Sunday, January 26, 2020

Last night I took a Zopiclona with 3 Trazadona, went to bed at 10:45, fell asleep quickly, and got up once at 5am.  At 5:30 I gave up going back to sleep so I got up to start my day.

For homework, Juan Castro sent me 600 Mate in 3 puzzles.  Yikes!  It seems to me that could take forever to finish.  Well, I guess we’ll see.

I left the apt just before 8am and quickly caught a bus to El Poblado.  I walked up Calle 7 arriving at Ganso y Castor at 8:20.  I had the acai berry bowl with Greek yogurt and 2 café con leches for 33,500, an expensive breakfast by Colombian standards.

At 10am we moved to Pergamino where I had another café con leche with an almond croissant.

About 11:30 they decided to take an Uber to Sabaneta but after screwing around for about 30 minutes they finally gave up and I called a taxi using Cabify.  At first it searched with a 5-minute maximum wait then it gave us the opportunity to wait for 5, 10, or 15 minutes.  I chose 15 minutes and a ride was 15 minutes away.  He came a long way to pick us up and it was a nice Uber quality car.  I got off at Calle 38 Sur and walked up the hill to downtown Envigado.

I made an ATM withdrawal then took a bus to La Buena Mesa where I returned to the apt.

Teresa had already left for the finca but she had forgotten to lock the door via the deadbolts.

I heard Kobe Bryant and his daughter died this morning in a helicopter crash in LA.

About 2pm I walked to Go Wings where I had their 6 piece chicken wing combo for 18,590 pesos and got their new phone number for home delivery.

I had a café con leche at Parva while solving a few Mate in 3 chess puzzles and reorganizing some of my Spanish notes.

Back at the apt I watched more episodes of the 2^nd season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime.

Teresa called me that she was going to mass in Caldas.  She finally returned about 9:15 and I gave up the TV so she could watch her Septima Dia program.

I traded a number of text messages with Alex who is having apt problems again.

Teresa told me the couple renting the new finca want to move in next weekend so she will have to go with them to a notary on Thursday or Friday to sign contracts.  I understand she is a veterinarian and he is a film producer.

8,154 steps today.

Joke of the day

Jennifer’s wedding day was fast approaching, and she was horrified to learn that her mother had bought the exact same dress for the wedding as her father’s young new wife.

Jennifer implored her stepmother to exchange hers, but she refused.  So Jennifer’s mother agreed to buy a different dress for the wedding.

“Are you going to return the other dress?” Jennifer asked.  “You really don’t have another occasion where you could wear it.”

Her mother smiled.  “Of course I do, dear.  I’m wearing it to the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding.”

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Last night I took a Zopiclona with 3 Trazadona, went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once during the night and Teresa woke me at 6:30.  I collected a urine sample, took my shower, dressed and we left the apt just after 7am.

We arrived at Cedimed on Calle 7 just before 7:30.  They took my urine sample and 3 tubes of blood for a variety of tests.  All this cost about 180mil but at least Teresa won’t have to call Nueve eps to see if they will cover all the tests or have to go to make an appointment for me.  I paid cash but I understand I could have paid with my debit card.

We went downstairs and outside to the Il Capuccino café where we had a snack with coffee.  I went across the street to make a withdrawal but the ATM seemed to be out of order.

We walked to Envios Market where I picked up my supplements from GNC for 10mil.

We took a bus to Mayorca arriving at 9:30, 30 minutes before the stores open.

At 10am we entered Puro Cuero and I measured the height of the table and chairs.  The measurement was the same as ours but there are still differences in detail, what we ordered is more finished than what was delivered.  I showed the salesrep a photo and she gave me their business card and asked me to send a photo via Whatsapp to the cellphone number on the card.

We had coffee and chocolate chip cookies at the De Lolita café for 13,200 (about $4).

Teresa did some shopping, bought a couple gym tops at Nike and we finally left about 1pm and took a taxi back to the apt.

Teresa tried calling Go Wings to order chicken wings then informed me they changed their phone number so she called Frisby instead.

One of the readers of my blog pointed me to Swanson Premium Brand full spectrum Calendula Flower (Marigold) 60 capsules.  I placed an order right away.  Right now I don’t know if it was the marigold flower that helped my back or the NSAID that was unlisted in the product but I guess I’ll soon find out.

I left the apt just before 3pm and walked to the mall.  At Cine Colombia I soon received a text from Glenn that James was tied up in San Antonio station and I should just buy 2 tickets.  I bought 2 seats for the platinum theater for 22,800 each.

Glenn showed up at 3:30, had a hot dog while waiting and had my platinum bucket filled with salted popcorn.

The seats were front row but they weren’t as umcomfortable as you might imagine because the chairs recline.  I enjoyed 1917 (8.6) quite a lot, best movie I’ve seen this year (so far).

After the movie we went downstairs to Todo Fresa where he had a chocolate latte and I had a mango juice.  We finally left at 7pm and I stopped at Exito to pick up milk on the way back to the apt.  

Teresa wasn’t there and I called her after I changed clothes and she invited me to go for pizza.  I was still feeling pretty full from the popcorn and I didn’t want to change clothes again so I declined.

Teresa returned about 9pm.

10,344 steps today.

Joke of the day

A park ranger was warning some hikers about bears.  “Brown bears are usually harmless,” he says.  “They avoid contact with humans, so we suggest you attach small bells to your backpacks to give the bears time to get out of your way.  However, grizzly bears are extremely dangerous.  If you see any grizzly droppings, leave the area immediately.”

“How do we know whether they’re grizzly-bear droppings?” asked a hiker.

“Easy,” replied the ranger.  “They’re full of small bells.”

Friday, January 24, 2020

Last night I took a whole Zopiclona and and went to bed at 10:45.  I woke up once about 5am, just catnapped after that finally getting up at 6am.

After breakfast I went back to bed and rested from 8am to 9:45 then watched the first hour of the Today show.

I kept waiting for Teresa to suggest we go downstairs to reorganize our storage area in the garage.

Among new US movie releases I would like to see The Last Full Measure (6.1).  Locally, I would like to see 1917 (8.6) playing tomorrow at 3:45.

After lunch she requested we wait 30 minutes, I guess to let our lunch settle.

Teresa talked to someone then informed me that she’s going to the finca on Sunday instead of Saturday.

We took a nap from 2:30 to 3:30.

Finally, about 4pm we went downstairs and spent an hour taking most everything out of the storage area and replacing it.  What takes up a lot of space are the empty boxes that she wants to keep for our next apt move.

After, I took another shower, changed into my jeans and walked to a nearby pharmacy where I bought a small container for a urine sample for less than 1 mil.  I stopped at the copy center to print out the papers to request a ballot for this year’s election.  I had a café con leche sitting outside Parva for about an hour then returned to the apt.

I measured the table and tomorrow we’re going to Mayorca to compare sizes.

I finished season 1 of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.

I finally finished watching Coco.  I started this animated film a couple months ago.  I only saw the first 30 minutes and every time after that when I inserted the DVD into the drive of my laptop it wouldn’t recognize it.  Today I tried for the last time and it finally worked so I finished it watching it.

4,368 steps today.

Joke of the day

I went to Bank of America to deposit a check, and they asked me for ID.  I said, “Are you telling me other people are trying to put money into my account and you’re telling them no?”

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Last night I took a whole Zopiclona and and went to bed at 10:45.  I woke up at 3:20, got up at 4am and took another half a Zopiclona but didn’t fall backa sleep until after 4:30, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I left the apt at 9:15 and walked to the mall.  First I printed an Illinois federal ballot request and a copy of my blood work order.

In Exito I bought 2 500g bags of granola and walked to Todo Fresa.  I completed another set of chess puzzles – only 32 more to go – while having a café con leche for 4,300 pesos.

I paid for my coffee and made a trip to the restroom.  Coming out I found my sunglasses missing from its case.  It made sense to me I would have taken them off as soon as I entered the mall but I returned to the café first because it was closer.  A man told me the cashier had them.  I picked them up with “muchas gracias” all around and made a mental note not to set them down anywhere; better to temporarily fold them over my t-shirt or put them on my head.

I returned to the apt at 11:30 and Teresa returned 10 minutes later after her two exercise classes.

We got a call at 12:15 that the furniture guys are at the guardhouse.  Yay, much better that they arrive early.

It took quite a bit of time for them to assemble the glass table using a socket wrench with an extension.

Then when they charged it to my debit card it came up as insufficient funds.  I quickly transferred some cash from my savings account to my checking account.  Then they didn’t select pesos so there was a 3.5% additional fee.  It took them some time to cancel that transaction and figure out how to charge it to pesos, not dollars.  The difference was about $61 or 200mil; better in my pocket than theirs.

The table is beautiful but it seems a little high for the chairs.  Not too bad for me but for shorter people like MT and Esmeralda it may seem awkward.  I measured them and the table is 82cm high and the chairs 48 cm.  I wonder what the height is of the original table and chairs we saw in the showroom at Mayorca.

Another problem, Teresa kept a lot of the packing materials (cardboard & plastic) for the tables and chairs.  I’m not sure where she’s planning on storing all that since the garage storage area is full.

I left the apt at 2:45 and met Juan Carlos at Otra Parte.  We went over my games with Jose and he gave me some pointers in each.  He gave me a couple Mate in 2 and Mate in 3 puzzles to solve with 7 minute time limits.  He then set up some game positions and asked me some questions such as which player is better, which of my pieces is strongest, weakest and the same for my opponent, what will my opponent try to do and how can I restrict him.  He told me he won’t be playing in the Aeroflot tournament, something about his partner not having the money.

I left with an agreement that our next meeting will probably be Saturday, February 1^st when my brother goes to a beer festival in Medellin.

I had a café con leche in Parva while solving another set of chess puzzles.

Teresa wanted to move some things down to our storage area.  First I convinced her to take a look before bringing anything down.  It is filled with stuff for Christmas and from the finca.  I did finally convince her to throw out the old TV stand since we will probably be mounting it to a wall in the future.

In the evening, on the new table, I finished the 656 Mate in 2 puzzles and texted Carlos who asked me to leave my notebook with the doorman and then he sent me some Mate in 3 puzzles.

I watched another episode of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime.

9,236 steps today.

Joke of the day

Marathon runners in China were rewarded with a gift bag after the race.  One of the goodies was a fruit-flavored bar ensconced in its pretty English-language wrapper.  In fact, the Royal Orchard bars were fruit-perfumed soap.  According to the BBC, “Witnesses report many bars of soap, all with one bite missing, dumped on the roadside.”

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Last night I took half a Zopiclona and and went to bed at 10:45.  I got up several times during the night, took another half a Zopiclona at some point, was awakened by a calf cramp at 5:30 finally waking/getting up at 6:30.  My lower back is just slightly achier then yesterday.

We still have a little light rain and the high is only 65 where it’s usually 70 degrees by this time.

I called Yahoo and with great reluctance on their part, because they wanted me to pay for their support service, the rep finally led me through their instructions (help.yahoo.com) on how to change my interface from Spanish to English.

Teresa left at 8am for her gym classes.  I left about 9:30 and walked to the gym in a light rain.  I completed all my exercises in about an hour and 20 minutes.  I ran into Marcos and he said Rob had triple bypass heart surgery.  I wonder if his health insurance pays for most of that.

At 1:30 in the afternoon it was only 70 degrees.  Love it!

Teresa returned about 11:30 while I was watching Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime (1^st month free trial version).

Teresa informed me that the new furniture is supposed to be delivered tomorrow afternoon so I have to be here to make the final debit card payment.

I left the apt at 2:15 and met Juan at Parva a few minutes later.  We worked on my Spanish for a couple hours and he left.  We plan to meet again in 2 weeks for coffee with my brother.

I stayed another hour and solved another set of chess puzzles.

Back at the apt Teresa soon returned with 2 envelopes from the doorman.  They each contained what looked like the same Real Estate document, something about the apartment and June 17^th.  She also brought 2 Subway sandwiches that we had later for our dinner.

We watched a couple more episodes of You on Netflix.

6,385 steps today.

Joke of the day

Mrs. Dunn’s son, Timmy Dunn, had left Ireland for America, never to be heard from again.  She discovered that Mike O’Malley was leaving for America and asked Mike to look for Timmy and tell him to write to her.  Well, Mike looked for Tim everywhere he went, asking many a man whether he was Timmy Dunn, but to no avail.  Then one day in a men’s room, a man walked out of the stall.  Mike asked him, “Are you Dunn?”

The gentleman said, “Yes.”

Mike replied, “Well, why don’t you write to your mother?!”

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Last night I took half a Zopiclona and NO Trazadone and went to bed at 10:45.  Probably because of the hot oatmeal I had for dinner I got up at 1am, 3am, took another half Zopiclona and returned to bed, got up again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 6:45.  

Despite all that I still felt pretty good and my lower back pain hasn’t returned.

I left the apt just before 8am with Teresa who was heading for downtown Medellin to pick up her cancer medicine for the month. 

I had the 10mil breakfast at Habia Una Vez and Jose showed up about 8:45.  We chatted a bit then went upstairs to the food court.

I had White in the first game and I played The London System.  On the 16^th move I missed an opportunity that would have had me up a knight with a superior position and I eventually resigned on the 63^rd move.

I had my usual BBQ chicken nuggets from Frisby and Jose had a burger.

After lunch I had the Black pieces and I didn’t play the Dutch Defense well and I resigned on the 27^th move.  Sigh!  After a 5-game winning streak I’ve now lost 2 in a row.

I went downstairs and had a café con leche in Todo Fresa.  Teresa called me and informed me that it was pouring outside aand that I should stay put.  I solved another set of chess puzzles and left the café.  At the mall entrance I could see it was pouring, our first rain in weeks, but I walked back to the apt anyway.  The streets were like creeks and I returned to the apt soaked from the knees down.  The rain was tapering off as I returned.

Teresa returned about an hour later.

The new renter of the finca is eager to move in so Teresa is going to have to go there this weekend, probably Saturday, to get things ready.

I finally talked her into seeing the first episode of You and now she’s hooked.  Now I only have to get her through the first season and a few episodes in the 2^nd and she’ll be caught up to me.

5,650 steps today.

Joke of the day

My wife caught me standing on the bathroom scale, sucking in my stomach.

She laughed and said, “That’s not going to help.”

“Sure it will,” I replied.  “It’s the only way I can see the numbers.”

Monday, January 20, 2020

Today is my 7^th anniversary here in Medellin.  Happy anniversary to me!  Okay, party’s over, back to work.

Last night I took half a Zopiclona with 3 Trazadone and went to bed at 10:45.  I got up once about 1am, took another half Zopiclona and returned to bed, got up again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.  I’m about ready to give up on the Trazadone.  I’ll ask my new doctor about it this afternoon.

Oh, I see today is Martin Luther King Day in the States.

Teresa left at 9:15 for a quick gym workout returning at 10:15.

We left the apt at 11:15 and arrived at Luz Naranjo’s office (Torre Salud y Servicios, Ciudad del Rio, Calle 19A #44-25, Officina 2401, (317) 620-4480)) by 11:40.  We were taken into her office about 12:10.

I gave her a list of the medications, vitamins and supplements I’m taking and a spreadsheet showing my blood work results for the past 15 years.

I asked about the Atorvastatina that I’m taking causing flatulence and she said it’s common with all high cholesterol drugs. 

She said I need to stop taking the Dololed (marigold flower) because it’s not as pure as they advertise; it contains an ingredient that is an anti-inflammatory drug that can damage the kidneys.  Yikes!  And she didn’t have any replacement which means I will soon be back to pain and weakness for the 1^st 90 minutes every day.

I asked for an English speaking doctor to check my hearing and and an English speaking Urologist.  She texted me the names of an Otolaryngologist (ear/nose/throat) named Dr. Ignacio (311 733-5995) and Urologists, Dra. Juana and Dr. Juan Carlos Castaño (315 572-0750).  She said I could use Whatsapp to contact the hearing doctor but Teresa would have to call the Urologist as their receptionist doesn’t speak English.

She checked my umbilical hernia and told me it isn’t deep and as long as it doesn’t get bigger and there isn’t any pain I’m okay for now.

I showed her my colonoscopy and endoscopy results from 2005 and since I have no family history of colon cancer I don’t need another one.

I mentioned the occasional arthritis in my wrist, thumb and hand.  I told her about my shoulder discomfort since September 2^nd and she checked its range of motion and told me not to lift anything heavy or raise my arm for exercises until it heals completely.

I mentioned my sleep problems due to my enlarged prostate and that I’ve tried Trazadona but it doesn’t seem to be helping so I’m going to stop taking it.  I mentioned my throat phlegm and nose congestion but she had no answer for that.  I also mentioned the strange sensation of hot air blowing on the inside of my left calf but she had no answer for that either.

She gave me a mini physical and noticed a slight swelling in my ankles so she wants my thyroid checked.

She wrote up a list of things to check for in a blood test and hopefully nueve eps will pay for it.  When I get the results I’m to text a copy to her.

The office visit only cost 100mil and we quickly caught a taxi back to La Buena Mesa where we had the menu of the day at Asados Rogelio.

We returned to the apt and at 2:30 I walked to Otra Parte and met Juan Castro for another chess lesson.  I learned that tonight he should find out if his team is going to the Aeroflot chess tournament in Moscow next month.  I understand he may be buying an apt in Sabaneta in September or October; he mentioned putting 20% down and paying the loan over 15 years.

After, I had a couple chess notes printed then stopped at Parva for a café con leche while solving another set of chess puzzles.

I returned to the apt about 6pm.

On the news, how timely, we heard that Dololed (marigold flower) contains an unlisted ingredient Diclofenaco (an NSAID) which can cause heart damage.  Well, that seems to confirm it.

I watched another episode of You on Netflix.

I don’t thing we even reached a high temp of 80 degrees today.  Until the weekend we’re supposed to have highs between 75 and 80 degrees, much cooler than usual.

5,212 steps today.

Joke of the day

During World War II, my father often found himself with KP duty.  One day, convinced he could improve things, he told the head cook, “If you give me a paring knife, I could peel these potatoes faster.”

The cook turned slowly to my father and said, “Son, you’re in the Army.  You have plenty of time.”