welcome back, now get movin'

4 days back now in the land of the big apple. and while there was no "you're punked!" welcome in JFK airport as there was at schiphol (only the usual grouchy TSA officer here telling you which line to get your @$$ on), slowly but surely i'm getting myself acclimated to life here in the city. and much better. as though with some back-from-holiday magic, i find myself with renewed energy and excitement. and somehow sticking to the promise of keeping some positive amsterdam feeling going on.

plane taking off in barajas

the officemates have been very welcoming the past days—asking for stories and some even wondering what i was doing back so soon from vacation. with newfound energy, all of a sudden the quiet filipino finds himself telling stories even to a room full of colleagues. must be the smoking that did the trick (only the finest cigars of course). heck, i even used the office paging system yesterday for probably just the second time in 2 years (which foti dodey was quick to point out having heard a new voice off of the speakers out of nowhere). now, feeling free-er to speak up. i could somehow hold my own in f-bomb-filled meetings. not that id say fock this fock that, but at least a carefree attitude enough to tell my supervisor ill be gone for another 3 weeks' vacation in november as early as now. chill.

lomo pic of bullfighting in madrid

creativity's at an all-time high once again. ok, well at least, the urge to create is. been reviewing the photos i took from the holiday and seems like i will be able to come up with another book this year. the switching to my never-reliable lomo camera from my now-getting-repaired digital cam is somehow proving to be a happy accident. the photos just seem to tell a better story and the prints have a certain nostalgic filmic feel to them that captures the trip better.

il cohen chilling with an ijs tea in vondelpark

while its good that the new york pace is slowly kicking back in, i must admit that i do miss the amsterdam friends, atmosphere and madrid environment a lot. but so far, so good. i biked to the office tuesday. ive had my cappucino cups in the morning, biertje with lunch, wine with own-cooked dinner, and the reliable email correspondences from zi lowlands. and it helps as well i guess that the recharged batteries allows me to get into a so much more social and action mode. lunch with officemates this noon at a venezuelan resto (getting to use a bit of my spanish again), a saturday barbecue in new jersey, and even chitchatting with the cashier lady at the grocery store over the clams i had bought from them. you gotta be kiddin me.

i overheard a man raving about new york on his cellphone as i was on my way home tonight. "new york is smokin' (or was it shakin' he said)! it has this energy... it's really ethnically-diverse. i even met this egyptian puerto rican who models. first time ive never seen such a thing. i even have a photo.. new york is smokin'. it just has this 3rd dimension that LA doesn't have." i was almost tempted to tell him to tone it down a bit and to shut the f*ck up just to welcome him even more to the best city in the world. but i chose not to. instead i headed home with my head held high as though feeling proud and happy to be in what i consider to be home. for now.

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hey mj, el and cohen: muchas gracias and dankje wel again for a very memorable trip. and il cone, nagtatagalog ka ba? coz if not, get ready, coz you might get punked in manila. ha...