I know you are, but what am I?

The place for nutters and the like

Priča je stigla! – The story is in!

Posted by yealow on January 30, 2009

Hej, ljudi! Konačno sam napisao još jednu priču! I eto je u rubrici “Priče” – malo digneš pogled, klikneš i tamo je! Ali, dužan sam upozoriti:
1. Priča NIJE za mlađe od 21 godinu. U Ameriki bi bila Rated R, ako ne i više.
2. Priča NIJE za one koji se lako uznemire ili koji su slabijeg želuca.
3. Priča NIJE humorističnog sadržaja.
4. Priča NIJE lako štivo koje se razumije iz prve. Zahtijeva napor od strane čitatelja.

Ja upozorio. Da ne kvarim, ako vam se čita, kliknite na Priče i uživajte!
- – - – - -
Hey, people! I finally wrote another story! And you can find it in the Stories section. You just lift your eyes a bit, click on it and there you are! But I am obliged to warn you:
1. The story is NOT suitable for people under 21. In the States it would probably be rated R, or worse.
2. The story is NOT suitable for those who are very sensitive or have a weak stomach.
3. This story is NOT a funny story.
4. This story is NOT an easy read that is understood at the first reading. It demands a certain amount of effort from the reader.

There, I warned you. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so if you feel like reading, click on the Stories section and enjoy!

Posted in Nonsense really | Leave a Comment »

Evo, samo što nije – Coming real, real soon…

Posted by yealow on January 26, 2009

Opet mene nema dugo. Ulijenio sam se, šta ću. Nisam bolji ni bio…

Samo da obavijestim svekoliko pučanstvo (koje eventualno čita ovaj blog) da će se za koji dan na podstranicama ovoga bloga gdje se nalaze priče naći nova priča! Samo je moram još malo dotjerati, prevesti na engleski za širi auditorij i postaviti je. To će značiti i da ću maknuti priču koja je tamo posljednjih godinu dana – tko je pročitao, pročitao, tko nije, i neće.

Eto, poslušao sam savjet jednog prijatelja koji mi je rekao da se držim onog što znam, pa ćemo vidjeti. Pisati znam, nadam se, a da li će se to moje čudo ikome svidjeti, povijest će pokazati.

I da, ovaj put u pitanju nije humoristična priča već nešto malo bizarnija. Ona jedna humoristična koju nikako da napišem.. pa, nisam je još dovršio!

Uglavnom, u narednih dan-dva nova priča stiže na vaše 17-inčne monitore!

Smrt fašizmu!

* * * * * * * * * * *

Long time, no see. Got lazy, can’t help it. Not that I wasn’t lazy to begin with…

I’d like to use this opportunity and announce to the nation (in case somebody is actually reading this blog o’ mine) that in just a few days time a new story will appear in the subsection with stories! I just need to finish editing it and translate it to English for wider audiences and post it here! This will also mean that I will be removing the story which has been here for the last year or so – whoever’s read it, fine. If somebody didn’t read it by now, you probably never will anyway.

So there, I took my friend’s advice to stick to what I’m good at and we’ll see how it goes. I can write I hope, and only time will tell if anybody will actually like my ramblings.

Oh, yeah, this time it won’t be a funny story but something a little more bizzare. The funny one that I started writing… well, I never seem to be able to finish it!

Anywho, in the next day or two there will be a new story on your 17 inch screens!

Peace out!

Posted in 1 | Leave a Comment »

Zašto baš na Božić? – Why on Christmas Day?

Posted by yealow on December 28, 2008

Dvojezično…

Bilingual – English at the middle of the post

* * * * * * * *

Znam. Sve znam. Život nije lak. Znam, svi mi doživljavamo svašta i nikome u životu nije lako. Barem onima koje ja poznajem. Nevolje su nešto što svi doživljavamo. Jedna od tih nevolja jest i kad se neka aparatura u kući pokvari. Sve je to u redu. Samo, zašto baš na Božić?

Da ne biste pomislili da sam cmizdravac veći nego što jesam (a znam biti, priznajem), nije u pitanju samo ovaj Božić. Ne. To je došlo dotle da se već može nazvati obiteljskom tradicijom. U posljednjih nekoliko godina se dogodilo da nam baš za Božić ili Uskrs crkne nešto u kući. Ovog Uskrsa, recimo, krepao nam je frižider – doduše mojom krivnjom, ali baš se pogodilo tada. Sad nam je crkao plamenik na peći za lož ulje, usisivač je riknuo, veš mašina isto miriše kao da će nešto izvesti.

Pa sam ja počeo razmišljati o tome i pitati se: zašto se nije pokvarilo dva mjeseca ranije ili kasnije, nego baš sad? Ha, tko zna. Možda se iz toga dade izvući i kakva duhovna pouka? Naravno, ne želim čitati između redova koji ne postoje, ali neke paralele mi ipak padaju na pamet. Možda me Bog hoće podsjetiti da je došao na svijet u potpunoj bijedi, i isto tako ga i napustio, ne ostavivši za sobom nikakvih materijalnih dobara – ali zato je pobijedio smrt i otvorio nam put otkupljenja od grijeha i vječne propasti? To su neke stvari koje me znaju malo trgnuti i podsjetiti me da postoje stvari koje nam nisu garantirane ustavom – kao što je, recimo, ispravno centralno grijanje.

Isto tako, jasno mi je da Bog sve radi s nekim razlogom. Također mi je jasno da nam u barem 50% slučajeva ti razlozi neće biti otkriveni dok god smo na ovom svijetu. Jasno da mi se ne sviđa kad se dogodi neka nevolja ili takvo što, ali Bog se do sada pokazao vjernim pa će sigurno i od sada.

Inače, ovih dana bih trebao dobiti odštetu od firme u, smatram tako, simboličnom iznosu s obzirom na sve što sam prošao, ali bolje išta nego ništa, valjda. U svakom slučaju, zahvalni smo Bogu i za to. Još samo da nekako mom doktoru sine da me treba dalje liječiti, ali on se i dalje inati. Ja sam već iscrpljen od sve te priče i dosta mi je svega, ali mi zdravstveno svejedno nije bolje pa moram tjerati stvar dalje. Nemam izbora. Raditi baš nisam u stanju, čak ni nakon sveg ovog vremena, računi stižu redovito, a para niotkuda. Čak i ono na što imam pravo nisam u mogućnosti u praksi realizirati. Ali znam ovo: Bog vidi sve, pa tako i moju situaciju, i to mi je utjeha da će on nešto učiniti unatoč i mojoj sporosti i inertnosti i nesposobnosti i kompleksnosti birokratskog sistema. Ali čekanje je naporno i teško i mučno. Jedino što nigdje u Bibliji ne stoji da će biti lagano i ugodno. Dapače, stoji suprotno od toga.

Šta kažete vi na to?

* * * * * * * *

I know. I know it all. Life isn’t easy. I know that we’re all experiencing all sorts of difficulties in life and I know that nobody’s in for an easy ride. It’s true for the people I know anyway. We all experience hardships. One sort of hardship is when an appliance in the house breaks down. I get it. But, why on Christmas Day?

In my defense so you wouldn’t think I’m a bigger crybaby that I really am (and I admit it, I can be one), it’s not just this Christmas. Oh no. The thing has reached the point where we can call it family tradition. During the last few years we’ve had something break down in the house either on Christmas or Easter. Like this last Easter our fridge broke down – and that was my fault, but that’s the time when it happened. And now the burner on our fuel stove broke down, and the vacuum cleaner’s deceased, and even the washing machine seems like it’s gonna pull a stunt on us.

And that got me thinking and wondering, Well, why didn’t it break down a couple of months earlier or later – why did it have to go and break down now? Huh, who can tell. But maybe it is possible to learn a spiritual lesson from this? By all means, I do not intend to read between the lines which aren’t there, but I can’t help drawing certain parallels. Maybe God wants to remind me that he came into this world in complete poverty, that he left it in the same manner without leaving any material legacy behind – and yet he defeated death and opened up a way for us to be redeemed from sin and eternal destruction? That kind of thing can shake me up and serve as reminder that there are some things which are not guarranteed us by constitution – the operational central heating being one of them.

In the same way, I understand that there is a purpose to everything that God does. I also understand that in at least 50% of the cases this purpose will never be revealed to us on this side of death. Sure, I don’t like it when a trouble comes, but God has proven himself faithful thus far, and I am sure he will continue to be just as faithful.

On another matter, my compensation from my ex-employer is due sometime this week, and I find the amount they offered more than symbolic considering all I’ve been through, but I guess that’s better than nothing. Anyway, we are thankful to God for what we’ll receive. All I need now is for my doctor to realize that he needs to keep treating me, but he’s still doing his refusal routine. I find the whole deal really exhausting and tiresome and I’m sick of it all, but my health isn’t improving on its own, so I gotta keep pushing it. I don’t have a choice. I am still in no condition to get a job – even after all this time – and the bills keep coming in at a regular basis, and the money isn’t coming in. I am unable to practically accomplish that which I am entitled to by right. However, this I know: God sees everything, including my situation, and I find it comforting to know that he will do something about it, in spite of my slowness and inertness and incompetence and the complexity of the bureaucratic apparatus. But the wait is tiresome and difficult and gruesome. On the other hand, the Bible never says it’s gonna be nice and easy. On the contrary.

What say you?

Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Religion | 3 Comments »

Konačno je krenulo – It’s finally beginning to move

Posted by yealow on November 18, 2008

Dvojezično – Bilingual: scroll down to the midsection for English…

Dugo me nije bilo ovdje. Pa kad smo sad svi više-manje na Facebooku, pa onda čovjek nema snage biti na više strana odjednom. Starim…

Ne bih puno tupio ovom prilikom (ali vjerojatno hoću), jer sam iscrpljen od svega, ali ukratko: konačno je došlo do nekog pomaka u mome zdravstveno/zakonskom statusu. Budući da sam uložio žalbu na liječnikovo rješenje o prekidu moga bolovanja i pritužbu na njegov neprofesionalan odnos prema meni (jer me jednostavno nije htio liječiti i uvjeravao me da je sa mnom zapravo sve u redu), jučer je – nakon već tradicionalnih mjesec dana – stiglo i rješenje moje žalbe. Šturo, ali jasno. Liječenje se mora nastaviti, bolovanje produljiti, a mene dodatno uputiti na Zavod za mirovinsko radi ocjene invalidnosti. Hmm. Sva sreća da mi je doktor pilio da mi nije ništa, jer bih se sad zabrinuo (da, sarkastičan sam). Što to zapravo znači, ja kao laik samo mogu pretpostavljati. Ali vjerojatno znači da je tim doktora pregledao moje nalaze i zaključio da sam ipak pretrpio ozbiljnije tjelesno oštećenje.

Ali ni tu nije kraj! Ponadam se ja, konačno smo nešto postigli, međutim, na danome papiru ne piše kamo se ja dalje trebam obratiti! Odnosno, piše nešto iz čega se dade iščitati da trebam ići kod svoga druga doktora da me nastavi liječiti, ali to je sve. Međutim, ja sam u međuvremenu zbog njega dobio otkaz pa sad ne znam kako ide s osiguranjem, tko to plaća, kod kojega specijalista (specijalista… da) medicine rada spadam, pa ja nazovem Mirovinsko, koje me uputi na Zdravstveno, koje me uputi na Medicinu rada, koja me uputi valjda na pravnu službu Zaštite na radu. Uglavnom, gospođa pravnica je bila ljubazna, uslužna i uljudna, i na nju nemam zamjerke. Osim što očito u sustavu postoje takve rupe da je na moje pitanje: “I što da ja sada radim?” ona odgovorila: “Zaista vam ne znam reći.”

Još jedna kafkijanska crna rupa, čini mi se… uz to je dodala da se nisam trebao poslije otkaza prijaviti na Zavod za zapošljavanje, nego na Zavod za medicinu rada te bih tako ostvario pravo i na nastavak isplate plaće, odnosno naknade, za vrijeme trajanja bolovanja. Ovako, budući da se apsolutno nitko u relevantnim institucijama nije potrudio uputiti me u moja eventualna prava, izgleda da sam ostao kratkih rukava. Barem ako je ljubazna gospođa u pravu. Ne ostaje mi drugo nego tjerati stvar dalje, ako treba i na više instance. Ali dragi drug doktor (koji je očito zanat izučavao u lokalnom Komesarijatu KPJ, pa ga zato tako oslovljavam) će definitivno biti prijavljen Hrvatskoj liječničkoj komori radi nemara i nesavjesnog liječenja.

Ali, kako god sve ovo sada i do sada izgledalo, moram reći jednu stvar. Ova mi je godina bila vrlo teška i čudna i svakakva, i prolazio sam kroz svakojake unutarnje i vanjske borbe i ratove, i sumnje i pitanja i svašta, ali moram reći i priznati ovo: znam da je Božja ruka u svemu ovome. Zašto je ovo sve ispalo ovako, ne znam. Zašto na sve strane samo udaraju i čupaju od mene a ja ostajem kratak, ne znam. Zašto nikako da dođemo do nekakvog finalnog rješenja situacije, ne znam. Ali znam da Bog zna i da nekamo smjera sa svime time. A moje je da mu vjerujem.

Zdravlje me baš i ne služi. Počeo sam malo čistiti s jednim prijateljima koji imaju mali čistački biznis. Ima posla za jedno tri do četiri dana tjedno, a i to samo po tri-četiri sata, dakle ništa puno, ali i to malo mi jako teško fizički pada. Umaram se jako brzo, bolovi su vrlo jaki i pojačavaju se. Da li to tako treba ili ne treba, nisam doktor pa ne znam. Vid me izdaje. Svakim danom vidim sve lošije, sve mutnije. Lošije čujem. Sve je to došlo otkako sam doživio tu nesretnu nesreću na poslu (hah, nesretnu nesreću). Nikome ne mogu ni objasniti kako mi je zapravo. Prijatelji me dobronamjerno savjetuju: “Daj, napravi ovo, napravi ono, treba gurati naprijed, bit će bolje.” Govore mi to jer me vole i jer mi žele dobro, znam to. Ali ja nikome ne mogu objasniti da sam već sada, s ovakvim nikakvim radnim tempom u životu, odavno na izmaku snaga. Iskreno, mislim da je pitanje dana kad će mi ozbiljno pozliti zbog napora kojima se izlažem a možda ne bih smio. Bolovi u glavi i vratu i dalje nalikuju na užareni kamen koji se širi i koji nikako da ode. Ubija me, onesposobljuje i muči. Živci su davno otišli u neku drugu dimenziju. Veći dio godine živim na Ibuprofenu i Normabelu i nije mi bolje. Ali vjerujem da Bog vidi i da nešto želi učiniti kako bi se njegovo ime proslavilo. I neke stvari čekam, a neke guram naprijed. Zbog toga se ljudima čini kao da sam se prepustio, kao da me nije briga, kao da ne činim sve što je u mojoj moći, ali nije tako. Samo je već postalo naporno to svima objašnjavati… ali i to je život.

Ako u Boga vjerujete, molim vas da molite za mene da mi podari snage da izdržim sve udarce koji me tek čekaju. Olakšanje nikako da se pojavi na vidiku, ali valjda će doći. Sveden sam na golo postojanje, i financijski, i duševno i emotivno, a i duhovno, ali još se ritam. I planiram još dugo…

Čujemo se, valjda neće opet proći ovoliko vremena. Pisat ću i o vedrijim temama, ne bojte se.

Hvala na pažnji i doviđenja.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Long time, no see. We all seem to be on Facebook nowadays, so it’s hard to be everywhere at once. I’m gettin’ old…

This shouldn’t be a long rant (but it probably will be) because I am just so exhausted, but here it is in a nutshell: finally there’s been some change in my health insurance and legal statuses. Since I had filed a complaint regarding my doctor’s decision to end my sick leave as well as regarding his unprofessional behavior toward me (as he kept refusing to treat me and maintained that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me), yesterday – after the already traditional month – I got the reply to my complaint. It was concise, but clear. My treatment must be resumed, my sick leave must be prolonged, and I need to be referred to our Institute for Social Security in order to ascertain my disability. Hmm. Good thing that the doctor kept telling me there was nothing wrong with me, otherwise I would have been really worried now. (Yes, I am being sarcastic.) The real meaning of this is something that I, being no more than a lay person, can only guess. But it probably means that a team of doctors looked through all my test results and came to the conclusion that I have indeed suffered severe bodily harm.

But that’s not all, folks! So I start getting my hopes up, and I think to myself, “Wow, finally there’s been some progress”. However, the said reply does not instruct me as to where should I be going next! Actually it says something that leads me to believe that I need to revisit Comrade doctor and ask that he resumes my case, but that’s it. Nevertheless, in the meantime his actions led to me being fired, so I was not sure what’s the situation with insurance, who’s paying for what, which Occupational Medicine specialist (specialist… yeah, right) do I need to go to. So I pick up the phone and call Social Security, who redirect me to the Health Insurance Institute, who in turn refer me to Occupational Medicine Institute, who then point me to Legal Matters in relation to Occupational Medicine. Anywho, the lawyer lady was very kind and nice and helpful, and I really have no objection to her. Except that there are obvious holes in the system, so when I asked her, “So what do you suggest I do now?”, she replied, “Honestly, I don’t know what to say”.

Another one of those Kafkian black holes, it seems… she also said that after I got fired I was not supposed to go and register with the Unemployment Office but rather the Institute for Occupational Medicine, which would allow me to keep receiving my salary, ie. compensation during the time of sick leave. But since absolutely nobody in the relevant institutions bothered to tell me what rights do I have and do I have any, it seems that I got the short end of the stick. If the nice lady is right, that is. So I have no other choice than to keep pursuing the matter, and even go over their heads if necessary. But as for my dear Comrade doctor (who obviously learned his skills in the local Communist Party Commisariat and that is why I refer to him in that manner) I will definitely file a complaint regarding his malpractice and negligence to the Croatian Medical Doctors’ Bar.

However, no matter how things seem now, there is one thing I must say. This has been a very difficult and strange year for me. I have been through all kinds of inner and outer struggles and wars. I had doubts and questions and whatnot, but there is one thing I must admit and confess: I know that God has His hand in all this. Why did things turn out the way they did? I don’t know. Why does everybody keep taking a piece of me leaving me with nothing? I do not know. Why is it that we can’t seem to reach some sort of a final solution to this whole mess? I don’t know. But I am aware that God knows and that He has a purpose for it all. And it’s my job to trust Him.

My health situation hasn’t been very well. I’ve taken a part time job cleaning with some friends who have a small cleaning business. I work three to four days a week, and I work for three to four hours at a time. So it’s not much, but I am finding even that very difficult to handle physically. I tire very quickly. My pains are intense and increasing in intensity. Maybe that’s normal, maybe it’s not, I don’t know. I am no doctor. My vision is getting weaker. With every day my vision blurrier and blurrier. I can’t hear as well as I did. All of those things began happening after that unfortunate accident (hahah, unfortunate accident…). And I can’t even explain to people how I’m feeling. My friends give me well-intentioned advice, “C’mon, do this and that. You gotta go on and things are gonna be just fine.” They say that because they love me and because they wish me well. I know that. But I can’t seem to make it clear that even now, at this miserable pace of life and work, everything that’s happening is way beyond my powers. I truly think that it’s just a matter of days before I get seriously sick due to the strains I am putting myself through and maybe shouldn’t be doing it. The pains in my head and neck are still resembling of a burning stone which keeps expanding and isn’t leaving. It’s killing me, it’s disabling me and tormenting me. My nerves have been in a different dimensional plain for a long while now. I’ve been living on Ibuprofen and Valium for a larger part of this year, and in spite of that things haven’t been getting better. However, I do believe that God sees it all and I believe that He’s got a plan for all this that will bring glory to His name. There are matters that I’ve left as they are and am waiting for some change to take place. There are other matters that I am actively pursuing. All of this leads people to believe that I’ve let go and that I don’t care, and it seems to them that I have not been doing everything that’s in my power, but that’s not true. Still, explaining all this to everyone has become very tedious indeed… but that’s life.

If you believe in God, I am asking you to pray for me, that He would give me strength to endure all the blows that are in store for me. There doesn’t seem to be any release on the horizon, but I guess it will come eventually. I have been reduced to bare existence on all plains – financial, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, but I’m still kicking. And I plan to keep kicking for a long time to come…

Stay tuned. I hope it won’t be this long before the next post. There will be nicer things to write about as well, so don’t worry.

Over and out.

Posted in Personal | 4 Comments »