“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.

April 29: After catching up on some of the sleep I missed during my redeye flight, we shared brown stewed chicken at Mobay. Then we went to Radio City Music Hall for Rodrigo y Gabriela. As expected, they were amazing, especially when joined by Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo for their cover of “Orion.”

April 30: Sean went to work. I slept in, did some work, and then went for a 5 mile run in Central Park. Later, I met up with Sean for dinner and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz. We loved “Chad Deity.” It was amazing to see a friend’s work come to life. It was easy to see why the play garnered so much attention in Chicago and Kris the distinction of being a Pulitzer finalist. We also got to chat with him briefly before and after the play. That was nice, since it had been a couple of years since I last saw him. After the play, Sean and I walked along the pier for a little bit before my back began to ache more. It got worse later that night.

May 1: I spent the day in bed with a heat pad and Motrin. This was my feeble attempt to participate in May Day events.

May 2: Tired of being cooped up and feeling a little better, I suggested to Sean we take advantage of the summery weather. We had empanadas in the Lower East Side, I spun around in Tompkins Square Park, watched the end of the Laker and Dodger games, checked out Manhattan from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building, did a little shopping and then had ice cream. We did all that after 4 pm or so.

May 3: I may have done too much on Sunday because my back started aching again and it was back to the bed and the heatpad. The highlight of my day was probably the Five Guys Burger Sean picked up for me.

May 4: I did work (yeah, even when I’m out of town), rested up and then met up with Sean. We had a yummy dinner and strolled over to Columbus Circle on the southwest end of Central Park briefly. Then we went home and watched a depressing episode of LOST.

May 5: I returned to LA.

[Title comes from “Everyday is a Holiday (With You)” by Esthero, one of the 101 songs Sean and I’ve added to our Bicoastal Mixtape project.]