I just flew in from Amsterdam and boy are my arms tired…  No?  Nothing?  After eight days in what might be my favorite city in the world, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and relaxed.  I’ve been there a few times before, but this trip definitely tops the list.  We got an apartment this time, which proved to be an enormous improvement over a hotel/hostel in terms of comfort level.  It was right across from Centraal Station in a prime location and cheaper too.  I don’t know why we didn’t consider it before; it takes a little more work to book, but it’s clearly worth it.

This trip was a chance to unwind from the six weeks of editing FBTR:  Episode Two.  For me, that mostly means relaxing and playing cards over a good drink in a nice bar.  Amsterdam seems to be a city invented for just that — I mean it also has like, historical value and stuff.  Every day we’d trek out into the city to find a new place to rest our feet and fill our stomachs while admiring the scenery along the way.  Some of my favorites were The Cow, Gollem, DeZotte and Barney’s Uptown.  We also made the occasional stop at these establishments labeled “coffeeshop”, only what they were selling didn’t smell like coffee.  I don’t drink coffee anyway, so I didn’t really mind.  For what it’s worth, after a pretty decent sample size, my favorite is still Amnesia.  We visited your standard, but impressive nonetheless, tourist destinations like the Rembrandt exhibit at the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank House and the Amsterdam Historic Museum.  We also visited a few not so standard ones like the Church in the Attic and Marken, an old fishing village about forty minutes outside of the city.

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New Years Eve was wild.  Around 10:30pm or so we hit the streets which were absolutely packed with people, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.  Everyone seemed relaxed and happy, and the whole atmosphere felt very laid back.  We mostly hung out around the Nieuwmarkt, where they performed one of the most intense fireworks displays I’ve ever seen.  It was so intense because they were launching them right there in the square.  I don’t even know if it was an organization or what, as there were many “amateur fireworks artists” performing amazing feats of explosive brilliance all throughout the city that night.  None were impressive as this though.  It was like a 45 minute climax.

And that’s it.  All and all, a great vacation.  I’m ready to return to Episode Two with a fresh set of eyes.

While on vacation here in Amsterdam, I visited The Cow, a small bar/cafe outside Leidseplein, to have a dinner and a few drinks with my family.  The place was crawling with young people, as is most of Amsterdam.  While waiting for a table in the restaurant down below, one of these young people passed by and asked me if I was a foreigner.  I admitted I was and asked him how he could tell.  “People reading skills” he told me.  We shared a laugh and our table was finally called.  After dinner, a delicious Ostrich steak cooked medium rare and covered in a delicious white sauce, I waited outside for my family to finish up.  Just then, the guy who commented on my foreign appearance stepped outside for a cigarette.  We started up a casual conversation and within minutes I discovered he was a professional poker player.  It didn’t take long for us to start talking about Two Plus Two which lead to From Busto to Robusto.  He said he was aware of the project, was a big fan and was pleased to meet me, once I told him who I was.  We had a nice chat, but I had to cut it short, as we were already late for a Avatar (which ended up being sold out anyway).

It was pretty exciting and completely unexpected to meet a FBTR fan at some random bar in Amsterdam.  I felt like a mini-celebrity.  Ego-stroking aside, it makes me realize just how many people our tiny, little project has reached…God Bless the Internet.

I found a plug-in for Wordpress that allows you to write a blog entry in screenplay format.  This will come in handy for the screenplay challenge I currently have with Jay.  Check this out:

Pretty cool, huh?  Unfortunately, all it does is format.  I’m still waiting for the app that actually does the writing for you.  C’mon Apple!  If anyone can do it, you can!