dutchies in da house

"that's my first good laugh all night. ive been trying hard to keep a straight face 'til you guys showed up," said the big black bouncer as laura had cracked a joke showing her ID as we went inside luca lounge. he got his second good laugh as chris had warned him, eventually bringing out his passport to show he's of legal drinking age. "you guys are funny," he goes on laughing as all of us enter the lounge. the dutch, or i guess that european, sensibility strikes again—reminding new yorkers and the rest of humanity that life's there to be enjoyed and there's really no point in keeping unnecessary barriers and a straight long face.

laura and el enjoying a good laugh

chris, elvira's twin brother from utrecht (that's in holland), was here in the city the past few days. i had the fortune of spending a fair amount of the weekend with them. i had treated them for a round of drinks at the french-style cafe deville to celebrate st patrick's day (away from all the loud drunken irish kids). as usual, i was amazed at the quality of dutch storytelling. always complete with sound effects and equally accurate impersonations and a good dose of self-deprecation. in the middle of the story about the old couple cutting the movie line with the wife eventually shouting to her husband, "your social skills suck!," it hit me. the reason why the dutchies are some of the greatest storytellers is because they really do live life and as an effect have a richness and wealth of experience to share. to date, i have not heard a dutchie share a story about how they had spent the whole day takatakatak-ing infront of the computer just to beat a deadline. so far, it's always been of some real relevance or some really deep funny bullshit. never something too serious our ancestors will fall into an even deeper sleep in their graves. always something fresh or fresh in the retelling.

saturday afternoon was spent with the dutch twins. i met up with them at century 21—one of new york's landmarks known for its bargain brandname shopping. as expected, they didnt enjoy the experience that much. aside from the crowds, the picture of people just buying and buying things they dont really need was a bit much. dutch sensibility at work. a disdain for the excess. an appreciation for quality, yes. but anything more than what's necessary, not really. which is perhaps why the walk through the quaint shops in the village was a much more pleasurable experience.

by night, other europeans had joined us for dinner at cafe gigi—hilde (another dutchie), laura (the german), sarah (the dane). it's bit unfortunate that photos could only capture as much of the moment coz there was such great spontaneous energy. stories, jokes and belly laughs were flying all over the place. conversations ranged from the everyday to things as global as global warming (which is chris' specialty). the humour though at times possibly too sharp was just right especially the ones poking fun at them F-in new yorkers. well, there was a german in the house so they were spared for the night. ha... feels bit strange though coz more and more, there's a comfortability much greater when im with those europeans than with other asians (filipinos included). a certain level of unguardedness where you can just say as you want without being taken too seriously. and even more important, never a dullness in the conversation. (when filipinos eat, everyone all of a sudden becomes silent, somewhat focused on their food and forgetting the ritual of dining as a communal experience.) i may be wrong though, it could just be the wine lacking in the meals. well, the nice cozy atmosphere helps too. and i guess the diversity and richness in people's backgrounds, likewise.

twins duke it out at the billiards corner

sunday night, i met up with elvira and chris for an indian dinner at the east village. that was fun. again we had brought out the smile out of the typically long faced indian server. the food was an adventure as well. what was spicy for them was just right for me—a great lesson in the diversity of people's tastes. but that's just bullshit obviously. even a preschool teacher could have taught that. after dinner we weren't able to watch the comedy show we had planned to go coz the tickets had ran out. BUT, plan b was in order. thank god for creating such spontaneous yet quick to a decision people (otherwise the filipino, that's me, might've ended up wasting the whole night deciding what to do, although that's another bull story coz ive grown quite decisive for a filipino, thankfully).

we headed to the pool center for 2 hours worth of games. quite fun considering i could barely hit the ball but that wasnt much of a surprise coz i could count with one hand the times ive actually played billiards. chris beat the crap out of elvira and i. although my country wouldve been proud for sneaking in 3 suprise wins, though the last win must say was a good one. shouldve won more though (but i better quit this whining lest i get yet another STOP WHINING!!! email from amsterdam. yo johnny, when's the dutch government sending me that check for all this PR!?! ha..).

after the pool games, walked a bit with the dutchies. once we hit houston st., i bid goodbye. thanked them for the fun times. and wished chris a safe trip back home. bit weirdly sad obviously coz somehow you know this city's bit lacking of energy with one less dutchie in town. very easy people to get along with (once you get used to their sharp humor). and though youve only known them for a few days or even a few moments, there's a seeming connection you've established. perhaps, it was the reminder they had given you just by being who they are—that it's natural to smile and laugh, and that there's no reason really to be all that uptight.

proost! that's dutch for cheers. well it's german too but dont make the mistake of equating them (i do want to get that check from the dutch government, ha...)

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ADC spring workshop #1

just in case anyone's wondering whether foti or finnerty friday was celebrated in the office the past friday. well, unfortunately neither happened. instead, st. paddy's day was celebrated. even better coz i got a fish & chips with matching 2 pints of harp lager for lunch, expensed to the agency. nice nice. oh the perks of working in advertising. although that's probably not a nice lesson to share with the kids for an advertising workshop i'll be running at the art directors club soon. speaking of which, the spring season workshops started last saturday. great to be getting in the rhythm of waking up early saturday morning again for some art projects with the kids.