Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once about 5am, finally waking/ getting up at 6:15.

I started the ride sharing process at 7:20 and my Didi encountered traffic so heavy we got off one exit further than usual but I still arrived at Unicentro by 8am. That cost me 11,500 pesos. Jose arrived a couple minutes later. I had their French toast and Jose had their egg casserole. We discussed a number of topics including doing our taxes.

We adjourned to the food court where I had the Black pieces in the first game. I had the advantage until the 41^st move when I blundered in time trouble and eventually resigned on the 77^th move. One of our longest games ever.

I had the White pieces in the 2^nd game and he quickly was up a pawn but undeveloped and I couldn’t take advantage of it and he checkmated me on the 34^th move. I was too tired for our usual game review.

It was only 2pm but I decided to “get out of dodge” before the heavy traffic hit. I paid a Didi 16,500 pesos to take me to Viva Envigado. I had lasagna and a fresh mango juice in Montelivio.

I made a 2,000,000-peso ATM withdrawal (the 1^st one I tried had no cash), paid our cellphone bills in Claro, paid the epm utility bill in Exito and bought a bag of dental flossers before returning to the apt by taxi.

Recognize this lady?

She’s Simone Biles winner of 23 Olympic gold medals in gymnastics. I mention her here because her husband, (Mr. Biles 😊), Johathan Owens just signed a 2-year contract to play safety for the Chicago Bears so I guess we’ll be seeing her in the stands game days.

I guess I watched the first 8 episodes of Masters of the Air too quickly because the 9^th and final episode isn’t until this Friday, the 15^th.

Laura decided to try sleeping on the recliner tonight since she has to sleep sitting up anyway.

I went to bed at 9pm.

 

DOG MEMES

Monday, March 11, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once about 5am, again at 6:15, finally waking and getting up by alarm at 7:15.

I was a little surprised to find Teresa at home, I thought she’d be at the gym. She informed me that MT’s American passport expires in August and asked me how to renew it.

I waited until Laura was up to help explain.  I checked my blog notes and I renewed mine 2 years ago through Inter-Col and it cost $265. I asked why she needs to renew her US passport if she’s not going to leave the country. Laura informed me MT’s doesn’t expire until August of 2025. I said first thing is to confirm that expiration date and if it is August of 2025 we’ll continue this discussion next January.

Laura left alone just 10 minutes before her 9am doctor and massage appointment. Teresa went to lie down and I left for the gym. I completed my workout between 9:15 and 10:15. I was conscious of the fact that the NFL “legal tampering” period with free agents began today at 10am CDST.

Oops, it starts at 11am CDST.

I see my last Amazon package is “out for delivery” before 10pm.

I received an email that my Citibank account statement is ready. I checked and it appears it doesn’t earn interest so I should be able to cancel anytime and transfer the balance without messing up their accounting.

I was getting ready to make a trip to the mall to pay some bills when I got an email the last package has arrived in Florida. Change of plans.

I left the apt at 2pm and walked to Envios Market. Nobraskja wasn’t there but the only girl there called someone and she arrived a couple minutes later.

I asked Nobraskja to give me a lesson on using their locker system. (The following is for me.)

After logging in, click on “Wine Cellar” then scroll down and find the most recent date. For now it was “2024-01-02” which is February 1^st, 2024, probably the date I received something in my locker since the last time I used them. Click on the corresponding “WareHouse” which was “W10271402”. Now you can see the tracking numbers for the 5 packages that arrived. I asked about how to get more information about the envelopes and she informed me they charge $5 to take a photo of the contents so better to just send it all on. Then click on “Receipt from Warehouse” at the top and in the information field at the bottom I enter a total amount and general description of the contents. (If the total amount is over $60 then there will be insurance added and if it’s over $200 then there will be tax added.)

I walked across the street and was surprised to see the Otra Parte café open. I ordered a latte and took a seat outside under one of the umbrellas. Not a bad view, at least in this direction.

I left about 4pm and bought broccoli and tomatoes in Ara before returning to the apt.

Teresa informed me that Laura went out to meet with her girlfriend Cindy. And that Laura made need an endoscopy to identify the cause of all her burping.

I watched a couple more episode of Masters of the Air on Medellin TV.

 

DOG MEMES

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once about 5am, again at 6:15, finally waking and getting up by alarm at 7:30.

Today, Daylight Savings Time begins in America so now Colombia is no longer on the same time as New York, but now Chicago. 😊

I left the apt about 8:15 and walked to Sao Paolo Plaza where Glenn was waiting for me. He now has a date for his hernia surgery, May 31^st. He says it will be about one year since his gastroenterologist diagnosed his hernia and he’s been waiting for his health insurance to pay for it.

I left at 11am and walked back to the apt. I think in the future I’ll wear sandals; it’s getting too warm to be walking long distances in this heat.

It’s only noon and it’s 86 degrees already.

I started watching the TV mini-series Masters of the Air on Stremio.

The portero dropped off our epm utility bill of 383,286 pesos ($98).

Teresa and Laura left at 6pm to meet MT in Viva Envigado and they returned about 8:30.

Teresa reminded me she’s got early gym tomorrow and she’ll make breakfast when she returns about 8:15.

 

DOG MEMES

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, waking at 6:15 and getting up at 6:45.

Today is very overcast with a 12% chance of rain in the morning and 24% chance late in the afternoon.

I understand Laura’s massage treatment for today is at 10am and Teresa thinks she may be able to go on her own.

Amazon separated my order into 5 packages, 4 have been delivered with the last to be delivered on Monday. I was going to go to Envios Market today but now I guess it’ll be postponed to Monday afternoon. I think I’ll take my laptop to Parva and see if I can get caught up on adding photos to my blog.

I left the apt abut 9:45 as Laura and Teresa were getting ready to leave for the former’s massage.

Outside Black Pepper I ran into Marcos, just back from an AZ visit with his grandchildren. He told me the US is getting so expensive he doesn’t plan to return. We plan to meet for coffee next Thursday.

I’m now caught up on adding photos to my blog, going back to February 23^rd.

I tried a number of movies and series on Netflix and finally settled on Griselda (7.2). Meanwhile, Laura has been watching The Chosen (9.2).

Btw, we had no rain today.

 

DOG MEMES

Friday, March 8, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 11pm, fell asleep quickly, waking/getting up at 6:30.

It’s International Women’s Day!

Teresa is now taking a gym class with a personal trainer from 6am to 7am. Yikes! Then when she returns about 7:10 she starts making breakfast. After I finish eating, I wait almost an hour before starting my gym workout.

I see my Amazon orders have arrived in Florida. Time to visit Nobraskja in Envios Market.

I have my Didi and Uber apps linked to my Citibank card but it charges 3% every time I use it. I’m thinking of using my USAA credit card instead and once I’m assured there aren’t any problems, I’ll move my current balance from Citibank to USAA and close my Citibank account.

Teresa just notified me that Laura’s massage appointment is at 3pm so lunch will be here today.

I changed my Citibank card to USAA credit card for Didi, Rappi, and Uber. For the McDonald’s app I didn’t find a place to add a card so I guess I’ll be paying them in cash.

I completed my workout today between 9:15 and 10:15. I talked briefly with a young couple in their broken English and my broken Spanish.

Teresa brought me one of our fans and it took me a couple trips to the storage area to find the right screwdriver to remove the cover so she could clean it.

I checked packages in Expedia.com to Punta Cana but they were much more expensive.

Oops, I see one last package is scheduled to be delivered on Monday.

I left the apt at 2:15 and had a latte in Eduardo Madrid. Before I left, I bought a sleeve of 6 sesame seed bagels. 😊 I stopped at Antonio’s where I bought a ½ liter of pistachio gelato, Teresa’s favorite.

I checkmated Troyclough in 31 moves increasing my rating to 1579.

When discussing where to eat tonight Teresa had the great idea of La Casita Parilla. We haven’t been there in ages. I use my Didi app for rides both ways and charged it to my USAA credit card. Now there should be only a 1% charge instead of 3% and when I pay the monthly bill it will be easier to get an idea of how much I use Rappi and ride sharing services each month. Teresa had shish kebob, I had their ribs and Laura their steak. The total bill came to 90mil.

I don’t know about the lat

est book I started, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. It cost me $14.99 so I’ll give it another chapter or two before I give up.

 

DOG MEMES

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, waking/getting up at 5:30.

I checked new Cine Colombia movie openings but there’s nothing of interest to me.

I went back to bed at 6:30 and slept until 8am.

I left the apt at 9:30 and walked to the mall where I recycled a few plastic bottles, printed my 2023 1099s in Auros, and withdrew 2,000,000 pesos from Davivienda. In CaFam pharmacy I bought another container of Exania medicine for my skin lesions for 61,700 pesos which previously cost me 48,500 pesos in Todo Drogas.

I bought a blueberry muffin in Starbucks and ate it with a latte in Urbania.

I left about 11am and stopped in Totto where I price checked 2 suitcases and 2 carry-ons for a total of 1,600,000 pesos ($410).

I picked up a few items in Exito before returning to the apt by taxi.

I don’t want to say more about what’s going on here but Laura has 11am medical massage appointments this week and next week so as long as this lasts I’ll be on my own for lunch.

I left the apt at 12:30 and took a Sabaneta bus for 3,200 pesos to Poblado. On the bus I met a gringo from Florida named Dario. (He’s Colombian but his parents took him to Florida when he was a year old.) He was on his way to Casino Rio, across the street from Premium Plaza mall, to play poker. At Sweet Georgia I exchanged my paperbacks for 2 others. For lunch I had blueberry pancakes and crispy bacon with coffee and an orange juice for 42mil.

I returned to Envigado by bus and since it was only 2 pm I had a latte in Los Porteños. I left at 3pm and bought 2 bags of milk on my way back to the apt.

I finished season 6 of The Crown (8.6) and I think that’s the end of the series.

For supper we ate pizza from Gloria’s except Laura who is still eating Jello.

The President’s State of the Union Address started about 9:27 and lasted about an hour and 7 minutes, but I watched the coverage from 8pm to 11pm.

 

DOG MEMES

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, fell asleep quickly, got up once at 5:30 (Teresa was dressed to go to the gym), finally waking/getting up at 7:45.

I completed my gym workout from 9:30 to 10:30.

Teresa left at 10:45 with Laura for a doctor’s appointment.

I placed an Amazon order using my USAA debit card.

I logged onto my Zurich benefit plan but couldn’t see a way to print my 1099s. I called their number (800) 898-7143 and an operator said it would take 10 days for it to appear in the website but they would send me an email when it arrived. (It’s also possible it is “in the mail” and I haven’t received it yet.)

I logged into Metlife and easily downloaded my 1099s to my USB drive.

I left the apt about 2pm and bought a box of Atorvastatina in Pasteur pharmacy for 82,628. (I bought a different brand at Todo Drogas for only 23,900 pesos back in January.)

While in Los Porteños having a latte a guy came by wearing a facemask and selling facemasks. 😊 I told him I’m good.

I returned to the apt about 4pm. I ran into Teresa in the garage on her way to getting a nail fixed.

I received an email from Zurich that my 1099 was ready and I downloaded it to my USB drive. I’ll have them printed tomorrow.

I finished reading Michelle McNamara’s I’ll be Gone in the Dark on my Kindle.

 

DOG MEMES