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Sunday, November 4, 2018

I woke up somewhere around 3am, 6am, finally waking/getting up at 8:15.  Teresa was already up.

My brother sent me a text message that Patricks will be serving Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Teresa and I walked down to the mall to Exito where she bought some skin care creams and in Home Center we bought a Christmas tablecloth.  We looked for a microwave oven with a depth of 27cm or less but they didn’t have one.  Sigh!

We returned to the apt in time for me to exchange some things and at 12:05 I left the apt.

I met Chuck at Otra Parte at 12:15 and we took a taxi to Parque Lleras.  We arrived at Patricks Irish Sports Pub about 20 minutes before game time.  I asked Patrick about Thanksgiving Dinner and he said he will serve all the traditional fixings for 70mil.  He said I probably won’t need a ticket for the afternoon (the Bears game starts at 12:30) and he will start serving at 1pm.  This time he said he’s serving a free-range Colombian turkey.

We watched the Bears dismantle the Bills 41-9.  We first split a plate of French fries then he had fish & chips and I had bowl of chili.

Chuck told me that he is returning to the States January 13^th because Darnelly needs a knee replacement.

I read to Chuck my list of things that I’m going to change When I Am King of the United States.  He agreed with all of them and together we added a few more.  (I’ll try to remember to share them with you after I am finished with my Jokes of the Day.)

We watched some of the undefeated Rams vs the Saints and the latter were up 35-17 at halftime.  I logged in after I got home and the Rams made it close but the Saints prevailed 45-35.

I told Teresa about Thanksgiving dinner at Patricks and she thought that was a good idea but I understand she’s not interested in sticking around after to watch the Bears game.

I felt some pain in my right hip; I couldn’t even raise my right foot to put it on my left leg.

I watched the first half of the Packers at Patriots game with the latter ahead of the former 17-10 at halftime.

Teresa and I went to bed at 10:30.

Joke of the day

Reasons for Sensitivity Training for Men:

The cost of living has now gotten so bad that my wife is having sex with me because she can't afford batteries.

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Last night we went to bed at 11pm, I fell asleep quickly, woke up at 4:45, couldn’t get back to sleep and got up at 6am.  At least here the noise level seems to be down although we did have the bedroom window closed.

I had breakfast then waited until 8am to go next door to Exito Express where I bought a bar of bath soap for my shower.  (Heaven knows where the soap is that we brought from the old apt.)  This way I could feel good putting on clean clothes afterwards.  (I discovered that our little Exito Express is open 24 hours – yay!)

I left the apt about 9:15, walked up to Avenida Poblado and after a short wait I caught an Envigado bus to Poblado.  At Envios Market I picked up my October issue of Chess Life, my November issue of Reader’s Digest and 2 envelopes from BSI Financial that I no longer have to worry about.  I also paid 39,000 pesos for November’s mailbox rental.

My legs were feeling better so I walked up Avenida Poblado to a BBVA bank.  It looked closed so I asked the security guard if there was an ATM machine open.  He recommended I go to Oviedo or Santafe mall.

I walked across the street and up a block to a Bancolombia ATM where I withdrew 200mil.  I walked up another block and withdrew 200mil from a Davivienda ATM.  I walked up to Oviedo mall where I withdrew 200mil from a BBVA ATM.  (The purpose was to compare ATM fees on a day when the currency exchanged rate is frozen (weekends).)

The receipt from Bancolombia said the transaction cost was 13,200, from Davivienda it said it was “not available” and BBVA didn’t even give me a receipt.

I stopped at Starbucks where I bought a cold, small café mocha blanco for 9,200 pesos.  Well, it’s official, a young worker wrote “Tu eres muy guapo” on my coffee cup.

Back across the street I caught an Envigado bus back to Envigado.  (I no longer need to catch Sabaneta buses because now I have an earlier stop.)

When I returned to the apt it was so nice to walk through a cool garage and then take an elevator up to the 4^th floor.  In the other apt I would get overheated just walking up to the 3^rd floor.

I logged into my checking account and found I was charged $62.62 (Currency Exchange Rate of 3,194) for Davivienda and BBVA but $66.75 (CER of 2,996) for Bancolombia.  Wow!  Have I been using the wrong ATMs all this time?  To be continued.

About 12:30 Laura and I walked over to the mall, took the elevator up to the 3^rd floor to the food court and ordered a Big Wok from Sr. Wok for 47,500 pesos.  We carried it back to the apt.  I stopped next door at Exito and bought 2 bags of milk and a 2.5 liter bottle of Coke.

We feasted on brown rice, vegetables, beef teriyaki, egg rolls and orange chicken.

Teresa and I took a nap from 1:30 to 2:45.  When we got up it was obvious we had gotten a little rain.  Of course now Teresa doesn’t want to go to Home Center to shop for a microwave.

Wow, the temperature has dropped down into the 60s and every time I close the balcony door within a few minutes someone else has reopened it.  (I still haven’t found my warmup clothes.)

Wow, some big games tomorrow in the NFL.  The Bears play the Bills at 1pm, the unbeaten Rams are at the Saints at 4:25, and the Green Bay Packers are at the New England Patriots at 8:20.  We don’t have television but I might be able to get the afternoon and evening games on my Slingbox.

I finished reading Dale Brown’s paperback Hammerheads.

Joke of the day

Reasons for Sensitivity Training for Men:

I went to our local bar with my wife last night.  Locals started shouting "pedophile!" and other names at me, just because my wife is 24 and I'm 50.  It completely spoiled our 10th anniversary.

Friday, November 2, 2018

Last night we were so tired we went to bed at 10pm.  I got up at 3am and 6am, finally getting up for good at 6:15.

The apt includes an on-demand hot water heater so I took a hot shower for the first time in almost 2 years.  I turned on the hot water and at first I thought it wasn’t going to work as it took 20-30 seconds for the water to heat up.  I turned on the cold water and it took a few tries to get a decent temperature balance.  Then after a few minutes I lost the hot water completely and it was freezing. 

(Not sure if any one else had just turned on the hot water or if that’s going to be the limit for a shower.)  One nice thing is my shower space in the old apt was like 3’ x 3’ and this one is more like 6’ x 3’ actually allowing me to step out of the stream of water.

We left the new apt at 7:30 and I happened to notice a Une guy standing by his motorcycle.  I called to Teresa and she talked to him briefly but I don’t know what she learned.

We took a taxi to the old apartment and I noticed my clothes, umbrella, and few other things are gone.  Obviously they are in one of the bags still unopened in the new apt.

The ladies were cleaning the apt and waiting for Esmeralda to arrive to take the exercise cycle.  I noticed the chess table was still there.

At 8am Jairo arrived and packed up the exercise cycle and chess table and a few other things.  They delivered the chess table to our new apt and continued on to Esmeralda’s place.

At 8:30 Une arrived and 3 guys quickly installed the router on my desk.  I did a speed test using SpeedTest.net and I got 8.87 download and 2.01 upload.  The Une guy then cabled my computer direct to the modem and I got 10.21 download and 2.10 upload.  Mucho mejor!

They left at 9:15 and we walked the 10 minutes to Aymara for breakfast.  I had a waffle with strawberries, ice cream, whipped cream and a café con leche.  I didn’t care for their coffee, it tasted instant; I’ve had much better here.

The ladies continued on to the old apt.  I made an atm withdrawal, paid Direct TV, my health insurance and the gym.

I went down to the real estate agency to deposit the 200mil.  The pretty lady working there told me she also needs the October utility bill I paid.  I told her that it’s in a box in my apt.  She said she needed it with the 200mil.  I asked if I couldn’t just bring the October receipt with the receipt for November when I pay it at the end of the month.  She said she needed it now.

I walked back to the new apt in 18 minutes, got the October utility bill receipt and back for another 18 minutes arriving 5 minutes before they closed for lunch from noon to 1:30.

At 12:22 I talked to Laura and she told me direct TV is coming at 1pm.

I walked back to the old apt and waited for Jairo to pack the last few things.

Teresa says she will reschedule the direct TV appointment to Monday because there’s too much running around.

After another delivery to the new apt, at 2pm we walked to the same restaurant for lunch.  Now it was clear that the digging in the street is another bicycle parking area.  I see them all over Envigado now.  Now all they have to do is increase their bike lanes.

Laura told me her Au Pair papers are now at the embassy in Bogota.  We discussed whether she should fly or take the bus.  She said the cost is about the same.  I asked her how much and she said she would check the internet.

It started raining again.

At 3:30 we took a taxi back to the old apt to sign some papers.

Teresa soon told me she found a cellphone in the back seat of the taxi.  It’s a J2 Samsung Prime that’s so new there was nothing in it – no photos, no apps, no contacts, no recent calls, nothing.  Since there is no way she can contact the owner she’s going to keep it.  (Later I googled that the J2 Samsung Prime was released in November of 2016.)

Laura told me she would need some supporting information from me for her Au Pair visa.  I told her I would get her a copy of my passport page & bank statements – hopefully that would be sufficient.

At 3:30 the real estate guy arrived and he spent 40 minutes inspecting the apt.  I can’t believe the great job Teresa did in repairing and cleaning the place – to me it looks the same as the first day we walked in 2 ½ years ago.

At 4:15 we walked down the hill to the agency in a light rain.

On the way down the hill there is a little garage type store that sells what looks like cupcakes.  Right next to it is a house that I believe someone moved into in the last couple months.  The door was open and as I glanced over I saw about 8 young girls in makeup and dressed up like it was a modeling agency or for a photo shoot.

At the real estate agency while we were waiting for the papers to be signed Chuck & Nardelly walked by.  They had just visited the mall and we talked for quite some time.  Chuck and I decided to meet outside Otra Parte on Sunday at 12:15 and we’ll take a taxi to Parque Lleras to see my Chicago Bears play the Buffalo Bills.  This should be an easy win for the Bears.

Outside the agency I was too tired to walk back to the apt.  I’ve noticed my calves are real tight with all the walking I’ve been doing.  I think I should cut back or eliminate all the work I’ve been doing on the Calf Press machine.

Back at the new apt we continued unpacking and setting up things.

At 8pm we ordered burritos from Frisby and we were eating dinner at 9pm.  Strangely, one side of my burrito was tasty with lots of BBQ sauce and the other side was dry and tough to chew.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see Bohemian Rhapsody (8.4).  Locally, I would like to see Bohemian Rhapsody (8.4) playing in the Viva Envigado IMAX theater at 6:20.

Just before we went to bed at 11pm it started raining again.

Joke of the day

Reasons for Sensitivity Training for Men:

The wife suggested I get myself one of those penis enlargers, so I did.  She's 25, and her name's Kathy.

Thursday, November 1, 2018

I got up at 6:30 because I knew we still had a lot of work to do.  When the movers arrived about 7:30 they loaded the truck with the washer, our bed, a storage cabinet and more small tables.  At 8am I went to a local paint store where I bought another roll of packing tape.

At one point Teresa informed me that she was giving our couch to the mover because it would be too difficult to take upstairs to the apt.  I asked her how she knew since they haven’t even tried.  (I think she really despises that couch but we really don’t have money right now for another.)

Unbelievably, the youngest mover put his head into the middle of the sofa and carried it all the way to the new apt.  With a little effort they managed to get the sofa into the elevator and up to the 4^th floor with only a minor tear.

Our bed frame was another matter.  I understood it wouldn’t fit in either the elevator or the stairs.  I thought we were going to have to dismantle it but they tied a rope to it and dragged it up over the balcony.  At least now we know we can sleep here tonight.

We left the apt at 11:30 and for the 3^rd time in as many days we had lunch at the same restaurant in Buena Mesa.  I reminded Laura to call Une and she said she called last night and they are coming tomorrow.  At 12:15 it started raining and Teresa and Laura took a taxi back to the old apt to start cleaning it and wait for Esmeralda to arrive.

I walked towards downtown and with just my small umbrella I was soaked from the waist down by the time I arrived at Bartolos.  I found a table inside and I waited about 20 minutes for the rain to stop and to dry off a little.  During that time no waiter came to take my coffee order as they were obviously busy serving lunch.

I walked over to Cotrafa and as I expected it was closed until 2pm.  I walked to the corner bakery where I had a couple café con leches and exchanged some text messages with Laura.  We had left a few windows open and Laura was inquiring as to whether anything was wet.  (Difficult to tell since I’m not there; and if I was there I wouldn’t have internet anyway.)

At 2pm I returned to Cotrafa to pay the epm bill and there was a long line.  (Btw, we are moving from Estrato 3 to Estrato 5 so I expect our utilities to go up about 10% next month.)  I paid the bill then went a couple blocks to Todo Drogas where I bought my medicine and vitamins for the month.  I stopped at Gana where I added 20mil to my cellphone for emergencies.  I made a withdrawal from the ATM and then bought a new container of Bi-Pro protein powder.

I walked back to the new apt.  Luckily, even though we left the master bedroom window open and the balcony window ajar, nothing was wet.  (Storms here come from the east and almost all our windows face west so I think we should be safe most of the time.)  I plugged the refrigerator back in; for some reason Teresa said we had to wait 2 hours.  Okay.

Besides my chess table I’m noticing a number of things still missing: like the TV, the microwave, my large umbrella, and the rest of my clothes from the closet.

About 4pm Teresa arrived with Esmeralda and a few more odds and ends from the apt.  (Still, none of the things I just mentioned.)

They transferred food they brought with them into the freezer.  

They left again about 4:15 for more stuff.

I can’t wait until this move is over and we start to resume some semblance of normalcy again.  It will also be interesting to explore the area outside a little.  (I know we’re just up the street from a pizza place, just down the street from the La Buena Mesa restaurant area, 10 minutes from Viva Envigado and probably 15-20 minutes from downtown Envigado.  All times are walking of course.)

Esmeralda and Laura returned about 5:15 with more food but I noticed the shelves have been removed from the refrigerator and Laura doesn’t want me to clean them and install them so we can put things back.

(Again, they had none of the things I mentioned above.)

The ladies believe the Direct TV guy will help install the TV on the wall.  I certainly hope so.  Laura lent me her cellphone charger so at least I can start charging my phone.  They left at 5:45 for more stuff and then I put a few things on the floor of the refrigerator.

At 6:25 I looked out of the door peephole and I saw that the hallway light was finally on.  Since I couldn’t find a switch anywhere obviously it must be on a timer.

They came back at 6:45.  We must have spent 30 minutes trying to figure out how to put the shelves back in the fridge and the freezer.  We’ve had this problem before so I told Teresa to take shelves out one at a time, wash it, then put it back.  Of course we couldn’t do that this time.  I offered to use a permanent marker on each one; I guess we’ll go back to the original plan.

They also brought the microwave but it’s too deep to fit on the shelf I think it is intended for so we put it on the counter.  I went downstairs with Esmeralda to her car and we brought up the TV and put it on the guest bed.

About 7:45 Teresa ordered chicken from Frisby then they went to the old apt to pick up Laura.  Since I wasn’t sure of the procedure I went downstairs to the guardhouse.  On the way I heard fireworks and the portero confirmed that A/N won.  Within 5 minutes the Frisby guy arrived, I paid 70,000 pesos and took the food upstairs. 

I called Teresa to let her know the food has arrived.  I cleared away part of the dining room table and ate my Combo #2.  Now there’s room for the 3 of them to sit down together.

They came back at 8:30.

Esmeralda left about 9pm and we gave her 50mil for her help.

Teresa informed me that I have to give the agency 200mil and when I have paid next month’s utility bill they will refund the 200.

I forgot to pay my health insurance today so I might as well also pay the gym and Direct TV also.

Teresa really needs the counter top space so I understand we’ll try to find a smaller microwave that will fit and we’ll give Wilson & MT our current one.

We downsized when we moved from the finca to the apt in Envigado.  We downsized again on this move but we still have things we have to move (aka get rid of).  Some things are due to a change in circumstances.  Examples: 1) I bought about 30 feet of HDMI cable to reach from the computer to the TV, now that distance should be less than 6 feet; 2) I had a fan under my computer table because I was in the back room with little ventilation, now my computer is on a desk close enough to reach out and touch the balcony door.

We were all exhausted so we went to bed at 10pm.

Joke of the day

Reasons for Sensitivity Training for Men:

I was devastated to find out my wife was having an affair but, by turning to religion, I was soon able to come to terms with the whole thing.  I converted to Islam, and we're stoning her in the morning!

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Happy Halloween!  Or Happy Moving Day(s)!

I got up once during the night, again about 5:30 finally getting up for good at 6:30.  We left the apt at 7:30 for Teresa’s mammogram appointment.  The Las Americas clinic is in City Plaza CC, a small mall in Envigado that I have been wanting to visit.  The medical office is in the 3^rd basement level.  I paid 121mil (about $39.50) and we waited about 5 minutes for her to be called.  It seemed like I got an internet connection but my cellphone didn’t register a wifi connection.  Is that possible?   Teresa came out about 30 minutes later and we went upstairs to the food court where all the restaurants were still closed.  We finally found a Juan Valdez on another level and I had a café con leche with a large chocolate chip cookie and Teresa had a hot chocolate with some type of pastry.

We easily caught a taxi back to the apt for 6mil.

I disassembled Laura’s bed and we packed more things in large plastic bags.

Laura happened to mention that it always rains on October 31^st.

The movers arrived and we moved some furniture to the new apt. The movers left and we went up to the same restaurant in La Buena Mesa where we all had the lunch of the day for 48mil ($16).  (Their cold, fresh mango juice is to die for.)

We took a taxi back to the old apt and when the movers arrived they packed the heavy bed and several other things including my computer.  (I can write to my blog notes but it will probably be awhile before we have internet again.)

The movers helped us put the bed back together.  When they were setting up the desk (which used to be Laura’s but now is mine for my computer) they noticed the slide for the front drawer wasn’t working.  Before I could figure out for myself what was wrong they removed a slide to take to a hardware store Teresa asked me for 120 mil for the movers and I gave her 150mil because I wanted to keep the 20 mil I had for a taxi ride.  (It can be difficult to get change for a 50 from a taxi driver.)  I understood Jairo (Don) didn’t have change so I had to give her my 20.

About 3:30 when we were about to return to the old apt for the last bed (ours) it started raining.  The movers left and we started putting things away.

After about 4:30 it was cute to see the little kids in costume walking down the street with their parents.

At 5pm the rain stopped and as we were leaving the portero (doorman) said that because today is Halloween it will be impossible to get a taxi.  A minute later a taxi arrived, someone got out and we got in.  He dropped us off and as expected he didn’t have change for my 50mil.  We went up to the apt looking for cash and between the 3 of us we found 5,400 pesos for the minimum fare.

Jairo arrived with his truck at 5:30 and he and another worker loaded 3 tables and a mirror into the truck.  At the antique store we unloaded everything and the owner seemed less than impressed with our things.

Teresa was deeply engrossed in coversation with the owner and finally I interruped her and told her I’m hungry.  Laura and I went across the street to Antica Pizzeria where we had pizza and had finished by the time Teresa joined us.  It seemed like she was talking to the owner for hours.  An interesting note about the pizza place: I used their restroom and I saw they had a metal sink with a hole in the bottom that led directly into the tank of the toilet.  Now that’s conserving water.

Laura told me she called Une and they are coming tomorrow also.

After pizza we got lucky again and quickly caught a taxi.  Instead of arriving at the apt quickly for the minimum fare of 5,400 pesos we hit heavy traffic nearing downtown.  It was interesting to see lots of kids and even adults in Halloween costumes walking around downtown.  At one point we encountered a street closed off, apparently for a block party, and we had to detour.  Traffic wasn’t budging and finally Teresa said this is getting too expensive so I paid the driver 8,600 mil and we got out and walked the rest of the way.

Later Laura walked back to the new apt to sleep alone because our bed didn’t make the move today.

Joke of the day

Reasons for Sensitivity Training for Men:

 
My wife has been missing a week now. The police said to prepare for the worst. So, I had to go down to Goodwill to get all her clothes back. 

HAVE INTERNET ALREADY - WILL BE POSTING SOON!