07-VI-2011.
Went to sleep around midnight, and woke up before three. She already made coffee for herself and me, then woke up Ender and Nina. Raja was asleep for a while, but shuffled a bit and woke. Packed sort of quickly (with a few last minute things, like wet wipes for his ass, which we bought at the gas station). The trip was surprisingly uneventful; making it in 1:15 to the airport is unheard of, but that's what you get when you pass through Belgrade (and the Ča-ča-ča area) before 6, while the city still sleeps.
The sandwiches they bought at the airport were stale and expensive. I took them to the counter and talked briefly but stiffly to the clerks - this is beyond expiry date, you should at least look at your stickers, don't want to make a scene, just two fresh ones to the table. Which we got, with the waitress trying to justify and explain.
On the way back I surprised myself with the ease with which I went through the crowd (just before 7 is the start of rush hour, lots of places still work 7 to 15). We made it to the airport and back, what with sandwiches, coffee and not much of a dramatic parting, in 4 hours, my personal record. saxo drove fine, with just some grumbling from those holes in the muffler when starting uphill.
Around noon Zeki came, to borrow those 500€. Sat for more than an hour. He's a real radiomileva, knows just about everything about everybody, drops names, has (had) close family in high places and knows what brought demise to our city (allegedly, Ljuba Gećin agreed to cede the further phases of the refinery to Novi in exchange for all those supermarkets built on every important corner, which then belonged to NuProm. Even if true, I wonder how much a single mayor could have a say in the matter).
Back to work.
On 10th we read the water meter. The guys were charging us some eyeballed amount, at 15 cubic meter a month, and it didn't look right, we can't consume that much, there's only two or three of us in the house. They rarely look at the meter, it takes substantial work to move the two concrete slabs that serve as cover. Turned out we were right, we have for paid at least nine months in advance, if not more. So we had a little chat, on the phone, with the water mains, and the deal is we pay nothing until we spend what we paid. They have an honest deal, you owe water, not money, so when you pay it's at the current price - likewise, they now owe us water, not money, see you some hundred cubic meters later.
Though, by the end of the year, they started sending the 15 cubics bills again - there's no provision in their software to make exception like this (and I think I know the guy who wrote it) - so we made a couple of calls more.
Mentions: Ender Aquila (Ender), Jovan Dimijan (Zeki), Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Novi Sad, NuProm, radiomileva, Ryu (Raja), saxo, in serbian
8-VII-2011 - 15-XII-2025