01-XI-2025.
The middle of the last week before the first we did almost nothing. She was knitting, I was at the keyboard. The only news was that on top of summer savory tincture I started adding the motherworth, the seeds of which we brought from the there, and it took well here. To differ from summer savory, which pulls toward some cough syrups (the fenergan I took as a kid, awful), but I got used to it as early as few years ago, this is somewhat sweetish but pulls, at least to me, to damp cee vitamin or some such. Not tat it's disgusting nor causing any discomfort, it simply doesn't sit well with me. But then I'll get used to it too.
After the sarma, we had a podvarak for a few days [rice and sour cabbage, covered with small steaks, baked in a plek], and then two days of pizza from the new dough. The pizza dough she split into three 300g parts, and from the third third she baked a lepinja (almost flatbread, but not hollow), can't decide which was better.
Eventually on thursday evening we found a heap of video material around the blockade, tracked live the long column passing through the northerner Pazova (not that I didn't pass through them, and still don't know which one is the old and which new) at Globus, then the doček in Inđija, on blokada.info. They have an established format, which is stupid to an extent because they insist on the microphone never being silent for too long, and then whenever the reporter gets grab of someone to say a sentence or three, we next have to listen to him retelling what we just heard. But okay, this is the rebirth of television, we finally aren't watching what they recorded and edited, but instead walk with the team and see whatever the camera sees and hear whatever falls into the microphone. The direct prenos (literally, carry-across, i.e. transmission, aka live feed) like it never was before, they don't have a second camera which would insert anything instead of what we weren't supposed to see.
And nothing new, the regime resorted to the same manipulatons as they did on 31st of january and 14th and 28th of february and 14th of march. The walking columns don't get the school gyms to night in, the private transporters are threatened to cancel the already paid rides, the railway in the whole country is not operating since the noon of 30th (and the announced bomb threat was an afterthought, published two hours later, just to cross the tees and dot the eyes), on the highway they announced roadwork then revoked them, then again there'll be roadworks on 31st since noon but then there weren't any, the reporters drove out and checked, not even the pro forma signalization was put, not a single shovel out there.
In Inđija, as usual, the school gyms aren't available for the night, and there were 3500 people (as counted by the Archive of public gatherings, they count heads from drone shots, on the road this time), so the hosts managed. The folks collected money to buy tents, but nope, the regime forbade the sales of tents (!) and portable toilets rentals... really should these people pee in parks like your ćaci grannies did on 15th of february in S. Mitrovica? The folks then brought slabs or styrofoam and bedding to make the pedestrian zone into a huge bedroom, but the guys didn't allow the truck to drive near enough, so the folks carried it themselves. In Žabalj, where the column from Vršac and Zrenjanin nighted, they turned the electricity off for the duration of the doček and turned it on again when it was over. This is not a simple obstruction anymre, this is petty spite and malice.
On friday, of course, we watched the prenos, actually two-three in parallel. The Political globus of Serbia walked with them, we followed from the entrance into Sremski Karlovci, and then the blokada.info and KTV also began. Magnificent. We watched as the longest column, some 7000 people from the belgrade direction - half Belgraders, half the others who joined - walked through the tunnel and down the bridge. And then after the entertainment we drank three (which is 1,2dl, by correct count, so actually two and a half) and slept nicely.
Saturday, watching the prenos all day. Mostly the blokada.info, some KTV, lots of Beli bombarder (white bomber), who smartly distributed his drones. The Globus was offline, he walked all the way from Belgrade and broadcasted all the time, all kudos. An incredible amount of people (as the blokada.info kept saying), even the cops don't dare estimate it below 150.000 so it must be at least 280.000 (wrong, they did downplay it to some 39.000 and 120.000 was the number at noon, as per the Archive, but that's only the railway station plateau, there was 3km of the boulevard uncounted, plus the unknown thousands still stuck on the roads and slowly pouring in). Of course, the Horsehead on Informer had to claim that there were less than 15000, as can be plainly be seen on the drone shot.
All in all magnificent and touching, just like each time. AV is guess still in Taškent, dares not peek out, and I hope he wouldn't dare return, eh... if he'd just remain there.
The break between the gathering at the station and the evening gathering on the quay I used to put in order and post the photos for october. If I did very little shooting around the house and in the end, I at least attended two congregations, so there, eos70 ticked out 55000 shots so far. I keep up the average of 6000 shots a year.
Two serieses* of shots from trickntreating for the Night of witches (as Halloween is translated here)... All our witches - Linda and Sanda as the eerie dolls, Violet in all black complete with a pointy hat, and Nina in her wedding gown, still fits into it after 15 years, but with dark shaded eyes. On the other side, Anita just fit into a pink dress with several layers of tull and lace, and a cats ears headband, making faces, with those eyes of hers. The boys stayed at home to await trickntreaters.
The news from the neighbor, Zelena 2 died. As per our tentative count, she was about nine years, quite an age for a yard cat. She moved to his yard three years ago, but stayed as an epistolary member and kept bringing her kittens here. This year's kittens we didn't even see, kept them there. We have enough as it is, apart from Rundek, Belobrk (white moustache) and Suši, they're all hers - Džimi, Vafl (waffle), Zelena III in triplicate. Then later, during the week, we discovered the disappearance of Zelena 3.2 or 3.3, I'm bad with names (v. Alan Ford).
We talked two hours with our Seattlians, and then the connection broke. Telegram couldn't hook up, a wee fuckit. We kept trying out the new pear until half four, and thus shortened the monday. I was woken up, rather late, with her talk on the phone, about someone returning from Novi Sad and possibly dropping by. I easily guessed who it would be - Daca letting us know that Žarko and his missus were there, she was defending their graduation paper, so they'd drop by on their way back. Okay, but by seven we need to go, we're okay with anything before that. And yes, the first thing she said was „no, nobody died“. Because out of seven such calls, at least four were invitations to funerals.
And they did drop by and we had a lengthy chat. She completed this to get a regular job at the firm, for actually the same money, now only has to wait for someone to retire, leave or some such. The money ain't bad as it is, but it's shift work, two days firs, two second, two third, two off, and it's all heavy chemistry, where they make the artificial coma inducers, which evaporates and there are days when she's not quite sure whether she's really of clear mind. She said if anyone of the team would need an artificial coma, they'd have to double the dosage, they grew accustomed to it. They make the same money as the paper pushers, on account of shift work, but she's about had enough of it and she wouldn't mind becoming a paper pusher. The vikendica (weekend house) on the hill they are renovating, and he's doing a lot of it on his own, same school as we, and learns the masonry work as he goes, it's no rocket surgery.
Borče came to pick us up as he said he would, then we collected Dragana and arrived at the new house. He gave us a tour of it, but we didn't peek into the rear much, where daughter and the grandson are. The son-in-law is a phantom of sorts, I remember we once drank his pear, but now he was strangely absent from the picture, was not mentioned at all.
The grandson is weird, to put it mildly, he was born with some syndrome, he's 11 and comes across as no more than 8, can't speak, just gesticulation and making faces, but he's pretty, smiling and serene, until the moment he wants something and doesn't get it. We didn't see him much. Borče said it's incurable, and the condition doesn't provide long life. Well I do remember dad's older sister had a son like that, he didn't reach puberty. And the daughter remembered me, we took her after the concert on 16-XII-2022.. Then I didn't see her much, the path to the car wasn't lit too well and we had to watch our steps, pavement strewn with puddles, and then she sat in the back. She seems to be well-natured, lives just to provide what life she can to that kid.
The dinner he ordered from Bob brzožder (fastdevour), it's nearby, but they don't deliver so he went to pick it up. He left me to emulate myself and entertain the ladies. And he took the car for those 250 meter, so not to be absent too long and to keep the grub warm. Bob is regularly good, didn't fail this time either. The wines were interesting, the pino noar (pinot noir, fuck the Frenches and their spells) was paler than the normal rose, and there were interesting fragrances. Dragana managed to order some from Dior (wow, a french word spelt phonetically! such rarity), a lily-of-the-valley no less, said screw me with those fakes, they are the fragrance but evaporate in ten minutes, this holds for two days straight, sometimes even after shower. And then it was the lily-of-a-valey, I had to sniff it, but somehow that's not really the one I remember so well from 1973.
He made a baklava again, didn't make one in quite a while, excellent again, just a wee bit sweet, unlike what Turks do (as Dragana said „you eat that one tiny morsel, one bite, and you get nausea from too much sugar), we all ate a piece or two, no you won't fuck me up again, I can take the drinks but if I eat any extra in the evening, the night becomes a problem (turned out just so, I ate little and slept well). Of the baklava, which he tried to convince us to split amongst ourselves, we told him to treat the neighbors, as they offered help right on during the move and settling, if there was anything he'd need. He said he lived 40 years in that apartment and he knew one neighbor. Dragana knows three in her 53 years, but one is a nephew. Amd jere je already knows the nearest five. As if it was a different folks here.
Of course, again we all sided against Dragana because she... well look at this construction, as she watches them both and neither ones nor the others are any good, look at this guy on student's list... her pal who owns a chain of boutiques, ill now and not involved in business for quite a while, well while Sloba was in The Hague, she sent him a pair of best shoes, so he's not ashamed in the courtroom, and this guy was the courier, and the guy said should do a size larger, though they did know Sloba's shoe size well, and the guy nicked the shoes for himself, the pair never reached Sloba. Ow, so much of argument, and how do you know who's on the students' list as it isn't published? Just like you don't know eseness's, it's not published in advance. And she tried to sell the story of the fake bike rides... well fuckit Seratlić called in live six times a day, and not any trucks on sight... Just loading and unloading the bikes six times a day would take longer than riding, and ride they did.
And then she dreamed of travelling again, with hearty preferenc for riviera of Dubrovnik, she had an aunt there and stayed at hers many times, and ah if she could do once more. We didn't interfere, as it sounded like that russian joke, „how I feel like going again to Paris“ („and when were you in Paris“, „you misunderstand, I felt so yesterday too“). Well, travel, as far as we're concerned. Or we can go too, without nighting.
To split we called a cab each, Dragana an 888, we 566, but the guy said „well didn't you just call a vehicle for that address?“. What, you're together now? I asked the cabbie and he said yeah, right, somebody just bought both unions, and he knows roughly whose guy that is, I had to sign the contract with the new owner without even looking his name up properly. There's a few left independent, the 611 and a few solo players, the guy owns the rest.
Whole week almost nothing, neither going anywhere nor anyone visiting, just watching what's going on in Belgrade, Dijana Hrka is the hero of the month, Vučić doesn't know how to defuse that. He tried with some masturpiss of a counterrally, the largest fiasco so far, 14000 people who couldn't put three hours together in Ćacilend, putuj dupe za kašiku supe (travel, asshole, for a spoon of soup).
The grosscunts from the AC service called the second time this fall. I said „let's cut the chat, not to mention any laws nor lawyers, you are utterly incapable for twelve years now to erase one phone number from your list, well I wouldn't give you a pencil to sharpen, not to mention to let you into the house or allow you to touch my airconditioner. If you ever call me again, I'll take measures.
Nina finally renewed her vehicle park, as her old Volvo went from „starts, goes“ to „if it starts, it goes“. After staying at home three times because it wouldn't, and with the charged battery losing juice in five days - the frequency of such period increasing recently, there's always a reason to stay home one of two office days... enough. She got a loan, probebly from that naval CU (where she enlisted as a member of a military family, there Rein is a navy retiree), and bought a car she wanted, some Toyota Hillbilly, nice white - if not in color, at least not gray, and has enough seats for all of them, including two spares, they can bask in elbow space all day if it's a longer trip. Rein and Fayes are not going to Phillipines this winter, they're into medicine again, this time she as well. Not that they have a soul in the nose (serbian expression, meaning 'about to die'), and it's about to cost a lot, maybe not them, they seem to know their insurance.
We meant to not go to Belgrade on sunday but rather have them come on saturday, which was agreed in principle but „Milan hasn't recovered yet“, no clue what from. So on friday we got our groceries from both Mere and Lidl, month's heap of meat, cat fodder, new pan, and finally proper rivet pliers (with 5kg of rivets in reserve, we'll see some sewing and mending), coffee. She prepared the second batch of winter salad, with beet this time, cabbage, purple onion and daikon raddish, looks colorful.
On friday and saturday I finally solved a few tidbits in the mrz pludger - to log the time for the currently playing song, and not for the current record, as the latter could be something else if I edited, erased, added during play. The larger and more important thing is that I've finally, after 20+ years of having multi-head processors (first one had two, thenthree/four, then eight and now 6x2, counts as 12), I finally wrote something which uses more than one. Took some effort to do but eventually got it working. So now, when I'm playing a song, along the way I check the folder where the song is, because the list of songs is just a database reflecting the actual files on disk, and the state of disk is variable, so instead of constantly plowing the disk, I decided to rescan only the visited folders. And if the folder contains two or three hundred songs, checking them takes more than just a few seconds, and it didn't play until that is finished. Now the main thread plays the song, and the checking goes in another thread, ends when it's finished. For the next week, do the same in Byo, check the links and words in an article, so I don't wait for it.
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* if there is „a series“ then it must have a plural too, right?
Mentions: 16-XII-2022., Alan Ford, Aleksandar Zarin, Anita Jennifer Berger (Anita), blockade, Byo (Byo), doček, Dragana Vitas (Dragana), eos70, KTV, Linda Sredljevich Aquilla (Linda), Mališa Borkovski (Borče), Milan Nastić, mrz pladžer, Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Novi Sad, plek, Reinaldo Aquila (Rein), Rosanda Aquilla (Fayes), Sanda Sredljević Aquilla (Sanda), sarma, Violet, Žarko Zarin, in serbian
31-X-2025 - 25-III-2026