bees knees

I had quite the weekend. After much cleaning, and burning of fragrant candles and incense, Rachel and I welcomed Erin and Matt into our home. Having friends over is one thing, I’ll tidy up, but I’m not going to stress out about it. Having family over, especially my little sister and her husband is nerve-wracking.

What will she think of my apartment? How does this reflect on my lifestyle? What drinks do I buy?

Anyway, Erin, Matt, Rachel, Ana, and I had a great time. What’s nice about having family that have already been to LA is that you don’t have to show them the typical sights. I have more of an opportunity to show “my” LA.

Thursday started late, we grabbed dinner at Nyala in Little Ethopia. We all were quite exhausted. After a few beers, we called it a night.

Friday was a wonderful day. It started off with the realization that I took the day off. Then I came into the living room to find my Erin, Matt, and my cousin Ana.

After breakfast at the Brite Spot, we went on a little tour of the East side of Los Angeles. We checked out Chinatown and Olvera street. We went south to Little Tokyo and the Disney Music Hall.

We arrived a bit early to our 1 p.m. appointment with Adrian at American Electric Tattoo. After a few months of deliberation, most of the Guevara kids (Erin, Melissa, Justin, myself, hopefully walter and Adrian) all agreed to get a family tattoo.

Many design revisions and we came up with our design.

Back in the day when the Filipinos were fighting the Spanish, each general had his army. Each army had its own flag. The design eventually came from one of those flags that was flown in the 1850’s.

Of course I went first, it was a bit more painful than my first

It is healing up quite well, I especially like the slight red outline of the design, giving it a glowing look.

pics coming soon!

A little gelato rounded out our Silverlake trip.

The rest of Friday was spent hanging out, napping, watching Jeff Tweedy’s solo DVD. We hung out at the Edison Bar, this cavernous converted boiler room. Too many suits and dresses for me, but drinks were reasonable and it was good to hang out with family and friends. We ended the night with a small pizza and more conversation.

Saturday was busy and short, all we could fit in was brunch with our Aunt Baby, Uncle Rene, and cousin Adrian. A few minutes of hangout time. Then they went back home.

It always rings true that when good friends and family leave, you then start to realize how much you miss them.

I can’t wait to see them again.

My birthday is coming up, as well as a trip to NYC. I’m glad uncle sam gave me my money back.