12-VII-2001.
Doctor's checkup, part 2. Armed with the clean bills of lungs from A-burg, we reappeared there, all five again. This time we waited quite long in the car, or the girls did, made a bunch of shots with the Agfa. And now we had our paperwork in hand. We were supposed to do it the next day, but the doctor is not in the office (friday 13th?), so today. No problem with Zero, I have worked enough overtime already.
The doctor is organized kill it for me god. Every fourth sentence was „now where did I just leave...“, she rummaged through the paperworks god knows how many times and how long. She kept returning to Lena's hepatitis B vaccine (which is only for our medical workers, as it's spread only by blood contact, and they risk scratches) and my tetanus, trying to push the idea that I should have gotten the second and third. It all seemed like she was trying to make a bit more money on us. But it seemed like I picked the best tactic, kept silent, so she seems to have concluded we weren't shopping, she signed it as it was, and if we ever get checked we'll get vaccinated here (and at a much more favorable price) and then have that paper too.
More than 20 years after this Lena remembered this, specially the black squirrels and how I avoided getting closer to the creek behind the house where the practice was, because I was in urgent need to pee and the murmur of the water would be highly inspirative. Eventually I found my way closer to the creek and helped maintain the water level.
I guess we drove Go (to Jose or his wife?), just didn't make any pictures there.
Made this one on 64 west, coming from DC, around 20:00. It's way past the high school graduation or any such reason to celebrate, but later we learned that these guys spread that across the whole summer, that being their last time together. Once they go to study or work, it's over. So they just gather enough money to rent a limo, and have fun. They're still underage to drink, though, but I guess they sneak a few here and there.
Seen a few of these on this stretch of the road. This particular bunch was near enough long enough to see them open the hatch, peek out down to their waists, wave around and generally act crazy, good time.
It's a bit of a chaos here, Zero is readying for an encounter with a customer, so we (V. and I here, Željko at home), work all day. I worked the 4th of july, and whole weekend, and should do tomorrow as well, and then we'd be able to cool it off, to go get those checkup results etc etc. Ford has fits of ideas at times, and he made it abundandly clear that this is our chance to end up the heroes or at least not to carry the blame for the fiasco instead of him.
In principle, if Zerois bust, I'm looking for aa job, and the prospects are good - I actually did find a better position already, but didn't like it and Jack said that the whole green card process would be delayed* if I switched companies. So I'm not too concerned, just watching Ford how he invents mad worms**.
Checking emails with Željko now, I see we completely ditched vpm and went with the biz classes and the GUI that Rick wrote. Much easier and runs much faster, both in design and while running. Maybe not so complete, but life is so much better. Too bad we didn't use this immediately after it was written, while he was still here.
And so we went for a little talk with the principal (there are no school directors here, they're all principals). Being the two miles away from the city places her into a different school zone, so new school. To explain to her that Lena went first grade twice, once in serbian, and the other time again simply because she didn't speak english, which she ate up in two months. To go third grade now... she was already bored in the second grade... could she skip third and go straight to fourth grade? The principal was reluctant, not quite knowing the ropes, she was new on this position and the position was probably just as new to her, but then looking at Lena's file, and whatever remarks her teachers left, she agreed to a probation. We give her a two month tryout, and by that time if it's too difficult for her, we switch her back to third grade, if she's good enough, she stays in fourth. It's a deal.
We won the bet, she was straight A in fourth and then also in fifth grade.
News from home - Milka came by. She was visiting her sister and others in Srem. Says Lajna got married, but won't have children, „doesn't want to produce another Croat“ [and with her age and drug history, nobody would recommend pregnancy anyway]. As dad writes, „Milka divorced her husband, but in the last ten years she kept, even intimate connections with him, because it helped her survive as a Serb, specially as he's known as a big Croat. He helped her even financially, because as per her connemt, he's still the father of their child. During those years she never even had a coffee in the neighborhood, not to be discovered as a Serb“.
On 16th, the news that M., the hungarian girl from nearest neighborhood, with whom I played as a kid, had died. Her rheumatism turned into bone cancer.
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* understatement. The process would go back to square one. That's what the Clammy Clingon stuffed us with a bear's service, allowing us H-1Bers to lose the employer who imported us, nice of him, but then each time the green process starts from zero.
** „to invent mad worms“ - to phantasize, come up with stupid, unworkable ideas, indulge in one's own whims and wishful thinking
Mentions: Agfa, Allan Robin (Ford), Annenburg (A-burg), Gorana Sredljević (Go), Jack Baran sr, Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Jose Bariero, Melanija Merćep (Lajna), Milka Merćep, Rick Netter, VPM, Zero Distance (Zero), Željko Popov, in serbian