the 4-day party-hearty (day 4)

nice & cozy party in jersey

had a great nice little party in jersey last night to cap the 4-day party hearty. richmond, an old roommate in queens now living for a year in jersey, invited us over in his apartment (with a nice view of downtown manhattan). he impressed us with his great cooking as he prepared a great feast for us—pasta, mild buffalo wings. salad, and really good (but a bit too rare, but still very good) roast beef.

there were 8 of us at the party. (i realize im very poor at names so pardon the lack of roll call lest i make an utter fool of myself) most were friends of rich's from back in vancouver (which is pronunced van-Q-ver in canadian i guess). some are also now based here in the city and some are just visiting. they're a very friendly people, ey! ("Ey" is very typical canadian—their version of the filipino "'no" as in "walang kwenta talaga mga pulitiko, 'no?" well except for my kuya of course.) was a very nice, relaxed party actually. very cozy and comfortable. very gezellig as the dutchies would prolly call it. enjoying the food, sitting on the couch, watching tv, making jokes, sharing stories, discussing emerging currencies (gotta talk business too, but of course), sipping wine and some nice booze (in plastic cups though). john (that's not his real name actually coz i forget what it is) was absolutely hilarious—shared stories of his strip joint escapades, his scary tv that turns on by itself, his picks for hottest actresses, in the middle of impersonations from his favorite tv show and of the indian accent of rita (again not her real name) which i absolutely found really funny (though quite below the belt). the party felt like it was set in holland, very nice and cozy, and with filipino friends, with great stories and humour. felt really fun, 'no?

the rest went out to hoboken for some drinks after but i weaseled out of it. coz i already had my fill of the great company and the bottle of wine i had brought. besides, i was still feeling quite numb and tranquilized from my first-ever afternoon yoga session (which was absolutely nirvanic and calming) was a great party and group, nonetheless. well worth the 10-minute trek to the other side of the hudson river.

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learned a lot from the past 4 days' partying—parties are perfect for seeing old friends and establishing new ones. parties could be booze-free or also overflowing with it. the food could be extravagant or simple. but the bottomline of parties, i guess, is celebrating life and people.

having a party whole year round might be impossible BUT i realize that the essence of the celebration of life and people must be built in to each day of one's life. leave the worrying and sadness to those that have a legitimate reason for it (god bless the victims of katrina). time to enjoy and appreciate a good life.

but hold on. gotta end this blogging now. off to a nice sunday brunch with friends. i guess the 4-day party's just got into overtime. (tomorrow a bbq in queens and on tuesday a going-away party with officemates at hog pit. more on those when i return). happy living to all, eh!