Saturday, July 6, 2024

Well, all day we’re in an out of bed; more in than out.

I watched another episode of 24.

Teresa tried several times to get me to eat some soup or drink some hot lemonade but I just wasn’t interested.

 I must have slept 20 out of the 24 hours.

EL ARROYO SIGNS

 

Friday, July 5, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1am, again at 4:30 (raining lightly), finally waking/getting up at 6:45. Again it’s raining but I’m pretty sure it will end soon.

Teresa has a cold and I’ve got a slightly scratchy throat.

After breakfast Teresa headed straight to bed and I was right after her. It was about 8:15 and I didn’t get up until 10am.

For lunch we had lentil soup with a couple ribs inside.

I returned to bed at 12:30 and didn’t get up until 2pm.

I changed into warm socks and pajamas and soon changed into warmer socks and pajamas. It wasn’t until about 6pm when my temperature started feeling near normal.

After my reminder Natalia texted me the date when Teresa was added to my policy – December 1^st, 2014. That’s for the US embassy interview.

For supper Teresa ordered pizza from Gloria’s.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

 

Thursday, July 4, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 6:45. It’s raining but I’m pretty sure it will end soon.

Happy Independence Day!

Playing in Cine Colombia, Viva Envigado today is A Quiet Place: Day One (6.8) at 8:30pm (I was hoping for an afternoon showtime) and Tuesday (6.6) at 3:10pm.

I left the apt just before 9am and stopped at the Bancolombia window where I waited 20 minutes to have Jimmy’s flight itinerary printed. I continued on to Parva and when Marcos didn’t arrive by 9:35 I ordered a café con leche. He arrived 10 minutes later and we discussed last week’s debate and Supreme Court ruling and politics in general. He reminded me I hadn’t given Teresa the 2^nd nut bar he brought from Madrid.

He left at 10:45 and I left at 11:15 and stopped in Ara to buy tomatoes for lunch today.

Teresa was very happy I when I gifted her the 2^nd nut bar.

Kelley was supposed come at 2pm to give Teresa a massage which is why we had lunch earlier than usual at noon. Then she called and said she’d be here by 2:30 or 3pm.

We’ve been getting a “771 Sin Señal del satéllite” message on DirectTV for months. Teresa tried calling them and got one of those automated support systems. ☹ Teresa is going to ask her girlfriend the location of their headquarters and I’ll pay them a visit. If they can’t fix the problem, I’ll just cancel our service. I Googled DirecTV and it appears they have an office in Oviedo so I’ll probably give it a try on Saturday.

I left at 2:30 and had a latte with a fresh slice of carrot cake in Eduardo Madrid while completing 3 more pages of chess puzzles in my book. It takes longer now because Noel, the instructor of my new chess class, wants me to write down the entire line of my answers and then count and classify any mistakes.

Let me set the scene for you. I’m sitting next to the window for more light and fresh air. Now when I say “window” it’s just a cutout with no glass. The eyes of someone standing next to it on the sidewalk would come up a few inches above level with the bottom of the window so it would be difficult to reach in and over and down to grab anything off my table – unless they are a contortionist. It was 4pm and I had finished my puzzles and was looking at my phone when I heard someone speak Spanish just outside the window. Not surprisingly I didn’t understand a word but expected it to be a street person asking for spare change. I turn towards the window and there’s an Army soldier in helmet, camouflage uniform, and black boots carrying a semi-automatic weapon. (Two others were ahead of him so I got a good full body look.) I said, “lo siento, pero no hablo mucho Español”. He gave me a thumbs up which I returned and he continued on his way. Weird! In 11 years here and I’ve never been approached by a policeman, so this was unusual.

At 5pm, I paid for my latte and slice of carrot cake and got 6 bagels and a slice of carrot cake for Teresa and returned to the apt.

Teresa said Kelley was here and brought her 6-month-old baby.

Troyclough resigned our game (I had trapped his queen), increasing my rating to 1598.

Teresa believes she’s caught a cold.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 5am, couldn’t fall back asleep (birds chirping outside my window), finally getting up at 5:30.

Teresa has her gym class then after eating something in Mayorca she’ll head to her art class in Envigado so I’ll be on my own for lunch.

Once my son gets his flight itinerary, I’ll call Carlos for pickup and ask if there’s a soccer game at the Stadium that week.

Colombia and Brazil both progressed out of the Copa America group stage with a 1-1 draw at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Colombia had already clinched top spot in group D, but Brazil need to avoid a loss to guarantee their ticket to the knockout stage.

A free kick for Brazil’s Raphinha resulted in an early goal at the 12-minute mark, but it was matched by Colombia’s Daniel Munoz in the dying moments of the first half to ensure a nervous second half for Dorival Junior’s men.

I see Colombia has reached the quarter finals and will play Panama on Saturday at 11pm BST. (That’s British Summer Time which looks like 5pm in Colombia.) I understand the US didn’t advance to the quarterfinals.

I left the apt at 8am and completed my workout in Smartfit. When I came out there were a few raindrops but not enough to be bothersome. We had a short shower while I was having a latte in Los Porteños. I left at 10am and stopped in Eduardo Madrid for bagels. They didn’t have any so I ordered half a dozen for pickup tomorrow afternoon and returned to the apt.

I checkmated ONEIPAMETATO1453 on the 32^nd move, increasing my rating to 1594. So close once again.

I’m watching the news and waiting to get hungry enough to go out for lunch.

I left the apt at 12:30 and stopped at the Bancolombia window where I had this week’s games printed. In Jack and Roll I had their pulled pork sandwich with fries and a Coke.

Strangely, it contained kernel corn but still was pretty good. I had to pull out the bacon and eat it first then I could eat the rest as a sandwich. The total with tip came to 52mil. Just as I was leaving I noticed a QR code for an English menu embedded in the table. 😊

I returned to the apt and exchanged a few items and took a Didi to the mall. I went up to the bank level and paid the apartment rental for July. I went to the consignacion ATM and found this sign displayed on all three.

I translated “entregar” as “deliver” but I don’t know if it means it can't take my money or it merely can't take change so it would work if I deposited an exact amount. I asked a young lady nearby that spoke English but she didn’t know either. I looked inside Bancolombia and the waiting area was full with a line to get tickets.

I went down to Urbania where I had a latte for a couple hours.

My son sent me his flight information and I contacted Carlos about pickup and inquired as to whether there will be a soccer game that week.

I went back up to Bancolombia and one ATM seemed to be working again. By the time it was almost my turn it seemed it wasn’t working again. I gave up and went to Exito where I found a working consignacion ATM and made the deposits for the gym and my (our) health insurance. I bought a few things in Exito, waited in a slow line about 20 minutes to pay, and returned to the apt by taxi.

About 8pm we had a shower but it only lasted about 20 minutes. I noticed a little more rain at 9:30 and was still raining lightly when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 9:45pm, got up once at 11:30, again at 4:45, finally waking/getting up by alarm at 6:30am. I don’t think I slept, at least well, between 4:15 and 6:30.

At 7:25 I started ordering my Uber ride and I arrived at Unicentro mall 10 minutes early. (I should remember that since kids are on vacation traffic will be milder.) Jose was waiting for me and when the mall opened we went up to Parmessano for breakfast. They didn’t have French toast, again, so we each had an egg casserole with coffee. I also got my usual bottle of water before we moved to the food court. I had the Black pieces and got an attack going against his king but somewhere my attack petered out and I ended up losing in 38 moves.

After the first game we took turns going to Santa Elena and he got a meat-filled pastry and I got a cookie with blueberries.

I had the White pieces in the second game and I messed up the opening and eventually lost in 40 moves.

I received a text from my son that he’s coming for a visit July 29th to August 9^th. He’ll be staying in Los Patios in Manila and he’ll be here for the Flower Festival. 😊

It was about 2pm and I went across the street and paid for our Direct TV service.

At 2:30 I took an Uber to Viva Envigado. I found a seat in Pergamino and had my usual granola with yogurt and acai berries with a small latte. Across the hall, the large Todo en Artes closed and Jardin Nomada is currently under construction.

I understand Colombia is playing Brazil tonight in the America’s Cup in Santa Clara, California.

Teresa called and asked me to meet her and MT at Café Perinto. I met them there and Teresa had a waffle and they each had a latte. About 5pm we walked MT back to her apt and quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

I understand Laura and Peter are in Punta Cana at Hotel Riu Republica. Must be getting a little damp with category 5 hurricane Beryl just south of them. I saw an article online, “Hurricane Beryl damages, destroys 90% of homes on island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.”

I heard some cheering at one point around 9pm so Colombia must have scored. Later I discovered the final was Brazil 1, Colombia 1.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Monday, July 1, 2024

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

Today is another holiday, this time Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

I see my SS deposit has arrived in my Capital One account.

Teresa says she needs a new pair of shoes for the gym so she wants to go to El Tesoro or Mayorca to shop for a new pair.

I left the apt at 9:15 and completed my workout in Smartfit. At Los Porteños all the outside seats were taken so I took a table outside Ganso y Castor. Three young ladies were sitting at the next table and the one with her back to me was engrossed in her cellphone. I could see she had Down’s Syndrome and I heard her say, “muy guapo” and the other girls laughed so maybe she was looking at a dating app. They guy with all the dogs came by. One at the end of the video was taking a crap and in defense of the guy he did find a nearby napkin to pick it up with.

Teresa called me and asked me to pick up Broccoli at Ara but I told her I only have enough cash with me for my latte. When it came time to pay I found I had 20mil not 12mil so I was able to stop at Ara and buy broccoli and a bag of milk on the way back to the apt.

Teresa changed her mind about shopping for shoes today. If I understand correctly she’s going to wait until Wednesday when she’s in Mayorca for her gym class.

I left at 1:45 and had a latte in Los Porteños. I heard thunder and the sky got a little dark so I consulted my weather apps and both predicted rain. I stopped at Antonio’s, as directed, and bought a half liter of coconut gelato before returning to the apt.

I’m 32% through the new chess course and I now have a new procedure for studying tactics.

For supper I had a pancake topped with coconut gelato.

Troyclough resigned our game increasing my rating to 1589.

No rain today, interesting!

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:45am.

We left the apt at 10am, walked to Ayurá station, took the metro to Exposiciones station, and went downstairs where the buses arrive. A couple of La Ceja buses arrived but they were small and filled. We finally decided to go to Rionegro again, arriving at noon. We headed straight for the same cafe, Candilejas, where we had lunch. I had their Cesar salad with a limonada de coco and Teresa had Sancocho with a beer. 

We left about 2pm and walked a 2-block radius around the main park and didn’t see anything notable. What, Candilejas is the only decent restaurant/café in town? We returned and had lattes and shared a slice of Napolean for dessert. 

We left at 4pm and stopped in the church so Teresa could go to mass. About 15 minutes later we could hear it was pouring outside. If we had headed straight to the bus station we’d be nice and dry on a bus back to Medellin. ☹ It was still raining at 4:45 when mass ended and we hustled down to the station and quickly got on a bus. Traffic was bumper to bumper coming out of town and again as we funneled to enter the Medellin tunnel. We got off at Exposiciones station and caught a train back to Ayurá and a taxi back to our apt. Still a few raindrops.

In the future I think we’ll have to go to the south terminal to catch a bus (and have seats) to La Ceja or El Retiro.

Teresa suggested a couple other pueblos to visit, Maranija (sp?) and some other 3 word place I couldn’t figure out.

It rained all evening and was still raining when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS