On first someone from Avai sent a transcript of Nina's curriculum for the first grade of gimnazija, what with stamp and director's signature. It was faxed from Bangro (unknown to whom... or was Bangro the recipient), then scanned and emailed as attachment). It should serve as a document that she passed that grade (luckily it never mentions the breakup of classes on 25-III-1999.), which passed fine, but there's a different problem now, that current semester may not be accepted. In principle, the first six weeks block is incomplete, as she missed out on more than a third of it, but now that her average score is 102 ou of 100 (with extra points for this or that) after less than two months onboard... there's some chance. She came with me to the office to print a part of her history homework - she made some graphs that we forgot to print overyester. The historian (of which she has two - the fat Chambers, who barely manages to balance his bulk on a stool, and this petty Kolokolska) specially praised her and began urging (the principal?) to have her full semester accepted, considering the achievement.
Her birthday, and the only document I have is 132.11 spent at Walmart. Which isn't that far, just the other end of R29 - we're close to where it becomes a regular street, and outward from that it's just parking lots with commercial stuff lined around them - motels, gas stations, shopping malls, movies etc. Every city has at least one such street, which is mostly why there aren't any shops nearby. The nearest Kroger supermarket is just on the edge of it - next building in the city direction is that hotel where we first slept, then the building where Zero is. Then more commercial outfits, but at least on the left side there's a hill so they can't have huge parking lots. Within less than a mile you're on university grounds.
Even though it says it's Walmart, this wasn't shot there - it's more cramped and doesn't have their format of prices and self-advertising everywhere. Possibly Bed, Bath & Beyond, and we probably didn't buy anything there or else it would be on the bank export. Equally possible it's Keymart, the atmosphere of „light everywhere yet still looking gray and ugly“ is exactly the kind they sport. But it seems we did buy something, it's in the cart... looks like more pots and kitchen stuff. Or perhaps they redesigned Walmart since and I didn't quite remember how it looked before.
Rich invited us for lunch on 6th. He's somehow a pal of Ford, who knows where from, perhaps because they are almost neighbors, and Ford put us together via email, so there it was.
The guy built a hunk of a mansion in the valey, below the Blue ridge, near the resort, actually on the same road, just exit before it goes uphill. The house is... huge, the living room could hold a small theatre, it's all round and a hall circumnavigates it. All firmly built, façade brick (later I understood there's no ordinary brick made here), roof covered with real ćeramida*, no shingles nor that fancy tar paper with tiny pebbles. He was specially proud of himself for having installed Anderson's windows, where you turn a crank, like in older cars, to open or close them. „I won't have them guillotine windows in my house“.
Some old woman was serving, his mother in law or aunt or something, behaved like a real housemaid. And, just like it happened back in 1977, the diaspora will go out of its way to reconstruct the food from home, and will go overboard with it. Just as the soup back then was too greasy, this time there was too much onion in it. Lena was unwell afterwards, had to throw a little iron a couple of times, and avoided onion in dishes for years thereafter.
When we were supposed to go back, the Poozhoe wouldn't start. What now... but I noticed a slight downward slope. While the shif is automatic, oil type clutch, still doesn't hurt to try, if it can push all that power from the wheels, why wouldn't it receive some. So we gave it a little push, and it started. And they say automatic can't be pushstarted.
Drove around the „scenic parkway“ (both words sound stupid, and create a mighty synergy), so those who didn't ride with us last time, would see it.
(the stuff below is from emails to dad and what else I found on disk:)
Judging by what's on the screen, I think this is in Zero's kitchen (there's a compter in it as well), she's looking up the bioskop (i.e. movie theater, in one unambiguous word) schedules. Not a single newspaper has the right repertory (and most of the bioskops have multiple screens so they run several films at the same time), but they all publish the correct schedule on their websites.
Just to notice that this is typical of the atmosphere in Zero - it's all almost white, nothing is of any color, but it all looks somewhat smudgy because it's all actually greyed. Visible by the paper being whiter than the table or any other piece of plastic on it. It's so everywhere.
On saturday evening we went to the students' bioskop, with tickets at 2,5$ instead of 4,50 or 7,00 (as in regular [ones]), on foot, because it's as far as about to Šanta. Nobody else was seen walking. There were others on foot, though, but they were running. Jogging still has its believers herre, though not really in any masses. I don't see too many joggers, perhaps they are too fast to spot. We watched „Star wars“, now whether it was the first or second part, fuck me (episode first, checked now). The bioskop is students', belongs to the university and the hall seems to be multipurpose. If I haven't seen any baskets or lines on the floor, it doesn't mean they can't be mounted. The seats weren's standard bioskop, but rather some folding chairs, likes of which we later found for less than 5$ per each. At least the air conditioning was on and the sound was fully three dee, it was clearly heard how them ships stormed from the balcony, passing the auditorium on both sides and vanishing behind the screen.
This is Go waiting for them three to finish their round of the Sears department store. This is a covered shopping center, few hundred meters long, with department stores on both ends, shops in between etc. This was shot last week when we were buying sneakers.
and then a lightbulb shone to mee that this is Kid, Čonti. Then I approached him and said hello. True,that was Kid. We stood before that in the chapel all the time, he even sang, has a good voice, and even took communion. As far as I know, he's a Hungarian, so it surprised me that he'd be in an orthodox chapel, but didn't want to ask him about it.
And what he was talking the year or two ago (at a parastos) that he has found himself... it seems a rather frequent occurrence with him. He even changed his name, he's a Zoran now (unknown whether Čontić or just Čonti). We came at a consensus that Kid has unglued long ago, just couldn't decide on the exact year when it happened. This, of him rolling over into orthodox [faith], we heard from Brlja back then in the van to Pešta [Budapest]. Kid likewise had a wife replaced then replaced back... always some circus with him.
about the machine we'll tell Tereza and she'll probably be happy to hear of it, as she need not pya up front**. At Beobagat they sell Singer machines, but bring them only preordhered and the price is in the range of 500 to l000 DM.
Someone's turning a good profit here. Singer is nearly broke here - nobody sews, their main market is India and east Europe. Such a machine costs about half here.
Seems to be you have frequent sales there in Virdzhinia.
Onions, canteloupe sized
Nope, it's regular supermarkets (which are all sized like the whole Nama, except whole on gound floor) every now and then having something on sale, or there's a discount if you buy two of something, or the second one is at half price, or you take their card (we got one at Harris and Teater, so far we got some ten dollars off on it - and the card is completely free, I filled the form while we were waiting at the register) so some items are cheaper with the card etc. There are several shops which will be closed soon, so they're selling out everything for weeks now, to the bare walls (will sell shopping baskets and cash registers eventually) - one with cosmetics, and one of a local textile factory. She's in there at the moment, with Lena, found cheap cotton stuff last time. They don't even bother to post new prices, just coded the cash register to charge only 50% of each item on the bill.
We gave up on Harris and Titter soon. First off, they're about twenty percent more expensive, the assortment is actually sparser, and they're at better location - on the Barracks and not the twonynine - and have the cozy lights. Looks far nicer but isn't better. May the shop be the ugly gray box, who fucks it, lemme see what they got and at what price.
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* too lazy to look up the word for those semi-cylindrical tiles; often seen on mexican houses too
** and there I thought we didn't even ask any money... or it was some funny sum.
