Saturday, November 13, 2021

Recovery Day #141!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up at midnight, again at 2am, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 2:30, did some work on the computer, returning to bed at 3:45, got up again at 6am, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to the mall. I made a withdrawal from the ATM, printed Laura’s Dec 1^st flight information then went outside to the Baloto kiosk where I paid epm (the utility bill), Direct TV and Une (wifi). Inside the mall I paid for our cellphones in the Claro store. I had to go in Bancolombia to pay the city tax on the finca but at least it went quickly. (Is it possible it is less busy on Saturdays? Ah, Monday is another holiday.) Downstairs I had coffee in Todo Fresa for a little over an hour. I received a text message that Laura and Lenny are now arriving on November 30^th instead of December 1^st. I bought a couple things in Exito then returned to the apt by taxi.

Just before 2pm I heard thunder, but it didn’t amount to anything.

The portero dropped off my package and I tipped him 2mil. It contained my October 18^th Walgreens order with Teresa’s 2 Loreal face sprays, my 2 Arm & Hammer anti-perspirant deodorants and a box of ear cleaners. Also, another chess book (shipping was $9) that I ordered the day before.

We had a downpour in the afternoon.

I contacted Carlos Betancur, the bilingual chauffer, and we can rent a van for 270mil (about $70) from his friend who will pick us (Teresa, MT, and I) up, take us to the airport, wait for their flight, then bring us all back to our apt. They will spend one night here before moving into their hotel in Poblado.

At 3:30 the downpour started.

Laura ordered Chiclayo delivery for us.

I received an update from Sheila, “Jerry had a rough night last night, his oxygen level dropped so the Ventilator is giving him 100% of his oxygen now. It doesn’t look good.”

The toilet I had repaired stopped flushing. I looked inside and the knot I had made had come undone. I turned off the water, made a new knot, turned the water back on and it was fixed. (Maybe next time I can use a staple or a paper clip for a more permanent fix.) Teresa thanked me very much! 😊

Haluk04 accepted my offer of a draw lowering my rating 1 point to 1571.

Our order arrived an hour later. The portero called Teresa and the muchacho brought it to our door. The check was 73,300 (4mil delivery) and I gave him 75mil and told him to keep the change. Teresa had added a side salad that increased the cost from last time.

More rain in the evening.

At 8:45 loud Colombian music started from somewhere in the immediate neighborhood, my best guess is from an apartment across the street. It was still going strong when we went to bed at 10:45.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 74,128  ð 79,234 ð 83,442 new cases and 1,158  ð 1,119 ð 1,128 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 2,644  ð 2,559 ð 2,513 new cases with 40  ð 41 ð 45 new deaths. Medellin has 246  ð 223 ð 253 new cases from November 12^th to 13^th. Envigado has 8 ð 13 ð 10 new cases from November 12^th to 13^th.

 

Classic Art Memes

Friday, November 12, 2021

Recovery Day #140!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, got up at 6am, did my Kegel exercises, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

Colombians, and gringos in Colombia, use the free app Whatsapp for texting. In the US I understand they use Messenger. I just noticed this Messenger message from early Monday morning from Sheila:

(Jerry is my cousin in the hospital in AZ. Dave is his younger brother, Shelia is Dave’s wife and Jim is my brother.)

“Dave talked to the nurse yesterday and Jerry is in ICU on a Ventilator. He is very critical. The nurse said with all of his health issues it doesn’t look good for him, she also said once they go on a ventilator they only have a 10% chance to survive. Dave and I are praying he can fight this. I wish they would have gotten vaccinated. Jim called and talked to Dave for awhile a few days ago. I sure wish Jerry would of taken better care of his health over all these years. Thanks for reaching out to us checking on Jerry!”

I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to Parva. I had just ordered a café con leche when I noticed Glenn texted me 15 minutes earlier that he was on his way to Los Portenos. I joined him about 10 minutes later after I finished my coffee. He was in the process of playing pinocle online so I had to wait until the game had finished for us to have our usual discussion.

Putting up Christmas lights in Envigado:

I bought 3 bags of milk and had just returned to the apt when there was a knock on the door. It was a portero with my Tigo/Une (wifi) bill. Finally, I have all I need to pay my mid-month bills.

I received an email from Nobraskja that they have a package to deliver for 40mil. I have 2 hours to leave an envelope with the portero.

Haluk04 resigned our game increasing my rating 8 points to 1572. Finally, I’ve beaten a higher rated player and with the Black pieces no less.

I found an unknown charge of $2.46 made to my debit card this past Monday. I called USAA and they said it was charged to someone in Mexico. I authorized them to cancel my debit card NOW and they will send me a new one ASAP. (Luckily, I have a backup debit card to tide me over and Wilson and Laura each owe me 1,560,000 pesos for our upcoming trip.)

Nobraskja notified me they have a new address (AGAIN?) in Florida. The old address will be good for the next 2 months as I notify everyone (that matters) of my new address.

It’s been a busy morning!

I ordered BBQ chicken wings from Go Wings. Of course, I had to switch from my debit card to cash payment. My order arrived 45 minutes later. (While picking it up in the porteria I dropped off the envelope for Envios Market.)

Teressa returned at 2:45 and I explained everything to her.

My daughter made a butt call (I prefer pocket call) but hung up as I said, “hello”. She quickly called me back and we talked for about an hour.

We hit 85 degrees today but then it clouded over. I heard a little thunder early in the evening but nothing developed.

I don’t know why but I feel like I’m peeing more than usual today. Maybe because I skipped a few afternoon Kegel exercise sessions the past few days?

I had Teresa call the porteria thinking I would tip a portero if he brought me my package but was told I don’t have one.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 76,769 ð 74,128  ð 79,234 new cases and 1,215 ð 1,158  ð 1,119 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 2,451 ð 2,644  ð 2,559 new cases with 30 ð 40  ð 41 new deaths. Medellin has  269 ð 246  ð 223 new cases from November 11^th to 12^th. Envigado has 5 ð 8   ð 13 new cases from November 11^th to 12^th.

 

Classic Art Memes

Thursday, November 11, 2021

Recovery Day #139!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once 2:30, couldn’t fall back asleep, got up at 3:30, did some work on the computer, went back to bed at 4pm, got up again (to pee) at 6:30, finally waking/getting up at 8:30.

Daniela from Inter-Col called to inform me my Pensionado Visa (M-type) has been approved. Yay! She will email me a link so I can pay for it with my debit card. Even though their website was a little clunky I managed to pay for it with my debit card - $230 or 869,400 COP.

That means the entire cost of my Pensionado Visa (other than incidentals like taxis) will be 1,347,000 + 869,400 = 2,216,400 or $592. I understand it will be another 206,000 pesos ($54) for my new cedula.

I have the advantage again against the equal rated player (1561), Haluk of Turkey. I’m only up a pawn but I have 2 passed pawns in a Bishop, Rook, and pawn endgame.

I left the apt at 1:30 and walked to the mall. I checked Cine Colombia and Dune (8.2) is playing in English with subtitles at 5:10pm. I found the other Medipiel store (just a kiosk really) down the wing towards the metro. They didn’t have what Teresa wanted either and recommended we order it to be delivered.

In Exito I picked up another package of Ultra ADs and a large package of Suave Gold toilet paper and returned to the apt by taxi.

As I entered the porteria the porter handed me a package, a chess book I ordered from The Netherlands on October 4^th. It took 5 weeks and 2 days but at least I didn’t have to go through my ship forwarding company in Florida. It did cost me about $9 for shipping, however.

Teresa called at 5pm, still in Santafe mall.

At 5:30 Teresa called me back and suggested I meet her at the mall and we’ll see a movie.

I checked online and Coda (8.1) starts in Santafe mall in 10 minutes but the same movie in Oviedo mall starts in an hour.

I made plans to meet Teresa in Oviedo and she would buy sandwiches at Subway.

I was waiting the maximum of 8 minutes for Didi to match me with a driver when it told me it couldn’t find a driver and to do another request.

I went down to the porteria and asked the porter to call me a taxi and I understood from his reaction that at this time it would be impossible.

I walked to Ave. Poblado and I just missed a Sabaneta bus. About 5-10 minutes later I was on another and was happy it wasn’t crowded and I got a seat. Of course, we moved slowly through the construction area. Teresa called and asked me to meet her at the theater. I got off a block from Ovideo and walked to the mall arriving at 6:30. At the ticket booth there wasn’t a cashier – must have taken a potty break – but we bought popcorn and Cokes with my platinum card. Back at the cashier she soon returned, I added 50mil to my card and bought 2 premium seats to CODA (8.1). (Later I learned I have an 80mil balance on my card.)

The movie was great! Teresa really enjoyed it. I knew it involved a fishing family, but I didn’t know it took place in Gloucester, Massachusetts, where Laura lives.

After the movie we walked outside and soon were in a taxi back to the apt. No construction traffic at 8:30pm.

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 74,834  ð 76,769 ð 74,128 new cases and 1,250 ð 1,215 ð 1,158 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 2,199 ð 2,451 ð 2,644 new cases with 39  ð 30 ð 40 new deaths. Medellin has 269 ð 269 ð 246 new cases from November 10^th to 11^th. Envigado has 5 ð 5 ð 8 new cases from November 10^th to 11^th.

 

Classic Art Memes

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Recovery Day #138!

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, woke up at 6am, did my Kegel exercises, and got up at 6:30.

Google has started using 2-step authorization for me to get into my gmail account which is only to access my blog. Their first notification attempt didn’t work and I had to have them send me a text message.

I received my epm (utility) bill and this month it’s up to 405mil ($106).

TheGreekLad has only 12 days of vacation remaining, so he won’t be able to put off continuing our game much longer. I checkmated my weakest opponent increasing my rating to 1552.

I left the apt at 8:20 and met Glenn with Bianca at the gas station. We walked to Los Portenos in La Buena Mesa. I had the bacon and egg sandwich with a couple small café con leches. We spent some time discussing MagicJack and how to configure it and the use of its app. At one point I asked the waiter if he knew of a place where I could print some files from my USB drive. He came back with Innova Digital at Cl. 33B Sur #43A-48. He also made a little map although it wasn’t correct. Our check came to the usual 30mil each for breakfast ($8).

Glenn left for his apt and I went to find Innova Digital. It was a longer walk than I thought, almost to Parque Envigado. They only did large printings but he directed me across the street to Papelería Fenix on the corner of Calle 33B & Carrera 44. It took a minute for me to make my request clear and I found this place was most expensive of all – 400 pesos per page. It’s also too far away so I doubt I will use them again.

I stopped at Huevo Mundo where I found a bottle of Member’s Selection (Pricesmart brand) Chunky Peanut Butter for 26,300 pesos. I also bought a couple bags of milk on my way back to the apt.

Fyi to my readers: I don’t normally friend people on Facebook I don’t know. If you read my blog, send me a comment requesting I friend you on FB and then I will accept your next FB friend request.

I made Thanksgiving dinner reservations for 4:30pm at Philly Cheesesteaks in Poblado. That should give us sufficient time to get there after the Bears 12:30 start against the Detroit Lions.

The weather here lately has certainly lived up to its title of The City of Eternal Spring; lots of days with rain and seldom a high over 82 degrees.

I just heard my Trump supporting, Covid denying, cousin Jerry is in an Arizona hospital with Covid-19 with a 10% chance of surviving. His wife didn’t want them to get vaccinated and wouldn’t call an ambulance until he passed out in the house. Damn that bitch!

Angry_horse resigned our game on the 6^th move increasing my rating to 1558. I requested a rematch, but he blocked me from any challenges.

Some months (years?) ago Teresa met a gringo named Bill from NY in Santafe mall. She just called him trying to fix him up with Vicky. He’s 58 and she’s 67 and he’s not interested.

It started raining about 4pm.

I beat Teresa in parcheesi 2 games to 1.

I had the advantage against an equal rated player then I blundered a piece. I did manage to corner his Rook so I might be able to get back into the game.

Teresa wanted a chicken burger so I went through the same struggle ordering from McDonald’s using the iFood app. First it wouldn’t accept my USAA debit card, I couldn’t get it to switch to cash, I even entered my Citibank debit card and it wouldn’t accept that. I started over and went through it all again and it finally gave me the cash option.

It took about 30 minutes to be delivered and I met the muchacho at the door of the porteria. As I was returning to the apt I saw a young lady with an iFood bag coming from the building so it looks like they are allowing deliveries directly to apts again. Hopefully, I won’t have to make trips to the porteria in my pajamas anymore.

Marcos went to the doctor today and got his catheter removed after wearing it for 38 days.

Well, it wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but I managed to get through a day wearing a moderate absorption AD. It was more obvious when I was peeing, and it was more frequent than I thought. I don’t think I’ll try that again for a while.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 73,875 ð 74,834  ð 76,769 new cases and 1,226 ð 1,250 ð 1,215 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,917 ð 2,199 ð 2,451 new cases with 38 ð 39  ð 30 new deaths. Medellin has 2,419? ð 269 ð 269 new cases from November 9^th to 10^th. Envigado has 18 ð 5 ð 5 new cases from November 9^th to 10^th.

 

Classic Art Memes

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Recovery Day #137!

Last night I went to bed at midnight, got up at 4am (it was raining), woke up at 6:30 (no longer raining), did my Kegel exercises, fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

Teresa will be taking her mother to the bank in Viva Envigado and we will probably meet up later.

I left the apt at 9:30 just after Teresa left. I walked to the mall, printed some chess notes, recycled a plastic bottle, made an ATM withdrawal, then had a café con leche in Todo Fresa. Teresa and MT didn’t show up until 2 hours later. I understood they accomplished what they wanted in the bank but it was a slow process. After I made a trip to the restroom the ladies ate a simple pastry and small coffee then did some more shopping. MT left then Teresa bought a couple pretty blouses on sale in H&M. We went across the street to La Bahia for lunch. I made a trip to their restroom and no toilet seat and no paper towels or electric hand dryer. Sigh!

After lunch we took a taxi back to the apt arriving at 3:30 just before it started raining about 30 minutes later.

I’ve noticed I’m not leaking so often when I stand up, cough, sneeze, etc. so that’s a nice improvement.

About 6pm, as I was sitting in my pajamas, Teresa wanted to go out to Chiclayo for Peruvian food but I convinced her to wait until Saturday.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 72,436 ð 73,875 ð 74,834 new cases and 1,216 ð 1,226 ð 1,250 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 2,061 ð 1,917 ð 2,199 new cases with 34 ð 38 ð 39 new deaths. Medellin has 244 ð 2,419? ð 269 new cases from November 8^th to 9^th. Envigado has 11 ð 18 ð 5 new cases from November 8^th to 9^th.

Classic Art Memes

Monday, November 8, 2021

Recovery Day #136!

Last night I went to bed at 10, got up at 4am (it was raining), woke up at 6:30 (no longer raining), did my Kegel exercises, fell back asleep, finally waking/getting up at 7:45.

At 9:15 we had a short drizzle.

Glenn got his third Pfizer shot (the booster) at Deborah Arango Biblioteca this morning.  I met him at Parva at 11:30 and we discussed where to go for lunch. I suggested Los Porteños for croissant sandwiches, Asados Rogelio for a Colombian menu of the day, or a new place called Robin Food across from McDonald’s. I wanted to check out the latter so we walked there but it was nothing special. We walked back to Los Porteños where he had a bacon & egg sandwich and I had the Bolegnesa sandwich. 

Their croissants were delicious. We each had a glass of fresh strawberry juice and the total with tip came to 45,650 ($14). We decided to return here on Wednesday to have breakfast sandwiches. He was in a hurry to return to the apt because he hadn’t brought Bianca with him.

I stopped in Parva where I bought a loaf of bread (pan sano) and returned to the apt.

About 4:30 we had a short rainstorm.

Angry_horse resigned increasing my rating to 1550.

Another shower just before 6pm.

Tonight, the Bears play the Pittsburgh Steelers. An opportunity to embarrass themselves on Monday Night Football unless Justin Fields makes a significant leap in his development.

We had a steady drizzle in the evening.

Well, the Bears didn’t win but they didn’t embarrass themselves in front of a national audience. They lost 29-27 which I believe is the most points they’ve scored this year. Our new QB, Justin Fields, continues to make progress as our franchise quarterback. They gave maximum effort but penalties cost them dearly. I thought I saw numerous examples of the defense lining up in the neutral zone but it appeared the refs didn’t call it until the 4^th quarter. One of the worst officiated games I’ve ever seen.

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 71,428 ð72,436 ð 73,875 new cases and 1,215 ð1,216 ð 1,226 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,999 ð2,061 ð 1,917 new cases with 32 ð34 ð 38 new deaths. Medellin has 242 ð244 ð 2,419? new cases from November 7^th to 8^th. Envigado has 14 ð11 ð 18 new cases from November 7^th to 8^th.

 

 

Classic Art Memes

Sunday, November 7, 2021

Recovery Day #135!

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, got up at 3am, couldn’t fall back asleep so I got up at 3:30, did some work on my computer and went back to bed at 4:30, took a few minutes to fall back asleep, woke up at 6:30, did my Kegel exercises and got up at 6:45.

Jack: Btw, the carrot cake from last night was delicious but Teresa considered it too sweet and only had one bite, so I had to finish it. I was a little concerned about drinking coffee that late (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t decaf, lol) and then being able to sleep but it turned out not to be a problem.

I left the apt at 8:15 and met Glenn at the gas station. We caught a taxi to Poblado and walked down to Hija Mia. As we entered, I saw a couple guys with a closed chess set. Glenn had scrambled eggs and bacon; he’s still trying to figure out how to ask for it crispy. I recommended he ask for it crujiente. I had their banana bread waffle again.

After Glenn left, I introduced myself to the guys (Andrew, Tyler, and Jorge) and I played 3 games with Arthur; I won all three fairly easily.

I took a Didi car to El Tesoro mall where I met Teresa in Zara. She bought a blouse and, despite my protestations, a pair of jeans. I don’t mind jeans with a little flare at the bottom, but I can’t stand this fashion of wide jeans from waist to cuff. Ugh!

We had lunch in Natto Bowls and I had the Hong Kong bowl again and we split a Te Hatsu. (I don’t like these teas so in the future I’ll probably just have water.)

We met Vicky outside Zara and they did some more shopping. I had coffee in Santa Leña and when they returned they had sodas with lemon juice. Vicky’s English is pretty good and we had several conversations.

When it was time to leave Vicky offered to give us a ride to Oviedo which we accepted. We walked to the movie theater and as she led us down to the S1 parking area we discovered a MerkePaisa grocery store with a large, interesting café. (There might be some interesting places to explore down in these sub basements.) At Oviedo, with the help of a security guard, we quickly caught a taxi to Envigado. Traffic was heavy leading me to believe we would have been better off leaving from El Tesoro so we could get further south before coming down to backed up Ave. Poblado. At one point I asked if Monday was a holiday and when Teresa said “no” I said, “isn’t every Monday a holiday in Colombia” and the driver got a good chuckle.

I received another response from Didi after I asked how to cancel a trip from my app (again translated from Spanish):

I inform you that so that you can cancel your request, once the member has accepted the tour and after 20 minutes I did not arrive or you could not take the request, you can slide the screen up, you will find an icon that says "cancel" click , a list of reasons why you could not take the request will be displayed, you select one of them and at the bottom you confirm the cancellation. Remember that you can cancel for free in the first 5 minutes after the service has been accepted by one of our partners, or 20 minutes after waiting for the driver. If for any reason you cannot wait the 20 minutes, contact us so we can collaborate.

It didn’t exactly answer my question but I think I figured it out.

I had purchased a can of Glade but the drops don’t dissipate in the air, they just rain down on you. ☹

 

The New York Times’ 7-day average of new daily infections and deaths has the US with 71,617 ð 71,428 ð72,436 new cases and 1,206 ð 1,215 ð1,216 new deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of yesterday, Colombia has a total of 1,978 ð 1,999 ð2,061 new cases with 39 ð 32 ð34 new deaths. Medellin has 212 ð 242 ð244 new cases from November 5^th to 6^th. Envigado has 13 ð 14 ð11 new cases from November 5^th to 6^th.

Classic Art Memes