Nothing significant to report. The air raid sirens went off. I think. The sound of the sirens has melded so deeply into my day-to-day, that it’s become nothing to write home about. I spent last night at Sofiia’s apartment. She works as a translator for an engineering firm, and has to get up early for work. So my morning has been chaotic thus far. Whether that chaos will turn into productive writing is anyone’s guess.
My friend Rod asked me to buy him some critical medicine that costs an extortionate $80 a week at the front. He sent me some money, and I secured around 6 months worth for $130 in Kharkiv.
“You’re a lifesaver, mate,” he told me.
“No problem, man. Happy to help,” I replied.
Rod needs the medication to keep his leg from swelling after he suffered a shrapnel wound last August, when a rocket hit near a car he was in, sending shrapnel up through the floor and into his calf. He ended up mistreating the wound and needing multiple surgeries in Ukraine and Britain by November. He had a single blood-clot that went from his lungs and heart all the way down to his calf. I’m pretty sure it's still in there. He also had to have a final surgery in London to treat a gangrene/blood infection. And even after all that, he was back in Ukraine the first week of January.
I’m going to Nova Poshta today to ship his drugs.
Hopefully, they don’t try to pull any Ukrainian Nonsense(1) this time.
(1) Ukrainian Nonsense - a phrase describing frustratingly provincial, archaic, inefficient methods or behaviors used in Ukrainian society, often operating without criticism or questions from participants; can also refer to superstitious beliefs or behaviors that make life more confusing for foreigners functioning in Ukraine.
Example - “Hey man! How was your bus trip to Lublin from Kyiv?”
"It was terrible.”
“What happened?”
“There were no signs anywhere in English or Ukrainian.”
“Oh, man. That’s some Ukrainian Nonsense, right there.”
“It gets worse. All the information about the bus and the border-crossing is spread by word of mouth.”
“Damn. That’s crazy.”
“And don’t even get me started about those Polish truckers blockading the border!”
“Oh, brother. That’s rough.”
“And, my brother in Christ, before you say anything about Ukrainian Nonsense, wait until you experience POLISH Nonsense!”
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