“Wow, you couldn’t have picked anyone further away,” Juan said.

“Yeah,” I replied.

My cousin is right. Sean is far away — 2,400 or 2,800 miles (depending on your mode of transportation).

We let seven weeks pass without seeing each other. That was tough, but unavoidable with a busy April schedule which included travel to Michigan and working a couple of weekends. Now that we can plan better, our visits will be much more frequent.

The trip was great, even when I mysteriously hurt my back in the middle of a play. I spent most of the next few days in bed with Sean at the ready to get me whatever I needed. He did a great job taking care of me. I’m lucky.

A few trip photos after the jump to prove I wasn’t bedridden the whole time.

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Yes, it’s that time of the year again.

My friend, Rio writes:

What’s up to all my friends, lovers, and drunken makeout partners! El Rio’s Valentine’s Day Cards are back in the ring to take another swing for 2010! This is the 4th year of my cards and it’s turned into my longest running project. Enjoy!

As always, please post these cards on the pages of your friends, enemies, sexting partners, craigslist hookups, and friends with benefits. To see an archive of cards from years past CLICK HERE.

Enjoy!

“Wait, who else went wine tasting with you guys?” Oso asked as he clicked through the photos on my camera.

“No one, it was just me, my mom and Lori.”

“Then who’s this?”

I looked over his shoulder, “that’s my mom!”

“Your mom looks 25!”

I smiled.

“I’m sure she’d love to hear that.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know Valentine’s Day sucks. We don’t need to designate a day to show love, it’s commercialized, etc. Despite these reasons, I still enjoy February 14th. I like silliness, candy and any excuse to wear one of the many red items in my closet. I also like that Valentine’s Day inspires artists and others seeking to find a creative way to show love and appreciations to their significant others and friends.

I especially love my friend Rio Yañez’s cards. (Really, I was super excited to get his email that he’d finish the 2009 set.) For the last few years he’s made a set of 6 or 7 one-sided Valentine’s cards similar to those you handed out in elementary school. His new cards feature LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Morrissey, Selena, Ugly Betty, and the Iraqi shoe thrower journalist. Oh, I can’t forget Frida. Rio makes a Frida card each year.

Rio makes these so his friends can distribute them. He writes:

What’s up to all my friends and lovers? El Rio’s Valentine’s Day Cards are back in the mix for 2009! This is the 3rd year of my cards that celebrate love and culture and I’m determined to keep the series going.

As always, please post these cards on the pages of your friends, enemies, shorties, sanchos, and booty calls. To see an archive of cards from years past CLICK HERE.

Enjoy!

Sean: so what did you tell him?
Me: well, I told him, “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea and think I still like you. ‘Cause I don’t.”
Sean: ouch!
Me: what?
Sean: that’s mean!
Me: but it’s true.
Sean: still, no one wants to hear that, even if he doesn’t like you anymore either.
Me: oh, I didn’t realize that.
Sean: you need to be nicer.
Me: I guess.

Sean: so how was Texas?
Me: quite fun! I visited family in Dallas, went to a conference and spent time with friends in Austin and then visited more family in Houston. I went to a rodeo!
Sean: fun.
Me: yeah, I wish I could’ve spent more time in Austin. But you know what I noticed?
Sean: what?
Me: there weren’t too many attractive guys there. At least guys I found attractive. I told that to my friend, John, while we were in a club.
Sean: you said that to him?
Me: yeah, and he pretended to be all hurt.
Sean: Cindy, have you ever heard the phrase, “present company excluded”?
Me: yeah.
Sean: that’s when you use it!
Me: I know, I was gonna say that, but I just forgot.
Sean: you need to be nicer.
Me: okay.

Later that evening we watched The Big Bang Theory a show about physics graduate students. The more sociable of the two roommates scolds the other on being nice and not bluntly telling their cute neighbor that she can’t sing.

Sean turns to me and says, “Cindy, that’s you. And I’m the roommate trying to teach him how to behave.”

“Ouch.”

Happy 31st birthday, Sean!

The Friday after Jose’s untimely death some friends gathered to create a collage of photos to display during the services.

A half dozen women cropped and trimmed photos and laid them out on a large poster board. The two guys stood back awkwardly. One suggested outlining the black letters of Jose’s name in silver. I might have cracked a Raiders joke. I don’t remember.

The collage making was bittersweet. We laughed a little, nobody cried. Five days after we’d received the news, we had used up all our tears. When the jokes and small talk subsided we were left with silence, our own thoughts, and dozens of photos of our always smiling friend.

Jose Luis Vasquez passed away on July 1, 2007.

No one (in LA) applied to be my concert buddy.

I’d be sad about it if (a) I was still looking for dates for the concerts I’ll be attending later this summer and (b) Sean had not submitted three mix cd’s over the span of a few months. Of course, Sean can’t be my concert buddy since he lives a few thousand miles away. I’m okay with that because whenever I find the padded envelopes in my mailbox after a long and/or crappy day, I know I’ll be treated to several great songs and a clever cover.

I’m set for most concerts this summer, but still can use a buddy for a few shows. List after the jump.
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¡Feliz cumpleaños, Oso!

If I had any kind of photoshop skills, I’d make a more sophisticated birthday activity page. I can see a “Where in the World is Oso?” game as well as a word find with Oso-related words.

A night out in Tijuana is really not the same without Oso, but it was still fun. I joined Nathan, his wife Rosario, and several of their friends for a Tijuana run to celebrate his birthday. I haven’t been to Tijuana since the last time I went with Nathan and Rosario in June, 2006.
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Monday // Day 1

My gate at Houston International Airport was C31. The numbers kept following me around for the rest of my trip. It’s like Lost, but without the magical island and Others.

I arrived around 11:15 at night. I was so tired that I hit my head getting in to the cab (or it could have just been because I was wearing my straw hat and couldn’t see the roof of the mini-van). It hurt a lot. I arrived and checked in at my hotel, Hotel 31, without any other injuries.
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