The Weekend

Hey y'all! Enjoy the long weekend.

Congratulations to my cousin Karla Villavicencio and her husband Chris. They tied the knot last Saturday in Ventura. I attended the wedding with my family and our visiting cousin, and had a blast.

Congratulations and good luck to Adria and David who are getting married this weekend in Illinois. I wish them the very best. I wish I were able to attend, but they know I am there in spirit.

I have been extremely busy these last few weeks! I have no plans for this weekend, which to me sounds great! I am looking forward to much relaxation, gardening, and reading. Joy!!!

Saturday Sunday Monday

Saturday
In anticipation of my mother's first cousin, Ivan Villavicencio, who will be visiting from Ecuador and staying in Los Angeles in mother's house and my house for two weeks, I did some major housecleaning this Saturday. I cleaned the house thoroughly and as I worked I listened to the follwing music:
-Grace Jones
-Stereolab
-Stereo Total
-Basement Jaxx
-Madonna
-Lucha Villa
-Miguel Bose
Well, my house hasn't looked this clean in quite a while. You should all try to come and visit...

Sunday
On Mother's Day, Monica, Victoria and I took Ivan to the Hollywood Farmers Market. We bought flowers for ourselves and for my mother, my aunt, and Karina, who is a brand-new mom. I also bought some produce to use in my meals for the week. We then walked up to Hollywood and Highland so our cousin could do some sightseeing.
Afterwards we went to my mother's, where we all gathered to go have a Mother's Day lunch at La Golondrina in Olvera Street. This is where my sisters and I always take our mom and aunt for Mother's Day, and where we always take out-of-towners out for a nice Mexican meal and good margaritas. We walked around Olvera Street after our meal. And then we went to Karina's house to hang out, chat, and drink some cold beer. All in all, we all had a pleasant day.

Monday
Yesterday, after work, I went to get my cousin Ivan from my mother's house and took him out on a tour of Downtown L.A. We walked the Walt Disney Concert Hall to the Wells Fargo Plaza on Grand Avenue toward the U.S. Bank Building (which is the tallest building in the western United States). We then went inside the Central Library and walked on Flower Street up to 6th. Afterwards, we walked past the Biltmore and through Pershing Square, up to Broadway. We went into Grand Central Market and in the Bradbury Building. Welked past the L.A. Times Building and City Hall. I asked him if he wanted to proceed to Little Tokyo or Chinatown. He opted for Chinatown... We stopped in restaurant and I treated Ivan to a boba drink. He had a papaya boba, I had a coconut one. It was his first time trying boba. And he was quite amused by the little tapioca balls one sucks up through the straw. We walked all the way to that plaza where Chinatown ends and rested for a while.
We then went to the Cathedral, where he was able to enter the structure and appreciate its interior. We walked to the part of the cathedral's courtyard, where one can view the 101 Freeway. I told him about how this feature reminds me of Paris, where one can see the River Seine, from the foot of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Ivan has been to Paris, and agreed with me on this.
Our tour ended at the Music Center courtyard, where we bought a bottle of wine to drink while watching the sunset and sat near the fountain as we chatted and caught up on our latest exploits. I got home after 8 p.m. And boy was I exhausted!

Eating Out

I ate for the first time at this restaurant on La Brea and Wilshire called LunaPark. I believe there is one in San Francisco, as well. The ambiance, drinks, and food were all great. I ordered this blue cheese-stuffed pork, which was served with greens and mashed potatos. Others in my party ordered the steak, halibut, beef cheeks, and jerk chicken. We were all pretty satisfied with our plates! It is rare for me to venture anywhere west of Western Avenue. Despite the restaurant being on the westside, (La Brea is the westside to me), I would definately go back there again.

Q & A

Dear RV3, Why have you not been posting anything in the last month? What gives?
Comic Book Guy, Springfield, U.S.A.

I want to say that I've been busy. Which I have been. But I do make time to check my e-mail and visit my Myspace page. I tend to not like to be in front of a computer for too long. That is my main reason. I love blogging. I am constantly thinking of new things to write about. However, much too often when I get in front of a monitor, and enter my Blogger site, I tend to freeze and believe it or not I become speechless. I don't feel like writing much. And I have plenty to talk about and share. However, I've simply been too lazy to type, I guess.

Dear RV3, Have you been to the Flower Mart in the last couple of weeks?
Daisy Duck, Anahaim, CA

I actually have not been to the Mart since Easter weekend. I want to go again. Soon! I did, however, find myself at Home Depot on Saturday. I bought parsley, sage, thyme and chamomile to plant. I continue to do yard work, whenever possible. I want my backyard to look somewhat decent by Memorial Day weekend.

Dear RV3, Is it true that your friend Serene Ford sued her former landlord and won?
Renter's Advocate and Hipster, Silver Lake, L.A., CA

How did you know that? Yes, Ms. Ford sent her former landlord to Small Claim's Court. He had apparently refused to give her back her whole rent deposit as she moved out of her former residence on Lemoyne Street. He had acussed her of leaving that apartment stinky and dirty. This was far from the truth! Upon leaving, Ms. Ford painted all of the wall. Cleaned the apartment thoroughly and even steam cleaned the carpeting. She also did a lot of work on the outside of her former residence. She cleared out her yard of bushes and shrubs. She put up a new fence. And did much gardening, completely improving her former landlord's property. With the assistance of Steve Mitchell and counseling from Kathy Sheffied, Ms. Ford went to court with her former landlord and won. Mr. Mitchell, who accompanied Ms. Ford in court, informed me over the phone, that Ms. Ford presented her case very eloquently, with much confidence and calm. The judge was not impressed with the defendant. He was dressed poorly and had horrible body language. He simply did not present a good case.
When speaking with Ms. Ford last week, I told her that I was quite proud of her. I told her that her victory was a victory for the people. A victory for renters everywhere. There are too many slumlords everywhere trying to exploit and take advantage of renters. Hopefully, her sleazy former landlord won't try to cheat future tenants again. Ms. Ford was humbled by my praise.

Dear RV3, What's the last yummy meal you prepared at home?
Johnny #00345129, Downtown Men's Central Jail, Los Angeles, CA

I haven't been cooking much lately. This of course means that I have been eating out too much. I did however bake a flan last weekend for my friend Iris' birthday party. I got this recipe from my madrina Nancy, who was in town visiting from Ecuador two weeks ago.
You need 8 eggs, one can of condense milk, 3 cups of milk, half a cup of sugar, half a cup of water.
First you put the eggs, condense milk and milk in a blender. And blend! Then you cook the sugar and water on a stove top in a cake pan, and stir it ocassionally until it browns. This will be your caramel. You pour the blended ingredients in the pan, over the caramel. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool. Serve cold. Enjoy!

May Day Rant

In case anyone was interested, I did march on May Day, the Day Without an Immigrant. I worked during the day and took the metro in the late afternoon to Wilshire and Vermont with my friend Migs. We marched all the way to La Brea and back. I took many pictures, but am the slowest person when it comes to scanning and uploading photos. Anyway, it was a wonderful walk. I felt incredibly energized and was moved by the number of people present, which is said to have been over 400,000.
I miss my activist days from my younger years. I want to go out and march again!