News these days.
Nina got news about Go's house (where we lived previously) - the sewer is clogged by the roots of that huge magnolia tree. Cost of cleanup will be 5000$.
Yesterday I finally ditched Telenor as my mobile provider and went for the new guys, Globalnet. For one, their rates are better and they're less pushy towards making regular payments. Telenor used to block my number because I didn't give them a dime for more than two months - but why should I, I still had some 800 RSD on it. Now they increased the rate for no-package-selected calls to 30 RSD/min (and Nina calls home for 25(!)). And this price is not published anywhere, I heard it when I visited their shop (on 16th, when I went to post the obituary) and asked for explanation on how is it possible that I spend 300 RSD in just two days, wasn't talking more than 10 minutes total. And their packages are something like 200 a week for about 50 minutes... or something better for two weeks, but there's no way to pay, say, 2000 and be free from thinking about them for a few months. And they kept spamming me with messages offering other ways to keep thinking of them and when this or that expires. And they never ever ever wrote a single šđžčć, their language is engrbian all the way. The guys from Globalnet at least write properly and their packages seem to be more reasonable.
Re obituary, I picked a picture from 25-XI-2017. (the baptism/birthday of Arpi's grandchildren), where he was posing with his sister, just cropped it down to his face only. Two more pics by Nina were considered, but this one was voted in. The next day, when it came out of print, Boba sent a message to say we picked the right one.
On 22nd I went to meet him, to finish the last rite. Arpi was drying and smoking meat; some time in may or so he gave us a sample and it was delicious. Once we met for a beer downtown I gave him 6000 (which I didn't have at the moment but walked over the bridge to the serekeš) to buy and process. Which he did and it was great. Last time we went for a beer like that (to pivnica), I walked over again and made it 10000. However, the weather was too hot for the meat (this guy said 19°C is the best - it was well over 24 at the time) and then I guess he had to use that money for something else, then borrowed 40000 for something and then in december came and returned that... so among the other stuff he did in cleaning his debts, he went and bought that meat, salted it, and hung it for the first draft of drying.
Then he got into the hospital and never came out. While that lasted, he gave instructions to Boba and he did everything as told, took pictures and sent them back (passed muster each time), except he wouldn't know how to smoke it. So I asked neighbors and they told me of a guy nearby, four or five streets away, who does it.
The snow was falling, large and wet on his side of the river; almost none on ours. Found the guy nice and easy and he doesn't really charge much, 60 RSD/kg, which is nothing. Somewhat older than me, traces of some mountain accent, prb'ly hercegovinian, an all around good guy you can trust.
Called Bajlo today to check how my phone tracks cost (fine) - he's finally unemployed, got some piddling compensation for being fired (which is what he was asking them for years) and needs to pay off some 18 months of staž, to get a full retirement afterwards. Mima has retired as of new year.
I finally started singing a bit. Ever since my stint with playing accordeon, which ended more than 50 years ago, I had good hearing, good enough to hear how badly I sing. Can't hit the note right, and autotune didn't exist (and the way it is now it sounds awful). But these days, at the times when I'm alone with Sanda and Linda, sometimes I try and whoa - it finally works. Not that I have any kind of singer's voice, neither opera nor rock - but still I'm finally able to listen to myself without telling myself to shut up.
1-II-2019 - 11-V-2026