Sunday, June 15, 2025

Well, even though we’re in the air, officially it’s a new day.

I took a sleeping pill before supper was served. Teresa loved her chicken but I gave up on my beef after one unchewable bite. I managed to sleep the last two hours of the flight and Teresa even longer.

In Houston we went through a long immigration line but it went smoothly and fairly quickly. At Baggage Claim our bags seemed to arrive the same time we did and we quickly and easily put them in another machine where they disappeared and Teresa bought a small coffee and a package of cookies on the short walk to our gate.

We didn’t have long to wait and our flight took off on time. I rested my eyes for quite a while but wasn’t able to fall asleep. Teresa doesn’t seem to have that problem, she puts a blanket over herself covering her face and she’s soon asleep. I didn’t feel cold during either of our flights but I was wearing hiking pants, thick long socks, a t-shirt with sleeves and a jacket.

When we landed in Chicago a Chinese woman was visibly worried and through the stewardess we learned her connecting flight leaves in 20 minutes. The stewardess made an announcement and asked for a show of hands of those who had connecting flights and a lot of hands went up. After a 10-minute wait for a gate to open up the plane finally docked and we, and others, remained seated so the “connectors” could exit first.

We quickly found our bags in baggage claim and after asking for directions found our way to the Airport Transit System (train). From United’s Terminal 1 we took the train to the other end of the line, the Budget Rental counter at the Multi Modal Facility. There was only one person ahead of us and we quickly got our car rental assignment. It was interesting to hear it print on an old-fashioned dot-matrix printer, a sound I haven’t heard in a while. We got our Toyota Corolla and it took me longer to figure out how to move the seat up (which was why I couldn’t find the button) than anything else. 😊

We exited the facility and headed north on Mannheim (I think) to Omega restaurant on Golf Road. I was surprised it was so busy until I figured out it must be Fathers’ Day. Teresa was surprised by the basket of rolls they put in front of us and she immediately attacked a muffin which she enjoyed. We shared a large bowl of chicken rice soup then a large salad. The check came to about $26, I tipped $5, and got a chance to break my $100 bill. The waitress brought paper and plastic bags and said we could take all the dinner rolls but Teresa just took another muffin. (Which she finally finished 3 days later.)

Teresa was tired so we drove to our Airbnb. At first, I had a problem opening the door until I realized their were two locks for the one key. The place is nice but freezing and I don’t see a thermostat anywhere.

We went looking for the T-Mobile office in Des Plaines and even though I had their address of 101 W. Oakton, darned if I could find it. So, we had no internet.

Teresa complimented me on my driving. It’s nice to drive again but I find myself struggling to remember roads and places that used to be so familiar.

We went to Walmart and picked up a number of basic items for $131.77 (no problem scanning items but didn’t see the card scanner right away for payment). For me I bought deodorant, Blink (for dry eyes), Cerave Intensive Moisturizing Lotion (for dry to very dry skin) and Equate allergy relief (pink) pills. Teresa got One A Day and vitamin D vitamins and some makeup items.

I found Walmart a little overwhelming with its tall shelves and not knowing where anything is and we had to ask several times for directions. I asked a manager if he knew where there is a T-Mobile store and he informed me there’s one on the other side of the plaza. We drove over there but it was closed so we’ll get to that tomorrow.

For supper we drove to a Panera Bread I remembered but it was closed permanently which I should have figured out when I noticed a couple of their other locations on the way had closed. I drove to downtown Des Plaines where we found a Potbelly Sandwich Shop and Teresa had a small bowl of cheddar broccoli soup and I had a large bowl of chili.

We walked around downtown a bit and I showed her The Choo Choo restaurant, a big attraction for little kids.

Teresa was amazed how light it still was outside at 8:30pm.

I tried making an ATM withdrawal at a nearby bank but it didn’t work. For security purposes do they shut it down at night?

We returned to the apt and got ready for bed. Tomorrow we’ll probably stick around the area for T-Mobile and I promised to show her Michaels for her craft supplies. I guess our touristy stuff will have to wait until Tuesday.

Just before going to bed, I had a moment of inspiration and closed all the overhead A/C vents since it’s still freezing in here.

 

FUNNY

Saturday, June 14, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 12:15 (it was raining), finally waking/getting up at 5:30. No rain.

0 days remaining; tonight about 8pm we leave for the airport. 😊

Today, tickets for 2 per Google Flights would cost $1017, to and from Medellin and Chicago’s O’Hare airport. Still a pretty low price.

I completed the United Airlines Check-in but it still says some information is missing for Teresa so we have to stop at the check-in counter, probably to visually inspect her US Visa.

I signed up for United’s Mileage Plus and my Mileage Plus number is CEE61034.

I got my haircut with Daniel along with a manicure (girl poked my finger once with her little scissors) and pedicure and took a Didi back to Calle la Buena Mesa. I printed the new Budget rental car confirmation and the cost was reduced by $141.95. 😊

I had a latte outside a busy Ganso y Castor, but when I paid the bill I only gave the girl 8mil, confusing it with the 8mil in change I get back when I give them 20mil. She returned with a bill for 10,300 pesos. ☹ Later when I figured out my mistake I tipped her another 2,000 pesos.

Teresa called and asked me to pick up a loaf of corn bread from Parva. They were busy and it took about half an hour but they did it. (Only problem, Teresa asked them to cut the bread diagonally and they cut it lengthwise.) It will still work for sandwiches.

About 2:15 I went to take a nap for an hour but couldn’t relax, my mind is too busy.

Some thunder in the afternoon but no rain.

We have pickup schedule for 8pm to take us to the airport.

Now we’re mostly packed and just waiting for it to get closer to our pickup time.

Julian texted us at 7:30 that he was outside. I told him to wait. Just after 8pm (the agreed-on time) we went downstairs, put both our suitcases and the carryon in the trunk of his van and took seats inside. We arrived at the airport by 9:15 and I gave him the agreed-on 130mil plus a 10mil tip.

At the United counter we got in a long line that must have taken about 30 minutes to get to a rep. All that time I was a little worried because both our suitcases were noticeably heavier than ever before. The limit is 23kg and Teresa weighed in at 21.9kg and mine was a little under that. Luckily, our rep spoke English since she asked me questions like: Who packed these suitcases? Is there anything explosive inside? I said “no” to everything then she asked Teresa the same questions in Spanish. At one point when they were discussing sprays and aerosols Teresa had me open both sides of her suitcase and she pulled out a few containers. She demonstrated them to the rep and I understood they were okay. Then the rep looked at my passport and was concerned, it sounded like, about my Colombian tax status. I told her I don’t make any money in Colombia and she told me she had to talk to her supervisor. She came back about 10 minutes later and all was good. The only bad news is she informed us that we will have to pick up our bags in baggage claim and resubmit them for our second flight. ☹

We sat down next to Juan Valdez and ate most of our sandwiches - with water for me and a small coffee for Teresa. (We both agreed they would be better had we toasted the bread first.)

We went through the TSA check and Teresa set off the alarm. She soon figured out it was her metal hair clip.

We arrived at out gate 30 minutes before boarding so we just hung out nearby. The plane was nearly full and we took off on time.

 

FUNNY

 

Friday, June 13, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, rain woke me up once but otherwise slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 5:15. No rain.

1 day remaining; tomorrow evening about 8pm we leave for the airport. 😊

We have some raindrops but I’m hoping it clears by 8:30 so I can go to the gym.

Teresa got up at 7am, made me breakfast and went back to bed. I soon followed getting up at 8:30.

Even though there were still a few raindrops I decided to do the right thing and left the apt at 8:45 for Smartfit. The gym was a little less busy than usual but I still had to wait on a couple machines, not to mention people leaving their stuff on the place reserved for the user’s water bottle and cellphone. I was careful with the leg exercises today and my knee feels near normal again.

I had a latte in Ganso y Castor and caught the squirrel as, and just after, he took the peanut. (Next time face the camera!)

On the other side of the park, the Bastardo wait staff were playing around with the fire extinguisher.

I left at 10:30 and returned to the apt.

I reread the Pay by Plate procedure for the Illinois Tollway but I’m going to do my best to avoid the tollway.

I’ve been monitoring Google Flights pretty much daily, and yesterday and today (with only one exception $810 weeks ago) has been the cheapest yet at $938 and $845, respectively; I paid $1000 3 months ago.

1:15 in the afternoon and it’s only 75 degrees out. I guess I’ll be wearing my hiking pants this afternoon. I left the apt at 1:30 and walked to the mall. I recycled a glass jar, withdrew 2,000,000 pesos, paid the epm bill in Exito and printed some notes for our Chicago trip. I stopped at the Baloto desk by the parking entrance and asked if I could pay my Movistar bill there. The girl said, “no”, which I was expecting because I didn’t see a Punto de Pago sign. I asked if she knew where I could pay it and she consulted her cellphone then told me to go diagonally across the street to “metro sur wins”. At least now I have an idea of where I can pay it.

While completing the Budget Rental Car PreCheck I ran into a little snag. When I made the reservation, I put my country of residence as Colombia and now during the PreCheck it says, “There is a mismatch between the country of residence provided during reservation & issuing country of driver’s license provided in this form. Please update the country of residence before submitting this form.”

I called Budget’s reservation desk (it wasn’t as straight forward as it sounds and took at least an hour) and they fixed it and informed me, for some unknown reason, the cost is about $200 less than originally quoted. 😊)

 

FUNNY

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, finally waking/getting up at 5:45. No rain.

2 days remaining.

I finally connected with my Airbnb host and got the lockbox combination so now I know we have a place to crash on Sunday. 😊

I downloaded the United Airlines app to my cellphone.

At 9:30 I met Marcos for coffee outside Tostao. I told him about my adventure paying my Movistar bill. He suggested I show Teresa where I went to college; might make an interesting day trip and we could have lunch (pizza?) there. He thinks Movistar will be wiring his building soon. His girlfriend Johana showed up, I haven’t seen her in a while. They left and I moved to Peccato where I had a latte while perusing my cellphone. I noticed this article about Chicago

so I can take the Signature Room off my list of things to do.  I left at 11:15 saw this interesting bird next between the sidewalk and the street

and returned to the apt. The elevator was under routine maintenance so I had to walk up four floors.

I recharged (or is it just “charged”) my Kindle and the backup cellphone battery.

My Arazo Nutrition order has shipped.

I believe I’m winning my latest game against Troyclough but, as usual, chesswiz98 is giving me a run for my money.

Troyclough resigned our game on the 27^th move, increasing my rating to 1584.

We met Esmeralda in our porteria and walked to Otra Parte. I made sure we got seats securely under some shelter in case it rained (it didn’t). We all ordered the same thing Mama Pastoral which is chicken pasta and Teresa and I shared a bottle of water and Esmeralda had a fresh mango juice.

We had already finished eating when Alejandro arrived. He ordered a chicken wrap. He asked me about US burial customs and we discussed passkeys and ChatGPT.

The check was 206,281 pesos ($49) and they left on Alejandro’s motorcycle and we walked back to the apt.

The portero handed me our epm bill of 342,003 pesos as we entered the porteria. Just in time, I’ll pay that tomorrow afternoon.

I took my pills and started reading my new Kindle book and went to bed at 10pm.

 

FUNNY

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, slept through the night, finally waking at 5:30 and getting up at 6am. No rain.

3 days remaining.

After breakfast we both returned to bed but I couldn’t fall asleep so I soon got up.

At 7:45 I left for Smartfit under a few raindrops. I completed my workout and had a little right knee discomfort after my leg workout. I walked in more raindrops to Ganso y Castor where I had a latte. I ran into Brit and told him I’ll be heading to Chicago. His son just got his visa yesterday and they are heading to Puerto Rico (where he was born) then to Atlanta and after that maybe Brazil.

I left at 10am and bought a plantain in Ara on my way back to the apt.

I called USAA and had them add my Capital One 360 account so I can transfer money to and from. (I already had it set up from the Capital One side.)

Teresa left at 2pm for her art class and I left soon after for Peccato. Walking down the hill I felt a few raindrops and switched to plan B, I went directly to Mercado Madrid and bought the 12 eggs we’ll need before our trip.

I took an Advil for my sore knee but it didn’t kick in as quick as I’d hoped.

I left the apt again at 3:30 and walked to Eduardo Madrid where I had a latte while waiting for Teresa. I reviewed the paperwork for our flight, rental car and AirBnB and all appears to be in order.

Teresa arrived at 5:15 and ordered a granizado and a pastel de spinaca (sp?). It never ceases to amaze me that Teresa orders something and neither she nor the waitress ask if I want anything. ☹

This is the latest photo of Teresa's bracelets:

I ordered 4 bottles of Joint Support from Arazo Nutrition to be delivered to my Florida address. That’s 2 years’ worth because I’m going to gift 2 bottles to Esmeralda.

I finished reading John Grisham’s Camino Ghosts on my Kindle. The criticism I have is he’ll mention the name of unimportant characters and I’m thinking, “do I have to remember this guy, his name and what he does?”. I know some authors make money by putting a customer’s name in their book so maybe that’s what’s going on.

 

FUNNY

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 2:15 (it was raining), finally waking by alarm at 6:30 and getting up. No rain.

4 days remaining.

This morning my shaver started blinking on and off indicating it needs to be recharged. The last time I charged it was April 1^st so after I recharge it today it will be good for the month we’re gone.

I was a few minutes late ordering my Didi so I didn’t arrive at Unicentro mall until 10 minutes after 8am and Jose was already sitting at our usual table.

They changed the menu and the usual French toast is now made with thicker bread.

I tried it but the inside is kind of raw and the honey can’t permeate inside of the bread so this is a no-no for me in the future.

I told Jose about my Movistar payment problem and he took me down to just inside Exito where I paid the bill at a kiosk that included the words, “Punto de Pago”, which is what I need to look for in the future.

He also volunteered to pay our July bill when it arrives and I’ll reimburse him when I return.

I saw this beautiful Corvette on display outside one of their entrances:

We moved to the food court where I had the Black pieces in the first game and I blundered on the 9^th move and resigned on the 18^th move.

It was just after 10am when we started our 2^nd game. I got an attack going against his king and he resigned on the 39^th move.

I left at 12:45 and took a Didi to Viva Envigado. I had my usual lunch in Pergamino, bought a box of large Ziploc bags in Dollar Store, then had a latte in Urbania. I left at 3pm and returned to the apt by taxi.

I resigned my game vs Chesswiz98, lowering my rating to 1579. ☹

I called T-Mobile and talked to Janel again. He quoted a price of $140 for the Samsung A52 5G cellphone but we have to wait until we’re in the store to order it.

The cellphone I found on Amazon is refurbished and I discovered I could have it sent General Delivery to the Des Plaines post office and pick it up there. But when I talked to Teresa, she didn’t want a “used” phone so we’ll order it when we arrive in the T-Mobile office on Sunday.

A little rain in the evening but it had stopped when I went to bed at 10pm.

 

FUNNY

Monday, June 9, 2025

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, woke up at 4:45 (it was raining) and got up at 5:15 (no rain).

5 days remaining.

6am and it’s drizzling.

6:30 and it’s still dripping.

After breakfast Teresa returned to bed and I soon joined her. I set an alarm for 45 minutes, quickly fell asleep and woke/got up at 7:30.

I left for the gym just after 7:45. I noticed a number of unopened peanuts at the base of the tree so I put one in the crick (I know there’s a better word but darn if I can think of it at the moment) of the tree. I completed my workout with the usual weight purposely coming up short of my maximum number of reps. There was a table set up just inside the turnstile with a couple chicas and a sphygmomanometer. (Yeah, I had to check the spelling on that one.) I had my blood pressure checked and it was 130/80, better to do it before you exercise. 😊 They gifted me a bag of salted peanuts and I think I’ll keep them for our trip to the airport before we go through the TSA check.

There was a little rain dripping again as I walked to Ganso y Castor where I met a Colombian couple from Fort Lauderdale. They told me they own an Airbnb right over Black Pepper. I asked if there was an accident there last week. She confirmed what I had heard, a girl was leaning against a balcony which gave way and she fell to the sidewalk. I had heard they took her away in an ambulance and she confirmed it but she’s back in her apartment now. I left at 10:15 and per orders picked up a head of broccoli in Ara on my way back to the apt.

I left the apt at 2pm and walked down to the Ave Las Vegas bus stop. It was only a 5-minute wait for a Sabaneta bus. I got off at Calle 10, crossed the street and took the pedestrian underpass to Monterey mall. I searched both floors for a Samsung A52 5G cellphone but as I expected that version is out of date.

Outside I took a taxi to Santafe mall and stopped on the 4^th floor where I had a page of chess notes printed.

This is what the atrium looks like today.

They usually have something interesting for children.

I went down to the 1^st floor and had a latte in Valentina’s while waiting for Teresa. (My waitress had these words tattooed on her neck in English, “LIFE IS GOLD” but she didn’t speak English.) Teresa arrived at 3:30 and we shared a slice of yogurt cake and I had another latte and she a granizado (cold coffee with ice cream). The check was 72,100 pesos and we left at 5:15 and returned to the apt by taxi.

Using my MagicJack I called T-Mobile in Des Plaines and I think they can order a Samsung A52 5G for Teresa. (I sure hope so as Amazon only has 1 in stock.) I asked him to check on the price and now I’m just waiting on him to call me back.

I won a 1 pawn advantage endgame vs Troyclough in 67 moves increasing my rating to 1588 but I’m losing a game to chesswiz98 so we’ll see if I can hold it for a draw.

Kelly arrived at 6:15 for Teresa’s massage.

Teresa told me Esmeralda has unbearable leg pain so we’re going to see if we can get her some topical cream while we’re in Chicago. She came back with its name, MINERAL ICE. I think we can easily find that over the counter. In the meantime, I gave Teresa my unused tube of BENGAY but told her to try a small area before going whole hog (where did that saying come from?) and to be sure to wash her hands afterward.

Janel from T-Mobile never called me back. Maybe I’ll get a call to my MagicJack app tomorrow while I’m playing chess.

 

FUNNY SIGNS

When I took this photo I actually heard a Colombian translate it to English as "The only thing that comes and goes is hunger."