Started shooting "Good old times", though without Grne at first, because we didn't meet. When I got bored, I went to see her. She was sitting in the garden with a sore on her foot and crochet in her hands. Spring. We went for a walk. It was strange that she took a jacket, but then she explained she gets to stay until half ten.
(... 69 words...) Then I drove her home, all on time, and I picked up my records. She picked a daffodil and gave me.
A few days before Melanija wrote, excited that she'll meet us both, "you shouldn't have announced it so far ahead".
On friday a gathering in the DC-99. On saturday (23rd) mom washed the car and stuffed a few blankets inside, now that I'm going to Novi... Somehow found Skule, turns out Pop also wants to go. We went to pick her, Pop and I come in together to look more official. We sat while she packed. His eyes went wide, and he whispered to me
- what language is that?
- german
- what?
- german
- sounded like swedish so I thought how all of a sudden now
He and R. went touring Europe last summer, to Sweden, so it remained in his ears. And this isn't german really, it's the house gemišt, half german half hungarian half serbian, a language and a half. Over time I did learn to understand it, though I could never compose a sentence in it, as I simply never knew from which language to pull the next word.
To return her by half nine. Okay.
Once there she was at home already - crossing the street as if she was on Groš. By the entrance to the "Arena" movie theatre there was Mika Putnik waiting, face slightly scraped. We went up, the crowd already gathered. M.T. was also there, some folks from FKS, the lecturers from those seminars. We played our movies - "Portrait", "Before all" (the races), "Bug 92" (washing spaček?) and maybe one more. Then bla bla bla and... the guy who lectured on editing two years ago, asks about the FFF on her sweater. "Fenomenal, fantastic and I don't know further". I explained it's "fuck for freedom" "ah... I understand. Completely.".
The Novi division of Academy is whittled down to ten guys on editing, to do practical work on province television during vacation. As Bukac said, "what fat help are they with 'when we enter academy'... once we're in, it becomes easy anyway". I was also a bit feverish, went to holivud* often. The meeting ended around two.
Bukac decided to return solo, and with Skule and Pop we scheduled to meet right there at seven. We dropped by her apartment to leave her things, then ate (in students' mess, I'd say), then she went to buy chits for the mess, then we looked for a pharmacy because we were both a bit woozy in our heads. Then rummaged through department stores, found a sale of old records with even Vice Vukov (which I wouldn't buy even in delirium), then had a coffee somewhere and found the guys there. In Dunavski park the baba sera** tried to charge me for just washing my hands. Also had something like a dinner, fake ćevapčići which haven't seen a barbecue. Then rain caught us in the park, so we decide to run for it, the short way, through Melanija's street, I ask her "you dare?" "I do" and we did, the car was right behind the corner. We agree that I should stop writing her, as even announcing that I'll stop writing prompts her to write more and so to infinity. I moved the car to where we said, found a slot where someone left us 10 minutes (so they had the parking meters then and there). Within 15 minutes the guys appear. Somehow I find the way out of town and drive home. Pop misses the music. He says Korni grupa is playing at viša tonight. Really?
Drove them to town, then went to her place, to sit and watch something on TV, but her dad sleeps in that room. So can we go to tech high to watch Korni grupa? Do you really have to? Well they owe me some money (I guess that impressed oma).
So we went to viša (see school levels). We barged in on the first break, the band went behind the stage, only Boček remained on it. I call him, and he "ey, it's you! You now, I forgot to send you the money but I counted on meeting you again when-then".
- I thought the last time was a farewell concert and then to Italy you went
- nope... how much do I owe you?
- wait... it was... umm... six thousand.
- here
So in my pockets I had some cash now, aspirins, paper handkerchiefs, handkerchiefs, savings booklet, drivers license, keys, kurtons, pen, paper... hell. We drank juices and cooled it off on the basement staircase. Then went out to see how Zlatko pokes fun on the stage. Pretends to have dug out a snot from his nose, rolled it into a ball and then pretends to shoot the sound guy ("snotology is divided into speleology, sculpting and ballistics). Or he doesn't pass the cigarette to Boček but makes him come far out with his mouth, then passes a lit match to him while he plays. For the finals he made some Donald Duck sounds, and Furda had a furious solo and tore through his big drum's (plastic) skin. We were by the stage at the moment, and as he pulled the plastic out of the frame, I said "sell that to the folks, you'll get rich". Boček took it "this is mine, this is mine" and then dropped it on the stage. I took it. "Here you have proof you were on the concert, you don't have to retell". (... 64 words...)
On sunday the diary fell into the cake. I was on the toilet, and brought it along to write something down, when she came and I of course flew out and forgot it in the bathroom. Later when mom brought it to the room I tried to shake the pen out of it and there was a misstep somewhere and it just fell on the cake. The icing stuck to the lower half of the page, which I then scraped with a fork and licked it as far as I could, then covered the spot with transparent adhesive so it doesn't stick.
We played cards and I was just lucky that day. She sulked, partnered up with mom to beat me, which strongly reminded me of the story how in hell each nation has a devil guarding their kettle where they boil, only we don't have a devil - because if one somehow comes above the surface, the others drag him down. So to spite them I started playing intentionally badly.
Later we got to the typewriter and composed a letter to her niece in Germany.
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* yes it's hollywood - going there means going to the toilet, "to make a carreer"
** shitty granny, i.e. the public toilet attendant
24-VII-2020 - 16-VI-2024