Category Archives: Frugal Living

my various attempts at living a greener, kinder to our earth lifestyle.

CarFree Week: Getting to the Dentist

Today is Day 2 of the Car Free Week test run, which is basically to see if I can live without my car in Los Angeles and to see what that would truly be like.

I’ve been car lite for a number of years, off and on, so a lot of the strategies of walk, bike, bus, train, and combining all these modes, are well known to me and I’ve employed them in the past, both here in L.A. and in San Francisco when I lived there.

Of course, today would be the day where it rained like for the first time since last spring, although it was merely sprinkles. Not an issue. In fact, I’m loving the cloud cover.

My dentist, Dr. James McFadden, has an office in the pink and black building at the corner of Melrose and La Cienega in West Hollywood. I currently live in Valley Village, near Magnolia and Radford. Ugh. Probably one of the more difficult commutes of this week to do without a car.

View Larger Map
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But I wasn’t. I was using my bike, the Red Line train, and the bike. My route getting there was the Chandler bike lane to the North Hollywood Station, then the Red Line to Hollywood/Highland. I took various streets, but mostly Orange Drive, south to Melrose. I crossed south over Melrose at La Brea to the first east-west street south of there, Clinton Street, and took that west on the bike to where it emerges at the intersection of Melrose/LA Cienega. Voila.

Coming back, I took Clinton all the way east to June Street where it ends at the Country Club. Took June north to Willoughby, then east again to Vine, which they’ve made into a more bike-friendly street with share lanes. I took that north for the few blocks to the Hollywood/Vine Station under the W Hotel and then took the train back to NoHo, then onto the Chandler bikeway back to where I live (just east of Laurel Canyon Station).

Thoughts: West Hollywood is not an easy place to get to with public transport, but it’s doable. Many maps will tell you the best bike route east-west in Hollywood is on Willoughby, but I prefer Clinton as it’s a nice neighborhood and few cars. Between June and La Cienega there are lights at every major intersection you need to cross except for Highland, where it’s fairly easy to get across because of the boulevard in the middle of the street, and “Keep Clear” signs for cars which seem to be followed. I didn’t like the bike options from the Hollywood/Highland station, but perhaps I just don’t know the route yet.

Looking at my calendar for this week, this is the most challenging car-less trip I have planned, that I know of for now. Perhaps someone will ask me to come out to Santa Monica or West L.A., but it hasn’t happened yet!

New Bike Lane Comes to Downtown Los Angeles

In traffic-choked L.A., a car lane is given to bicycles.

Photo, J-Blue, Bike Lane (not the one in the story)

So happy to see stories like this, city government making good on their pledge for more bike lanes.
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This one is from Koreatown to Downtown on 7th Street. The plan calls for 200 miles of bike lanes every five years, though (according to the story) some wonder if there’s funding to actually accomplish it.

I’m hopeful they do. Always have thought L.A. is a perfect bike town – great weather, fairly flat except for that band of hills separating city from valley, etc. – but even those are manageable.

Also hopeful that L.A. drivers – who are aggressive, who feel entitled to any patch of asphalt, who can be fracking murderous assholes with 3-ton battering rams! – will get with the program and learn to coexist on the road. This means, fellow cyclists, you must also follow traffic laws and become predictable – the best way to stay alive and in one piece.

Yet More Farmer’s Market Pix, this time Studio City

Something easy for lazy Sunday of a 3-day weekend: More pictures from a Farmer’s Market, to add to the ones I’ve already posted on the blog of Los Feliz and Palm Springs.

Today I bought tomatoes, broccoli, eggs, peaches, spicy greens mix, and a chocolate chip muffin (which is already gone) and carried it all home in a backpack on my bike.

In addition to the pony rides at this Market, there’s a petting zoo. Next time, I’ll take pictures there.

Super Sweet

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Strollers and balloons are big at the Studio City Farmer's Market

orchids

I was too big to go on the damn pony ride.

Murder on the Red Line

You don’t want to be Todd Martens.

Red Line train at Union Station

Above, first-hand account by Los Angeles Times staffer Todd Martens on the murder that took place on the subway car he was riding in last week.

I’d read the stories in the Times earlier, but this blog account is much more detailed and written in a way that any of us might write it if we were witnesses, as opposed to being journalist-witnesses.

I hadn’t realized that the murder took place in the first car in front – directly behind the operator cage.

This is usually the car I choose to ride in if I can – I know it’s got an empty wall for bikes, and usually there’s fewer people – though certainly not at rush hours. Also, like Todd points out in his post, you can see through the front windows of the train in that car and actually see what the tunnels look like, what the stations look like from afar, etc.
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Which is why a father took his small son to that car that day for his first train ride. This, almost impossible to believe. Who wants to bet that was the first and last train ride this kid will ever have?

This stabbing murder last week was the first homicide on Metro since it started. Since then, there’s been another stabbing, this one in Pasadena, so far not fatal.

It’s not going to make me stop riding Metro – I saw that as one of the advantages in moving back to Los Angeles from Palm Springs, that I wouldn’t need to use a car for every single trip anywhere.

But it does give you pause. The other night I entered the Red Line in that first car with my bike on a fairly quick trip home to Valley Village, only 5 quick stations between Sunset/Vermont and North Hollywood, the end of the line. Like it’s said, you never know what you’re going to get, and what I got was a really loud drunk man (another “transient” – don’t know – dirty backpacks, skateboards – what is it with the weaponization of skateboards? – and scary looking pit bull, who was not a service animal… you get the idea) who was trying to encourage the train occupants to sing Happy Birthday to him, or to “party” with him in some way. He didn’t appear to physically threaten anybody and the dog was, I have to say, well behaved, probably embarrassed for its owner. But this guy was verbally frightening, especially considering the recent events. And we were trapped in a moving train, buried beneath the bloody earth of Hollywood. I thought most of the passengers did their best to ignore him, looking out the windows at the black walls shooting past, or at their shoes. As I’d hoped, he, the dog and another companion left the train at Hollywood and Highland, which seems to be an area with a lot of these types anyway. The train car was again silent, and sped away into the night.

L.A.-Indio rail expansion plan might actually happen (?)

Desert Sun story on L.A.-Indio rail expansion plan

This is the main story in the Desert Sun this morning. I have been waiting for this – rail expansion between Palm Springs (Indio) and Los Angeles the entire time I’ve had this place out here (almost 10 years).

It just makes so much sense. There are no good public transport options between the Coachella Valley and the L.A. Metro area. Can I tell you how much I hate that drive?

There is a Greyhound Bus, but since they eliminated the downtown Palm Springs station they’ve made it oh-so-unbelievably inconvenient – you either have to backtrack to Indio (30 miles in the wrong direction) or get yourself out to the sandy, desolate and windblown train stop to pick up the bus.

Sandy, desolate and windblown station.

Then, it stops at every little bumf*** burg between here and the city, before finally terminating at downtown L.A.’s bus station – which isn’t even adjacent or walking distance to Union Station or any other kind of subway/bus terminal, making it even more complicated, time consuming and just plain stupid.

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No thanks.

In all my dreams of simple, efficient, fast and pleasant Southern California train travel I’ve never had the mistaken impression that someone would build the train line just for me. But I can tell you, I’d be a loyal and frequent customer! I learned to navigate L.A.s’ award-winning Metro system of light rail and buses and came to realize how much cheaper and less stressful my life would become the more I used it.

The era when the conventional wisdom about mass transit in L.A. – that you were either poor, stupid – or both – to use it, is long past. I believe it’s only a matter of time before trains connect all the urban areas of Southern California from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border and inland. I’d love to see it happen while I’m still breathing.

My Year of (Under)employment, Job 1: Background Actor

After I slapped myself in the face, trying to stay awake

As the year rapidly comes to a close, I figured I should contemplate, in retrospect, what I have done/haven’t done with those hours, days, weeks and months.

Sure, some if it was spent scouring craigslist, indeed.com, mediabistro and other sites for job listings that turned out to be meager. However, a considerable amount of time was actually spent doing part-time work.

The first job I got after lay-off was that of Background Actor. I had signed up with Central Casting at other times in my life, and had done a few jobs, and generally liked it. I figured since I was older and grayer now there’d be less competition in my demographic – what I remembered from the cattle calls in Burbank was that the vast majority of people wanting to be “extras” were between the ages of 18 and 30.

Perhaps one instance in which age worked in my favor?

This time I also signed up with a calling service that would book me so I didn’t have to spend hours each day using precious minutes on my cell listening to annoying casting directors rant. I got an age break here, too: since I was such a fossil, the monthly fee was reduced! Take that to Denny’s for your lunch.

I did a few movies, a few TV series, a couple of pilots – probably the only one you’ve all heard about is Entourage. I played the crucial role of a hospital administrator in the season finale. I was issued a badge and clipboard of my own.

I noticed a couple of things I hadn’t remembered from earlier stints at this: the pros bring their own foldable lawn chairs – or chaises in some cases. They get the best “base camp” spots. Background actors tend to segregate themselves as to age group – so there was no way I was going to infiltrate the cool kids camp – sort of like high school. Straight guys my age, unfortunately, tend to be blowhards who want to talk about politics or how bad this or that is, instead of more fun and youthful topics, like dick, what the leading lady is wearing, of figuring out the sexual orientation of the entire cast.

When I moved to Palm Springs, I stopped this work as the commute just didn’t make any sense. When I’m back in L.A., good chance I will sign on again.

What I liked about this work:

Insanely easy. If you can follow simple directions as to what to wear, how to get there, and what time to show up, you can succeed at this job.
It’s fun. I love playing pretend, I love even being on the fringes of acting. Doesn’t everyone?
Truly temporary. Your job ends when you leave for the day.
They pay quick, usually within a week or so.
There’s free food. Beyond craft service, they give you actual meals, many of which were quite elaborate, considering.
There’s really a lot of downtime where you can do other things: flirt, read the paper/book, work on your script or novel on your laptop. Yes, everyone brings laptops now.
The AD’s. That’s assistant director, the person(s) who control the set. Without exception, in my experience these were professional, competent and enthusiastic people who treated us great.

What I didn’t like about this job:

The hours suck. To make the takeaway non-union wage of about $100 a day, you got to work about 12 hours and maybe get lucky enough for meal penalty payments and other little bumps. If for some reason they let you go early, you might only get your minimum wage of $64 a day. Also, the call times are usually quite early in the morning. This didn’t bother me much as I’m an early riser.
The pay sucks. See above. Then again, it’s really easy and you’re just sitting on your ass most of the time.
You have to provide your own wardrobe. Which seems counter-intuitive – as if, we’re doing this as a lark! We’re all fucking poor, out of work or just out of school, and don’t have hugely diverse wardrobes full of many “looks” and “colors”! I learned that you can just bring what you have, and if they don’t like it, they give you something from the wardrobe truck after belittling you for not having the right clothes. “What do you mean, you don’t have a camel trench coat? What’s wrong with youuuuuuu?”
You have to be available. You never know if you’re going to work the next day or not, but you have to assume that you are, so you can’t really plan anything (unless you’ve notified your calling agency in advance). This was difficult to get used to, and once I was not able to “accept my booking” and got put on probation! A scarlet letter! Again, it’s like being in high school.

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t r u t h o u t | Stop Them From Eating My Town

Link to: t r u t h o u t | Stop Them From Eating My Town.

big box

Don’t eat my town! This post from Thom Hartmann is great at really laying out, for the person who’s not an economist (c’est moi), the local economies involved in small town businesses and local banks and the symbiotic relationship between them and local consumers.
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Also great at pointing out the history of the corporate big box takeover in this country, starting with Reagan’s refusal to enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act in the 1980s, which is what led us to where we are today, with small city downtowns devastated and looming multinational chains out by the freeway – all of which hire local citizens at low wages and lower benefits – and then keep none of the money they make in the community.

Not just a screed, his post also offers remedies, from enforcing laws to ending corporate welfare, plugging tax loopholes and encouraging American entrepreneurship. This is a great read. It made me want to patronize what main street shops we still have in the town where I live (actually, there are plenty) as well as shop second hand both in person and on the internet.

Driver of Porsche gets 90 days in jail for hit-and-run involving bicyclist

Link to: Driver gets 90 days in jail for hit-and-run involving bicyclist – latimes.com.

Yay for bicycle rights!

One small step in the fight to get motorists to even acknowledge there are bicycles on the streets of L.A.

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L.A. also has weather that supports a bike culture. Why can’t we do something radical like close off a lane for bikes only on major streets? You say, but where would the cars go? Exactly, answer that question. They would go away.

Until that happy day comes – and it will come, especially if we don’t find some solution to oil addiction quick – I like seeing enforcement of existing laws that protect bicyclists. There really is no contest between a 3-ton SUV and a 150 lb. bicycle rider. I’m glad the guy in this story (Ed Magos) survived and apparently will recover.

Maybe some good will come of the jail time, too, and the driver (Angelina Everett) can ponder the merits of selling her SUV and buying a nice bike.

Eating On $20 For One Week – woman proves it’s possible

Link to: Eating On $20 For One Week – Houston Restaurants and Dining – Eating Our Words.

OK, so I’m not excoriating Republican candidates today. I’m building my arsenal, it’s going to be like hitting the side of a barn.

Gimme some black beans

In the meantime, I’m back on frugality, especially regarding one of my favorite subjects, food. I happened upon Katharine Shilcutt’s piece in the Houston Press blog. She figured out how to Eat on $20 a week. I found it interesting (and helpful!) in particular because it focused on her own household of one.

My grocery bills normally run probably around $50 – $60 a week if I’m honest, and that doesn’t include meals out – which in Palm Springs comes to only one or two a week. Large parts of my food budget go to things I’m always trying to get off of: diet rootbeer soda, for instance – I buy 6-packs for around $2.50 at Fresh ‘n Easy or TJ’s and they go in a day or so depending on how hot it is.

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Lately, I’ve been trying to eat more locally and sustainably so haunt the Farmer’s Markets in Palm Springs – one at the Thursday night Street Fair (Villagefest), the other on Saturdays outside the Camelot Theater. Typically, I will buy greens for salads at those and whatever fresh vegetable they have in season that I can figure out how to cook. Some things fare better with me: yams, for instance, are much easier to deal with than leeks, which I didn’t really know what to do with.

The best value I see in Katharine’s weekly haul is the oatmeal. It is amazingly cheap, and I’m lucky because I like it a lot. I wouldn’t buy the chicken, as I really don’t like meat or poultry all that much. Instead, I add black beans to lots of things, getting my protein there. I also make batches of brown rice and freeze individual portions since it goes bad so fast.

But one thing I have noticed is that Farmers Market fresh vegetables last longer. Maybe because they don’t have to travel from New Zealand or Chile to reach us?

I’d love to hear other stories on how people save on food.

Frugal Living: Some Top Ways We Waste Money in 2010

Link to: 9 Top Ways We Waste Money 2010.

Brown-baggin' lunch

I’m so guilty of spending my almost non-existent income on some of these things: big targets for me include those energy drinks – somehow and for some reason I almost always have to have a low-carb Monster when I go to the gym ($3 at the gym, $1.50 at Ralph’s or Fresh ‘n Easy on the way there). I totally do not need these. Of course, I like the buzz.

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What else – I WAS a good brown-bagger, except when I got lazy. Funny, now that I work at home every day, going out for the occasional lunch is such a treat. Luckily, Palm Springs is full of restaurants barely holding on to business so they all have specials. But usually I eat at home anyway, as it’s so much healthier.

Never fear – I’ll be back with anti-conservative screeds tomorrow, I’m sure.