Circles Squared

Once I was a postwoman. Not for very long, though. None of us had wanted to go back to Belgrade when the festival was over, but in order to stay in Edinburgh, we had to find work. So I got a job as a mail lady. I was excited about my new job, but after a few exhausting days of walking around the city, often lost and not speaking the language very well, I decided to only deliver the envelopes with nice handwritten addresses and throw out everything else—especially the bills. My supervisor asked me to return my uniform. That was that for postal work. Then Demarco asked me if I knew anything about interior design. “Of course,” I said. Of course I knew nothing. He took me to an architectural firm and introduced me to one of the principals. “We are designing a dining room for a luxury cruise ship,” the guy said. “Can you give us your input?” I reported for work the next morning. The first thing I did was to take a pile of white paper and draw a closely spaced grid on each sheet. I...