Spreekt u nederlands?

September 12, 2003

The bartender last night had a quirky accent. I couldn't place it as she spoke to the drunk girl who'd been at the bar all day interviewing prospective roommates. The bartender was giving her good advice. "You need to make your meetings shorter. 10 minutes maximum. You can tell if they'd be a good roommate in 10 minutes. Sitting there and making small talk for a half hour is exhausting." And she was right. The girl was falling asleep in her stool.

After the girl finally interviewed her last potential roommate, she packed up and left.

I asked the bartender about her accent. "Where are you from?"

"Amsterdam."

"I thought so,” I said, and added, ”Ik spreekt maar klein beetje Nederlands." Which was misleading, because that's all I know how to say. But we had a nice time speaking in English about Holland and New York and Europe and language and people and school, and jobs. The bar was quiet and we were having a nice time, and I was all set to ask her out -- to get a phone number or something -- but I remembered: she's a bartender! Bartenders are paid to be sweet and sexy, and interested. As I sat there imagining all the dorks that must hit on her every day, a few guys did exactly that. On their way out, two guys in quick succession asked for her number. She laughed, said they were sweet, and didn't give it to them. I saw my future and left. Today is Virgo's birthday. Her party's not until tomorrow night, though. Today is Stephen's birthday too. He's having a party tonight. Not exactly a birthday party, but a party nonetheless. I’m sure I’ll have more on that after the fact.