chuvaness

Since Daphne honored her dad on Father's Day with "5 Things I Learned From My Dad" I started to think, what did I learn from my dad? Without getting all sappy, you know I can't do just five things.

1) Fish is brain food. My dad loves fish and is brainy. One writer compared my dad's brain to Divisoria—it's always busy. My son who loves fish seems to take after him.



2) You can't do abstract until you learn the classics. When I was a Fine Arts student, my dad always insisted I had to study classical painting before I could paint what I wanted. He's right. Even in pattern drafting we had to learn basic patterns before we could give it a twist.

3) My dad always said the rich man who is kuripot is as good as poor. I totally agree. I cannot stand kuripot people. Now thrifty is different from stingy.

4) Kids need their mommy home. When I had my baby my dad said I had to stop working and let Jeroen make the money. This scared the hell out of me as I was used to working and working before I got married. Now I realize Dad is right. I love staying home and waiting for the kids. I can do creative stuff here while Jeroen does 90% of the work outside.

5) My dad taught me about pop art, symbolism and surrealism. Before then I didn't know Warhol, Dali or Münch existed. Because of this I learned to appreciate others like Tracy Emin, Yayoi Kusama, Frida Kahlo.



6) If you don't like something, it is not necessary to say so if circumstances cannot be changed.
For example, if your friend buys an ugly dress and is stuck with it, don't tell her it's ugly.
Many times a person's feelings are more important than your opinion.

7) From my dad I learned to love jazz and Oscar Peterson, Henry Mancini, Glenn Miller, Burt Bacharach, Ono Lisa, Astrud Gilbert, Joao Gilberto, Sergio Mendes, Diana Krall, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Antonio Carlos Jobim, you get the picture.



8) Gadgets are essential in life. And if your interest in a gadget lasts more than two weeks, that's a very good thing.

9) When in doubt between cheap and expensive, buy the more expensive one

10) Tokyo is a wonderful place.



11) Grades and academics are not important to be a success. My dad didn't do very well in school, he always reminded me. That gave me hope, considering the grades I was taking home.

12) When writing, don't use words you'll need a dictionary to comprehend.

13) Dad's office is a great place to poop and kill time.



14) Borders (Singapore) isn't fun without Dad.


15) There's no place like home. Doesn't matter if you're in the most beautiful hotel in Barcelona or having the best sushi in Tokyo. At the end of the day there's nothing like the comfort of one's bed and home.

16) Don't be afraid to give. It always comes back a hundredfold.