04-VI-2004.
We started seriously looking for a house, just sat with an agentulja*, and she explained the whole process to us, gave us the paperwork so we'd know the ropes, and printed for us the data for a dozen possible prospects, to pick from, whatever we like. We're bent to prefer by location, size and price, and not how much was it spruced up for sale, because the way they spruce it doesn't have much in common with our taste. This way it's better that we take something cheaper and then fix it ourselves - we're used to it, we did that for years, it's almost tool itching :). We only check that the construction is sound and the installations work (power, water, suers, phone) and we know how to do the rest. (this is from email to my folks)
And the agentulja... black, firm and sound, not quite for club 100 but not much missing from it. Not fat, but there's nothing small on her. The name is some ebonic thing, the way they tend to invent fake african names but with westerly-like suffixes, Changrissa. Think to myself, such excess originality and so sticking to your roots. But okay, whatever you invent now will be tradition and folk( )lore a generation or two later. You make culture from what you have.
David (10:43:55): so did you get my things? could you print them out?
sGradlj (10:44:59): what things? Are you sure you haven't sent them to my NY address which I can't access?
sGradlj (10:45:49): Just checking mails for the last few days... or you mean the reports from rough to convert into Roadshow religion?
David (10:46:17): ndragan@verizon.net is okay no?
sGradlj (10:46:59): yes, but the only message I got today is "try doing some report samples", no attachment
David (10:47:29): ah... no big deal. Do not move, resending them to you.
sGradlj (10:49:56): I moved
David (10:59:18): once a rebel always a rebel uh....
David (10:59:24): okay... now do you get it?
sGradlj (10:59:35): pressure... I surrendered.
David (11:00:09): yer yer, you tell that story to your VB concitoyens...
sGradlj (11:01:14): I just went to bathroom. It's a move.
David (11:01:28):
sGradlj (11:01:48): A colleague** once wrote "Silence, recording" while the app was doing backup.
sGradlj (11:01:57): Some users took that seriously.
David (11:02:16): do not make a mistake here. you are always allowed to go to the bathroom when nature calls. We're harsh, but we are human.
sGradlj (11:04:32): printed... admiring your handwriting. "Must be a doctor", as they say here.
David (11:04:52): I'm sorry...
David (11:05:32): btw this is in another life, one of the reason why I started to program.
sGradlj (11:05:53): what, you were (almost) a doctor?
David (11:05:53): With my handwriting trying to do books on paper is one challenge.
sGradlj (11:06:09): trying to read is another?
David (11:06:18): books= accounting
sGradlj (11:06:48): so what do we computers for? so the people with special writing style don't get trouble.
David (11:07:10): special writing style... you are a diplomat.
In the afternoon Changrissa took us to see two houses. One is somewhere on the boulevard, in not quite gated community, built around a 150x150m field, all houses facing inward, blacks' end. Which I don't mind, but I don't know whether they'd mind us moving in. I don't like the idea of moving into a place where the neighbors would give me wry looks.
The house is so-so, slat and clapboard just like all of them are. Don't even remember if it had upstairs. What impressed me was the patio, no matter how small, but it had an exit to the lawn behind, with a gas station beyond. A place where we could use the bicycles.
The current owners are still there, waiting to get paid and move out :). The house was okay, but they were accepting offers for only a couple hours more, and we didn't want to rush it until we see more.
While we drove to the other adress, rain started. So it happens here.
This other house is south of the boulevard and highway, in some even more densely built area, and the patios connect, these are townhouses, which means that behind the patio, no matter how much longer than the standard 6x6, is another patio. Just like the english workers' quarters. You get out and are still walled in. The house is in very bad shape. There's a new carpet, and it has an alarm, but everything else is roadkill. Two other houses we were interested in were already sold.
The prices of what she's showing us are around 100K$, which is at the upper limit of acceptable.
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* -ulja is a female suffix, not quite pejorative but close to it
** Brlja, to be precise
Mentions: David Krakovski, Goran Staković (Brlja), sGradlj, in serbian