16-II-2024.
On thirteenth we celebrated the tworthday by going downtown. I got the van, it starts regularly, goes, and the wipers are falling apart. Managed to clean up enough glass to get to Žitni trg, park, walk. Just the late afternoon, almost dusk. Nina and I took Raja to the optician in the underground, while the girls went with baba to the chinese shop in the glass hut above. And look, the optician is not in the DBA space that Borko said she had bought, there's a tavern inside now, I see pool tables. Nina had just had measurements taken, alright, no big deal, it went from 0,25 to 0,5 in the last eight years or so, can still go without glasses, but Raja's measurements took longer. He's also developed a bit of a cylndrical disturbance, which is what they call it when the vertical and horizontal curves don't match. Meanwhile I went to walk the scene of the crime. The bartender, a woman in about late forties, said „we had a kafić next door, now took this to expand... How come I don't remember you?“. Well, I left amid 1994. Ah, right, we came later. Were good friends with Milka and Nena specially.
Then we went all together, probably the last time in this assembly, to Prleski. They all hit their cakes. Violet, of course, got her coke - that one year she abstained was more of an constructive proof that she can do without than any kind of indicator. I think we have an addict. Linda didn't quite clean her plate, but Sanda did, to the last bit, and said „this is my best day ever“, which she also said about chrismas. The light was perfect, the shots came out phenomenally.
She managed to buy 2000$ in an exchange shop in the building of once political school and „Crvenkapa“ (redcap, i.e Red Riding Hood, was a kids garments shop in seventies until collapse), without any papers dicks thumbs, just like that, as if these were euros. Some six ago the Fed still wrung every bank's ears all over the word, threatening exclusion, unless they write down the serial number of each dollar banknote (and banks then enforced this upon exchangers) and ID every customer buying or selling dollars. Everything had to be tracked. Nobody wanted dollars in stock, it was cumbersome and waste of time. That once when Lena went with that other firm to Florida somewhere, we barely managed to find one exchange on the whole NBG where she could buy some to have on the trip. Now all of a sudden it's a free for all. What is that to mean?
On his part, Rein sold his ancient collection of comic books and passed the 600$ to Nina.
We thought we'd get a jacket for Raja as well, the sleeves are almost not short but the back is, but then he'll be in a warmer clime soon, he won't need one, and even if we got him a larger one for the next winter, there's no chance we'd guess the size he'll need by then. And with the little time he's outside, and the winters being shitty warm, won't get any colder in the remaining eight days, he's good with the one he has.
The next day I ran the van to check the tires, weren't missing much. At the pump they have no wipers, so I drove to my majstors, just to drop by and say hello, and bought new ones there. It was a tad late when I returned, so the montage I left for later. She was already busy making the cake, pardon, cakes. By evening that was ready as well, she took them upstairs into the salon to cool of and to affirm the crust. The girls again took every opportunity when we're upstairs to join us and have a run of the salon, they grew to like it. They can flip the switches and turn the mills (for noodles, so not mills but rather presses and cutters), they can run around, kick the two cut out triangles of the plank and just yell. We saw that coming as soon as they got rid of the fear of the staircase. That is, Linda still claims to be scared (as she does with fifty other things as well) but that doesn't stop her from climbing up at any time.
On wednesday I remembered I got charged with another thing about maturski, to announce to the diaspora. I sent emails to Bilja and then Bosa separately, namely to her son, whose name is in the address, explaining that this is the last ditch effort to maintain contact, this email is the only link and I got one reply in ten years, giving it a try again now.
In the afternoon Sanda came to me to play guessing in which hand is she holding a screw which is usually in my phone box (still on my desk, beneath the left monitor). I guessed at first try, because her fingers on the empty hand were bent all the way. Aha... okay, again, now with both Linda and I guessing. And each time I told her how I guessed, and she corrected it and we had fewer and fewer hits. Then she and I moved to the yellow room, I sat on the bed and she told me to guess where did she hide that money. „Under the fishbowl“. „Nope, on me“. „Ah then in a pocket... the right one“. How did you guess? Well, you're right handed, which means you're more likely to put it in your right pocket than you'd in the left. Okay, close [my] eyes again. I said right, again. Nope, and why did you think it was the right one? Well since I'm not looking, I tried to listen, and it seemes more rustle came from that side. Yes, that's why I put it in the right one first, and then into the left [one], knowing that you'll rely on your ears. Whoa... she's going to be something, already begins sherlocking things out.
On thursday I saw Bilja replied, didn't plan coming but then that's not excluded either. But, the surprise of the day, Bosa replied as well!
Since 2020. I am retired and I planed to move from New Zealand te very same year, but instead te covid situation kept us al here in a two year quarantine. Tat alone caused my plans to cange somewat but te decision to move is stil standing. Altoug I am retired I stil work but tat is in principle wen I realy feel like working. And I was also already informed about te fiftiet aniversary of matriculation. I didn't plan to come, but te posibility always exists.
We didn't hurry with the barbecue, so we were only halfway through the first batch (neck steaks, rather thick, can't do them faster, ćevapčići next) when Lena and Milan already came. Lena is looking excellent, she wears the pregnancy with grace. Raja ate a dozen again, Violet ten... Then we brought out the cakes, girls blew the candles. Sanda did hers in three blows, Linda in one, from half a meter's distance. They blew twice, same score again, one in three tries, the other at once. Then they had enough of that, wanted to eat, and came down on their pieces. Them two don't drink for a number of years now, so it was we two and Nina who had an apricot. Truth be told, we two also went through phases like that, drank a lot in [our] youth, then almost nothing between the eighties and about 2008. Then we returned gradually, can do now.
Friday, 16th, Nina took Sanda and Linda in the evening to Vera, so the kids meet once more. But no, they'll meet one more time, they'll come here, prob'ly on sunday. They returned at 23:30.
Saturday. Took Nina and Raja to a hair salon, somewhere near the community center. Left them there, and dropped by the grocer (bananas, 10kg of potatoes, one cabbage), smoked one in front of the butcher's, with that one who was a student in that month or two (when I jumped in to substitute for someone in 13., I guess in 1985), and a friend of hers, who complains of being permanently tired and now with inflamed throat as well. The throat will pass, okay, but the fatigue... that's ever since he got the damn vaccine, „covid did nothing to me, but vaccine fucked me up completely“.
Went to the salon to wait for them to be done. Excellent light, the street is parallel to ours, in the morning the sun hits the shop window, I knitted at least twenty. I'll process them later, at ease. (of course I couldn't leave them for later, did them the next day)
For lunch, the phenomenal gulaš of veal hearts and pork liver. We two, of course, sprinkled it liberally with crushed bolivian peppers (didn't crush it by hand, it was by blender).
Sunday. More or less nothing whole day, didn't even take too many pictures. Then in the evening the two came up and had the run of the salon, flipped the lights and enjoyed the echoes. When they had their fill, they went down (on their own!) while we two stayed and played bejewelled2 (she's doing alright, no problem), until the time for the regular call from Go and Stanley. We saw Neša briefly, Anita a bit more. She developed some linguistic curlicues on her own, says kesplayin instaid of explain, pazghetti instead of spaghetti and a few others. So mother so daughter, we immediately remembered the Scheherezade - Marseillaise swap and a couple of similar gimmicks she had as a child. They plan to come at about the same time as five years ago. Looking good, in good mood.
Monday. Finally went to wash the van, took three tokens - the size times the state it was in, it stood so under the cherry since september, being covered with dust coming from cleanup after the fire first, then from cleanup after the majstors. Then to town to pick Raja's glasses, but nope, not finished yet. I meant to ride the bike in the afternoon, but there Nina remembered that the frame may need some adjustment around the ears, and that Raja also doesn't have long pants - the one pair he wears is something like a loose trenerka which he's wearing for months when needed, wearing a similar shorts most of the time. So we went all three, as soon as baba returned with the girls from their grocery run. He bravely walked the staircase to the underground, holding on to mom a little. The serekeš in the glass hut was turned off in the morning, they do that on the bill pay day, but now it was on again, the rush hour being over. While I had one smoke outside, they finished shopping. It's easy to buy garments for a boy.
Lufthansa canceled the Frankfurt flight, they'll probably be switched to some other flight. Germany is blocked, the peasants are protesting strongly. We'll see.
All the same, I plan to sleep so that overmorrow I get up around two, and if it's to be a bit later, the better. No phone numbers are published, find your way online, and this flight is operated by four - the UA, Lufthansa, some Hungarians and Er Srbija, sorry, Air Serbia. Tickets are from UA, plane is german. Lufthansa offers a variant via Vienna - so they do take off from BEG and land at FRA, nothing wrong with the airports, must be the plane. The trouble with Vienna is that she'd have only 45 minutes to change planes, unfeasible on an airport of that size, specially with the highly probable long distance to cover - the flights from Belgrade never get the best gates and timeslots. The United's website doesn't register that the flight was canceled, so they offer some variant with extra charge, because 'the lady had this preference to alter the terms, so charge her'. Somewhere else on their site they did register the cancellation, but she got classified as chargeable already... The app may be better, the website is mostly an afterthought nowadays, but her phone is a bit stale and can't load it, will try with Violet's tomorrow.
I got somewhat hit with something in the evening - probably had enough wind in the day, a lips and eyes feel a bit hot, probably from carwash and two hops downtown. Not that it was anywhere near cold, saw a guy in a t-shirt on the bridge - so I lied at 22:30, somewhat goosebumped [really? can't have a real verb here?] and confused, wrapped myself tight in the blanket and slept until 7:30. Ten hours with six pee breaks, where did I have that much in me. Woke up slightly sweaty and ready for whatever the day may bring.
During the day I took two or three more naps of ten to twenty minutes, as they came. For lunch, went to the brzožder and got everyone a pljeskavica, i.e. only the somun for the twins, as Raja and Violet eat only the meat. They two had large ones, 250g of meat, we grownups of 200g, even though I knew it's a fuckup, the difference should be 50g, with the loss of water perhaps 40g, but it's barely 30, and they surely mix up the meat with some brine and whatnot to sell more water in such a way that it doesn't lose much while roasting. Regardless, this is the last time. I couldn't even eat all of it for lunch, the leftovers were exactly my dinner.
Nina managed to install the United's application on Linda's tablet, and in two easy steps she switched to a later flight, with taking off at 13:15 and instead of arriving at 17:30 they'll get there rather at 23:30, so it's the same length but at least we'll have enough time to sleep before leaving.
Baba took the girls one last time to Springfield, where they met one irish Ličanin, who barely remembered the language and his wife knew none. The girls talked with him at length, told him the whole history, said „I thought I have an exceptional life story, but you guys beat me by three lengths“.
And the reason for the whole flight tumbling is not the accident on Surčin on 18th of february (greek airplane, operated by romanian company, leased to Air Serbia, ukrainian rookie pilot in training, took off from half the runway, mowed some navigation poles at the end of it, barely missed the billboard by the highway, made a long gash on the fuselage and wing, fuel oozing out...) nor was it the blockades in Germany, but rather, as Lena reports, „I have a friend who lives in Frankfurt and she flies to Vietnam tomorrow, says Lufthansa is on strike until 7 tomorrow“. This flight would breach the strike by fifteen minutes, so canceled.
Sanda went to sleep at some regular time, as she did get up earlier, while Linda seemed to have jitters, so he buzzed around all the time, and near the end of it she picked up the duster from under my side desk, and went around as if dusting everything, even not tipping anything over, pretending to act in her own ad, „free cleaning service“, while typing pretend codes into an old calculator. And then 'free cleaning service! and if you do the work yourself you get a free calculator!'
Mentions: 13. april, Anita Jennifer Berger (Anita), Bejewelled2, Biljana Lajković (Bilja), Bosiljka Šain (Bosa), ćevapčići, DBA, Gorana Sredljević (Go), Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Linda Sredljevich Aquilla (Linda), majstor, Mališa Borkovski (Borko), maturski parastos, Milan Nastić, Milka Petrov, Nenad Berger (Neša), Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Nevena Žaja (Nena), Prleski, Reinaldo Aquila (Rein), Ryu (Raja), Sanda Sredljević Aquilla (Sanda), serekeš, Springfield, Stanley Berger, trenerica (trenerka), Vera Vraneš, Violet, in serbian