Friday, July 14, 2017

Last night I took 2 drops under my tongue (besides spilling other drops on my beard and shirt) and Teresa and I went to bed at 10:30.  It took me about an hour to fall asleep but I only got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 8am.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and then left for the gym.  Today workmen replaced the 6 TVs in front of the treadmills with new LG 49” Digital Signage TVs.  I congratulated Jose on his birthday (he turns 36 tomorrow).  I did my exercises, including 5 minutes at speed 4 on the treadmill, in an hour and 45 minutes.

The guy I saw selling newspapers on the corner was gone as I walked back to the apt.  The guy I usually buy my newspaper from at a stand also wasn’t there.  I did find one guy holding a Q’Hubo newspaper in a see through plastic bag that I bought the last one from.

Among new US movie releases, I would like to see War for the Planet of the Apes (8.3) and Chasing Coral (8.3).  I think Teresa might like to see Wish Upon (4.6).

Locally, Wish Upon (4.6) is playing at El Tesoro at 4:30 and 9:50pm.

Teresa tells me she wants to go to Parque El Salado on Sunday.  Her mother hasn’t seen it before and I think Teresa just wants to pick up chicken from Frisby to take there for a picnic.

I completed a couple more lessons on Rosetta Stone.

For 30 minutes I tackled puzzles on Chess Magnet School and was promoted to Earl (#5/21).

I finally caught a repeat of the 1^st episode of Westworld; now I’ve seen all of the 1^st 2 episodes.

Laura came back from the dentist and announced that she’s getting her braces off next month.  But she will have to wear a retainer.

Teresa told me she wants to go to Santafe de Antioquia again tomorrow to work on her tan.  I told her it was fine with me.  Of course it depends on it being a sunny day tomorrow.

T-shirt of the day: You think I’m condescending?  Do you even know what that means?

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Last night I took my drops at 10:30 and we went to bed at 10:45.  I think it took about an hour to fall asleep.  I woke up once at 4:45, and woke/got up at 8am so it wasn’t a bad night.

I watched the first 90 minutes of the Today show.

I left the apt at 1:20 for the 2:05 showing of The Circle playing at Oviedo.  When I got there I found it wasn’t playing there any longer so their website was incorrect in still listing it.  (It probably changed yesterday.)  They didn’t have anything else playing that I was interested in although I see Dunkirk, Planet of the Apes and something called Norman are all coming soon.

I took an elevator downstairs to Carulla to see if they had any lemons.  They had a display with a line of yellow/orangish things in front of a sign that said “limon de Tahiti”.  Hmm, maybe they’re some kind of foreign lemons?  I moved the lemons away from the sign and the lower half had a picture of green lemons so the signs weren’t in line with the product.  I did find a small bottle of what might be lemon juice or might be lime juice but I took a pass.

I stopped at their Citibank ATM and again I received all my bills in 20s.  Enough already!

I checked Cueva de Quesos but they didn’t have any bagels today.

I walked across the street to Santafe mall but they didn’t have anything good playing at their theater.  Downstairs I checked the Jumbo store but they didn’t have lemons.  I did pick up a Heinz Picnic Pack with bottles of ketchup, mustard and sweet relish.  I also picked up a 600ml bottle of Coke to have with my Fritos later.

I waited outside for 10-15 minutes for a Sabaneta bus that was standing room only.  Soon someone got up right next to me and I got their seat.  Traffic was heavy going through the construction area of Envigado.

I was back at the apt by 3:15.

I watched an episode of Mayday I hadn’t seen before and ate my bag of Fritos and drank the bottle of Coke.  Then I watched some of last night’s ESPYS.

I spent 30 minutes on Chess Magnet School puzzles and was promoted to Duke (#4/21).

I completed Unit 14 in Rosetta Stone.

T-shirt of the day: Light travels faster than sound.  That’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Last night I took my cannabis drops at 10:20 and we went to bed at 11:05.  I think I fell asleep pretty quickly but got up twice later in the morning.  I woke up again at 7:10, fell back asleep, and woke/got up at 8:15.

I tried to update my blog but I couldn’t get into Blogger.com.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show.

I picked up an adn newspaper on my way to the gym.  I did most of my exercises plus a 5 minute walk on the treadmill at speed 4 in 90 minutes.  The gringo Charles (from Pittsburg) is back and this time is with another gringo named Ron (from Washington DC).  On my way back to the apt I observed a man repainting the concrete chess boards.

A week or two ago I saw men digging a hole across the street which they then blocked it off with wood.  At 1pm men installed a very tall new telephone or electric pole into the hole.

At 1:30 the delivery men arrived with Laura’s new desk.  It just barely fits into the space at the foot of her bed.  We hadn’t been able to find her a decent chair so in the meantime I loaned her one of the chairs from my chess table.

About 6pm Laura and I left the apt so she could buy a mop for her mother in Exito.  I stopped in Citibank and made a withdrawal and then met her in Exito.  Besides the mop we bought tomatoes, mangos, milk and a package of Quaker cookies.

I received an email that my American Chess Magazine has shipped.

When I remembered I hadn’t read the adn newspaper I found that Teresa had already read it and thrown it out.

I made a new batch of iced tea.  This time I used a scoop to apportion half of the tea into the pitcher and saved the other half in the refrigerator.

I completed a couple more lessons in Rosetta Stone.

I practiced for 45 minutes on Chess Magnet School and was promoted to Count (#3 of 21).

T-shirt of the day: There’s a name for people without beards.  Women.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

We went to bed early last night – 9:45.  I took my cannabis drops and after some time trying to sleep I looked at my watch and it was midnight.  Not sure if I slept much in that 2+ hour interim.  I fell asleep quickly after that but got up 3 times during the night.  Sigh!  I finally woke up at 7:30 and got up at 8am.

I watched the first 90 minutes of the Today show.

In Chess Magnet School there are 21 titles and I started out with the lowest title, that of Squire.  I was soon promoted to Baron.

Laura Whatsapp’d me to meet her at Deli Hoy at 1:30.  I got there just as she was arriving.  They had a nice buffet and I got some chicken, pork, and what looked like shredded pork in addition to the usual soup, salad, and juice for 11,000 pesos.

Laura went back to the apt and I went to Exito where I picked up laundry detergent, eggs, bananas, and milk.

I placed an order for a new magazine called American Chess Magazine.

Teresa came home with MT from her doctor’s appointment and Teresa and I took a taxi to the antique store area.  We checked about 4 stores and found a nice desk at La Casa del Secreto (Calle 38 Sur #36-13) for 590,000 but Teresa got them down to 450,000.  It’s to be delivered tomorrow.

We walked across the street to Gourmet Pizza where she had her pizza topped with chicken and I had their vegetarian without the mushrooms and olives.  We also got a couple slices to go for Laura.

T-shirt of the day: How fast can you guess these words? 

1. BOO_S 

2. __NDOM 

3. F__K

4. P_N_S

5. S_X

6. PU_S_

Answers: 

1. BOOKS, 2. RANDOM, 3. FORK, 4. PANTS, 5. SIX, 6. PULSE.

You got all 6 wrong didn’t you?

Monday, July 10, 2017

Last night I took my cannabis drops (actually only one) and went to bed at 11pm.  I think it took me about 90 minutes to fall asleep.  I vaguely recall waking up briefly a couple times during the night but quickly fell back asleep.  I finally woke up at 7am and got up at 7:30.  If the previous night was the best sleep I’ve had in the past few weeks then last night was the 2^nd.

I wonder if I took my sleeping pill with the cannabis, would the former get me to sleep faster and the latter keep me asleep?  First I think I’ll try taking the drops a little earlier and see how that works out.

On the news they reported that last night there was a fire at Mayorista and close to 400 of the “locales” (individual stalls) burned to the ground.  I wonder if the Euro grocery store survived?

I watched the first 15 minutes of the Today show and headed to the gym picking up my free copy of adn newspaper on the way.  Teresa was 5 minutes ahead of me because her personal trainer, Jose, was waiting for her.

I did my exercises in 90 minutes including 5 minutes on the treadmill at speed 4.  As I was leaving I noticed Sondra on one of the treadmills – wow, I haven’t seen here in weeks – I thought maybe she quit.

Back at the apt I drank my protein powder with a glass of water, took my shower and Laura and I walked down to Deli Hoy for lunch.  Today they had chicken meat roll – a first for me.  

Everything was good as usual for 11,000 pesos (about $3.75) each.

Heading back to the apt we ran into Teresa going to her massage treatment at Stella Duran.  Back at the apt I laid down at 1:10 and a couple minutes later I checked my watch and it was 1:50 so obviously I fell asleep for a few minutes.  I grabbed my bottle of water and headed to the park.  There were about half a dozen chess games going on.  Finally a set became available and I found an opponent.  I quickly prevented his king from castling and late in the middle game I sacrificed my rook for his knight and then forked his king and rook and he resigned shortly thereafter.  No one else sat down to play so I got up and checked out other games.  A couple minutes later I observed a couple guys playing at the board I just left.

I walked across the street and into the casino to check it out.  Lots of slot machines and the only other thing they have are 3 roulette tables.  They are automatic – not requiring a dealer (or whatever they’re called – croupier?).  The players sit around this octagon shaped table and push buttons like they are playing video games.

Back at the apt I signed up for a year of Chess Magnet School for $26.95 (I get a 10% discount for being a USCF member).  I took their placement test so I don’t have to go through the boring early lessons.

I finished my pitcher of tea so it will soon be time to make a new batch.

T-shirt of the day: In alcohol’s defense I have done some pretty dumb shit while completely sober too.

Sunday, July 9, 2017

So last night I put one drop of the cannabis oil under my tongue.  It didn’t taste good, kind of like medicine from the old days.  It took me about an hour to fall asleep but the good news is I didn’t wake up until 6am.  Wow, was that nice!  I’m not sure how much of that is the cannabis oil and how much is the lack of the ½ glass of water I usually drink with my sleeping pill.

One of my readers named Paul informed me that:

In spanish the word 'limón' is used to mean both lemons and limes.

I learned in Costa Rica by asking a barman what the name of the green lime wedge (the sort we gringos are used to) on the lip of my drink's glass was. He said they call that 'limón de Mesina'. (The 'limón de Mesina' tastes like those green Persian limes we are familiar with here in the US.) I had no problem asking for limes in CR after that.
If you want a yellow lemon I am thinking that you will probably have to ask for a 'limón amarillo'.
BTW, the word 'lima' in spanish means file, like a nail file (lima para uñas).

MT arrived at 9am, we left the apt at 9:15, quickly caught a taxi and were at Mall Laureles by 9:35.  The van left right at 10am, we made our usual stop at the restaurant where I had calentao and we were at the resort just before noon.  The whole downtown block is still under construction.

I swam in the pool a couple times, dried myself in a lounge chair on both sides for 5 minutes.  Later I found I had gotten a slight burn on my shoulders.  In the main I just kept to the shade as usual reading my Nook and playing a little chess on my cell phone.

We had a very nice lunch of cream of chicken soup, salad, candied plantain, chicken breast, rice, glass of fresh juice and a little dessert.

The van left the resort at 6:45, made a stop back at the restaurant and we were back at Mall Laureles by 9pm.  We quickly caught a tax, dropped MT off a block from her apartment and were back at the apt by 9:30.

Wow!  My eyes didn’t feel tired all day.  They still feel fresher than they have felt in days.

T-shirt of the day: Men have feelings too.  For example, sometimes, we feel hungry.  Now go make me a sandwich.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Well, I think I slept pretty well last night, finally waking/getting up at 9am so I’m hoping my eyes won’t feel so tired today that I need a nap.

It’s a sunny day thus far and I’m hoping it’s not going to get too hot as I plan to go to Calle 50 for my monthly/bimonthly haircut.

So far I have no internet so I stirred the tanks (disconnected and reconnected the router) and was hoping that would work.  It finally worked the 2^nd time I tried it.

I made arrangements to meet Alex for lunch after I got a haircut today.

I left the apt at 11am, waited 5 minutes for a bus, saw a lot of traffic down the street and decided to walk instead.  It was 10 minute walk to the metro and I didn’t see Herman working at his juice stand today.

Me - waiting for bus.

At the station I paid more attention to a sign that said that the J-K-L line metro cable cars are closed for maintenance for June and July.  I quickly caught a metro train and even got a seat.  I got off at San Antonio and transferred to the west line.  I got off at the Stadium station and walked to the chess league office.  They had 3 tournaments listed for August 3^rd to August 7^th: an over 2000 (expert), an under 2000 (amateur), and an under 14-years old.  My amateur tournament is listed as 7 rounds but they listed dates/times for 9 games.  Obviously it’s going to take a little more research on my part.  And the listed entry fee of 77mil sounds a little high.

I walked to The Town barbershop for my haircut.  Most of my haircuts take 20-30 minutes but of course today, when Alex was waiting for me, the guy took 45 minutes.  I paid 9,000 pesos ($3) for my haircut and walked the 4 blocks to the Floresta Station where Alex was waiting.  We walked to a small mall across from the stadium and we both had the menu of the day at one of the typical Colombian food places.  The meal included frijoles, white rice, salad, chicken breast, a slice of baked plantain, and a glass of blackberry juice for 9,500 pesos.  He gave me a small 5ml jar of Aceite de Cannabis which he says is good for going to sleep.  Just one drop under the tongue he said – we’ll see.

Alex wanted to buy a new pair of shoes so we walked a couple blocks away to El Diamonte mall.  He found a pair of bright red gym shoes for 170,000 pesos.  Outside I bought the DVDs The Zookeeper’s Wife and The Shack for 3,000 pesos each.  I bought the latter so Teresa and Laura could see it, forgetting that we saw it together a month ago.

We walked around the mall looking for a Qatar Airways t-shirt that Alex wanted.  We found it in a couple of expensive sport jerseys but he wanted it in a simpler t-shirt.  I even found a Chicago Bears jersey but the material was too warm for me. 

We left the mall and walked to the Estadio station where we said goodbye.  (It was 4pm and my right hip was getting tired from all the walking.)

At Envigado station I wanted to buy a kilo of strawberries but the guy told me he’s out.

I got off the bus at Parque Envigado and walked to a local Cosechas store where I bought a cold juice (mango, banana, and papaya) with ice cream for 7,800 pesos.

Laura informed me that there is only 198,000 pesos in her account to pay for the gym.  I showed her my receipt that proves that I deposited 200,000 pesos.  I told her she could put an extra 2,000 pesos in her account tonight or tomorrow if she thinks it’s important.  Teresa said not to worry, if there’s a problem she’ll take care of it on Monday.

The Colombian Peso closed for the week at 3,088 to the US Dollar.

Later in the evening I hooked up my laptop to the TV and we all watched The Zookeepers Wife (7.0).

If the weather is nice tomorrow Teresa wants to go to Santafe de Antioquia to work on her tan.

Teresa told me “I thought you were going to get a haircut today”!  What?  After 45 minutes in the barber’s chair and paying him 9,000 pesos, I hope he cut some hair off.   Lol.

T-shirt of the day: You can’t buy happiness but you can buy beer and that’s kind of the same thing.