drueco.com Blog

Lots of big news coming outa Cali – Frank the Tank is gettin’ hitched!  All he’s missing is the white picket fence.  Been quite busy at work: couple of cool pitches, XM, HBO and coming soon : Columbia.  Also been working on getting my book updated, haven’t touched it in a couple years.  Summer has been a bunch of funky humid weather.  Politic, politics.  Waiting for the NBA season to start, tick tick.  No time for blogging.  Been reading a few poker books for next year .  Parents were in town!  Sophie started school.  I walk her in the mornings.  Tired, very tired.
Below is what I seem to write/think about.

One of the perks of living in FoHi is having an LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) stop for two reasons.

1. Options and convenience. We have the E, the F, some local services AND the LIRR. So we decided to jump on it and head down to Brooklyn and check out the Murakami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum with Jennifer. Grubbed at Chavella’s , checked out the exhibition, met up with Mr Softie, and grubbed Columbian style in Queens.
2. I just think that it’s designed well from a graphical standpoint

Forest Hills LIRR @ Station Square.

Watching the LIRR pull up to the platform.

Transferring to platform 3 to Flatbush.

Eating at Chavella’s – my dish: bistic & onions, over easy egg, fresh fried tortilla chips, beans, cheese.

Exterior of Brooklyn Museum.

Look at ‘dem lips. Muah.

Now THIS is a transformer I’d like to see. (Anime girl > Jetplane)

Shrooms.

How to make Murakami shrooms.

“Queen & Princess in Flowers” Real life, Digital Ink on Canvas.

Tierras Colombianas

Pan-chan & Baba.

the kids and i went swimming today in our inflatable pool in the backyard. busted out the water guns and other water toys, got a tan, and relaxed in the pool. beautiful weather today.

Sophie packing dynamite and Baba packing heat.

We are safely back in NYC. Our trip to Cali was great — friends, family, food, weather (sort of), places, etc. Some quick shout outs to:

Jerel, Ollie, and Paul — for making it out to Coronado for a wonderful yet wet round of golf. Damn those haters behind us.

Joe & Rona — for having us over at your new apt, and for the nice presents for the kids! Sophie and Baba miss jumping on your back and head, Joe! (also for the great laker gear! go lakers!)

Ron, Janelle, and Jaron — for meeting us at Gib’s to watch the Lakers beat the Spurs, having cupcakes and thai food, and for the thoughtful gifts for the kids as well. Keep us posted with Jaron’s progress!

Francis & Irwin — for the dope homecoming party at Casa Dulay. You know I would have never planned something like that, and definitely not as good as you guys. taco truck, drinks, more drinks, laker game, dj, poker, and for gathering all our friends, even people I haven’t seen in years. I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality and generosity.

Mom & Dad — for having us over for 3 days of fun. The kids miss your house and your company already! Thanks for the 2 rounds of golf, dinner in Chinatown, Filipino food, and your hospitality. I wish we could have stayed longer! I can’t thank you enough for taking care of us! (Mom, thanks for peeling 30+ loquats for the kids!)

Gibbie — for spending tons of quality time with my family and for letting us hang at your pad. The kids will definitely miss you.

Jun — for the generous gift for the kids. I’ll make sure to get them something nice from you.

And to everyone else — our trip wouldn’t have been as fun without your company. The one thing I miss most about LA/SD is the people: Family. I have my real family and my ‘friend’ family. Before this gets sappy, lets see some pix! (My first pass at pictures, I’ll add more later, enjoy!)

For the entire album click here.

Golf at Coronado Golf Course, San Diego

Oliver letting it rip!

Jerel, eying his next victim.

“This can’t be mine, I should be on the green!”

Me: Doing it lefty style, cranking it!

Ivy / Marvin Wedding, Chula Vista, San Diego


Group shot at the ugliest church I’ve been to

Posing

The family in front of Grandma Abby’s House

Natalia, Nori, and Joanne

The kids, after a bath at Pechanga Hotel, Temecula

Homecoming Party at Casa Dulay, Chino Hills, Los Angeles

Uncle Irwin holding Sophie (yes, she’s finally smiling with him!)

The kids giving Uncle Joe a deep tissue massage.



Sophie wondering what the hell Ninong Jerel is up to


Partyboy Jon is back with the 5 second Jack swig (Francis, what’s that on your shirt?)

Poker with the guys

Golfing with the family at Roosevelt Golf Course, Los Feliz & Eaton Canyon, Pasadena

The Americana at Brand, Glendale, California

Papa, Baba, Sam and Sophie at the water fountain




The remains of ice cream, mmmmmm


Sophie making a wish

The Drueco Residence, La Crescenta, California & Full House Restaurant, Chinatown

Thanks Ninong Joe and Ninang Rona!

Thanks Nana!

Baba with his new Speed Racer toy, from Joe/Rona.

Grubbing at Full House

The Drueco Clan is coming to Cali.  It’s been over a year since leaving California for NYC and I’m so anxious to visit.
Here’s what’s in store:
Thursday: Fly to San Diego, Get some mexican food, Visit Joanne’s Mom.
Friday: Golf at Coronado Golf Course with Jerel, Ollie & Paul, Drive to Pechanga and get my hold’em on, drink/chill with the guys.
Sat: Attend Ivy’s wedding and stay at the Marriot in Mission Valley.
Sun: Chill a lil more in SD before driving up to Chino for the homecoming partay at Casa Dulay: more poker, taco truck, drinks, friends, etc.
Monday: Golf at Roosevelt in Los Feliz, Hit up the beach (Zuma?), Dinner at Full House in Chinatown, Meet up with Joe/Rona.
Tuesday: Golf in Pasadena, Check out local stuff in Glendale/Burbank, Meet up with Janelle/Ron/Jaron.

Still have to squeeze in the following: more mexican food (sorry nyc peeps – ain’t got nothing on la mexican food), In-n-out, Tommy’s, Season Thai, Leo’s Taco Truck.

Westside!

Yes, in Forest Hills today.  Wonderful day for the park.

Sorry I haven’t been posting as frequently as before. Been really busy at work and been picking up some freelance. At work, I’ve been working on the new Merrill Lynch website – which I must say, is one of the best looking financial services websites. My buddy Brett did most of the initial design – so much credit to him.

On the side, I’ve been doing some work for a company in SF and a few smaller gigs for friends. Ricardo has been helping me out with my new portfolio – hopefully it will be live in a couple weeks. Haven’t updated my site in over 1 year, so look for some new selected works and check out what I’ve been up to here in NYC.

Just had my ‘compensation’ meeting with my boss (whoo hoo!) so last Thursday I celebrated by having Chilean Sea Bass for lunch at this Cuban restaurant in mid-town and for dinner, took the family out to our favorite diner, Georgia Diner, here in Queens.

The weather has been a bit nuts: everything from sub freezing, winds over 25mph, snow, sleet, rain, a day of 60deg cali weather, and everything in between.

Below is a collection of images over the past couple weeks. Enjoy.

Baba making sure its safe outside for me. (about 9am as I’m stepping out the door for work)

Walking down Greenway South in Forest Hills Gardens

Our neighbor’s front yard (the ‘white house)

One of the street lamps in Forest Hills Gardens

LIRR Trainstation in FoHi.

Cool little tree on my way to work.

Sophie, playing with the snow, on the way to Theatre Cafe for lunch.

Walking to the cafe – check out my lil gangsta Sophie

Baba, scoping the scene with snowball in hand.

“Hi!”

Baba eating hummus at the Theatre Cafe

Till next time.

“Winter Medly”, what the hell is that? Well apparently it is a mix of rain, snow, and sleet (THIS is what sleet is for you Californians). We’ve already had a few snow storms and the kids love it.

and yes, there are real snow flakes:

Looking forward: Have a safe trip out to NYC: Joe, Rona, DJ, Irwin, Kris, and Frank! Can’t wait to see you all.
Merry Christmas to everyone reading this blog!!!! We love you all from NYC

The kids make their way to Manhattan, and to my work specifically.

So for Joanne’s bday, Natalia got us tix to watch the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. Its was our first time at the venue and it was beautiful. It had just snowed/sleeted so all around was snow and icicles. Joanne loved the ballet while I was having a tough time with the first part of the ballet – it just dragged. During intermission I decided to go outside on the balcony to get some fresh air, bought some Nutcracker tree ornaments, and headed back in to watch the second half. The second half was much better and much more tolerable. To sum things up, I’ve seen Swan Lake and The Nutcracker – two of the most famous ballets. I’ve really given it a fair shot, but have come to the conclusion that ballets just aren’t for me. Something about no dialogue what so ever, no desire for ballet, seeing men in tights, and music that I can listen to if I wanted a soothing nap all equates to a so-so time. Nonetheless I had a great time hanging out with Joanne sans kids – we need to do that more often.
After the ballet we jumped on the 1 train uptown to Flor De Mayo. I’ve blogged about this place before and take most of my guests there. Once again the food and service was great. On the way home, Joanne picked up some coffee and we jumped back on the trains. Watching her fumble her coffee, look lost, and losing her balance on the train was a trip. She looked like she never road the subways here in NY or was in such a dreamy state of mind because she was having such a blast with me (lol!!!, jk). Anyways, we went to Jennifer’s place in Elmhurst and picked up the kids and went home. Here are a couple pix at Lincoln Center.