Monday, March 13, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:45, got up once at 2:45, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

It started drizzling again. I’d like to go to the mall but I’m not excited about walking in the rain. Either I walk there with my large umbrella, take a Didi, or just hang around La Buena Mesa today.

Teresa left at 8:15 to take her mother to El Tesoro for a doctor’s appointment.

It was still lightly drizzling when I left the apt at 9:15 (with my large umbrella) and I walked to Parva where I had a café con leche and a pastel de arequipe. Jose texted me he won’t be able to meet me tomorrow for chess.  I left about 11:30 in just a few raindrops.

Wow, the sun came out! We’ll see how long that lasts.

I left the apt at 2:45 and walked to the mall. I went up to Cine Colombia and inquired as to which theater is playing Fall of Flight 461? I was told theater 9. I went there and this is the electronic movie poster. (I thought there is a special name for movie posters but I don’t remember what it is. I checked broadsheet but that’s for newspapers.)

I guess it makes sense, to save power, they don’t turn it on until just before showtime. I returned to the cashier and since he wasn’t busy, I explained my problem. Supposedly, the English translation is Flight but I can’t find it by that name on my Internet Movie Data Base app. He wasn’t able to help either. The only showtime, subtitled in Spanish, is at 8:10 so that doesn’t work for me.

I went to Claro where I paid our cellphone bills.

Downstairs I had a latte in Urbania. I made plans to go to Badia in Mayorista with Marcos Wednesday morning at 9:30. The waitress spoke a little English. I stayed about 90 minutes, gave the waitress 12mil and told her to keep the change (about 2,300 peso); that saves me from having to wait any line to pay. I stopped in a busy Exito looking for Heinz BBQ sauce but no luck again. (Maybe I’ll find it in the Euro market on Wednesday.) I returned to the apt by taxi just as it started sprinkling again.

After a little more googling I see the movie Flight originated in India and the original language is Hindu so that along with Spanish subtitles and playing at 8:10pm doesn’t work for me.

NFL free agency began today and the Bears made 3-year offers to Tennessee guard Nate Davis and linebackers T.J. Edwards from the Philadelphia Eagles and a 4-year deal to Tremaine Edmunds from the Buffalo Bills.

Today I got in 4,806 steps.

 

Regarding Adulthood

 

Sunday, March 12, 2023

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

I was just thinking if Teresa and I got married here instead of just a Union Libre that might increase her chances of getting a US Visitor’s Visa. I’ll be exploring this further. Supposedly, our interview with the US embassy isn’t until December of 2024.

I took a Sabaneta bus to Parque Poblado and met Glenn at Sweet Georgia at 9am. I had a couple lattes (included with my meal) and Glenn had a couple cappuccinos (not included with his meal and he didn’t even like them). He also ordered a bottle of water. I took a photo of the books in the exchange shelf and later I’ll check Barnes & Noble to see if any are worth reading. (Later I found 7 books that might be eye worthy.)

My check was 36mil and his was 62mil. We shared a taxi back to Envigado.

I stopped in Mercado Madrid and bought a pack of napkins and a bottle of salad dressing before returning to the apt.

Oops, it looks like the US turned their clocks ahead this morning so now Colombia is on Chicago time.

I’m trying to find confirmation of Teresa’s embassy appointment for December, 2024. I found this entry in my blog for Friday, August 5, 2022: “I received an email from the US embassy in Bogota that Teresa has an interview date for December – 2024”, but I can’t find the original email or a copy of it (screenshot) that I might have made. I finally found a photo in my cellphone gallery. So how did it get there? I think photos in text messages are automatically copied there, but emails? I’ll see if I can print it at Auros. I finally found a message in my Yahoo emails. I’ll print it also.

We left at 1pm and took a Didi to Pricesmart. I didn’t find any taco seasoning that Marcos wanted. We bought 897,102 pesos ($189) of “stuff”, including a bag of prunes. 😊 We returned to the apt by 2:30 just before a drizzle started.

Teresa informed me she has to take her mother to an early doctor’s appointment tomorrow so I’ll be on my own for breakfast.

I’m planning on applying for a Capital One checking account with debit card using the address on my IL driver’s license, but I still have a couple of unanswered questions:

1.  Regarding cellphone, do I give them my brother’s cellphone number or tell them I don’t have one?

2.  Do I set up a subscription with a VPN so they think I’m in Chicago and if so, which one can I use that hopefully has a monthly not annual fee?

Anyone have any ideas?

I watched more episodes of The West Wing.

Even though I’ve been using it all day, I noticed my cellphone battery is at 95%. I went to settings and it says I have 2D 6H left for my battery. I did a restart and now it says 34%. Whew, nice to see it’s back to normal.

We had a drizzle on and off all evening.

Today I got in 4,516 steps.

 

Regarding Adulthood

 

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, waking/getting up at 7:15.

I left the apt at 9:15 and walked through La Buena Mesa to Parva. I won another game against Troyclough increasing my rating to 1572 and lowering his to 1516. Unexpectedly, Jerry stopped by and I told him about the Chicago Bears trade, the Proof of Life form, and my daughter’s wedding in Athens. He recommended I not miss Museo de Prado in Madrid and that I should check on flights to Bogota on our way to Madrid.

Jerry left at 11:45 and I left soon after. We’re going to meet again next week (Saturday?) and I’ll share with him the details of my travel plans.

I picked up 2 bags of milk on my way back to the apt.

The guy renting our parking spot stopped by and gave me 90mil.

I made arrangements to meet Glenn tomorrow at 9am at Sweet Georgia.

Teresa suggested we meet with her sister Vicky tonight but when I asked for details, she finally said they decided to meet a different night.

I watched a few more episodes of The West Wing.

I checked airfare from Medellin to Bogota (round trip for 2) and it’s $81-$92. Bogota to Madrid is $2349-$2494. Being conservative (but not including luggage charges) that’s a difference of at least $174. Not sure if it would be worth the added inconvenience.

A truck pulled up in front of Ara which blocked those wanting to enter or exit the small parking area and cut off a lane for cars wanting to just pass through. For a few minutes there was a lot of honking of horns.

For supper I ordered a large order of ribs from Mu.

About 8pm it started drizzling but it didn’t last long. Oops, it started again 45 minutes later and was still raining when I went to bed at 9:45.

I think my cold is almost over. 😊

 

Today I got in 1,727 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Friday, March 10, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 10pm and got up once during the night. At 4:21am I felt Teresa shaking the bed. Then she screamed a bit and woke up from her nightmare. Only it wasn’t due to Teresa and it wasn’t a nightmare. We had just experienced a 3.3 tremblor for about 30 seconds that occurred east of Medellin in Santander. I finally woke/got up at 7:15. (Later, someone posted on Facebook it was a 5.9 tremblor that lasted 7 seconds.)

Teresa informed me she would go to the gym and we would go to Pricesmart right after lunch.

I left the apt at 9:15 and walked to the mall. In Auros I had my 1040 signature page printed, I signed it and had it scanned back to my USB drive.

I tried making a withdrawal at Exito’s Davivienda ATM but their system didn’t seem to be working. I picked up a Gente newspaper and went to Urbania for a latte. According to Gente, not everyone supports the new Parque Lleras being pedestrian only.

I left at 11:15, made a small ATM withdrawal upstairs with my CS debit card and paid our utility bill in Exito Wow!

Interestingly, Exito didn’t have any size of our preferred brand of eggs. Häagen-Dazs has returned to Exito but in limited flavors.

I returned to the apt by taxi.

Teresa informed me that Medellin (including Envigado) will be without running water tomorrow. Luckily, our building has a water tank so we shouldn’t be affected. (Later she showed me the El Colombia article on her cellphone but it’s for Sunday not tomorrow.)

Teresa is tired, probably because our sleep was interrupted last night, so we’ll be going to Pricesmart a little later.

I emailed the 1040 signed signature page to my accountant (she acknowledged receiving it) and mailed her a check.

I’ve reminded Teresa several times if she wants to go to the Greek restaurant tomorrow, she should call and make a reservation.

Now we’re going to Pricesmart on Sunday after I return from breakfast with Glenn.

Breaking News: The Chicago Bears traded the #1 pick to the Carolina Panthers for their #9 & #61 picks this year, their 2024 1^st rounder, a 2025 2^nd rounder, and wide receiver DJ Moore. 😊😊😊

For supper I ordered from Chiclayo and the food arrived faster than expected. The muchacho was from Rappi, not Chiclayo.

 

Today I got in 3,509 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Thursday, March 9, 2023

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

One of my readers recommended the series Madam Secretary (7.7).

New movies playing in Cine Colombia, Viva Envigado:

13 Exorcisms (4.4).

Maybe I Do (4.9).

Two Witches (4.9).

65 (5.7).

EO (6.8) in Polish.

Creed III (7.3).

Scream 6 (7.6).

Close (7.9) in French.

The Mummies and the Lost Ring (for children; probably Spanish only).

The Fall of Flight 461 (can’t find it on IMDB).

For the last one I’ll have to go to the theater to see what the marque has for the original title.

I arrived at Parva by 9:15, Marcos arrived at 10am. We had coffee and discussed a number of issues. Teresa left me a voice mail message to pick up potatoes at Ara. I left at 11:30, picked up a bag of potatoes and the bag of the frijoles she asked for.

Teresa had a massage from 2:30 to 3:30. After, I asked her to make me coffee and she informed me we’re out of milk. I went back to Ara and picked up 2 bags of milk and another bag of Frijoles. There was a short line but with full shopping carts and only one cashier. I then saw a cashier checking out a young man so I moved over there. I waited 10 minutes until Pablo came over to help the cashier with something and another 5 minutes for I don’t know what until I got checked out with my 3 items.

Troyclough has already made a mistake in our new game allowing me to pin his queen against his rook and his king may be a little vulnerable.

I watched a few more episodes of The West Wing.

I think tomorrow we’re going to Pricesmart in the morning.

 

Today I got in 2,353 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Last night I went to bed at 9:20, got up once during the night, again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

We received rain during the night.

Today is International Women’s Day. Because restaurants will be crowded today we’re going go out for dinner Saturday night. Teresa wants to return to the Greek restaurant Egeo in the Click Clack hotel.

MT’s envelope arrived in Pittston, Pennsylvania at 8:24am.

I made plans to meet Marcos for coffee tomorrow.

It’s an unusually cool morning, only 66 degrees at 9am.

Teresa left just before 9am for gym class and I left just after 9am for Parva. I was having a café con leche when Teresa arrived at 10am. She showed me the package of a cookie she liked, Natri’s turrones de granola, and asked me to buy her a package in Tienda D1. I left at 11:30, bought the cookies she requested and returned to the apt.

MT’s envelope was delivered to the SS office in Wilkes Barr, PA this morning at 10:21am.

I watched another couple episodes of The West Wing and Teresa received another massage.

I earned another draw against Troyclough.

For supper we ordered pizza which took at least an hour to be delivered.

My cold was better today; I think it’s nearing its end.

 

Today I got in 1,804 steps.

 

Single-Panel Comics

 

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

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

I walked to the mall, recycled the St. Jude donation request, the 2023 Medicare booklet, and a plastic bottle. Jose and I had the complete breakfast at Habia Una Vez for 20,900 ($5).

Upstairs he won both games as I blundered within the first 10 moves in both. ☹ We were done by 1:30. He left and I went to Only Roast Beef where I had their BBQ medium combo with a Coke for 29,750 pesos ($6.25). I’m not sure exactly when I realized it was raining outside but at least by the time I was in the restaurant.

It was still raining by the time I finished eating so I went to Santa Leña for a latte. Teresa texted me asking if I would buy her a slice of carrot cake in Todo Fresa. I was planning on buying a large carton of eggs in Exito but I don’t have enough hands for everything (I was carrying the tournament chess set). Buying her a slice they cut it off a new cake so it should be fresh. I had to wait in a short line for a taxi and it was still drizzline.

Teresa ate half the carrot cake and left the other half for me. 😊

I checked Fed-Ex tracking and MT’s envelope was in Rionegro (probably the airport) at 5am this morning.

My accountant has already processed my 1040 federal taxes and I don’t owe anything to Uncle Sam but I do owe $164 to her. I need to print the signature page, sign it, scan it back to my USB and email it to her.

I finished season 3 of The West Wing on MTV.

 

Today I got in 3,842 steps.

Single-Panel Comics