Monday, March 6, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

We obviously had some rain overnight.

I beat Troyclough again for 4 wins in a row; getting my rating back up into the high 1500s.

Teresa informed me we’re out of eggs and she wanted me to buy a large box of our favorite brand in Exito. I told her I’d buy a small box in Mercado Madrid and a large box in Exito tomorrow. Then she tells me were out of vanilla extract. It would be nice if she would tell me when we’re almost out of things.

Teresa left at 9am for her gym class.

I left at 10am and bought a small carton of eggs and a bottle of vanilla extract in Eduardo Madrid. Back at the apt I dropped off the groceries and walked to the Bancolombia window in La Buena Mesa. I made a copy of Maria’s complete SSA-7162 form but unfortunately the woman couldn’t find the Social Security address I had on my blue USB drive in a Word file. ☹ Maybe it’s time to throw that drive away. I had a large latte in Los Porteños. Next door is the restaurant Emmelia Gastrobar and next to that there is construction on the 2^nd floor. I heard what sounded like a grinder and at one point saw large sparks fall on the sidewalk. Good thing no one was walking by at that moment. About 11:30 I returned to the apt.

I couldn’t find the word file on the blue USB drive either. I recreated the file and copied it to both my blue and my black USB drives.

I emailed my 2022 1099s to my accountant in Virginia.

Teresa and I had a 30-minute nap after lunch.

I left again about 3pm and this time the lady at the Bancolombia window was able to print the page from my blue USB drive. I bought a sleeve of 6 sesame seed bagels at Eduardo Madrid. I had a small latte in Los Porteños and left just before 5pm for Envios Market. Nobraskja asked where I bought the bagels as her husband likes them. Now I know she’s married. There was some inconsistency as to the proper zipcode for Wilkes Barre PA, what I had and what Fed-Ex had. It took a little searching to discover Fed-Ex’s address appears to be a call center so mine was correct. Nobraskja gave me an envelope (St. Jude donor request), a 2023 Medicare booklet, and a New in Chess magazine (issue 2023 #1). The envelope said my subscription is paid up through issue #8. It cost me 130mil ($27) to Fed-Ex the 2 pages to SS and they should arrive by Wednesday.

I went across the street to Otra Parte where I had a latte and started reading my magazine. I left just after 6pm. I was crossing a side street just after a taxi turned in front of me and he stopped and started moving in reverse. I yelled at him to be more careful but he wouldn’t even look at me.

I watched another episode of The West Wing.

 

Today I got in 5,010 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once during the night, finally waking at 6am and getting up at 7:15.

I ordered a Didi and after they dropped me twice I finally got my ride to D’Andre restaurant. From there it was just a 2 block walk to Pergamino café on Calle 12.

Glenn arrived 5 minutes later with Bianca. We had coffee outside but then felt some raindrops so we moved inside and took a booth in the back. I brought up the subject of the Proof of Life form and he reminded me we don’t have to worry about that because we gave them a US address. We each had their French toast with a couple lattes (for me) and Capuccinos (for Glenn).

We shared a taxi back to Envigado. I got out across from Mercado Madrid where I bought a bag of granola and a container of laundry detergent.

I confirmed I had the right Proof of Life form, SSA-7162-OCR-SM, and the correct address for MT:

Social Security Administration

Wilkes Barre Data Operations Center

Attention: FEQ Analyst, FEQ Forms 7161-7162

1150 E. Mountain Dr, Room 341

Wilkes Barre, PA 18702-7997

Tomorrow I’ll have Envios Market Fed-Ex the form to Pennsylvania.

At 5pm the transit police returned to Ara but the drivers of the illegal cars took their time moving their vehicles. I didn’t see the police writing tickets or anything, only blowing their whistles and sounding their siren.

I watched more episodes of The West Wing. I googled actor Ron Silver because his teeth looked fake (too perfect and white) and I learned he died of cancer of the esophagus in 2009. ☹

 

Today I got in 1,539 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Saturday, March 4, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once at 2am, finally waking at 5am and getting up at 7am.

Teresa says we had a little rain overnight and I see a few wet spots on the sidewalk across the street.

She’s going to Viva Envigado to buy a new sim card for her cellphone and if all goes well she’ll get her old number moved to it. If I don’t hear from here then we’ll meet for lunch at 1:30 at La Bahia.

At 8:45 I took a Didi to Daniel’s barber shop where I got my annual (just kidding, monthly) haircut for 45mil and I tipped him 5mil. I took another Didi to Todo Drogas where I bought my medicine, vitamins and supplements for the month for 389,100 pesos ($80). I walked 3 blocks to a tienda naturista where I bought a bottle of 90 Omega3 capsules for 26mil. I walked to Viva Envigado where I made an ATM withdrawal using my Charles Schwab debit card.

Downstairs I had coffee in Urbania, lots of seats available this morning.

I left at 1:15 and walked across the street from the mall. Here’s the latest photo of the Ikea construction.

Difficult to tell if the surface under the tarp is concrete blocks or some type of tile, probably the former.

I arrived in La Bahia by 1:25 and the ladies didn’t show up until 1:50pm. We all had their lunch of the day. This would have been a good time to get MT’s signature but I hadn’t brought the government papers with me. I did ask her if she sometimes gets mail from the US government. Answer: yes. What do you do with it? Answer: She gives it to me or throws it away. When was the last time you received mail from the US government? Answer: I don’t remember. Years, right? Answer: Yes. I asked her if she has been receiving her Social Security payments? Answer: Yes. What day do you receive them? Answer: The 4^th day of the month. Today is the 4^th, did you receive them today? Ans: No.

I returned to the mall and went up to Santa Leña for coffee. I took a table in the back and it was 20 minutes before a waiter found me. I had a latte with a slice of carrot cake.

When I left I went into Exito to buy a few things. In one aisle a woman asked me to help her. There was one last roll of (very cheap) toilet paper on the upper shelf and she couldn’t reach it. I couldn’t reach it either until I took a bottle to extend my reach and even then I had to jump. I ended up scrapping the inner part of my arm a bit. Shoot, they were out of Heinz BBQ sauce so I just bought half a dozen gala apples and a bag of milk and returned to the apt (after a 15-minute wait in line) by taxi.

Teresa called me about 5pm and asked if I could pick up her and MT at her apt and we’ll go to the Ultima Estacion for supper. We agreed on 7:30. We arrived at the restaurant and there was  line to get in and another line for take out orders. We ordered shish kebab to go and took them back to MT’s apt a few blocks away. After we finished eating I had MT sign the SSA-7161 form.  By the time we left it was raining lightly and we returned to our apt by Didi.

 

Today I got in 7,186 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Friday, March 3, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, woke up briefly and heard Teresa and Laura talking and lots of sneezing, got up once during the night at 3am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

My cold is better this morning, let’s hope that continues for the rest of the day.

Teresa left at 8:45 for the gym then she’s going to get her hair done so I’ll be on my own for lunch.

I left at 9:30 and walked to the mall, running into Chris Cojeleas on his way to the gym. He informed me he has access to Cuban cigars. I recycled a few plastic bottles, picked up a Gente newspaper, printed the government forms, and scanned my 1090s to my USB drive. There were no tables available in Urbania so I had a latte in Santa Leña. I then had a great idea. I texted Teresa that I was going to an afternoon movie.

At 1:30 I bought a preferred seating ticket to Women Talking (7.0) for 17,500 pesos ($4). Upstairs I bought a medium BBQ roast beef sandwich to go and stuffed it in my tech bag. Back in Cine Colombia I bought their smallest popcorn and soda for 14,900 ($3.50) which came with a small chocolate bar.

In the theater I was 5 minutes early so I had just enough time to eat my sandwich before the lights went out. The movie was okay, nothing special. I saw a coming attraction for Armageddon Time (6.5) which arrives in 2 weeks.

 

This is my Facebook thread about opening a Capital One account:

Me: Anyone here open a Capital One account from Colombia?

Jan: I opened one from Mexico. To finish opening the account I had to phone them and verify. Pretty easy.

Me: And what address did you use? MX or US?

Carole: Use a VPN and it shouldn’t be a problem.

Jan: You have to tell them what they want to hear. They want a US mailing address. They will not allow a foreign address. We used a virtual mailbox address from Traveling Mailbox.

Me: I’m more concerned if I can be up front that I live in CO and not the US.

Jan: They will want a US phone number. I have a google voice number and it works with all my banks. Now I did start with a Capital One credit card which I had when I lived in the US. That helped for sure.

Warren: Yeah, you just have to call, they send you a link to submit your ID, and done.

I think I’ll set up a one-month subscription to a VPN, use my ex’s address (which matches my driver’s license), and give them my MagicJack phone number.

My CS Travel Notice for 3/3/23 – 3/16/23 has been accepted.

Well, my every other day experiment for drinking Badia tea to avoid constipation has failed so I’m back to drinking it every day.

Teresa told me Laura messed up her cellphone and today Teresa asked someone at the beauty shop to help her with it and she screwed it up even worse.

Teresa had to borrow my phone to call Esmeralda, order pizza and I had to go to the porteria to wait for it because the porteros couldn’t call her number.

My cold was much less troublesome today, mainly just nasal congestion.

The two government forms, SSA-7161-OCR-SM and SSA-7162-OCR-SM, it isn’t clear what their purpose is. I had to google Proof of Life to discover the difference between the two.

 

Today I got in 5,272 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Thursday, March 2, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:30, got up once during the night, again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

Laura left early like 8am.

In Cine Colombia a new release is They Speak aka Women Talking (7.0) with showtimes at 2:10, 5:15, and 7:50.

Teresa asked me to buy Dersa 1A abrasive cleaner in Ara on my way back from coffee.

I left at 8:45 and had a latte in Los Porteños while redoing my cruise notes. Strangely, I couldn’t find the Fri-Mon Sept. 8-11 cruise but only a Sept. 11-14 cruise. Teresa texted me and asked me to buy 6-7 apples in Ara. Brit came out with a young lady and at one point put his arm on her shoulder so I guess he’s got a relationship going. A young man pulled up on a Harley, a real American looking hog, he was wearing a bomber style jacket with what appeared to be (NOT) dog tags hanging from his neck.

I left at 10:45 and ran into Marcos and his girlfriend coming out of Ara. I looked inside for the 1A bathroom cleaner but they didn’t have that or any other brand name. There was a long line so I wasn’t going to wait for just apples.

Back at the apt I found the Fri-Mon cruise. It appears the ship sails Fri-Mon then Mon-Fri. No wonder they call them 3-day and 4-day cruises.

The massage girl put her bottle of gel on my chess table and now there appears to be a permanent stain. ☹ I managed to rub most of it out.

The US government is restarting Proof of Life enforcement this year starting with SS numbers ending in 00-49. That excludes me but Teresa’s mother falls within that range so I’ll print out the forms for her to sign.

I watched more episodes of The West Wing.

My cold is breaking up in my nose and throat.

I’ve won the last 3 games against Troyclough finally putting some distance (in rating) between us.

Laura’s flight tomorrow is something like 5am. She talked about us going to Chiclayo for her last dinner here. She ended up inviting family (Daniela and MT) but for some reason Teresa doesn’t want to go and she won’t answer Laura’s calls. Interesting!

 

Today I got in 1,531 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, again at 5am, finally waking/getting up by the alarm at 7 am.

I left the apt at 9:30 and set up my laptop in Parva. Marcos arrived at 10am and showed me an article that said the best day to book flights is Sunday night. I decided to record the price every day and grab a flight if I see the cost come down.

I left at 11:30 and returned to the apt. I asked the porteros about using the pool and I understand it’s open every day from 9am to 9pm but I have to wear a swimming cap. Luckily, I have one. I’ll give it a try as soon as my cold goes away.

Capital One: There are no fees to open, keep or use your Capital One 360 Checking account, or for foreign transactions. 

If I open an account I wonder what address I would use. One in the US (my ex-wife’s or brother’s) or my Colombian address?

I posted on Facebook group Medellin for Non-Jerks asking if anyone here has opened a Capital One account from Colombia. I got some responses but I’ll wait until I think I have all of them before posting the thread.

I watched more episodes of The West Wing.

Laura returned at 8pm. I understand she’s learned how to “do nails” so maybe she’ll make that a part time job back in the US.

I guess the iPhone experiment is over as Laura spent some time trying to move Teresa’s sim card from the iPhone back to her Samsung phone.

The occasional but consistent dripping of my nose prompted me to stuff toilet paper up both nostrils. Tomorrow should be better.

 

Today I got in 1,695 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:15, got up once during the night, waking/getting up at 6:30 am.

Last night my cold returned. Soon after I went to bed my nose started dripping so I got up and stuffed a piece of toilet paper up each nostril. When I got up, I also took an Excedrin Migraine to clear my head and my cold seems to have improved slightly.

I walked to the mall and met Jose at Habia Una Vez at 8am. We had their complete breakfast (18,900 pesos) while I told him about my daughter’s upcoming wedding and my plans for us to visit Madrid and Athens.

We went upstairs and I had White in the first game and on my 29^th move I sacrificed a piece and got a strong attack on his king and queen and he resigned on his 34^th move. H received a phone call and then informed me he had to leave.

I went down a level, used my USAA card to make an ATM withdrawal, paid the apt rent, health insurance and gym membership with lines at each spot.

I’ve had it with Charles Schwab and their Travel Notices; I’m going to investigate getting a Capital One account.

I decided to have a real lunch but there were lines almost everywhere. I ended up ordering a rib sandwich from Q’Bano for 20,900 and bought a bottle of water at another restaurant.

I bought a pack of 12 250ml of Coke in Exito and returned to the apt by taxi.

I realize I forgot to pay the annual gym maintenance fee of 89mil. I’ll take care of that next time I return to the mall, no later than Friday.

I watched more episodes of The West Wing.

A Facebook post said Viva Air went out of business today.

 

Today I got in 3,784 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics