Sunday, February 4, 2018

One of the times I got up – 4am – Laura’s bedroom light was on so she must have just gotten back recently.

I slept fairly well getting up at 8:30.

I received an email from Apple (supposedly) with a $9.99 bill for the Tom Cruise movie American Made (which I saw some time ago in a theater here).  I think this is someone phishing as I still don’t see a charge against my checking account so I’m just going to ignore it for now.

For lunch Teresa made chicken fajitas which were especially delicous when I added my La Preferida medium picante salsa.

At the start of the Superbowl I ate my bag of microwave popcorn with a bottle of Coke.  I decided to root for the Eagles as they were the underdog team and from the NFC.  It was a great game – each team marching down the field and scoring a touchdown or field goal on almost every series.  There were missed extra points and field goals.  There were missed and made 2-point attempts.  There were questionable “did it survive the ground” passing touchdowns.

At the start of the 2^nd half I ate some tortilla chips with my hot sauce.  I saw almost all the commercials, my favorite being the Vikings commercial that caused me to laugh out loud it was so funny.  My least favorite were all the Eli Manning commercials.  The Eagles ended up strip sacking Tom Brady to save the game 41-33.

I see we’ve got the Winter Olympics starting on Friday.

The game ended at 10:22 our time.  I took my melatonin and read for an hour going to bed at 11:15.

T-shirt of the day: Mad sounds.

Saturday, February 3, 2018

I slept well, finally getting up at 8:30.

After a breakfast of French toast I first made a trip to Tienda D1 for a mild laundry detergent.  (My Urologist thought I might have gotten my rash from harsh laundry detergent.)  Luckily, we have a Tienda D1 on the other side of the block.

I wore my new Sketcher (sp?) shoes but they felt a little large and more work to walk in perhaps because they have so much cushioning.  (Later Teresa had the good idea to change the shoelaces from static to dynamic.)

I took a bus to Poblado and got off at Calle 7 and walked up to Clinica Medellin.  Inside I asked the guard if they have a public washroom.  From the words I understood they have one on every floor but you have to get the key from the office you are visiting.  I took an elevator up to the 7^th floor and the restroom door was ajar and was obviously being cleaned so I took the stairs down to the 6^th floor and even though the door was closed it wasn’t locked and I went in.  (Mainly I just wanted to know where I could go in an emergency.)

I walked over to Envios Market where I picked up another 1099 – this one from Social Security.  I also paid 12mil for over weight charges from last month and another 39,000 pesos for February’s rental.  I finally got receipts for January and February.

I quickly caught a bus to Starbucks where I had another free small White Mocca and read my paperback book for about an hour.  I had to wait about 10 minutes for a Sabaneta bus back to Envigado.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,838 to the US Dollar.

I played some Mario Brothers on my Nintendo but still couldn’t make any progress.  Another sign I’m losing it.

I peeled one of the oranges I bought yesterday at Exito and showed Teresa how to eat it (you don’t make it into juice you just pop sections into your mouth).  She thought it was delicious!  I told her I think this type of orange is from California.

I finished the paperback Takedown by Brad Thor.  Monday I’ll exchange it for another at the bookstore.

For supper I ate some of Teresa’s tasteless (no salt) tortilla chips (from Pricesmart) which were much better with the La Preferida medium picante salsa I bought at Exito the other day.

Laura wanted to watch the series Revenge (7.9) on Netflix so I hooked up the HDMI cable and we watched the first 2 episodes.  I didn’t care for it; to me it just seemed like a soap opera.

Laura left the apt at 10pm to meet with friends in the park.

Teresa asked me if Laura went out while she was in San Andres.  I said no then Teresa told me that last Saturday Laura waited until I was asleep and then snuck out of the apartment and returned before I woke up.  Interesting!

As usual I went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Damn I’m good.

Friday, February 2, 2018

Well, today is Groundhog Day and I understand Puxatawney Phil saw his shadow and there will be another 6 weeks of winter (except here)!

Before the Today show there was a Bizarre Foods program where they showed men cooking chichirron in New Mexico.

Teresa left to show the finca to someone.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I talked briefly with a young man wearing a Michael Jordan 23 Chicago Bulls jersey.  He said he bought it in Ecuador 2 years ago for about $70.  I did all my exercises in an hour and 30 minutes.

I bought a Q’Hubo newspaper and picked up a free Gente newspaper on the way back to the apt.

Laura and I left the apt at 1:15 and walked down to La Bahia for lunch.  We both ordered cerdo (pork) but I’m pretty sure it was carne de res (beef) but luckily it wasn’t so chewy that you couldn’t eat it.

Laura went with me to Exito where I picked up slices of cheddar cheese, hamburgers, buns, tomatoes, onions, and lettuce.  At one point she commented because I was carrying all the stuff in the GFS bag over my shoulder that I was the woman of the house.  After that comment I made her carry everything.  That will teach her!

She headed over to MT’s apartment and I headed back to my apartment where I dropped off everything.

I stopped at Bancolombia where I made a 600,000 pesos withdrawal but for the ATM fee it just said “Not Available Cost” so I don’t know if I was charged 12,000 pesos or not.  (I think not based on the good currency exchange rate I got.)

I went to Colpatra (sp?) where I paid the eps bill but they wouldn’t let me pay the Direct TV bill.  I walked over to $efecty to pay the Direct TV bill and the young lady there told me that the amount I owed was 238,500 pesos instead of the 181,800 I had been paying.  I decided to wait and have Teresa or Laura call first to find out what’s going on.

I stopped at the bakery and bought a blueberry muffin.  There weren’t any seats available at Bartolos so I walked across the street and immediately saw a gringo and gringa with another person.  They were from Tennessee.  I asked them if I could help them with anything and they explained that the other woman was their guide.

Walking towards my usual bakery I found another gringo alone.  His name was Aaron (sp?) and he is an emergency room doctor from the Louisiana/Texas area.  If I understood correctly he said he works 12 hour shifts for 7 days straight and then he can take the rest of the month off to travel.  Cool!  He has an apartment in Poblado and has visited Medellin about 10 times before. 

While we were sitting there a woman came by and took our blood pressure for 2mil each.  Mine was 120/78 and his was 120/85 so I guess I won.

He said he lives on a plant-based diet and recommended www.NutritionFacts.org and a Dr. Gregor (sp?) for diet information. 

He recommended a pizza place called Jack & Roll in Buena Mesa.  He also told me its best if I follow the melatonin protocol for at least 90 minutes instead of the 60 minutes I have been doing.

At 5pm it started raining.  I said “drat, I should have left 15 minutes earlier”.  He decided to stick around and I left for the apt.  Without an umbrella I was pretty well soaked by the time I got back.

Teresa came back at 6:30.  It’s still up in the air as to whether the person is interested in renting the finca.

Among new US movie releases there isn’t anything I want to see.  Locally, I would like to see The Post playing at Vizcaya at 2:10pm.

For dinner Teresa made me a burger with the new dill pickle chips I bought at Pricesmart.

I talked to Alex for about an hour about his A/C problems and family problems.  I had about 12mil in minutes on my cell phone both before and after my call.  Go figure!

T-shirt of the day: Positive mind, positive life.

Thursday, February 1, 2018

Last night I slept pretty well despite getting up several times during the night.

We left the apt at 9am and were at Pricesmart by 9:20 for 12,000 pesos.  I figured either Teresa would take one look at the place and want to leave or she would be hooked and we would spend hours there.  It turned out to be closer to the latter.

Some of the things we bought were (my selections identified by an asterisk): sport bras for Teresa and Laura, bath towels, kitchen towels, pillows, English muffins*, tortilla chips, protein bars, egg rolls, cocktail peanuts, deviled ham, eggs, Charmin toilet paper*, Vlasic dill chips*, Fab laundry detergent, Planters crunchy peanut butter*, a small jug of Canadian maple syrup*, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran*, nacho sauce, and Ritz crackers.  Almost all of these things were either in large sizes or came in multiple quantities.  Other things I noticed but I didn’t buy were post-it notes, Glade air freshener, Cheez Whiz, bagels, Stove top dressing (chicken), pork n beans, Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookies, Centrum Silver +50, and a 32 pack of Act II popcorn (I’ll probably purchase that at the start of the next NFL season.).  Last time I was here (Tuesday) I saw Crest toothpaste but today it wasn’t to be seen.  I really wanted to buy a carrot cake but Teresa told me we have enough sweets that she brought from San Andres.

Walking down one aisle I heard English and saw 2 gringos (father & grandfather?) with a Colombiana.  I asked where they were from and the guy who has lived here a year is from Chicago and is now in Poblado.  The older man is from NY and was just visiting.  

While I was talking to them Teresa was talking to the Colombiana.

After we filled our cart Teresa was starving (she skipped breakfast) so we went into their small food court and shared a dozen barbecue chicken wings with a couple sodas.

When we got our carts back in line I again heard some English and asked a lady where she was from – Florida.

By this time the lines were getting a little long.  What I didn’t like is that they don’t pack your things.  We had to get a couple large boxes and assemble and tape them to put our things in.  Downstairs we only had to wait 5 minutes for a taxi.  I was pleasantly surprised that one of the boxes fit in the trunk and the other in the front seat.

Back at the apt the driver carried the large boxes up to the apt and I gave him 20mil for our 12mil fare.

I think next time we’ll be picking up fewer things.

I tried the sweets that Teresa brought from San Andres but I wasn’t impressed.

I went to Bancolombia and after a short wait I paid for February’s health insurance and apartment rental.  I took photos of my receipts and then emailed them to the proper addresses.  Then I realized that I sent January’s payments because they were made on 1/2/2018 and here that means February 1^st but they were made on January 2^nd.  The receipts I get here from Bancolombia are USA date format so I had to resend again those dated as 2/1/2018.

Teresa talked to Esmeralda and I understand next time we go to Pricesmart Esmeralda will take and pay for half of some of the things we pick up.

For “dinner” Teresa heated up some egg rolls and I had some of those along with an English muffin with strawberry preserves.

T-shirt of the day: Aloha love.

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

I slept well only waking up at 6am and getting up at 7am.  Boy do my eyes feel good on these mornings.

I left the apt at 7:30 and was early enough I got a free adn newspaper.  (An article said something about we’re supposed to have a partial lunar eclipse on March 3^rd.)  I had my usual breakfast at Carbon de Leña only this time I asked for it without the arepa.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and headed for the gym.  I saw Charles there today and when he soon left he told me he didn’t want to get too ripped.  Lol.  I finished my exercises in an hour and 25 minutes.

Laura and I left for Deli Hoy at 1:15.  Again they had a good lunch although I got chicken breast rather than their churrasco.  They had a sign announcing that starting February 3^rd they will be open on weekends.

I stopped at the pharmacy where I bought all my medications for the month for about $100.

I watched a couple more episodes of The Walking Dead.

Teresa should be back tonight about 9pm.

Again we had a beautiful full moon that started in the NE and then went up high to the north.  We were fortunate that both nights we had little cloud cover.

Teresa called me at 4:30 from the San Andres airport and again at 8:15 from the Rionegro airport.  She got back at 9:30 with gifts: gym shoes for everyone, marshmallow pies, and swiss rolls.  She was successful in getting Laura’s birth certificate and I think she can get additional copies from the notary here.

She told me that hotels cost 300mil for one and 600mil for two so she brought me a business card for a hostal.  She said it costs 100mil per person.  According to the card the hostal is 3 streets from the beach and 2 streets from the commerial area.

She said that they would be lying on the beach and a rainstorm would come up and then it would stop and they would return to the beach.

She mentioned when she was in the notary office a man working there recognized her from 20 years ago.

Teresa informed me that she has someone interested in renting the finca so she’s going to show it to him Friday morning.

We went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Winner take all.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

I felt I slept well despite getting up several times during the night, finally waking at 7am and getting up at 8am.

I ate a bowl of cereal and at 9am headed for the bus stop.  I was early enough that I got a free adn newspaper.  In the newspaper were articles about:

·       174 cars are fined daily for bad parking (and there was a photo of a worker putting a boot on a car).

·       They are starting Metro Plus construction on Calle 12 south (it sounds like it’s going to run east/west next to the liquor factory by Aguacatala Station).

·       Not sleeping helps detect Alzheimers.

I got off at Envios Market.  Nobraskja wasn’t there but her daughter was (maybe she was being trained for this job) gave me my package and envelope.  I walked outside and quickly caught a bus to Starbucks.  Inside I ordered a free (using the coupon Jose gave me) white mocca with whipped cream and a cinnamon roll.  I got a seat outside and opened my envelope which was a 1099R for one of my pensions.  The package was the American Chess Magazine I ordered and it came with another 2018 Annual Buying Guide.  The white mocca was good but next time I’ll ask for it to be hotter.

Across the street I soon was on a bus back to Envigado.

Laura and I left the apt at 1:15 and had a nice pasta lunch at Deli Hoy.  I asked her if she would go with me to Home Center.  When I told her I wanted to buy a heated shower head she convinced me to wait until Teresa returned or she would be mad at me.  Also, she could help me choose the correct type.

She stayed at the restaurant to talk to a girl friend in the next room then she was going to visit grandma.  I walked up the hill and took a photo of the cultural center – Miguel Uribe Restrepo Casa de la Cultura.  A security guard seat inside motioned me in.  We talked for a minute and then he invited me to look around.  I took a photo of an interesting mural inside:

INSERT PHOTO HERE

I’m not sure why this building is so famous and there didn’t appear to be anything going on although I recall reading that they show American movies here twice a month.

I continued on to the bakery where I bought a blueberry muffin and then continued on to Bartolos where I had my choice of tables.  I ate the muffin with a café con leche and read some from my book.

I watched a couple more episodes of The Walking Dead on Direct TV.

We had a beautiful full moon that started in the NE and then went up high to the north.

I went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Think twice before you fall in love with me.

Monday, January 29, 2018

I slept through the night, waking up at 5am.  At 6am I decided to get up.  I left the apt at 7am, picked up a free adn newspaper and had breakfast at Carbon de Leña.

I stopped at Bancolombia where I deposited 400mil into Esmeralda’s account.

Back at the apt I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and then left for the gym.  I did all my exercises in an hour and 30 minutes.

Laura and I left the apt at 1pm and headed down to Deli Hoy.  (On the way I realized I forgot my debit card so I wouldn’t be able to stop at Home Center later.)  The restaurant was open again and we had a nice lunch for 11mil each.  I told her I was going to Immigration to pick up my Cedula (even though it isn’t on their list that hasn’t been updated since January 2^nd) but she wouldn’t be allowed inside so maybe she wouldn’t want to come.  She asked if we could stop at the Colombian Embassy after and I said sure. 

We walked over to the metro, took the train to Aguacatala station, walked across the street and caught a Circular Sur 303 bus to the Belen Library.  We walked the last 3 blocks to Immigration.  As I expected only I was allowed inside.  I walked to the back, showed a guy my old Cedula, he opened the safe and gave me my new Cedula, I signed for it and I was done.

I stopped outside the only restroom where I found the door locked.  I waited a couple minutes and then knocked on the door asking if anyone was inside.  I didn’t hear anything.  A couple minutes later I asked the young lady working across the aisle if I need a key to get in and she just said it’s occupied.  A few minutes later she got up and came over with a key, knocked on the door, got no response and opened it for me.

Outside Laura said that was fast.  I told her it took me 1 minute to get my Cedula and 5 minutes to get into the restroom.

We walked down to Avenida 80 where we quickly caught a taxi.  Laura had him drop us off at the old train station on Calle 44.  We walked to a building behind where we went inside and Laura quickly received her Colombian passport.

We took a taxi back to Envigado.

For dinner I finished one of the two leftover ribs from Mu with a can of Dr. Pepper.

Teresa called and thanked me for sending them the additional cash.

I received 2 emails from Envios Market that I have a package and envelope waiting for pickup.

I was tired and went to bed at 10pm.

T-shirt of the day: When you’re next to me.