Depressed!

I said I wouldn\’t be about, but I am writing this really for my own benefit…as have said elsewhere, this really is my diary, and it is somewhere I can come back to for information.

To say I am feeling depressed is an understatement, I left home reasonably early this morning, to go shopping in the City (Medellin), firstly I went to Makro in San Juan, to get the bulk-buy items, and from there, I moved to Homecenter on the other side of the car park, but because I knew I was buying heavy items, I moved the car, onto the second floor of the Store carpark.

I found all the items I wanted, including the special tile adhesive for swimming pools, paid for them, and returned to the car, up until this point, it had been a good day, I had everything I needed, which made a change. As i was walking across the car park, I was logging some information into my mobile phone, and I made a point of telling myself, not to put the phone on my car roof, otherwise I would forget it, but then told myself not to be stupid, and that\’s where I put it.

I then loaded the car up, and left the car park. I then drove across the City to get my orange marmalade, so far so good, I arrived at the Carulla Supermarket, and decided to inform Marcela where I was, she likes to know that I have arrived at my destinations, I think she believes I will end up in Timbuktu! I went to my phone pouch…empty! I checked my other pockets, then realised, that I really am as mad as a hatter, I had left the phone on the car roof and driven off.

I bought my marmalade, and made my way back to Homecenter, it took ages, for some reason, maybe because it was Friday, but traffic was crawling at a snails pace all over Medellin, and the Montero, didn\’t like it! I eventually arrived, looked in the space I had parked and in the general area, nothing, no phone, no broken glass nothing, also no Vigilante /Security, so I went upstairs to the Store, spoke with the female Vigilante at the entrance, but nothing had been handed to her, she got on the radio, nothing.

I then went to the Office, but again nothing had been handed in, although they said that from time to time, people do hand in found property, the girl, asked for my number and dialed it, it had been turned off, evidence that it had indeed been stolen. The Staff were brilliant, and took my details and Marcela\’s number in case it was handed in.

I tried ringing Marcela from a pay phone, but it told me the number was wrong. I had had this problem previously, and just assumed you couldn\’t ring a mobile phone from a Public Phone, I have since found out that you can, but you have to dial (03) before the number, it\’s only taken me nearly seven years to learn that, I knew that to dial a land line from a Mobile, you have to dial (034) before the number, but never thought about the other way around.

I knew that Marcela would be panicking that she had not heard from me, I always keep in touch, not because I need to, but because I know it puts her mind at rest, so I decided to make my way to her Shop in Bello, as she was due to start work at 2pm. It seemed to take for ever to get out of Medellin, the Autopista, (equivalent of a dual carriageway) was static, and the Montero didn\’t like that at all, eventually it started backfiring, and not quietly either, everyone was looking at me, at the same time it was losing power, I just managed to get over to the side of the road, when it cut out. I really could have done without that, but it started again first turn of the key, and it wasn\’t overheating. It took an hour and twenty minutes to do less than a mile, and all because, drivers were not adopting lane discipline, all three lanes were blocked, with traffic wanting to leave at the same turn off, Transito and the Police were in the queue and did nothing to resolve it.

I eventually arrived at the shop, and saw the Mother-in-law, apparently Marcela thought I had been drugged and abducted using scopolamine which is commonly used here to rob the unsuspecting, by put it on leaflets etc., which is one of the reasons I never accept anything if I am out alone. As a result she had in a panic headed home, in case \’they\’ were emptying the house. We rang her, part way home, and she returned, we then blocked my phone and sim card. So I will now be without a phone until I receive my new one, sometime next week, it is on order.

It turned out to be an expensive morning out,  I arrived home about 3pm, much to the dogs excitement, but I don\’t think that any of my frozen items were still frozen, I didn\’t check, it all went into the freezer, fortunately it was all stuff that has to be cooked, so we\’ll just make sure it is cooked well.

I then spent some time searching for a new phone, on MercadoLibre, our equivalent of eBay, not as easy as you think, because there are so many crooks selling knock off items and copies, you have to research the Sellers as much as the items, I ended up buying another Xiaomi, but from Bogota, so it won\’t arrive until at least Wednesday, as it is yet another Fiesta on Tuesday.

Besides feeling a total fool, I am worried about how something I thought about seconds before, could have gone out of my mind so fast, and the number of incidents is increasing on a monthly basis. I have an appointment with my Doc next Thursday at 6.40 in the morning, and after today, Marcela says that she is going with me!

I am determined not to let this get me down, I suffered with chronic depression for three years before I retired, so I know what it does to you, and I don\’t want a return to those times, I have agreed to go out with Marcela and her family on Sunday to an event that is part of the Feria de Flores in Medellin, but this is all about eating, that should take my mind of the problems!