19-XII-2025.
For lunch, jučetina - poultry čorba of overyester and pohovan'd of yesterday, just as much as needed. Should have done that first, but I stayed dead asleep until 11 so we did that after, went to Roda and Mali dućan (little shop). In Roda we bought water for coffee and cooking, passed Eči at the cash register, going in opposite directions. He's justt he same as eleven years ago („I thought he was someone's parent“), said „let me brag, we have another grandchild... of course, we can't hope to match you ever“. Later, comment, „how does he keep his beard always at week's length“, „eh, by not shaving but mowing at 3mm and that's it“. The Mali dućan, which used to be a supermarket of that name, is now kvantaš grocery (vegetable and fruit wholesale), time to get the winter's batch of mandarines [similar or same as tangerines], apples, parsley, onion and whatever else we grab, but they're open 7 to 13 now, will do that tomorrow.
The Mrgud [curmudgeon] guy is really moving out, neighbor confirmed, and we saw a truck back up into the yard as we were leaving, and his car was there too. When we returned, nobody was there, but their car reappeared later. Nice day, can see everything, just that it's short, by 16 it's already dark.
Did the photos, of which there weren't too many, including the four from the phone, which were miserable, but okay a document. Don't really feel like shooting, we're scarcely getting out, and what we do is always the same places, shot those already over and over, just recording what changed since the last time.
Lena and Milan decided to change car, their i30 is seven years old already and is not big enough for two kids (aha, this means they're planning, this is the second public confirmation)... on the menu several german cars and a Volvo... more or less the descendant of what Nina drove until a few weeks ago, also a seven-seater, two liter diesel, now a hybrid and with bunch of electronics on top of it, even some simulation of the birdview, so when maneuvering you see around yourself. Price a trifle (v. Alan Ford), 60000€, three years old, driven only 40000 km.
On burundi I took to briefly recap the week of the perfect storm:
- the EU fucked him off again somewhat, Montenegro and Albania are now closer to them than Serbia is, so he decided not to go to the EU-WB summit
- an indictment proposal (not yet the indictment itslef) raised against Selaković, Kushner gave up on the futile business
- sMrdić's bill on judicial reform, by which the TOK (organized crime prosecution) would be castrated, didn't muster enough votes to be put on parliament's agenda, for the first time in the wold history of serbian lore (Mrdić is the surname; smrdi - stinks)
- Putin is trolling him, pretending ignorance
- the US put the Linglong under sanctions because of slave labor
- Trump explicitly mentions Serbia in the law which defines their policy to WBalkan, personal sanctions to follow within 90 days
- he purged the cops' top ranks, replaced them with loyaliests, and still ain't satisfied
- Croatia too buys 'rafalle' fighter planes, with leather seats, ha!
- despite having publicly said that he hopes the Ćacilend will be removed, new tents are cropping up, nobody listens to him, tzk comma tzk
-the no:Bitef was held under his nose
- few more ceilings fell, but okay, that's not news anymore since long ago
- BK Partizan (where the popular trainer, who put the club back into the Euroleague, has quit, and the fans keep pumping and demanding that the CEO and management resign)
- everyone understands that he dares not allow a doček on The Square because it's not safe from pumping
Just this was added
Tere was te day wen he was mad at te prosecution for raising an indictment against Selakovic, but aren't wiling to raise te indictments he's serving tem, and he was elected by two milion citizens and wo ever voted for prosecutors, He asks himself.
Ah, that was the line which ended in „I'll abolize them all, here it's all my fault, judge me, I dare you“.
We contracted another mouse, which didn't do much damage yet, we're just waiting for him to get mousetrapped. A bag of corn farina got opened, and a thin slice of bread, dry already, which he dragged under the fridge to crack slowly. She notices him at times, talks to him. I'm already gathering the updates, „how's your friend, did he eat the bread, needs more maybe?“.
On saturday we were of no sorts at all, me somewhat snotty, nothing big, while she coughed the exactly productive way. Having started late no friday night and stayed until 4, she didn't get enough sleep, got early to feed the bestiarium (cats, hens, the fish), as early as eight. Then she tried to sleep twice during the day but it didn't work (I succeeded, but not long), so when we got into entertainment in the evening, she slept right after it and I couldn't - my nose congested, the darnation which clears up as soon as you get up, and clogs again when you lie down. So I got up, dressed, and sat until three. Then the same woke me up at eight, just like her the day before, but I still caught an hour and a half before leaving. The weather was shitty, good as nothing, morose, at least the fog wasn't a problem. The slovakian president was visiting, so on the bit of the airport highway that we use we saw as many cops as shit, and also later in Novi Beograd, they must be meeting in the SIV building. Parking was easy, regardless, and carrying 90 eggs in the tote and the camera on the other shoulder was no problem. She carried the paprikaš and salad. Lena kept it unlocked when we arrived, so Api wouldn't bark so much at the staircase. He did bark some, but really less. While we unpacked what we brough, Lena said „and we also prepared something“ and showed us the pregnancy test, two stripes, forecast for august. Whoa, that's congrats right there...
The view is just as shitty as view to any other side, december as an unfinished november shit, just a day after the winter solstice (serbian: kratkodnevnica, short-diurnal, short-dayness). At least this boulder of a building hid the former Intercontinental (now called something completely english, sort of roof beach*, whatever) and the part of Friteza's logotype and Žeks's castle on the hill across.
The paprikaš was well accepted (Milan, as usual, doesn't lunch with us, it's his gym time), and Tanja ate nicely. It was all cool, just that we didn't take her out for a walk, it's the shortest day and the weather is shitty. When he returned we talked a bit about the car they mean to buy. His old i30 goes to Stojan, whose old cee five is already falling apart, didn't keep up with the repairs, and he actually needs the car more. They almost don't, they aren't commuting, but when they do need it, they need it bad. It's usually two trips to the seaside, two or three times to visit us. Now whether this Volvo seven-seater (just like the one Nina had until recently, just newer, hybrid and better equipped) may be a tad too big, maybe they'd manage easier with two smaller vehicles... um, hundred schemes afoot. I did my homework as well, checked the model on the net, and with Yandeks being my default searcher, I got a load of articles in russian. The main one began with a story of two pals who both became successful businessmen, had shops door to door, just that one's office and/or car was regularly burgled every month, while nobody ever touched the other. Because the former sported a fancy beemer, and the other an old Volga clunker (with Volvo engine inside, though). Then it goes on to say that Volvo is that inconspicuous and modest car, one that you buy for your own pleasure and not to show off with, not a car for dicking it out. Lena found it unusual that it's so tall... well that's the easiest thing to get used to - remember the Matrix, and now the van and also Joda, you don't get to haul your ass up out of the pit, you just lower your leg on the ground to get out.
Tanja is communicating more and more. The new word is „neću“ (I won't/don't want), and there was a fine pearl of a misunderstanding when Lena told Api to lie down, and she lied down instead of him. Did it the second time because it was funny the first time. I even found the time to sleep some twenty minutes, deep and barely aware of them three chattering. We drove back somewhat early, it was still daylight, something like 15:45, and had lots of time for grocery at Mere - mostly the better sausages, because what they sell as burper [the cheaper kinds of salami with more spice] and alpska, that's live shit, the Štrbac brand is definitively stricken out from the list, and even Nedeljković, no matter how good they used to be, seems to sell the lower end of their spectrum here.
Spoke in the evening with Stanley and Go, saw Anita too, and Neša had his three minutes, fired a few dad jokes (too bad I didn't understand what he said), everything fine. We felt like drinking, so we opened a beer each, Stanley also had some artisanal (aka craft, said it was really good)... Told us how the cops are buying off weapons from the citizens, and often these are threedy printed fakes, for real cash... Well the croatian minister who shafted some entrepreneur for 350000€ to finish some paperwork short way, did nothing and then got incarcerated. Eh, Plenki [croatian PM] could put together two full cabinets just from his former ministers who are presently in the slammer, saw that on Šprajc's show.
Then around half one we said them goodbyes and went on to celebrate the merry news for ourselves. Until four in the morning, had that much in the bottle. And no hangover, that is I had none and she had a little, must be the beer. And my nose served me quite well. I meant to tell Borče to park a trashcan next to me, stuffed tissue kerchiefs into [my] pocket, and then didn't need them. But the next day it was back to status quo ante.
So, monday, we counted on nothing for the evening, seeing how Borče didn't call the evening before. I woke at half eight, with nose congested - of course, it unclogs as soon as you get up, and clogs again when you lie. It allowed me a nap eventually at 10:30, caught two hours until lunch (aleatory soup and burrito, like overyester), and then he did call, said the grandson will drop by eventually today, didn't even see the house yet, and the next day he'll go to Novi with his gang and will stay there for doček, ergo the frendz parti is tomorrow. He'll come pick us up, he's driving Dragana anyway, three-four kilometers more don't mean much.
The nose was fucking with me whole afternoon, I kept consuming paper towels, it dripped. Lied eventually around two, and then couldn't sleep right on, the nose kept trolling me. I lie, it clogs, I raise [my] head, it opens slowly, lower the head, again. Succeeded somehow on third try, and it allowed me to go on until almost eight and then no other way out but to get up. Around ten Dragana called... Mmm who died if she's calling like that, what else could it be that can't wait until evening. Sure, it was J.B. from IV4. Well we saw him on 14-X-2025., was same as ever. Eh, galloping leukemia, went through it in a month. Well fuck... okay, we'll talk tonight.
The frendz parti being postponed for today, we told Lena so she called as early as 18. Said they put in the down payment for the Volvo. With a theatrical critic's on the dance performance the dealer staged, pretending to show the car to some other prospects while they talked amongst themselves, even giving them a ride around the block (Milan: „why is now someone else driving our car!“), and „if you decide to sell it tomorrow, you wouldn't get 59, you'd get 62, 63 thousand for it!“ „so why is it still not sold?“ „eh, wrong time of the year, people are busy with the doček...“. They could get it on lease, but at 8% interest plus full insurance, would cost about 70000 over five years, fuck that business, they can manage with cash at hand. It'll need winter tyres, which cost a lot, they're 20 inch, 10 wide. And the car is quite smart but doesn't go overboard with it, it's just helpful - with parking, it steers if you let it, but the pedals are yours, just gives you instructions, more more enough. Okay, we'll see. As a hybrid, it's not too much, it's a bit of a hybrid and more of a diesel, but then just enough hybrid to pass the registration at lower rates.
Borče was somewhat late but not too much, I know his trip planning style, he gets there just the same. We drank, of course, this year's pear, though it was the dedecoupage of 23/25, regardless, they're all the same. I brought the shooter simply because I wanted to check the flash, as it didn't want to do the measuring through its own senseor, Tanja messed with it the other day and seems to have unset a few things, and now when I cycle through the modes it skips that one. So I switched it to manual and tried to hit the right strength, without glasses, so mostly eyeballingly, took almost ten shots of this roast butkica. And he did roast it fast, the upper edges were quite dark. Didn't quite hit the dark shade like he did with the peppers few years ago, but no mind, I'm the one, always burnt.
Part of the conversation went to the local legends - Blek Sabat, Kanzas, Ana Vukotić. I turned on the phone and recorded the sound, because Dragana recounted (again) how Ana came straight from the beach, from Peskara or there was one behind skrobara on the river, in just bikini, towel over one shoulder, to her director to ask about something - vacation or her housing score or whatever - and the guy then went on retelling that to anyone who'd listen. And she saw her often enough, as she lived somewhere in the other end of Lesnina. Borče had more details on Kanzas, despite the guy having lived in my street, their stomping grounds seem to have overlapped more closely. He said he saw kids with Kanzas's face printed on t-shirts. He died of hunger, they found him in a railcar on the cargo station. If I get too bored this winter, I may retype the recording here.
Dragana complained, said it began few months ago but now she added more details... A friend of her, inherited an apartment two storeys above hers, and meant to remodel it and sell. She talked him into renting it out, why bother with all the taxes and paperwork and headache all at once, rent is a steady drip. And he started renting it out, by the hour. Few girls, at least two of whom are Chineses, keep bringing their customers or just take shifts and the customers announce themselves on the phone, Viber or whichever way. Now someone needs to buzz them in, and the interphone was replaced a few years ago, so now there's no separate button for each apartment, there's a dial to type in the code. The code is simple, the apartment's ordinal number, but there's the 1a apartment which then get 2 as a code... so the rental is apartment #8, code 9, but the customers don't know, or the girls don't, or don't properly explain, so the guys keep ringing 8, which is code for apartment #7, where Dragana's other friend lives, who now complains how her bell rings at various unpleasant times, two in the morning on better days. And she said she keeps seeing them girls on the staircase, not bad looking at all, each in a professional attire - a dopičnjak, high heels, top hemmed just 2cm below tits... The life is interesting.
This time they weren't trying to schedule a trip, but the city filharmony concert. Though, we did go to that last year all together, twice, but the new year's concert includes singing, which I didn't like last year either. Operatic singers despise the language in which they sing, they don't like oo so turn it into an aw or ö, nobody sings the j... We didn't need to find any excuse, had one - Lena and Milan will be visiting on that day. No matter that they usually leave before dark, and we'd have the time to make it to the concert. At least I didn't have to pronounce my opinion on the matter, a good excuse is worth money (which is why speech trainers are so rich [izgovor - means excuse but also pronunciation]).
We split around one, by half two we already had a smoke at home and went to bed. The nose spared me, save for a three minutes break around 6:15, I slept nine hours. In the morning (24th) Dragana called around half ten, they'll pick me at 11:40 to go to the funeral. She got me on landline, my mobile was clueless again (it was Globaltel's signal, off the air until an hour later). I ate the rest of the kulja [local version of polenta/palenta] of overyester's supper and drank half a coffee. Borče was late even better than last night, so by the time we got to the staging area - the MXM's gas station - they were all already gone. We picked Vlada along the way, who was also late, anyone could have picked him. Dragana said how she spent the whole morning downtown, trying to 'legalize' her two garages she inherited (they were legal already, it's to register the ownership in the cadaster), while there are still people in offices who know her and whose sleeves she can pull to get this done faster. But nope, despite the friendly push and short script procedure, she walked at least two kilometers around downtown - upstairs to get a copy of this, down to get another paper, down the street to pay the fee, further down because this first exchange doesn't process payments... She almost screamed when she got home and sat, and the leg took it as permission to hurt.
I remembered to ask about the director of cooperative from another village in the area (v. 17-V-1996.), of same surname, and heart she was his sister, died some twenty years ago. And Milica was his sister-by-aunt, J.B. lived with her most of the high school years, didn't commute much.
The first speech, at the chapel, was held by the former director of gimnazija, he's from the same village, the guy who had to resign this spring because he didn't lean hard enough on the two professor ladies who took part in the protests, didn't want to also fire them.
The weather was shitty, some light drizzle, just to say there was one, but just as much of a bother and nuisance as if it was real. On top of it, temperature was a low single digit, with mild breeze, just enough to lose your fingetips when you light up, and light up you will, what else to do while waiting. I did bring the shooter along, because, as I said to Milica, „last year he said to put on his tombstone a picture that I shot, so I felt it was my duty to bring it, but then I don't like to shoot funerals, almost never do, but here it is, you tell me whether to take shots or not“. And she said no, and I didn't.
This line was added by Tanja on 1st of january:
>yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyysss
And almost everyone was there - Jozda, Čarga with missus, Ksenija, Žuca, Miljka, Pasa, Bajlo, his brother-by-uncle, and at least four more, unnamed here. We froze like asses. We were invited to the daća, because the invitation is always extended, but we also know that a daća is for relatives and first neighbors, and we're 'devete tete dete' (ninth aunt's kid), the three of us being not even from IV4. Vlada is, but he also joined us for the hasty trip home. I arrived at home by 14:30, just as predicted. Did the shots for the last ten days, wrote this, it's 17:45 and my fingertips are still cold.
Thursday, finally went to the little shop to procure fresh fruit for the winter - 6kg of mandarines [aka or akin to tangerines], a crate of apples, a sack of potatoes, a larger bag of parsley, a bunch of celery, some carrots, all that for 4600 and 20 minutes, quick and simple.
Džimi and Zelena 3.2 vanished again. And our comrade mouse got caught in the mousetrap finally and got a free kickout, to Aleksa's front yard, as a headstart before the cats notice him... And then whichever way the cards fall. He was treated and pampered, back into the harsh life now.
Two days later it occurred that Džimi did throw her ninth spoonlet, she found her fully stiff in the basement. Zelena 3.2 also vanished again, so we're down to 4 cats again (Rundek, Vafl, Suši, Zelena 3.1), 11 hens (5 old, 6 this year's), one rooster, one fish in the aquarium and one mouse, the previous one's best friend. This one also got a slice of dry bread to munch behind the fridge, better that than the cables, and when he runs out, there's a treat in the mousetrap.
And we saw a video of how Tanja likes the new car. On saturday we talked with Nina, saw the twins and Raja, all merry and well. She almost gave up on finding a boyfriend, the last one even drove all the way from Wilyamzberg to have a coffee with her, and... didn't have enough text to fill the hour. That's where we went into a dicussion, not really a dispute, nobody countered, of how the equality went the wrong way, as it was pushed in that direction, into a revenge by bankruptcy. We already know lots of cases where the missuses decided, just like that, to divorce and their ex husbands went almost outlaw, i.e. worked under the counter, gave up on their retirement years, off the grid, because you can't crap enough money to match what court can saddle you with. The next day the notion was confirmed once more - Stanley's buddy Anatolij also has a divorce in the making, his lady says „he's working seven days a week and does nothing for me“. For chrismas he bought her a smart watch, one that talks with the phone and prob'ly makes coffee too, for 1200$, and she put it out for sale on Face for 20$, „because she needs cash“. By the preliminary verdict, it's still just an outline, he'd owe her some 2000$ a month (including the sustenance for three kids), which he never earned yet, South Carolina isn't much of a rich market, and he needs to live too. Which is exactly the reason it's hard to find a male who'd be willing to get into any kind of relationship, the MGTOW movement has its good reasons to exist. Social [ones], in the west and good parts of the second world. Third world, though, fucks and doesn't think.
World dominance won't be achieved by pen or sword, but by kurac. And the world's powers' language is english, which has no kurac at all. Each word they use for it is doubling as it, means something else first. (short list: dick is a nickname for Richard, cock is a rooster, prick is puncturing the skin, penis is not english but latin, johnson, wang are surnames, ...)
And of course, Neša had a new dad joke:
- what do you call a place on a plane where the roaches are in conttrol?
- cockpit
He's still not taller than [his] parents, some 5-6 centimeters to go, I guess next year.
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* krov=roof, plaža=beach, so krovna plaža, i.e. crowne plaza. Friteza=deep fryer, common nickname from Banca Intesa. Žeks is Željko Mitrović, a drugged up nutcase who owns regime-aligned Pink TV, owned an airline, a live theatre house, and what not, and has built something imitating a white house.
Mentions: 17-V-1996., 14-X-2025., Alan Ford, Aleksa Pajkov, Anita Jennifer Berger (Anita), Api, burundi, butkice, čorba, daća, doček, dopičnjak, Dragana Vitas (Dragana), Endre Felbab (Eči), frendz parti, gimnazija, Gorana Sredljević (Go), IV4, Jelena Sredljević (Lena), Joda, Jovan Zdanić (Jozda), Ksenija, Lesnina, Mališa Borkovski (Borče), Milan Nastić, Milica Zubatović, MXM, Nenad Bajlo (Bajlo), Nenad Berger (Neša), Nevena Sredljević (Nina), Novi Sad, pohovano, Ryu (Raja), skrobara, Smiljka Grajin (Miljka), Spasenija Višnjić (Pasa), Stanley Berger, Stojan Nastić, Tanja Nastić, Velemir Prokin (Čarga), Vlada Markanić, Živana Armatović (Žuca), in serbian
19-XII-2025 - 25-III-2026