Saturday, June 1, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 12:15am, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

I see my Social Security deposit, thanks Uncle Sam!

At 8:30 I ordered a Didi and arrived at Daniel’s barbershop at 8:45. (I have to remember it’s only 5 minutes away by car and I don’t have to order my ride so early.) I didn’t knock but Daniel noticed me 5 minutes later. He recently got married and showed me his beautiful wedding ring. I was done by 9:30 and took another Didi to Todo Drogas. Shortly before we arrived my driver says to me, “so friend, where are you from?” in good English. I told him “USA, Chicago”. He then asked if he needs to go around the corner to drop me off at the 37^th street side of the pharmacy and I told him whatever was easiest for him. I got out ½ block from the pharmacy where I purchased 6 items for 305,900 pesos ($79), then walked to Parva where I had a café con leche amongst their usual Saturday crowd.

I’ve gained the advantage (up a knight with an attack) against ONEIPAMETATO1453 in our latest game now I just have to hold on to the advantage and convert it to a win. I’m pretty even in my latest game with Troyclough but he’s made some passive moves that might allow me to gain the advantage.

Teresa called and asked me to buy a box of Monticello pasta in Ara on my way back to the apt. I told her I’m not sure they have name brands but I’ll check. I left at 11am and stopped in Ara and saw this line

I’m not getting in that line just for a box of pasta. I returned to the apt and showed Teresa the photo of the line. She just said she’ll make something else.

On Chess.com I watched Pia Cramling, Anna’s mother, playing another GM in the Norway Chess tournament. Isn’t technology great? Pia was trying to hold on to a draw.

It looks like my book arrived in Florida so I texted Gisela from Innovation Corp. to forward everything on. Didn’t get a response, maybe she doesn’t work weekends.

I finished my bag of prunes; took over a year. I’ve been eating one or two every day and drinking my chamomile tea most days and my digestive system is generally much improved.

I think I may be over my Nummular Eczema aka Nummular Dermatitis skin problem. 😊

I’m trying something different and only taking my calendula flower extract in the morning; we’ll see if I notice a difference.

For supper I ordered ribs from Mu that arrived withing 30-35 minutes so now I’ll have something to eat at home tomorrow when Teresa goes to mass in San Peregrino.

Back in April I read one of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher books which I liked so much I decided to read the entire series in order. I just finished #2 but thought it was #1, because I purchased and downloaded both at the same time but started #2 instead of #1. Capice? So tonight, I’m starting the real first Jack Reacher novel in the series.

Before Teresa went to bed at 9pm she told me to close the living room window when I go to bed. I asked why and she said, “bats”. I went out on to the balcony and sure enough I could see a single bat flitting around. I closed the window before I went to bed at 10pm. (Glenn has mentioned he has a problem with bats flying inside his apt.) My bedroom window though, I left open the usual foot wide.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Friday, May 31, 2024

Last night I went to bed at midnight, got up once at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 7am.

The Chicago Bears training camp will be featured on HBO’s show Hard Knocks this year starting late august.

I left the apt at 8:30 and stopped at the $efecty booth but if I understood the lady I can’t pay Direct TV here any longer; she suggested someplace in MetroSur mall. I joined Marcos in Tostao for coffee. He handed me 2 of the nut bars from Madrid that Teresa loves and I paid him $20 + 2euros. We spent most of the time discussing the fact that Trump has been found guilty on all 34 charges. I asked him for advice on setting up a will and he said he would give me contact information for his lawyer. He’s thinking seriously of moving to Malaga, Spain with his girlfriend. (Later I googled Malaga for weather and it gets cold there in the winter.) He left at 10am and I walked across the street and quickly caught an Envigado bus to Viva Envigado. I recycled a glass bottle then went to the ATM outside Exito. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working so I went upstairs in the main part of the mall. I withdrew 2 million pesos (a mix of 50s, 20s, and 10s) and went directly into the bank, luckily no line, and paid the rent for June. I went to Bancolombia and waited in a short line to pay for my health insurance and our gym membership. Downstairs I had a latte in Urbania while checking out my phone. Jerry came by and took a seat and we had a nice discussion about whether Trump gets prison time or not.

I left about 1pm, made another 2-million withdrawal, this time all 100s ☹ and walked across the street to another $efecty desk where I paid the Direct TV bill of 175,700 pesos ($45.50). I ordered a Didi to take me to Poblado. I got out at Hija Mia and walked across the street to Philly Steaks. As I stepped inside the tent, Chris Cajoleas said, “hi, Terry”. He was sitting across from another gringo and they were both smoking cigars. He recommended I take a table far away to avoid the cigar smoke but I took the next table (mistake) and ordered a smash burger, fries and a Coke.

Very tasty! The bill came to 52mil ($14) with tip.

I ordered another Didi which dropped me off at Pasteur pharmacy in La Buena Mesa. I walked to the other side of the block to Parva where I had a café con leche.

We had some rain on and off over 30 minutes but then it cleared.

I left about 3:30 and returned to the apt. Teresa returned about 4pm and I gifted her one of the two peanut bars; the other is hidden in my closet.

Teresa complained that something she put in the fridge had frozen (that’s happened to me) so I raised the temp from 6 degrees C to 7 degrees C (which is the maximum).

I finished reading Lee Child’s Die Trying on my Kindle.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4:15, finally waking/getting up at 6:15.

This is what the metal plate in the sidewalk looks like from my bedroom window; you’ll have to zoom in a to see it.

I had a latte in Los Porteños for a couple hours. Marcos is back and we made plans to meet for coffee tomorrow at 9am. I left at 11:30 and met Teresa outside Ara on her way to her nail appointment.

I left the apt at 12:55 and experienced a few raindrops as I was crossing Calle 30. I took a seat at Asados Rogelio and Teresa joined me a few minutes later. It was soon pouring but it only lasted 20 minutes. A few minutes later is started up again. We had the usual Colombian lunch for 57,250 pesos.

She showed me her acrylic nails that cost her 45mil

and Laura said hers cost $55 in Boston.

Just after 2pm the rain let up so we quickly returned to the apt.

We left the apt at 3:30 and took a Didi to Clinica Medellin on calle 7 in Poblado. Teresa went in to check but as I expected we had to go across the street to Cedimed to pick up her test results. Five minutes later we cross the street again and caught a taxi. Teresa gets in and says, “Avenida ochenta” and I said, “Belen” and she gave me a dirty look. I soon figured out she wanted to go to the eps on calle 50 (and Avenida setenta) near the stadium not the eps on Avenida ochenta in Belen.

We were in the taxi on calle 50 just blocks from eps when my son texted me that Donald Trump, the 45^th president of the US had been convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up his payments to porn star Stormy Daniels for their affair from becoming public before the 2016 election. (He suspected, probably correctly, that if that had come to light so soon after the Access Hollywood debacle, “you can grab them by the pussy, they let you do it, he probably would have lost.

We arrived 20 minutes before her 5pm appointment. She checked in at the first station then told me I could go across the street to the café for coffee. I just arrived and hadn’t taken a seat when she called me and asked me to come back. She was waiting in line at the second station where I had to pay 4,500 for her consultation. I returned to the café, took a seat and ordered a café con leche and churro from a waitress with an electric tablet. After I finished my little café con leche and churro (sugar donut) and waited a little longer I went to the cashier, gave him my table number and paid 2,700 pesos (70 cents). I had just sat down again when Teresa called me to meet outside the clinic. We walked across the street and caught a taxi as a girl arrived at her destination and got out. It was about 5:30 and in heavy traffic we returned to Envigado at 7pm in a light rain.

Teresa was hungry so she suggested we get out at McDonald’s. Fine with me. She then suggested

And I countered with Chiclayo but we ended up at Olivia’s where she had salmon and I Fettuccine con albondigas and we shared a bottle of water for 106,476 pesos ($28). The rain had finally stopped by the time we walked back to the apt.

I see my pension deposits in my bank account. 😊

I started watching CNN about the trial result then switched to MSNBC and didn’t get to bed until midnight.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1:15, again at 4:45, finally waking/getting up at 6:30.

A light drizzle started right at 8am; The Weather Channel predicted it would start at 8:30 and I was hoping to escape the apt before it started.

I left the apt at 8:45 with just enough dripping that I had to put up my umbrella. I stopped at the Bancolombia window where I printed yesterdays’ chess game analysis, for the first time back-to-back, for 1,200 pesos (30 cents).  The rain stopped by the time I arrived at Parva where I had a café con leche and solved another couple pages of chess puzzles.

When I left at 11:30 I noticed a young man carrying a football walking down Calle 31. I watched him as he walked past Eduardo Madrid, heading down towards Ave Las Vegas. I returned to the apt.

Teresa has some test results in Cedimed so she gave me the list of instructions so I could download and print them. The system said her userid or password were invalid so we’ll have to make a trip there this afternoon.

About 2:30 she says she’ll give me her cedula and asked if I can pick up her test results. First, I asked if she’s sure the results are ready. She said her test was a week ago so they should be ready. I told her if there’s no problem, no problem, but if they try to explain something about why they aren’t available I won’t understand. Eventually, she mentioned she has a 5pm doctor’s appointment tomorrow so we’ll stop and pick up these results on the way.

Last week I did some curls with my 7# dumbbell and this week, Monday and today, I added some shoulder extensions and raises. I feel a little stiffness in my neck as a result but if it doesn’t get any worse I’ll probably return to the gym on Monday.

I watched more episodes of The Good Fight.

Well, well, well, somebody’s welding a plate over that hole that had the branch in it.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 4am, finally waking/getting up by alarm at 6:30.

I took a Didi to Unicentro and due to heavy traffic arrived right at 8am. I went up to Parmessano, waited one minute for them to open, then took a seat. Jose soon joined me. We both ordered French toast but the waiter soon returned and informed us they didn’t have it today so we both ordered one of their egg casseroles:

I told Jose about my plans to play in the August chess tournament. He mentioned the Intercontinental tournament is going on right now (last time here was 7 years ago), with players from all over the Americas.

We moved to the food court. I lost the first game with the Black pieces in 40 moves and he showed me where I missed an opportunity to gain the advantage on move 23. ☹

I won the second game in 61 moves with him resigning one move before checkmate.

It was 2:30 when we said our goodbyes. I went across the street to $efecty and after a 10-minute wait in line I paid our Tigo/Une Wi-Fi bill.

Back across the street I ordered an Uber and was a little surprised that, despite the fact I was standing outside the Conquistadores entrance, it wanted me to move to the San Joaquin entrance. Traffic wasn’t too bad and he dropped me off at Viva Envigado.

I went upstairs to Pergamino café but there weren’t any seats available so I went to Sarku’s where I had my usual teriyaki chicken with a limonada de coco.

I left about 4:15 and returned to the apt by taxi.

I did a computer analysis on each of our games from today.

I drew a game against Troyclough and my rating is now 1581.

I watched another couple episodes of The Good Fight.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Monday, May 27, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 1:30, again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 6:15. Teresa got up at 6:45, I don’t usually get up before her.

I left the apt at 9am and on the sidewalk just passed Tienda D1 I encountered a woman carrying a branch. She said something to me but I didn’t understand a word so I said, “lo siento, no hablo mucho español” and continued on my way. At Los Porteños I encountered a springer spaniel that followed me to my table. (I think he could smell the dog biscuit in my pocket.) I asked permission to give it to their dog and when they approved I did. The couple, apparently medical professionals here, spoke some English. A few more times the man gave me treats to give to the dog. Just before they left he gave me another treat for the dog and it was right in front of me, expectant. I said, “sit” then “paw” and he sat and offered me his paw (muddy) before I could even finish the words. 😊

I completed a few more pages of chess exercises, passing the 10% mark.

I left at 11:15, and in front of Tienda D1 I saw the branch sticking out of the hole in the sidewalk. I stopped to buy some laundry products in Ara and returned to the apt.

Well, this doesn’t look very encouraging:

At 12:30 we had a downpour but it only lasted about 5 minutes.

I left the apt at 2:30 and stopped at the Bancolombia window to pay the Tigo/Une bill but she said she couldn’t do it for some reason. I continued on to Eduardo Madrid where I had a latte while solving a couple more pages of chess puzzles. At 3:40 I thought it felt like rain and sure enough 5 minutes later it’s raining. There was a break in the rain but I hesitated and when I finally decided to leave it was raining lightly so I put up my portable umbrella. I stopped in Ara and waited about 10 minutes in line to pay for 2 bags of milk before returning to the apt.

ONEIPAMETATO1453 resigned our game increasing my rating to 1584.

I watched more episodes of The Good Fight.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS

Sunday, May 26, 2024

Last night I went to bed at 10pm, got up once at 12:30, again at 5am, finally waking/getting up at 6:45. Well, in total it’s almost 9 hours.

We left the apt at 8:40 and walked to Sao Paulo where we found DoSabores not yet open. We had breakfast in Olivenza and Teresa was happy with her avocado toast and I with my calentao with scrambled eggs. Add a couple lattes and the total came to 85,222 pesos. I’m not sure she’s going to want to do this again any time soon because she usually wants to eat earlier.

We walked back to the apt and soon left again and took a Didi to Mayorca mall. Medipiel was having a sale so I bought another container of my Cetaphil Urea 20% skin cream 20% off and Teresa bought some cream at 30% off for a total of 166,350 pesos ($43.50).

She shopped for t-shirts in a couple more stores then we went down to Exito where she bought chicken breasts and some veggies and we returned to the apt by taxi.

The portero handed us our last Amazon package. I opened it and was a little shocked how heavy the food Thermos was.

Teresa is going to use it to take food on her day trips to San Peregrino.

Just before 4pm a downpour started but it only lasted about an hour.

I watched a couple more episodes of The Good Fight.

I’m winning my lastest game vs ONEIPAMETATO1453 and Troyclough hasn’t moved for the past couple days so the system automatically puts him “on vacation”.

In the evening I watched an interesting talk show on MSNBC with Chris Hayes & Rachel Maddow.

 

EL ARROYO SIGNS