Wednesday, October 24, 2018

I got up once during the night and finally woke up but didn’t know what time it was because Teresa had mis-pressed my watch and changed it to the timer.  I got up and found it was 7:20.  I gave Teresa a quick lesson on how to illuminate my watch at night without pressing the “mode” button.

Teresa left at 8am for her gym class so I just had granola for breakfast at home.  Optionally, I could have gone to Carbon de Leña.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  On the way I saw workers building a bicycle parking station on our street.  Today I realized I had forgotten my water bottle.  I had left it in the freezer so I texted Laura: “I forgot my water bottle.  I left it in the freezer.  Please move it to the refrigerator.”  I still noticed some “creaking” in my left hamstring.  I completed all my exercises in 2 hours and 5 minutes.

As soon as I arrived back at the apt I checked the freezer and found the bottle was still there – frozen solid.  I explained to Laura what I had asked her to do.

Teresa got off the phone with someone (probably the agency) and informed me that I have to put 1.900.25.000 in their account today.  First I asked why not 1,750,000 as agreed and she explained that I have to pay the agency’s commission for the first month.  Then I questioned the number itself because if it’s a little less then 2 million pesos then there should be exactly 7 digits.  Then she wrote 1,90025 and I again said there has to be 7 digits.  To try to help her I wrote 1,900,025 and she agreed.  Then she had the nerve to comment “I thought you were a mathematician.”  I thought about that (the number) for a minute and then I asked her if she has 25 pesos.  She finally said 25mil not 25 pesos and I wrote 1,925,000 and she finally agreed that that was correct.  Whew!  (Now you can see why I control the finances.)

Then she tells me I have to tip the woman who rode all around looking at apartments for us.  Teresa said 10% and I wrote 192,500 and after Laura checked it on her calculator Teresa agreed.  No problem.

Teresa told me the owner said we could start moving in on October 28^th.  Since that’s football Sunday we’ll probably start the next day on Monday the 29^th.  I believe our current lease isn’t up until Saturday November 3^rd so we shouldn’t have to be in any great hurry.

I noticed the Vikings play the Saints Sunday night at 7:20.  I emailed Chuck if he would like to have dinner at Sport Wings in the mall and watch the game.  I promised I wouldn’t root against the Saints.  (Later he responded that that would be a good idea.)

I sent myself a little more than 2,000,000 pesos using World Remit.  Wow, I got 3,055 pesos for each dollar.

Laura and I left the apt about 2:30.  I was hoping the bank wouldn’t be as crowded today because it isn’t the first of the month.  As we walked inside I could only see the first row and it was empty so that was encouraging.  I took my number and when we got around the corner no one was waiting and our number was up on the screen to be served next.  I quickly got my cash and we went outside to the deposit machine.

When it came time to actually put the cash inside it reopened and gave back about 50mil and asked me to reenter it.  I guess it didn’t like the bills for some reason.  After we repeated that several times the machine cancelled our entire request, gave the cash back and we had to start all over again.

We started having the same problem again when Laura reminded me that last month the cashier made the deposit for us.  We decided to try once more and if it didn’t work we would go back inside to a cashier.  This time it worked.  To reward Laura for helping me I bought her some yogurt ice cream at a nearby stand.

Back at the apt I took a 45-minute nap while waiting for the ladies to go to the agency.

We walked down the hill to the agency where we met Wilson and I signed several pages of documents, put my fingerprint on each and they took my photo.  Wilson (co-signer?) and Teresa did the same.

We then walked up the hill to the Notary where we got some papers stamped and I paid a fee of about 36mil.

Teresa returned to the apt and I stopped at the bakery for a café con leche.  I called Chuck but unfortunately he had been there earlier.

Back at the apt Teresa told me she tipped the girl that found our apartment 100mil.  I understand she was very happy to receive it.

Teresa is already packing up stuff.  I understand she has a bag of clothes to give to her friend Ana Maria.

At 8pm Ana arrived, picked up a bag of clothes and was gone by 8:15.  Unfortunately, she arrived with a box of something and frogot to take it with her.

Teresa told me that Wilson will pay 300mil for our exercise bike.  I said “fine” as I just want it out of here.  Right now it just serves as a clothes drying rack.  Teresa called Esmeralda and she might pay 500mil but in either case they will be paying little by little.

I asked Laura when she will start her driving lessons.  She said she was waiting on me to tell her when I have the money.  I said I could pay today, I could pay tomorrow, in fact I could have paid yesterday so schedule it already.

Joke of the day

Husband takes the wife to a disco.

There's a guy on the dance floor doing unbelievable moves - break dancing, moon-walking, back flips, everything.

The wife turns to her husband and says: "See that guy? 25 years ago he proposed to me and I turned him down."

The husband says: "And it looks like he's still celebrating!”

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Well, I got up once about 3am and again about 5:30, finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I had breakfast before my shower because Teresa was meeting a woman at 8:30 to see an apartment.

I left the apt at 9am with my rollup chess board and chess pieces and took the metro to the Parque Berrio station.  I walked about 3 blocks to Club de Ajedrez at Calle 53 #47-68, 2^nd floor.  I arrived early and it was still closed so I walked up the stairs to the 3^rd floor where there was a billiard parlor.  The manager let me sit at one of their tables to wait for Jose.

Teresa called me and told me she loves the new apartment.  I understand I will be able to see it today at 5pm.

Jose arrived right on time and we talked for about 10 minutes then went back down a level to the chess club.  They have a dozen or more chess tables and we chose one and I drew the Black pieces for the first game.  We both played basically the same opening as we had previously and I soon had a positional advantage.  I managed to check his king and he chose to move it instead of trading pieces so I knew he wasn’t going to be able to castle.  Basically the entire game was played on the kingside and I kept up the attack and this time I didn’t blunder and he resigned after the 40^th move.

I had recently joined a Facebook group called Food in Medellin and one restaurant mentioned was called ReMedellin which features sandwiches and something about training "disadvantaged" people.  It was less than 2 blocks away at Carrera 49 #52-107, local 221 in the Junin mall.

Inside the mall we got a little lost trying to find the restaurant until we asked a security guard for help.  He led us back to the entrance and up a staircase where there were several small resturants the last of which was the upstairs area of McDonald’s.

We sat down and an English-speaking waiter gave us our menus and explained a few things.  I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and a Coke and Jose ordered a hamburger and a Diet Coke.  The American owner came out and mentioned he once was a manager for Cheese Cake Factory in Chicago.  I asked him about the Old Orchard location and he said he worked there.  I told him my son worked there for a while.  He asked for my son’s name and when I told him he said yes, he had worked with him.  The owner gave me his business card – his name is Nick Manderfield and he knew all about my son.  Well Jim, if you are reading this, his restaurant is now open.  (Per their Facebook post “We are a non profit restaurant…we hire and train individuals from reformation and reintegration programs in order to help them take a step towards a better life.  Profits generated go back into Medellin to impact displacement.”)

The total bill came to about 42mil, Jose paid it and I gave him 21mil.  Jose didn’t want to go back to the chess club because it was so noisy.  (Two guys near us were playing speed chess and slamming their pieces on the board, there was a lot of talking in general and outside we could hear construction going on.)

We walked a block away where Jose caught a taxi and I walked 2 blocks back to Parque Berrio.  As I was going up the escalator I was looking into Club de Billares and I could see men playing chess.

I was on a near cattle-car but luckily I found a spot to stand by the doors on the far side.  Back at Parque Envigado I stopped at Bartolos but couldn’t get an internet connection so I went to the bakery near city hall and had a café con leche.

I texted Chuck and he soon returned my call and we talked for awhile.

Back at the apt MT was visiting.  I started updating my blog when all of a sudden at 3:15 Teresa tells me to get dressed.  I asked why since we till have an hour and a half.  She said something about rain so I got dressed.

Outside we waited a few minutes until Esmeralda showed up and she took us to the apt in her little car.  The building is in a gated area with a portero (doorman).  The lady from the agency had already arrived on her motorcycle and she took us into the building and up to the 4^th floor.  (Our building is 8 floors with 4 apartments on each floor.)

The apt is modern with nice tile, 2 small bedrooms (8’6” x 8’) and a larger master bedroom with attached bathroom.  There is a second bathroom in the hallway.  The bathrooms appear to be pretty modern.  There is a balcony with a wall about 4’ high and enough room for a few chairs.  The kitchen doesn’t seem to be much bigger than what we have now.  There appears to be a perfect space off the living or dining room for my computer and chess table.  The apt comes with a parking space and storage area.  There is a community public space, small pool and gymnasium.

The monthly rent is 1,750,000 pesos or about $600.  Using the translator on my cellphone I said we would take it.

Tomorrow Teresa is going to the office to see how early I have to make the first payment and if it is to be in cash at the agency or deposited into an account.  And of course we have to sign a contract.

Esmeralda drove us to Oviedo where the ladies looked at shoes.  

Afterwards we went to a little café called Mikaela where we had pastries, coffees and juice to celebrate our new apt.  The total came to 60,600 including tip for the 4 of us.

Back at the apt on TV I came across the World Series and watched the first inning of the first game.

I read news about Saudi Arabia selling as much oil as it could and that the price of oil is dropping so I checked xe.com and found that there is now 3,120 COP to the USD.

Joke of the day

One day God was looking down at earth and saw all of the misbehavior that was going on...

So He called His angels and sent one to earth for a while.

When the angel returned, he told God, 'Yes, it is bad on earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not.’

God thought for a moment and said, 'Maybe I had better send down a another angel to get a second opinion.'

So God called another angel and sent her to earth for a time.

When the angel returned she went to God and said, 'Yes, it's true. The earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good...'

God was not pleased.

So He decided to e-mail the 5% who were good, because He wanted to encourage them, and give them a little something to help them keep going.

Do you know what the e-mail said?

Okay, I was just wondering, because I didn't get one either.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Last night I slept well, only getting up once about 4am, finally waking/getting up at 7:15 due to honking car horns.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym.  I completed all my exercises in 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Back at the apt Teresa made up some of the New Orleans rice for lunch that Chuck gave us.

Teresa and I took a nap from 2:15 to 3:15.

About 4pm we all left for the mall with MT joining us on the way.

We all had yogurt with fixings at Percimon for 27,950.

The ladies went shopping and I had a café con leche for 6,200 at Al Alma Café that I didn’t care much for as it was so strong.

Laura found me and we went upstairs to Fotomilenio where Laura had a visa photo taken for 17mil.  Why is it that laura can get internet with her iPhone and I can’t with my Samsung?

The ladies, with Esmeralda, joined us and Teresa wanted to go to Crepes & Waffles but I explained I hadn’t brought enough cash for 5 of us.  At the 3^rd floor Café Arangos we found that they were out of carrot cake.  We went back downstairs to Habia Una Vez where we all had coffees and pastries.  (I noticed later that they also had what looked like good carrot cake so I was a little surprised that no one ordered it.)

We finally left about 8pm.

On the way back to the apt I saw a baseball game on TV in a bar.  I took a second to check to see if it was the World Series but it was Colombia vs Mexico.

Back at the apt I finished the ribs from Saturday with the remainder of the root beer I opened yesterday.

Joke of the day

After 20 years of marriage, a couple was lying in bed one evening, when the wife felt her husband begin to fondle her in ways he hadn’t in quite some time.

It almost tickled as his fingers started at her neck, and then began moving down past the small of her back.

He then caressed her shoulders and neck, slowly worked his hand down over her breasts, stopping just over her lower stomach.

He then proceeded to place his hand on her left inner arm, caressed past the side of her breast again, working down her side, passed gently over her buttock and down her leg to her calf. Then, he proceeded up her inner thigh, stopping just at the uppermost portion of her leg. He continued in the same manner on her right side, then suddenly stopped, rolled over and started to watch TV.

As she had become quite aroused by this caressing, she asked in a loving voice, “That was wonderful. Why did you stop?”

He said, “I finally found the remote control.”

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Last night I got up at 3, 6, and finally woke/got up at 8:30.

After a pancake breakfast I left the apt at 9:30.  I walked around our neighborhood and found 4 apartments for rent but nothing special.  I crossed Avenida Poblado into the La Magnolia neighborhood where I found 3 more apts but still nothing special.

When I returned to the apt at 10:40 Teresa told me we should be able to find inexpensive apartments in the Buena Mesa neighborhood so tomorrow she wants to look there after we see the apartment in La Magnolia.

I settled down with a ½ # bag of peanuts and a root beer and watched the New England Patriots edge out my Chicago Bears edge 38-31.  We fell 1 yard short of tying the game at the end and I was only able to consume half of the bag of peanuts.

I took a nap from 3:30 to 4:15.

I almost forgot…

Among new US movie releases I would like to see Halloween (7.6).

Locally, I would like to see A Star is Born (8.4) playing at Oviedo at 6pm.  I also would like to see Searching (7.8) but it’s only playing at Viva Envigado at 9:30pm.

About 4:30 Teresa asked me if I would like to go to the mall for coffee and carrot cake.  While I was hemming and hawing (thinking about if there are any good NFL games in the afternoon or evening) she said how about a movie.  I told her A Star is Born (8.4) playing at Oviedo at 6pm.  By the time the ladies took their showers and dressed it was almost 5:30.  We walked down the hill where we quickly caught a taxi.  At the Oviedo ticket booth there was a short line for Cine Colombia card holders (like me) and a longer line for the others.  When it was my turn I added 50mil to my account but found that the only seats for our movie were scatttered.

I checked my Cine Colombia app and found that it’s also playing at 8pm in Vizcaya.  We went down to Carulla where a young lady guided us to the parking garage and called us a taxi.  That was nice because it was raining a little.

At Vizcaya I bought 3 preferred seating tickets in the last row for 8,000 apiece. (Two more visits until my platinum card.)  We went down a level where Teresa bought a Subway sandwich that she shared with me and Laura bought a few bunuelos.  It was only 6:15 so we had some time to kill until 8pm.  At 7:45 we made our final trips to the restroom and went upstairs where I bought a small popcorn and medium soda, ostensibly just for me, leaving me with a balance of 41,650 pesos.

The theater was full and the movie was very good starring Bradley Cooper, Lada Gaga, Sam Elliott and a 5-second cameo by Alec Baldwin.

When we left (at 10:30) we walked down to the entrance we had come in and found it gated.  We walked down a couple more levels to the garage entrance and it was also shut.  I saw a few cars driving around but I couldn’t see where they were exiting.

We ended up going back up until we found a security guard and he told us to go to the 3^rd basement level at the other end of the mall where we exited with the cars.

We quickly caught a taxi back to the apt.

Joke of the day

Three 3rd Graders: an Irish kid, an Italian kid and a Black kid, are on the playground at recess. The Irish kid suggests they play a new game. "Let's see who has the largest weenie," he says.

"Okay." They all agree.

The Irish kid pulls down his zipper and takes it out.

"That's nothing," says the Italian kid. He takes his out, and proudly shows that his is longer by at least an inch.

Not to be outdone, the Black kid takes his out. It is by far, not only the biggest, but the fattest.

That night, eating dinner at home, the Black kid's mother asks him what he did at school today.

"Oh, we worked on a science project, had a math test, and read out loud from a new book, and then during recess, my friends and I played a new game called “Let's see who has the biggest weenie."

"What kind of game is that, honey?" asks the mother.

"Well, me, Anthony and Patrick each pulled out our weenies, and I had the biggest! The other kids say it's because I'm black. Is that true?”

 "No, Leroy. It's because you're eighteen."

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Last night I had a great night’s sleep.  I only got up once at 4am, fell back asleep quickly, and didn’t wake up until 7:30am.  When I got up Teresa and Laura had already left for the finca.  (Btw, now when I go to bed I put Teresa’s cellphone on the charger.  When I get up at 4am or so I switch it with mine so by morning both are fully charged.)

I had my usual breakfast at Carbon de Leña for 9,200 pesos.  I stopped at the copy center where I printed out Joan & Airin’s flight itinerary for next February.

Back at the apt I exchanged some things and left for the mall.  I had a café con leche at Habia Una Vez for 3,600 pesos.  I got a good internet connection so I suspect the mall’s router is somewhere on this first floor.  I noticed they also serve some simple breakfasts that include scrambled eggs.  Another plus is being close to the entrance I got a nice breeze.

I received a text from the Au Pair in America agency that Laura has accepted an au pair position from Michael Lydon & Sara Lodi, the family with 2 young daughters in Brighton, Massachusetts.  Good for her!

As soon as I walked into Exito I saw a new health food store called Zonazul that sells loaves of fresh bread.  I noticed a Middleby Marshall oven in their new food court.  That oven is made by a company from my hometown – Elgin, Illinois.

According to the weather app on my cellphone we’re not supposed to break a high of 79 degrees this coming week.

About 1:30 I went the 100’ to La Casita Parilla where I had grilled chicken breast with a mango juice for 13mil.  It started raining during my meal but finally let up a bit when it was time for me to leave.

Teresa and Laura returned about 3pm.  Teresa informed me that she sold our furniture to Ana Maria for 1 million pesos and she’s coming over tomorrow to take a look at it.  I guess Teresa is really serious about getting new furniture.

I’m oversimplifing things a little, but the mortgage company for the townhouse my ex is living in wants to increase her monthly payments.  It seems the townhouse has increased in value in the past few years.  She wanted me to sign a loan modification form so she could stay in the house.  I declared bankruptcy 6 years ago, I have no credit rating in the US and I want nothing to do with the property even if there is a profit to be made.

I called my ex and gave her the bad news.  I recommended she get a free property appraisal, find out how much is remaining on the mortgage and the difference is her equity.  She can always sell and get an apartment somewhere else.  Or she can wait until the bank tries to foreclose and hire a lawyer.

We all decided to go to Mu to celebrate Laura’s au pair match with the family in Massachusetts.  MT is going with us but she won’t be eating anything because she’s full.

We left the apt at 7pm and quickly caught a taxi to Parque Lleras.  We got a table right away although it was near the door and it was a little cool being that close.

We left there after a dinner for 4 (3 ½) for 90,000 pesos.  The restaurant called a taxi for us and we were back at the apt by 8:30.

Teresa was very tired and my eyes felt like they were burning they were so tired so we went to bed at 10pm.

Joke of the day

Two blonde girls were working for the county public works department.  One would dig a hole and the other would follow behind her and fill the hole in.  They worked up one side of the street, then down the other, then moved on to the next street, working furiously all day without rest, one girl digging a hole, the other girl filling it in again.

An onlooker was amazed at their hard work, but couldn't understand what they were doing.

So he asked the hole digger, "I'm impressed by the effort you two are putting into your work, but I don't get it... why do you dig a hole, only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?"

The hole digger wiped her brow and sighed, "Well, I suppose it probably looks odd because we're normally a three-person team. But today the girl who plants the trees called in sick."

Friday, October 19, 2018

I had a typical night’s sleep finally waking/getting up at 7:30.

I received an email from Chuck – surprise, they are back in Envigado.

I watched the first 20 minutes of the Today show and left for the gym, picking up a free Adn newspaper on the way.  I completed all my exercises in 2 hours and 5 minutes.  I added 5# to the butterfly machine so for the time being I should have no more problems with disappearing weights and I also increased my speed on the treadmill from 5.2 to 5.3.  On the way back to the apt I picked up a free Gente newspaper.

Teresa informed me that we will be seeing an apartment in the La Magnolia neighborhood this afternoon.  We just have to wait for her (owner? Realtor?) to call.

I called Chuck and told him I’m busy this afternoon but I’ll let him know as soon as I’m available.

I received an email from my brother that his girlfriend Joan and her daughter Airin are coming to visit us also, a few days after my brother arrives.  The more the merrier!

Late in the afternoon Teresa told me we’re going to see the apt on Monday.  I called Chuck and made plans to meet him in the park.

I thought I would find him at Bartolos but he and Darnelly were wandering aroung the park.  Darnelly stayed in the park for something she had to take care of and Chuck and I went to the bakery by city hall where I gave him his Condorito newspapers and he gave me a 5# bag of salted in the shell peanuts, 4 bottles of root beer, 3 gel pens,  2 boxes of jumbalaya rice mix, and a small bag of peanut brittle.  He told me they still haven’t sold their house and since Darnelly is now a citizen she wants to stay in the States.  Chuck wants to move here and if anything happened to him Darnelly doesn’t speak English and doesn’t drive so she would kind of be lost in the States.

Back at the apt I divvied up all the peanuts into 10 separate ziploc storage bags.  Hopefully that will keep them fresh for the NFL season.

Laura told me she talked to Sara in Massachusetts this morning and she wants Laura to think about if she wants to be their au pair.  I think they will be talking again tomorrow.

We were going to go for pizza but it started raining and after it stopped Teresa declared (like I’ve never heard this before) that it will be too difficult to get a taxi.

About 9:30 it started raining again and it might have continued all night.

Joke of the day

A guy was sitting at a bar. He was totally depressed. The bartender, serving him a drink, asked what was wrong.

"I'll never understand women" said the man. "The other night on my birthday, my wife said as my gift, I could do with her whatever I wanted."

"Wow! That's quite some gift" said the bartender. "So why are you so dejected?"

"Well I thought about it for a while" said the man, "and decided to send her home to her mother, and now she won't even speak to me!"

Thursday, October 18, 2018

I got up twice during the night, woke up at 6:30 and got up at 7am just as Teresa was leaving for her gym classes.

I received an email from Envios Market that I have a document waiting for pickup.

At 9am, just as the Today show was starting, it started to rain – hard.  I guess that ends my chances of going on a bike ride this morning.  It stopped about 5 minutes later but the streets were already wet and it was still quite overcast.

I watched the first 90 minutes of the Today show and then left the apt.  I took the bus to Envios Market and picked up my document but it was just a piece of junk mail.  It wasn’t raining at the moment so I walked up to McDonald’s where I had coffee. 

After a little while I had a Big Mac and medium Coke.  It rained on and off for a while.  The wifi didn’t seem very strong so I went next door to Starbucks in Oviedo mall where you always get a strong wifi signal.

I left there and took a Sabaneta bus back to Envigado.

I stopped at the copy center where I had 21 pages printed out for a mortgage modification application.

Back at the apt Teresa told me that there is an apartment in La Magnolia neighborhood of Envigado that the agency wants us to see.  Best I can tell it’s an area that begins across the street from the San Marcos church and goes a little ways east.

MT called and said she was bored so we all decided to visit the mall.

We left the apt about 5pm and walked down the hill and picked up MT outside her apt.  (On our way we passed the first apt we had seen and Teresa remarked that the owner had raised the rental from 1,600,000 pesos to 2,500,000 pesos.  Incredible, they raised the price more than 50% on that old-fashioned place.  At the mall the ladies went shopping and I went upstairs to the business area where I made a small withdrawal from a Davavienda ATM.  Someone had told me that they don’t charge an ATM fee but for me it just said “TRANSACTION FEE NOT AVAILABLE.”  Some day I’m going to have to bite the bullet (meaning multiple ATM fees) and make multiple withdrawals on the same day for comparison purposes.

I went up another level to Café Arangos where I had a café con leche and waited for the ladies.  Luckily they soon showed up because the internet kept going in and out – “network not available” to/from “Wi-Fly connected”.  Their network name is called Wi-Fly but its more like Wi-Crawl most of the time.  I turned on Teresa’s phone and set it for sharing and connected my phone to her data and I soon had a strong connection.  We all had coffee of various types and snacks like carrot cake or cheese pastries.  The ladies eventually went off on their own for more shopping and I kept Teresa’s phone so I would still have internet.  After a while Laura texted me to meet them at the sporting goods store El Deportista.  I paid the bill of 46,100 pesos.

After we met up again I played a little ping pong with Laura while Teresa tried on some leggings for the gym.  I paid cash for them and we all left just as the mall was closing.

Joke of the day

A Blonde airhead goes for a job interview in an office.
The interviewer starts with the basics.  "So, Miss, can you tell us your age, please?"
The blonde counts carefully on her fingers for half a minute before replying "Ehhhh... 22!"
The interviewer tries another straightforward one to break the ice.  "And can you tell us your height, please?"
The young lady stands up and produces a measuring tape from her handbag. She then puts one end under her foot and extends the tape to the top of her head. She checks the measurement and announces "Five foot two!"
This isn't looking good so the interviewer goes for the real basics; something the interviewee won't have to count, measure, or lookup.  "Just to confirm for our records, what is your name please?"
The airhead bobs her head from side to side for about ten seconds, mouthing something silently to herself before replying "MANDY!"
The interviewer is completely baffled at this point, so he asks -
"What in the world were you doing when I asked you your name?"
"Ohhhh, that!" replies the airhead...  "I was just running through that song – you know… 'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear...' "