05-I-2012.: Day of fines

Drove with Lena to her place the previous evening and sort of slept the few hours. Got to the airport and she flew off to France, for a few days vacation. She'd stay with a friend from her yoga class, who was now in Nice. Unfortunately, when I was buying the tickets (via a website recommended by the famous ypz_us traveler from ppp), they served me with some validation error on page 2 and returned me to page 1, where I briefly checked that what I entered was still there, and proceded to page 2 again and paid. Well, it wasn't there exactly - the website picked the earlier flights for me, and she'd have a five hour layover in Vienna, instead of less than two. She'd also arrive around 23:00 instead of 16:30... well, didn't work out, because the target (Marseilles, I guess) airport reported bad weather, so they landed in Milano instead. Then waited few more hours for the operators to get the buses. She arrived, dead tired, at some wee hours, somehow found her friend and in the end it was all fine.

At the airport parking, I met a guy whom I haven't recognized at all, until he said who he was - Zvojko. Well well, ghost from the past, hundred years no see etc. Didn't talk much, he was heading in the other direction.

On the way back I had some idea to visit njalter at his staff room. But that had its own risks, I just had a feeling I'd crash asleep around nine - and it was about seven. Well perhaps one coffee would have helped. Plenty of time to drive home... and then I took a right turn from Kneza Miloša to the boulevard, into a trap. One of those places where the traffic patterns are laid out with some special local logic, which may make sense to the planners and locals, but to me the sign looked like a funny way to achieve a turn, and it looked a bit wrong way. Then I got distracted by about 200 people waiting for their trolleybuses, peeking and stepping out to check if theirs was coming, and forgot about the sign. Yep, a scatterbrain I am.

Of course, there was a cop, ready to pull out his notebook and use up a numerated sheet, and once he puts a pencil down to one he can't do much but take 5000 out of my pocket and a couple of points off my license. I did my part of the dance, stalling and circumlocuting and mentioning that I'm a returnee and still not quite used to the signs as they are here, plus the distraction... I was carefully watching whether I'd have to break if some of the pedestrians ventures over the curb... so would a 1000 suffice? He just handed me a folded scrap of paper to put it inside so nobody can see it (specially the cameras, I guess). Well, 10€ is not a bad price for having a major role at such a venue, dancing with a professional.

On the way home I had a hitchhiker. njalter was mad at me for not appearing:

„This you write down in your portfolio as a major success in your life. Not even BoD in it's fullest complement, what with Sonja Liht at its head, wouldn't drag me to work at this time of day“.

But here, he forgives me:

„Had you let me know by 15 to eight, it would have sufficed to avoid the mobilisation of the protocolary and security apparatus (’a man with come, ZR tags, lift the rod and don't ask anything! You, kid, grin ear to ear and nudge the offerings‘ - okay she's not a kid, but likes to be called that). Sincerely, of the whole mobilisation I regret only the mobilisation of myself (7:45 would have been enough to stay me at home). Apart from this, if they see me at some unholy time in the office, they got shit scared - is there a war or who died. This time I'll let you pass (but only because of the hitchhiker)“.

I took some time to sleep, and by 10:30 was back to work.

Later I heard that Lena also paid, 45€, for not spotting where to register her ride in the metro. Such is our luck... At least that in 1999 was not from our pocket, but the gimmick is exactly the same.

---

Mentions: Jelena Sredljević (Lena), njalter, ppp, Zvonko Darišić (Zvojko), in serbian