Tuesday, May 25th 1999

Just Another Day

6:30     Alarmclock is ringing. I wake up. Go to the bathroom. I fear whether there is water. There is. Great!

7:30     I go to work. Arriving at the station. Crowded! It means they cancelled the 7:30 bus, too. Everyone will be pushing eachother in private buses and just yesterday, everyone travelled with public transport. The public buses leave at 7:30 and the private ones few minutes later - they were not crowded. Well this morning they are. I am travelling packed as a canned sardine. I am halfbroken when I get out. I look if everything is still on me. It is, little crumpled, but at least I didn't lose any buttons.

8:00     I arrive at work. I check if everything is alright. Of course, a part of the network is out (I work in Telecom, by the way). No wonder when half of the city is out of electricity. We are shifting connections, trying to improvise...

12:30     Air raid sirens sound the alarm. In the middle of our work, why not. Although it is recommended to leave the building we don't do that always. We stay today and continue the router configuration. We forget it is air raid warning. Only the empty building (outside our office) reminds us.

14:30     Detonations. We hear planes too. O.K. They are over Belgrade alright. We remember it would be better to finish the job tomorrow. We are leaving for home.

15:30     I am waiting for the transport. Still. Well, it is air raid warning, isn't it? Why would the transport work. A bus comes at last. Crowded again. Alright, I will make it this time.

16:00     Coming home. No electricity. O.K, sandwiches again.

16:30     I take my dog for a walk. It is sunny and warm outthere. I come back home covered with sweat. The power is back. I turn on the boiler, TV, computer, stove,...

18:30     While waiting for the water to get warm i notice that the water pressure is dropping. I rush to the bathroom to use it until it is completely gone. I take a shower with a small spout (at least it is warm).

20:30     It is starting to get dark. I turn on the lights. Shock. Horror. Has my apartment become mosquito nest? I try to count them, but it's impossible. I kill them one by one. Spraying would be desirable. They say it is not possible for the planes to fly with the war going on. I can't even think of the forthcoming summer.

22:30     It is a quiet evening. I am preparing to take the dog for a walk, then go to bed. I am waiting for this day to end.

23:30     I am trying to sleep. I can hear planes and detonations.

Violeta