Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, got up once about 3:15, and finally woke/got up at 7:30.

It appears Alex is coming over this afternoon to possibly purchase our living room and dining room furniture and I’ll show him how to use World Remit.  (Teresa has been wanting to get new furniture so this would certainly facilitate that.)

Teresa left for the gym just after 9am and I left just before 9:30.  Usually I cool off a bottle of water in the freezer for an hour and take that with me in my water bottle (thermos).  But with the meat we bought yesterday Teresa was somehow barely able to put it all in the freezer and there is no room for my water bottle.  At the gym I just used their water fountain after using each piece of equipment.

I watched some of the impeachment hearings.  I luckily heard the part where Sondland said “They were all in the loop: the president, the vice-president, the secretary of state, the white house chief of staff, Rudy Giuliani.”  It certainly looks to me like DT is fucked!

I copied about a dozen songs from Nigel’s thumbdrive to my iTunes account.  I also copied 5 Shyam Moses songs from iTunes to his thumbdrive for him. I finished copying all the music I want to I can meet soon with Nigel to return his thumbdrive.

It looks like that national protest tomorrow might be a big deal.  On the news I saw shopkeepers boarding up their stores in Bogota and I received an alert from the US embassy.

All of a sudden my right wrist started hurting and I hadn’t done anything.  Teresa said it’s probably from working out at the gym but that was hours ago.

Alex arrived at 3:15 and I showed him how to use World Remit.  Using that he sent me cash for the furniture and I could see that it has been deducted from his bank account but I have yet to hear from World Remit via email.  It took about an hour but I finally received confirmation from World Remit.  Because of the strike tomorrow I’ll probably wait until Friday or Saturday to pick up the cash.

The movers, Venezuelans naturally, showed up at 4:30.  They had trouble fitting the sofa into the elevator and they couldn’t get it down the stairs.  They started removing the short legs but one of the screws was stripped so that put a stop to that.  They measured the sofa and the elevator and finally were able to get it in.  They also had to dismantle the heavy finca dining room table.  They finished moving and packing everything into the truck by 6:30.

Now all we have is a loveseat in the living room and no dining room table.

Wow, my wrist is so sore I couldn’t hold a spoon to eat my hot oatmeal.

I called Alex about 8:30 and found that the movers also had difficulty getting the sofa up to their apt.  The movers are going to return tomorrow at 10am.

6,071 steps today.

Joke of the day

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services when she was startled by an intruder.

She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled, "Stop! Acts 2:38!"

(Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven.)

The burglar stopped in his tracks.

The woman calmly called the police and explained what she had done.

As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell a scripture to you."

"Scripture?" replied the burglar. "She said she had an ax and two 38's!"

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, got up at 12:30 and 5am, didn’t think I was going to be able to fall back asleep but finally woke/got up at 7:15.

I left the apt and met Nigel at Amati at 9:30.  The owner arrived a few minutes later and opened the café.  We each ordered a café con leche and his came hot but mine arrived completely cold.  They remade it and it was finally hot.  We talked for 3 ½ hours.  He was born in England and brought to the US when he was 5.  He was in the marines in Vietnam and lived in NY and California.  We obviously have very different beliefs. He loaned me a USB drive with lots of music files.

Teresa called me at 1pm and I returned to the apt.  For lunch we had fajitas and for the first time she made it with ground beef.

After lunch we went to Euro and bought groceries.

4,154 steps today.

Joke of the day

With all the new technology regarding fertility, an 88-year-old woman was able to give birth to a baby recently.

When she was discharged from the hospital and went home, various relatives came to visit. "May we see the new baby?" one of them asked.
"Not yet", said the mother. "I'll make coffee and then we can visit for a while."
Another half hour passed before another relative asked, "may we see the new baby now?"
"No, not yet," said the mother.

A while later the guests asked again, "may we see the baby now?"
"No, not yet," replied the mother.
Growing impatient, they asked, "well, when can we see the baby?"
"When it cries!" she told them.
"When it cries?" they gasped. "Why do we have to wait until it cries?"

"Because, I forgot where I put it." 

Monday, November 18, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 11:15, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 4:15, finally waking/getting up at 7:15.

Well, Teresa found we had milk in the refrigerator after all so I had hot oatmeal for breakfast.

Via my blog I received a message from a gringo (yes, I know you’re British but…) named Nigel who lives nearby in Envigado.  I’m sure we’ll be meeting soon, probably at Parva.

I completed all my gym exercises in an hour and 10 minutes.

I left the apt at 12:20 and walked to Go Wings where I had 6 BBQ chicken wings, rustic fries and an apple soda for 19mil.

I walked back to Avenida Poblado where I quickly was on a bus to Poblado.  The young lady sitting next to me spoke a little English and we shared a few words.  I got off by Starbucks and quickly realized I got off a block too early.  I walked to Pasteur pharmacy where I bought a box of Dololed.  (I was pretty sure I had already bought enough to last me this month but if so I certainly can’t find them.)

In Oviedo’s Cine Colombia I bought a general seating ticket for 10,500 to Breakaway (4.1) and as I suspected there were only another 6 people in the theater.  The movie, as I already knew, was in Russian with Spanish subtitles.  (The only Russian I recognized were please and thank you.)  It was very much an action movie and with the subtitles I was able to figure out what was going on, even though they disappeared a little too quickly for me.  I thought the movie was only an hour and 10 minutes long but per IMDB it’s supposedly an hour and 25 minutes long.

Oviedo has a Banco Caja Social ATM so I made another large withdrawal.

I went into Carulla where I bought a package of eggs of the brand we prefer that our local Exito doesn’t carry.  Outside I was planning on taking a taxi since I didn’t want to have to stand up in a bus holding a package of eggs but there was a Sabaneta bus waiting and it was nearly empty.  As soon as I got on I opened the “skylights” as usual but as soon as I sat down it started raining and I had to close them again.  It soon turned into a downpour.

When we got to Envigado a woman hit the buzzer to get off.  I was sitting next to the doors and when they opened the bus was about 3 feet from the curb and it looked like a river going by in between.  The lady said something and the driver pulled forward so she could step on wet ground instead of into the stream.

I got out at the Esso station and by the time I arrived at Parva, 1 ½ blocks away, I was soaked from the knees down.  I had a café con leche while waiting for the rain to stop.  I tried calling Teresa multiple times but always got a busy signal.

The rain stopped after 30 minutes and I left about 15 minutes later.  When I arrived at the apt Teresa was on the phone with MT.  I changed my jeans, shoes and socks then went nextdoor to Exito for 2 bags of milk.

I made plans to meet Nigel tomorrow morning at 9:30 at Amati café.

10,887 steps today.

Joke of the day

The preacher's Sunday sermon was "Forgive Your Enemies."

He asked how many of the congregation have forgiven their enemies?

About half held up their hands.

He then repeated his question.

Now about 80% held up their hands.

He then repeated his question once more.

All responded, except one elderly lady.

"Mrs. Johnson, are you not willing to forgive your enemies?"

"I don't have any."

"Mrs. Johnson that is very unusual. How old are you?"

"Ninety-three," she replied.

"Mrs. Johnson, please come down in front and tell the congregation how a person cannot have an enemy in the world?"

The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle and said, "Because I outlived every one of those bitches!"

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, woke up at 4:45 and only rested from then on finally getting up at 6:45.

I left the apt at 8am, walked up to Avenida Poblado and caught a bus to Calle 17.  I walked up the hill arriving at the Dann Carlton Belfort at 8:25.  Glenn arrived a couple minutes later.  We enjoyed their buffet breakfast at a table on the porch next to the swimming pool for 40,900 pesos.  We talked for about 2 ½ hours, in the meantime I texted Juan about Spanish lessons and Luz Naranjo about being my personal doctor.  Downstairs we caught a taxi to Sabaneta and I got out by McDonald’s.

Teresa really wanted to see the new mall, Arkadia which opened last Wednesday across the street from Pricesmart.  We easily caught a taxi there and traffic wasn’t too bad.

The inside of the mall is in an oval shape about 100 yards long with stores on the outside of the oval.  One problem I noticed: each of their escalators is a pair but both go in the same direction.  After you take the escalator from the 1^st floor to the 2^nd you have to walk to the other end of the mall to take an escalator from the 2^nd to the 3^rd, then walk to the other end of the mall to take an escalator from the 3^rd to the 4^th.  Whew!  I wonder if they did that intentionally so everyone would have to pass by more stores.  Anyway, the place was a madhouse and we were lucky to get immediately seated at a restaurant for lunch.

Outside we quickly found a taxi but traffic was bumper-to-bumper and it took about 10 minutes to clear 2 blocks.  We arrived at Santafe mall and Teresa went into Zara to check out their clothes.  She found nothing so we went into Falabella where she exchanged her workout leggings for another pair.  It was 4:30 when we were walking to the exit when we heard heavy rain against the roof so instead we went to Crepes & Waffles where we shared a cup of ice cream while sitting on the floor on some artificial grass.  Half an hour later the rain stopped and we took a taxi back to the apt.

We were out of milk so I went next door to Exito but they were completely out.  While I was there I picked up a package of microwave popcorn and a 300ml bottle of Coke.  Back at the apt Teresa reminded me that we are also out of eggs.  Yikes!

She told me that tomorrow she has to go to Sabaneta to pick up her calcium medication.

I watched my Chicago Bears lose to the Los Angeles Rams 17-7.

6,741 steps today.

Joke of the day

The vows we made on our wedding day really did mean the world to us, and we thought the blessed joy of matrimony would never die. However, once we are married, that thrill does dip - let's be honest about it!  This is before the wedding:

Husband: At last! I can hardly wait!

Wife: Do you want me to leave?

Husband: No! Don't even think that.

Wife: Do you love me?

Husband: Of course! Always have and always will!

Wife: Have you ever cheated on me?

Husband: No! Why are you even asking?

Wife: Will you kiss me?

Husband: Every chance I get!

Wife: Will you hit me?

Husband: Hell no! Are you crazy?!

Wife: Can I trust you?

Husband: Yes.

Wife: Oh my Darling!

To see what happens AFTER the wedding, read from end (bottom) to start (top) ...

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, with a blanket, fell asleep rather quickly, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

I took photos of our furniture: dining room table with chairs, love seat, sofa, and 2 end tables and sent them to Alex with a promotion price of 1,500,000 pesos.

I left the apt just before 8am and arrived at Los Molinos just before 9am.  Dario was waiting for me.  He told me he had to leave at noon but my clock is set to 1 hour plus 30 second increments and I didn’t want to change it.  I had the White pieces in the first game and I played the London System and on the 14^th move I traded a Rook for a Bishop and Knight and he resigned on the 27^th move.  I had Black in the 2^nd game and he played the first few moves that I had just played in the London System.  I got a nice center pawn storm going in the center with threats against his Queen and King and he resigned on the 31^st move.

He left and it was only 11:10, too early for lunch, so I left.  I took a Circular Sur 303 bus to the Aguactala station and the metro to the Envigado station, arriving in the Viva Envigado food court by 12:15.  I had the 6-piece Picanugys from Frisby for 15,900 ($4.50) then walked back to the apt.

I exchanged a few things then walked to Parva where I ordered a mango juice.  They changed their hours, now they are open in the morning weekdays.  The café was surprisingly empty, maybe everyone was at the same Mayorca sale that Teresa is at.

I checked the news on my cellphone and solved some more of the 656 mate-in-2 puzzles for my chess homework.

I left about 3pm just as it started sprinkling a little.  I made it back before any real rain started.

Teresa was already back.

10,359 steps today.

Joke of the day

A doctor of psychology was doing his normal morning rounds, and he entered a patient's room to find his patient sitting on the floor, sawing at a piece of wood with the side of his hand.

Meanwhile, another patient was in the room, hanging from the ceiling by his foot. The doctor asked his patient what he was doing, sitting on the floor. 

The patient replied in an irritated fashion, "Can't you see I'm sawing this piece of wood in half?" 

The doctor inquired, "And what is the fellow hanging from the ceiling doing?" 

"Oh. He's my friend, but he's a little crazy. He thinks he's a light bulb." 

The doctor asks, "If he's your friend, don't you think you should get him down from there before he hurts himself?" 

"What? And work in the dark?"

Friday, November 15, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, got up once at 5:30 (so that’s 7 hours sleep right there), finally getting up at 7am feeling great!

I left for the gym about 9:15.  I completed all my exercises in an hour and 15 minutes.  I exchanged some text messages with Alex.  He needs some furniture right when Teresa told me she wants to exchange our furniture.

Back at the apt the portero gave me our Une bill for this month and I picked up this week’s issue of Gente newspaper.

I left the apt at 11:45 and walked up to Avenida Poblado where I quickly caught a bus to Poblado.  I made another withdrawal of small bills from my favorite ATM and walked over to Envios Market.  I paid for December’s rental, picked up my November Chess Life magazine and received 3 letters from Capital One which I promptly had thrown in the trash.

I took a bus to Premium Plaza mall where I purchased a silicone case for Teresa’s cellphone at the Ditka kiosk.  I took a taxi to Viva Envigado arriving at 1:30.  I had lunch in Sarku’s then went downstairs and had coffee in Todo Fresa.  At the next table a young Englishman was giving some sort of lesson, in English, to a young Colombiana.  It didn’t appear to be an English lesson as they spent most of the time going over pie charts.  (If we were in the US I would have thought she was studying for her ACTs.)

At 4:45 I remembered that I forgot to pay the Une and Direct TV bills.  In exito I got in a long line and 25 minutes later I had paid the Une bill.  Outside Exito at Baloto I quickly paid the Direct TV bill.

Back inside I had another café con leche at Habia Una Vez.  I left at 5:30 and returned to the apt.

Among new US movie releases, Ford vs Ferrari might be worth checking out with its IMDB rating of 8.0.

Yesterday I sent an email to Inter-Col asking if they can help us get a visitor’s visa to the US for Teresa.  I’ll wait until Monday and if I don’t get a positive response, I’ll check out another option.

10,451 steps today.

Joke of the day

A gynecologist was getting sick of his job and decided that he needed a career change. He'd always enjoyed tinkering with engines so thought he'd become a mechanic.

So he went along to mechanics school and the final test was to strip the engine completely and reassemble it - obviously back into perfect working order.

So our gynecologist friend did the test and anxiously awaited the result.

The day he received the results he got quite a surprise, he got 150%!

He quickly phoned the instructor and queried the mark.

The instructor said: "no, no that's right.

First I gave you 50% for stripping down the engine - - a very thorough job. Next I gave you 50% for reassembling it - a fantastic job really, and then I gave you a 50% bonus for doing it all through the muffler."

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, got up several times during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:45.  Teresa was already up and ready to head out for an early gym workout.

It’s only 65 degrees this morning; it’s usually closer to 70 degrees.

But she didn’t leave until 9am and I left a few minutes later.

The traffic lights were out at the crosswalk to Viva Envigado but they had 2 “cops” directing traffic.  It was only 9:30 so the shops weren’t open so I had a café con leche in Hacia Una Vez while checking my emails.

Just after 10am I went upstairs to Dollar City where I bought a package of 2 White Out containers for 4mil.

I went back downstairs to Todo Fresa where I ordered a café con leche and worked on my Mate-in-2 puzzles.

Just after 11:30 I went into Exito looking for pan de maiz to use for making garlic bread.  I ran into William, his Colombian wife, and teenage daughter who are here 6 months and the other 6 months in Orlando, Florida.  I finally asked a girl for help and she showed me where the fresh baked loaves were.  I also picked up a package of granola.

I was back at the apt by 12:15.  The temperature is only 76 degrees.  I love it!

For lunch Teresa made spaghetti ala Juanita and I made garlic bread using the garlic spread I bought some time ago at Pricesmart.

I was watching the Today show when a message appeared on the bottom of the screen.  I pointed it out to Teresa and I think it’s a warning to pay our bill.  Again, I have no idea how much to pay since we didn’t receive a bill.

At 1:15 I heard a little thunder.

Teresa called Direct TV and I understand our bill is the same as amount as last month.

At 1:30 I saw some lightning but still no rain.

At 2:30 the temperature had dropped to 70 degrees but still no rain.

I left the apt at 3:45 and walked to Otra Parte.  When I arrived I found all the tables in use, mostly for some type of arts & crafts project.

Juan Castro arrived just after 4pm and eventually he got someone working to open up a folding table for us.  He inquired as to how my homework is coming, tested me on some mate in 3 puzzles which I solved pretty quickly, gave me some more ideas behind with or against an isolated pawn, tested me on some endgame basics and we went over my games against Jose.  Juan told me that there will be a speed tournament on November 23^rd at Comfama in Medellin starting at 1pm that I might be interested in.  He showed me chess boards with wooden pieces he sells.  I noticed it said Moscow on the side of the board.  H said he’s going to be playing in an open tournament next January in Moscow.  Cool!  And he gave me more homework.  Yikes!

I walked to Parva and had a café con leche.  Forty five minutes later Teresa finally called and told me to take my time.

At 7:45 they started closing the café so I packed up my things and left.  I stopped at Exito on my way back to the apt and picked up 2 bags of milk and a bag of apples.

I watched some Thursday Night Football – how exciting, the 3-6 Browns vs the 5-4 Steelers.

9,152 steps today.

Joke of the day

A new manager spends a week at his new office with the manager he is replacing. On the last day the departing manager tells him, "I left three numbered envelopes in the desk drawer. Open an envelope if you encounter a crisis you can't solve."

Three months down the track there is major drama, everything goes wrong - the usual stuff - and the manager feels very threatened by it all. 

He remembers the parting words of his predecessor and opens the first envelope. The message inside says "Blame your predecessor!" He does this and gets off the hook. 

About half a year later, the company is experiencing a dip in sales, combined with serious product problems. The manager quickly opens the second envelope. The message read, "Reorganize!" This he does, and the company quickly rebounds. 

Three months later, at his next crisis, he opens the third envelope. The message inside says "Prepare three envelopes."