Miss Philippines – I counted 15 times in succession.

I finished watching Blade Runner: The Final Cut (8.2). 

I took 2 sleeping pills at 10:45 and we went to bed at 11:15.

T-shirt of the day: Keep calm and kill zombies.

Saturday, December 19th, 2015

Again it took me quite a while to fall asleep.  I got up once during the night finally getting up at 10am.

The kitchen guys arrived at 10:45.  They cut trim with a DeWalt miter saw and they also had an electric planer.

I finished reading my special edition of National Geographic – History.  This same edition that was about $25 in the bookstore I got for free after buying my new Nook.  It had interesting articles: Parthenon – the Glory of Athens, American’s Railroads – The Race to Unify a Nation, Vikings in the New World – 500 years before Columbus, Europe’s Black Death – 75 million lost, and How Britain Abolished Slavery.

Because the muchachos arrived a little late we may be getting Peluche to the vet another day.

The kitchen was finished by 1:30 and the guys left with their tools.  Next month we’ll go to Caldas to buy the range top and after that is installed the kitchen should be complete.

Teresa walked Chocho up the hill and of course the terriers followed her and I heard another battle among the dogs.  When I went out to get my towel from the line out back I saw the old metal sink sitting a ways up the hill.  Maybe Teresa’s giving it to Chocho to exchange for cash.

We took a nap from 3 to 4pm.  At least I got up at 4, Teresa got up at 5:10.

I started watching Basic Instinct (6.9) but it dragged and I finally figured out it was Basic Instinct 2 (4.2).  I gave up on it.  I was wondering what happened to Michael Douglas.

From my hard drive I skipped the Batman collection, Being Flynn, Bernie, Big, and started watching Black Swan (8.0).  I couldn’t get into it so I switched to Blade Runner (8.2) but it was in French so I switched to Blade Runner: The Final Cut (8.2).  

I took 2 sleeping pills at 10:30 and went to bed at 11pm.  Teresa was watching some show so she came to bed later.

Friday, December 18th, 2015

I fell asleep quickly, getting up once at 3am, again about 6:30, finally waking/getting up at 9am.

Among new US movie releases I want to see, and will see today, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (8.9).  I can’t imagine any other movie seriously trying to compete with this force (pun intended).

We left the finca at 12:15 just as it started raining so we each brought an umbrella.  We got past the killer dogs undetected and were on a bus after a 10 minute wait.  Shortly thereafter the rain stopped.  A man got on the bus selling purses.  They appeared hand made and were a little smaller than my Tech bag.  After that man got off another got on selling something which I understood was for your health.  I took one and I understood from the cover it’s a basic extract of Cocaine and Marajuana plus a few other ingredients.  It felt like there was a small can in the bag.  The young lady sitting next to me bought one and opened a can about the size of shoe polish and the inside looked about the same consistency.  She smelled it a few times and closed it up.  A couple minutes later she took a few more sniffs.  Then she took some out with her finger and wiped it on her forehead above her eyebrows.  Teresa got us off the bus just short of the Poblado metro station with the hope it would be easier to catch a taxi.  Luckily it wasn't raining and we were on a taxi after a 2 minute wait.  We got to the mall at 1:30.  We wanted to eat at Frisby but the line was too long so we had the chicken teriyaki at Sarku’s.  

At the theater 10 minutes before show time we took escalators up to the 4^th floor and it was obviously Premier Seating that reminded me of Muvico in Rosemont, Illinois.  They had a menu that besides the usual popcorn and soda included ribs, fish, etc.  I bought a medium popcorn for 11mil and a large Coke for 6,900 pesos (about $6 total).  In the theater there was plush seating that reclined with a movable TV tray attached and lots of legroom.  Someone could easily walk past without coming near you.  There was only one other couple in the theater.  It was in 3D but there didn’t appear to be any cheap exploitation of it.  I would give Star Wars: The Force Awakens 4 ½ stars out of 5 because for me the ending was too similar to another Star Wars episode.

While I made a trip to the restroom Teresa went into Bon Bonite.  I guess she really wanted it because she put 50mil down on a fancy 316,900 purse with the balance due next month.  She told me she can buy anything in the mall with her Cedula and pay for it later.  I told her she’s dangerous.

We stopped in Carulla where once again the only salsa they had was mild.  We picked up some groundbeef, hamburger buns, and a Pepsi for my Sunday game.  Teresa stopped at the pharmacy where she bought some face cream that she’s bought before.

We took a taxi down to the highway and were on a bus back to the finca after a 5 minute wait.  It took 50 minutes to return because of slow heavy traffic.  It was misting a bit as we got off the bus.  We used our umbrellas and I didn’t even turn my flashlight off and we got past the killer dogs undetected.

We got back just in time (7:25) to see the new Miss Colombia crowned.  Keep in mind this is now about 2 hours after we bought the meat.  I always remind her to put it in the refrigerator right away.

Teresa’s friend Ana Maria keeps calling but Teresa doesn’t want to answer because Ana wants to borrow 2 million pesos for her hat business.  She's afraid Ana wouldn't be able to pay it back.  I told her that’s not to worry because I don’t have 2,000,000 pesos.

Teresa talked to James and I understand he’s coming early tomorrow to finish the kitchen.  I just hope we’re not sitting here all day waiting for him.

Teresa talked to Walter and I understand now we’re taking Peluche to a clinic in Caldas tomorrow afternoon because it’s cheaper.

I watched Jobs (5.9) starring Ashton Kutcher from 10pm to midnight.  Teresa informed me that we've already seen it together.  I didn't care, I stayed up to watch it and she went to bed about 11pm.

I took 2 sleeping pills at 11:45 and went to bed at midnight.

T-shirt of the day: Never stop, always be positive.