Wednesday, May 23, 2018

I fell asleep quickly last night and didn’t wake up until 4am.  It was still raining lightly and the pitter patter of the raindrops was soothing but not enough for me to fall back asleep so I got up at 5:15.

In the news (TV and newspapers) they’ve been talking about a new hydroelectric dam that’s being built.  Apparently there is a problem with its construction that’s serious enough that they’ve had to evacuate some people from nearby villages.  See ColombiaReports.com for details.

At the gym I completed all of my exercises in an hour and 50 minutes.  Jose told me he’s going to see Solo: A Star Wars Story (6.3) tomorrow.

The following is from an email from the US Embassy in Colombia.

Presidential elections will take place throughout Colombia on Sunday, May 27, 2018.  If needed, a second round will take place on Sunday, June 17, 2018.  There is the potential for demonstrations, traffic disruptions, and visible police presence during the campaigns leading up to the elections.  There will be road closures through Bogota and other major cities on May 27 and June 17 if the second round is held.  Alcohol sales will be restricted and ciclovia may be canceled in some cities. 

Actions to Take:

·        Monitor local media for updates.

·        Avoid demonstrations.

·        Maintain a high level of vigilance, especially in popular public areas.

I took a short nap from 1pm to 1:30 while Teresa was making lunch.

I left the apt at 4:30 for the 5:30 movie.  There was a bus waiting for me downtown.  As usual I sat in a seat right across the aisle from the buzzer to facilitate getting off the bus.  In front of me was a young couple that was intent on making out.  I considered asking them to get a room but they probably wouldn’t understand.  I also thought of taking photos of them with my cellphone but I was a good boy and resisted.  A couple nuns got off the bus by the religious grotto.  The first one got off successfully but the bus started pulling away while the second one was still on the steps but lots of people noticed and shouted to the driver to stop.  Traffic was heavy starting at the Envigado/Medellin border and the trip took 30 minutes.  I got off at Santafe and walked the last block to Oviedo. 

I bought a preferred seating ticket (half price Wednesday) for 7,250 pesos.  I read my Reader’s Digest for 10 minutes and then bought a small popcorn and small soda for 12,600 leaving me with a Cine Colombia card balance of 4,650.

There were dozens of people in the theater taking advantage of the discount.  The movie, 7 Days in Entebbe (5.8), was good but not great.  Again because 2 of the main characters were speaking in German I had to rely on the Spanish subtitles.  I quickly caught a bus back to the apt.

Teresa made 16 thin burgers and I wrapped them in plastic wrap and put them into ziploc bags. 

T-shirt of the day: I’m super normal.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

I only got up once during the night finally waking at 5:45 and getting up at 6:15.

I finished entering my chess games with Jose into my database but I counted 7 games where he’s playing the White pieces but 12 for me so obviously I missed something as it should be more even.  I counted 21 games recorded in my little game book so that just confirms it.  Time to do an audit!  According to my scorebook I have played 11 games with White and Jose has played 10 with White.

I watched the first 15 minutes of the Today show and then left the apt.

I had to wait about 15 minutes downtown to catch a bus and traffic was the worst I’ve seen – just crawling all the way.  At Envios Market I picked up another envelope from MetLife about my Sears retirement annuity.  I waited 5 minutes for another bus to take me to Starbucks – again crawling through the Gold Mile.  At Starbucks I had my usual white mocha latte.  I sat outside and read some of my Reader’s Digest.  I walked across the street and waited about 10 minutes for a Sabaneta bus to pick me up.  It was standing room only but I soon got lucky and got a nearby seat.

Crossing the street opposite La Casita Parilla I could see that they now have a hood above the cooking area that vents the smoke out to the roof.

Back at the apt I installed the HV-H2237U software that came with my headphones which allowed me to increase the speaker and microphone settings.  That should help my minor hearing loss.

At 2:15 it started raining but it only lasted about 30 minutes.

I left the apt at 3:30, made my last stop for the month at the ATM (no more cash in my checking account), paid the Une (wifi) bill of 85mil, and stopped for a café con leche at Bartolos.  I couldn’t get a wifi signal so I paid for my coffee and went down the street.  There weren’t any tables available at the bakery so I sat across from city hall for a while and checked out my cellphone now that I had wifi.  At 4:45 it started raining so I returned to the apt.  It didn’t stop until 8pm.

Instead of using prepackaged burgers again Teresa made one up with the ground beef we bought last weekend.  I asked her to make it thicker next time and she replied that if she did that the inside wouldn’t cook thoroughly.  She suggested cooking 2 patties next time for one burger.  Sounds reasonbable.

It started raining again in the evening.

It took me until 10pm but I think now I’ve got all of my games against Jose Cruz entered into my database.  And it matches my little book – 11 games with White for me and 10 with White for Jose.  Now if I could just figure out how to sort my database list chronologically.

It was still raining lightly when we went to bed at 11pm.

T-shirt of the day: Better luck next time.

Monday, May 21, 2018

I slept pretty well despite getting up 4-5 times during the night.  I have to work at drinking fewer liquids in the evening.

I started entering more of my games with Jose Cruz into my Shredder database and my system crashed.  Rebooting the computer didn’t help so a message was sent to Microsoft.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  Oscar pointed out a taxi driver named George who has lost over 100 pounds in the last 3 years coming to the gym.  I did all my exercises in an hour and 55 minutes.  On my way back I saw that La Casita Parilla was open and they now have the cooking area closed in by glass. 

At noon it started raining but it only lasted for a few minutes.

At 1:30 our buzzer rang and we all looked at one another.  Teresa checked but it wasn’t Andres.

Laura left at 2:30 to pick up the finca electricity bill from Caldas.  I understand afterward she’s going to her girlfriend Cindy’s house to celebrate her mother’s birthday.

Teresa and I tried to take a nap from 2:45 to 3:45 but there was some incessant pounding coming from somewhere.

In the farthest end of the park behind the library there are now 7 work sheds set up and all the grass is torn up with a trench built at the farthest end.

I received an email from Envios Market that I have a document waiting for pickup.  Probably tomorrow since I’m playing chess with Jose on Thursday.

T-shirt of the day: Ice cream is cheaper than therapy.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

I got up twice during the night, finally waking at 5am and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Just before 6am someone buzzed us from downstairs.  Andres?  No doubt.  He came back and continued at 6:30 and this time I was sure Teresa was awake.  He even called out something but it didn’t sound like Teresa’s name.  She got up and asked me for 50mil to give to him to go away.  I did, and she buzzed him in and had words with him just outside our door.  By this time I was up and dressed in my casual clothes.  He left, without the cash, and I believe Teresa called the police on him.  He was soon seen walking down the hill in the direction of the metro.  I hope that’s the last we see of him.

Teresa left the apt with Laura to meet Enrico and his wife to see the finca.  I went to Exito and first had a café con leche at Juan Valdez.  After killing 30 minutes or so I picked up bananas, bread, cheddar cheese and nacho chips.  Exito has reorganized a lot of their aisles in the food department so it took me a little longer than usual.  The net result is they appear to have increased the produce area.

I returned to the apt and started repackaging the cheddar cheese into 2-packs.  I was almost finished when Teresa called me and invited me to join her for lunch at Deli Hoy.  I said I’ll be there in about 10 minutes.  I finished repackaging the cheese and headed down to the restaurant.  Teresa was there without Laura and we had their buffet for 15mil each.  I first got a bowl of soup and the server brought me the other food – chicken leg, slice of pork and cooked vegetables but I told her I wanted to finish my soup first so she took it away.  After my soup and a small potato salad they gave me she brought back the rest of my meal.  Teresa told me the couple – he’s German and she’s Colombian - are interested in the finca and will let Teresa know if they are going to rent it.

I spent most of the afternoon studying how my Shredder software works.  I finally figured out the proper procedure to save the games I’ve played with Jose but I still haven’t figured out the best way to computer analyze them.

I watched season 2 episode 5 of Westworld on Direct TV.

I understand next Sunday will be Colombia’s election – perhaps just a primary – so all the bars will be closed.

There was another mass school shooting in the US on Friday.  If they treated these shootings as they do airplane crashes, every time one happened, something would change to try to prevent the next one.  Colombia – where they don’t shoot their kids!

T-shirt of the day: There is no option B.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

I slept pretty well despite getting up 4-5 times during the night.

We finally woke/got up at 7:45.

After a quick breakfast of cereal I thought we were going to leave right away for Mayorista but we didn’t get out until about 10am.  I had turned on the TV about 9:30 and we caught the early part of a rebroadcast of the wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.  Lots of precedents set there: she’s American, divorced and part African American.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 2,922 to the US Dollar.  It’s nice to see the peso get above 2900 again.

With Laura’s help we picked up about 500,000 pesos worth of groceries and took a private car back to the apt.  The driver was very talkative and I learned that he worked for something like 17 years in England and some time in Massachusetss but doesn’t speak English.  Hmmm, maybe it was New England and not England.

Teresa made spaghetti ala Juanita and I made garlic bread.  Delicious!

Laura left about 4pm for Santafe mall.

About 4:30 our doorbell rang; Teresa looked outside and it was Andres from San Andres.  She asked me to just ignore it.

At 5:30 it started raining and it didn’t stop.

T-shirt of the day: Breaking up is not the end.  It’s the beginning.

Friday, May 18, 2018

I heard the rain sometime during the night.  I only got up once finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

Well, the plan for today is first gym, second lunch, and then a trip to Mayorista for groceries.

I understand Teresa is going to show the finca on Sunday to someone that contacted me on Facebook.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I asked Jose when he would like his chess lesson and he said he’s a busy man but maybe Sunday.  I told him I would let him know if I’m available.  I completed all my exercises in an hour and 50 minutes.

We walked down to Deli Hoy where we had their menu of the day.

After lunch Teresa informed me that it looks like rain so she wants to go to Mayorista tomorrow.  It soon started raining but it only lasted for an hour.  We took a nap from 2:15 to 3:15.  At 3:30 I remembered that I needed to buy a Q’Hubo newspaper so Chuck will have his Condorito.  I have to get in the habit again.  Luckily the newspaper stand was still open and after buying it I stopped at Bartolos for awhile where I had a coconut lemonade.

When I got back to the apt I found that we had lost our wifi connection.

Among new US movie releases there isn’t anything I want to see.  Locally, I would like to see 7 Days in Entebbe (5.8) playing at 6:20 in Oviedo.

I asked Teresa where she wanted to go for dinner and at 8pm we left for Antica pizza.  We met MT down the hill and quickly caught a taxi.  It was misting a little but we had 2 umbrellas with us.  The restaurant was still crowded but after about a 10 minute wait we had a table – actually 4 stools at one of their counters.

Five slices and 4 drinks cost me 64,000 pesos (about $22.50).  We walked down a street and quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

The plan for tomorrow is to have a quick bowl of cereal for breakfast, make a grocery trip to Mayorista and then I think Teresa is going to the finca.

The wifi came back on at 10pm.

T-shirt of the day: There is no finish line.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

It took me maybe 30 minutes to fall asleep last night; probably because of the medium soda I drank at the theater.  In the future I’ll try to remember to drink a small soda in the evening to reduce my Caffeine consumption a little.  As usual I got up several times during the night, waking up finally at 5am and getting up at 6am.

Since I got up early I left early - 8:30am - for my chess match with Jose.  I quickly caught a bus and called him to let him know I would be there early.  We arrived just about the same time just before 9:30.

I had the black pieces to start and I played my new opening and it was close but he blundered in the ending and I won the first game.

We went to Tropical again for a nice lunch of the day for 10,000 pesos each.  He told me that the next chess tournament they have posted is for the August flower festival.  There is supposed to be another at the end of June but there isn’t any details available for it as yet.

Back at the chess league I had white and I thought I was going to be able to attack his king but I blundered a pawn which gave him an attack and he won the second game.

I bought a kilo of strawberries outside Envigado station on my way back.  I was going to stop for a coconut lemonade at Bartolos but there weren’t any outside tables available.

I received some responses to my finca ad on Facebook but they had additional questions.

I asked Teresa how much land the finca is on and she wrote down 6,400,000 metros quadrados or 6 million 4 hundred thousand square meters.  I converted it acres on my laptop and that came to 1,581 acres.  I went back to her and asked her again and she said 6 thousand 400 square meters so I scratched out three of the zeroes she had written and showed it to her.  I know now that I can’t trust her when it comes to math.  Btw, 6,400 sq meters comes to 1.58 acres – but a lot of it is vertical.

I watched Season 1 Episode 6 of The Rain (6.1) on Netflix.

I finished reading James Patterson’s Kiss the Girls: Alex Cross #2 on my Nook.

T-shirt of the day: The best memories are in your heart.