23-VII-2010.
Went with Lena to Novi - she'd like to try to enroll into maths, at my old college. Met a couple of guys along the way - one checks the concourse :) tickets at the bus station here (used to work as an operator at LebarProm); the other one was an old irregular member at DC-99*. He spotted us as we were leaving the bus in Novi and bored us for a few minutes.
The sunflowers looked magnificent along the way, now why didn't I raise the lens... probably because it was her little Fujica and it was in her bag.
Made it to the college easily, before the heat really set in. The university looks a bit better than it did back then, and the administrative staff was much more forthcoming and accessible than I remember. Could be because I know most of the professors by name (they were assistants when I studied), or because of my appropriate looks - the white beard seems to help here too, and this caught me in a phase when hair wasn't too long.
We walked to the Štrand, sat in a thin shade of one tall tree, watching the people on the beach. She said she could easily imagine this was on some lazy river in Georgia... except there's an university 200m behind our backs.
I somehow remembered how to find Paja's apartment, but ringing didn't help. He was either stiff asleep, or gone slightly deaf, or just wasn't home. I tried to call him even before we came, just couldn't get him.
Walked around downtown, saw the multitude of turtles and a swan in Dunavski park, had a coffee... and came home for lunch. Lena wasn't really impressed, nothing to see there that doesn't exist in Zrenjanin, so maths seems to be off the list until further.
Got two emails from the credit union, first
I am writing to you in reference to your debit card. You will not be able to use your card in Serbia because it’s a blocked country from OFAC. We are required by law to block all countries that are on the OFAC list.
If you have any further questions please feel free to contact me.
then
Serbia is a sanctioned country by the US Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Virginia Credit Union does not accept any electronic transactions to or from any country on the OFAC’s sanctioned list
basically telling me Serbia is not in Europe, because they didn't say a word when I announced I'll be travelling to Europe. Well, I don't care - I've used up most of the money already, buying fridge, washer, stove, mattresses (one for Lena's double bed, one for our slightly oversized bed, cut to measure), kitchen cabinets. And when I checked on OFAC's website, Serbia was mentioned just once, in 2006, when GW2B signed the order to remove us from the list. Four years later, they still use the old list. I'll use the remaining few hundred to pay things online as needed.
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* the two were as inseparable as a dinar and a half, but can't imagine two guys less alike. While the other guy really had a carreer, was an actor in the local theatre and in some movies, even the theatre director for a while, this one never graduated anything, never got married, didn't put together three days of work, was always on someone's retirement, looks sick and worn out, somehow you don't want even to shake hands with him, and even now has some triper of higher order on how to gain regular income. As silly as it may seem, it may even work.
Don't know how that ended, in the next ten years haven't heard a word about him.
Mentions: DC-99, Fujica, Jelena Sredljević (Lena), LebarProm, Novi Sad, Paja Ćurčić, triper kombinacija, in serbian
5-IX-2010 - 23-XII-2025