Friday, March 6, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 11:15, woke up at 6:20 getting up at 7am.

Opening this week in the US is The Way Back (8.1).  I saw a trailer for Greyhound starring Tom Hanks coming out in June.



Opening here starting yesterday is The Current War (6.5).

After Teresa’s gym workout she’s going to get her hair done then they are going to look at the apt so I will be on my own for lunch.


I did my workout at Smartfit in an hour and 15 minutes.  Again on the Seated Row machine my right wrist was hurting after the first rep so I stopped.


I left the apt (noon?) and caught a bus to Poblado.  I took another bus up to Carrera 36.  About another 100 yards and I was at Las Souvlakis.  I ordered their mixed gyro souvlaki but it was only so-so, not like I remember from Athens.


I walked down the hill and quickly caught a slow bus back to Envigado, arriving back at the apt by 2pm.  Teresa returned about 20 minutes later.  She had cancelled getting her hair done because it was just too hot.  It’s another hot day today, 88 degrees, same as yesterday.


Teresa left the apt at 5pm to see the apt with her friend.


I started entering my chess tournament games in Chessbase.


Teresa called me just after 7pm and asked me to meet her at Wilson’s bar/restaurant and we would go for pizza.


I changed into jeans and met her at Bocados Bar at 7:30.  Of course, she soon suggested it would be too crowded at Antica Pizza so why don’t we stay here for dinner.  I agreed and later we each had chicken shish kebab and a mango juice for me.  I paid 46mil and at 10pm we took a taxi back to the apt (Teresa suggested it would be too dangerous to walk in the dark).


Joke of the day

UNDENIABLE FACTS
Having a cold drink on a hot day with a few friends is nice but having a hot friend on a cold night after a few drinks – PRICELESS.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, woke up with a slight leg cramp, was awakened briefly around 6 am by a persistent car alarm, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show, changed into shorts and walked to the mall.  I bought some special face SPF cream for Teresa at Medipiel and bought 2 bags of granola in Exito.


In Todo Fresa I had a café con leche while solving a few more chess puzzles.


At 12:15 I packed up and returned to the apt.


At 3:15 I walked to Otra Parte and Juan arrived at 3:35.  After spending some time searching through my files we came to the conclusion that somehow I lost my chess games for my chess tournaments and against Jose.  I have them all on paper but it still means it will take some time reentering them.


Someone called and Teresa informed me they may have found an apt for Luz Maria near our previous apt.  They will take a look at it tomorrow.


We left the apt just before 9pm and walked to the mall.  I bought 2 upper level tickets to The Gentlemen (8.1) starting at 9:10 for 11,500 pesos each.  I bought a bottle of water for Teresa, a small soda for me, and a small popcorn to share.  For my soda I just filled it with ice and an usher assisted us in finding our seats in the dark.  I smuggled in my first bottle of root beer and I poured it over the ice.


The movie was very good with lots of action although the plot was a little difficult to follow.


We got out by 11pm and we took a taxi back to the apt for the minimum fare.


9,967 steps today.

Joke of the day

UNDENIABLE FACTS
A girl is said to be grown up when she starts wearing a bra.

A boy is grown up when he starts removing it.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, got up twice during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.  It was raining lightly outside but it didn’t last long.


The morning news had a segment on the 2 months that protestors have been camped out on the front lawn of Otra Parte protesting the cutting down of trees to make way for the new Metro Plus.

MT has doctor’s appointments this morning and this afternoon so Teresa will be out most of the day.


I left the apt just before 9am, taking my umbrella instead of sunglasses.  In Smartfit I completed all my exercises in an hour and 15 minutes.  I ran into Marcos who informed me he will be visiting Arizona in 2 weeks for about a month – spending time with grandchildren.


I returned to the apt but didn’t need an umbrella either way.

I left the apt at 11am and walked to the mall.  I stopped in Exito and showed a saleslady my mouse and showed her the drawing showing a storage space for the USB receptor in the back.  She opened the battery compartment, removed the battery and slid out the USB receptor.  I was astonished and thanked her very much.  As I left, she was probably thinking, “stupid gringo”.


I went up to Sarku where I had their chicken teriyaki and a lemonade de coco for 25mil.  Seated not far away was a black gringo from Texas and we chatted briefly.


I went down to Todo Fresa where I had a café con leche and solved a few chess puzzles.  I left at 1:30 and returned to the apt.  I exchanged a few things and walkd to Parva.  (On the way I noticed that Amati café was still closed.  The other day I saw someone painting some of their wooden chairs white.)


I arrived at Parva a little after 2pm and Juan arrived at 2:30.  I told him my computer is now set up and working fine.  My lesson ended at 4:30 and I stayed a few minutes solving chess puzzles.  Teresa called me and informed me she had returned to the apt.

I walked back and showed her the trailer for The Gentlemen (8.1) and she said it looked great.  I told her it starts at 6:45 but she wants to go to the later 9:35 start.


We took a nap from 5:45 to 6:30 but then Teresa announced she’s too tired to go to the movies tonight, so another time.


On the news it was reported that Corona virus cases have appeared in Chile and Argentina so its here in South America but no cases have appeared in Colombia.


Now we’re back to Luz Maria staying here and she’s arriving tomorrow.  Teresa asked me if I knew of a cheap hotel in Envigado.  I told her the only hotel is the Arame and its not cheap.  She asked me if I would go downtown Envigado and adk business owners if they knew of a room to rent.  I said you want me to ask because my Spanish is so good?

9,871 steps today.

Joke of the day

Here are 10 rules from a father to a teenage daughter's boyfriend:
Rule One:

If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package because you're sure as heck not picking anything up.

Rule Two:

You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them for you.

Rule Three:

I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open-minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise:  You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:

I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:

It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six:

I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:

As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:

The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. . Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat!

Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chainsaws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks' homes are better.

Rule Nine:

Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless God of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:

Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home.

As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window - is mine!

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, got up once during the night, woke up again when we had a shower that only lasted a few minutes, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

According to the morning TV news, Michael Douglas arrived in Medellin.  They showed a closeup of him with the cable cars in the background.  Hmmm, the cable cars are supposed to be closed on Mondays for maintenance so I wonder when the photo was taken.


I left the apt at 8am and arrived at Habia Una Vez by 8:15.  Jose arrived a few minutes after I had ordered my breakfast.  He had breakfast also for a change then I had a 2^nd small coffee while waiting for him to finish.  At 9am we went upstairs and he won the first game with the Black pieces.  He told me he is having dental surgery tomorrow so he can only eat bland foods today.  I had my usual BBQ chicken nuggets and he just had a cup of coffee.  He won the 2^nd game with the White pieces.  He told me I played better when I was taking lessons from Juan Carlos.


He left and I wandered the 2^nd and 3^rd floors looking for a new mouse and mouse pad for my notebook.  I went down to Todo Fresa where I had a café con leche while checking the news on my phone.  I went into Exito where I found a Maxell mouse for 32,900 (about $10).  I also picked up croutons and paper towels that Teresa requested.


I walked back to the apt and dropped off my things then went to Parva where I bought a loaf of sano bread, a pastel de guayaba for Teresa and I had a café con leche while I solved a set of chess puzzles.


I opened the package for the mouse and the USB nano receptor was missing plus I couldn’t find the storage location for it they said was in the back.  Now I have to worry/bother about returning it.


Teresa sat me down for a serious discussion.  It turns out her friend Beatriz from Calle 50 has mouth cancer.  Her sister Olga and cousin will be/are visiting from the States.  The cousin says that Ana Maria and Olga can’t stay in the apartment.  Olga will be flying back to Miami next Tuesday but Ana Maria needs a place to stay, perhaps for the next 2-3 months.  After some questions I agreed to let them stay in our extra bedrooms, Olga for a week and Ana Maria for 2-3 months.


A couple hours later Teresa appears to have changed her mind; for some reason she no longer wants to allow them to stay here.   Go figure!


I watched the Super Tuesday results from 7:30 until about 8:30 when I got a low battery alert.  Joe Biden was projected the winner of 4 of the first 5 small states.

8,456 steps today.

Joke of the day

The boss wondered why one of his most valued employees was absent, but had not phoned in.

Needing to have an urgent work problem resolved, he dialed the employee's home phone number and was greeted by a child's whispered, "Hello."

"Is your Daddy home?" he asked.

"Yes," whispered the small voice.

"May I talk with him?"

The child whispered, "No."

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"

"Yes."

"May I talk with her?"

Again the small voice whispered, "No."

Hoping there was someone with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anyone else there?"

"Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman."

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"

"No, he's busy," whispered the child.

"Busy doing what?"

"Talking to Mommy and Daddy and the Fireman," came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard a loud noise through the earpiece on the phone, the boss asked, "What is that noise?"

"A helicopter," answered the whispering voice.

"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.

Again, whispering, the child answered, "The search team just landed a helicopter."

Alarmed, confused, and a little frustrated, the boss asked, "What are they searching for?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle..."Me!"

Monday, March 2, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 3:45 with a cramp in my left calf, finally waking/getting up at 7:45.

This week I will make sure everything works properly on my new notebook, back up its files to my external hard drive, remove all my files from the old laptop, then can gift it to Alejandro – if he wants it.


I left the apt at 9:40 and walked to the gym.  (I’m sure Teresa left the apt for her gym a few minuts later.)  I completed all my exercises in an hour and 15 minutes.  Six months ago I was doing the Abdominal Crunch with 140#.  I didn’t stop because it was too much weight for my left shoulder but because I couldn’t get my left arm up high enough to grab the handle.  Today I put 120# on and was able to do my usual reps with no pain.


I felt a few raindrops as I returned to the apt.


I copied a couple files to C:\documents to see if OneDrive recognizes them and automatically copies them to the cloud.


I removed a lot of programs and files from the old laptop and I backed up the d: drive on my notebook to my external hard drive.

I took a nap from 3:30 to 4:30.


About 4:30 Teresa suggested I have some dry fruit.  I asked what “dry fruit” she was talking about and she handed me the bag of pistachio nuts.  Lol.


Well, I don’t see my files in the OneDrive cloud so I checked an online video then cut & pasted the files to OneDrive.  We’ll see if that works.


I was on ChessBase and I noticed the 2 datbases I created the other day are gone.


Looking around a bit I found the files that I moved to the cloud but they aren’t on the OneDrive app on my cell phone.  Correction, they are there they just aren’t in the documents folder as I expected.


I moved another file to OneDrive and it showed up on my app as quickly as I looked for it. 

4,563 steps today.

Joke of the day

A chicken farmer went to the local bar. He sat next to a woman and ordered champagne. The woman said: "How strange, I also just ordered a glass of champagne."

"What a coincidence," said the farmer, who added, "It is a special day for me. I am celebrating." "It is a special day for me too, I am also celebrating!" said the woman.

"What a coincidence!" said the farmer.

While they toasted, the farmer asked, "What are you celebrating?"

"My husband and I have been trying to have a child for years, and today, my gynecologist told me I was pregnant."

"What a coincidence," said the man. "I am a chicken farmer and for years all my hens were infertile, but now they are all set to lay fertilized eggs."

"This is incredible," said the woman. "What did you do for your chickens to become fertile?"

"I used a different rooster," he said.

The woman smiled and said, "What a coincidence."

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 5:30 and getting up at 6:15am.

Teresa is going to a 2:30 mass in La Ceja with her mother so she will be gone most of the day.


I created a new D: Jokes folder using my February 9^th backup, I managed to copy all my chess lessons to the D: Chess folder by copying them a few folders at a time, and I copied my blogs from my February 9^th backup but had to recreate those since by copying from Blogger.


I left the apt at 8am and arrived at Ganso & Castor at 8:30.  Glenn texted me that his Uber driver was lost and they arrived 10 minutes later.


I had the acai berries, strawberries, granola with Greek yogurt with 2 café con leches for 35mil.


After solving the world’s problems, I brought up the subject of having a poker night.  They were all in.  Now we need to find at least a 4^th and better a 5^th and 6^th.


At 10:15 we decided to move to another café and it took about 20 minutes to get a check.


At Pergamino I wanted something different so I ordered a frappe caramelo for 9,700 that was quite good.


We left at 12:15 and I ordered a Didi car that arrived 5 minutes later.  I got out as usual at the stoplight by McDonald’s and walked up the hill to the apt.  They continued on Sabaneta.


I tried fixing the date on my Timex watch but no luck.  I guess I’ll have to pay a guy a few mil to reset it.


I moved my iTunes music files to the D: drive.


The OneDrive app on my cellphone has no documents or pictures (only a copy of my desktop taking up 3KB) so that’s a good sign.


I cancelled my 1Terabyte Microsoft OneDrive subscription effective 3/17/20.


Teresa called me about 4:30 and told me they were in a bus on the way back to MT’s apt and, no hurry, but I should meet them at her apt and we would go to the movie.


I arrived at 6pm we walked across the street to the mall, I recycled a pill bottle and we went to Cine Colombia.  I bought 2 preferred seats to The Invisble Man for 19,200 each that was playing in the IMAX theater.


We ordered chicken nuggets, fried yucca sticks, a small popcorn and sodas for 36mil and the latter 2 were brought to our seats just after the movie started.


We really liked the movie although the background music at the beginning and the end was quite loud.


We walked back to the apt.


I finished reading Ken Follett’s A Dangerous Fortune.

7,765 steps today.

Joke of the day

A man and his wife were in a fancy restaurant. While ordering, they noticed the waiter had a spoon in his shirt pocket, and after looking around, they observed the other waiters and busboys each had a similar spoon. So the husband says, "What's with the spoon?"

The waiter said, "Well, we had this company come in and evaluate our time management and they found that people drop their spoon 74.8% more often than any other utensil, so if we carry one with us, we can reduce the trips back to the kitchen by 3 hours per shift.

The husband was impressed. Sure enough, he dropped his spoon during dinner and the waiter replaced it with his, stating, "I'll just get another when I go to the kitchen for something else".

While ordering dessert, the husband noted that the waiter had a very thin string hanging from the fly of his pants, as did the other waiters, so the husband points out, "Hey, there's a string on your pants!"

The waiter tells him, "Not all my customers are as observant as you... the same company found that we can reduce the amount of time spent in the bathroom by 2 hours each shift if we tie a string around the end of you-know-what, and when we have to go we just unzip and pull it out with the string completely eliminating the need to wash our hands, thereby saving time."

The husband was impressed, but asked, "That's a good idea... but how do you get it back in your pants?" 

The waiter leaned close and whispered, "Well I don't know about the rest of them, but personally I use the spoon." 

Saturday, February 29, 2020

Last night I went to bed at 10:30pm, got up once during the night, finally waking at 6 and getting up at 6:30am.

I noticed my watch says March 1^st; I’ll wait until tomorrow to see if I can correct it myself.


I left the at 8am with a tight back even after taking half an Excedrin Migraine.  It was overcast with an expected high of 83 degrees.  I walked downtown and was delighted to see Carbon de Leña was open.  Why were they closed?  Did they remodel something?  Are the ceiling fans new?  I had my usual breakfast for 9,500 pesos and tipped my favorite waitress 5mil.


My back had loosened up by the time I left.


I walked across the street where I bought 2 large plastic envelopes for Teresa to keep her doctor’s notes.


In Bancolombia I had a 10 minute wait to see a cashier.  We both forgot the prefix (300) that goes before my cedula number.  She looked it up in her notes and I also had to partially fill out their financial form again.  Fifteen minutes later I had paid my bills with a little cash left over.


I walked to Todo Drogas where I picked up my medicines and vitamins for the month.


I took an Envigado bus to Envios Market where I picked up the one envelope waiting for me, a political solicitation from Mark Kelly, my bad for sending him a small donation.  Now they have my address I guess I can expect more junk mail from them.


I took an Envigado bus back to Envigado and walked to Parva where I had a café con leche while catching up on the news on my cellphone.


It was starting to warm up a little when I left, stopping at Exito to pick up some special soap for Teresa.


With the exception of recharging its battery, I spent most of the day fixing my notebook files and studying ChessBase.  I managed to move all my folders to the D: drive except Jokes, Blogs, and Chess.


Late in the afternoon Direct TV went off for a few seconds and had to reinitialize itself.  A little later I realized we lost our internet until later in the evening.

10,315 steps today.

Joke of the day

Hilarious responses to public notices:

Public notice: Prices have increased on high added sugar drinks due to the new government sugar tax.

Response: So why has Coke Zero gone up?