New job!

I have accepted an Americorps position with Habitat for Humanity! I'll really have to be thrifty... it pays about $840 a month (that's after taxes), with a unlimited metrocard and a $200 rent voucher a month. In New York City... this is gonna be a bitch! I'll be able to get food stamps, which will help. I should have plenty to blog about, from the internet cafe near my place because I won't have internet. I won't be able to save any money, but at least I'll be able to bring in some money, rather than living 100% off loans. My student loans will be on deferment and I will get a stipend at the end of my 1700 hours of service toward tuition or loans. I made sure I'll be able to take a few days off to go to my brother's wedding, yay! There will be a couple trips, one to Iowa in June and another somewhere in the Fall. My best friend is doing the same job (she's been there several months already)- but I don't think we'll be working at the same site, at least not often.

The position will be a construction site leader. Teaching volunteers how to do the work, delegating, quality control... all things I was doing at Yestermorrow without being asked. This time it's actually my responsibility :) I'll be taking Introduction to Construction Project Management as well as Introduction to Graphic Design in the evenings, and hopefully going to some insight meditation group sittings. This set period of having a job/responsibility will be nice to structure my life a bit while I try to figure out what to do next!

2010, you are most welcome

It's a new year, a clean slate. I'm taking a sabatical for the next few months. Moving back to NYC, taking classes, looking for work, making a personal website, staying with friends, seeing old friends, meeting new people, experimenting with food, and trying to live on a smaller budget.

My stuff is packed, I'm leaving my apartment tomorrow (though I may have to come back to take out the trash and recycling :P ). I'm headed into the unknown. Tomorrow I have a pile of books to sell. When I get to my mom's house I want to go through all my stuff (this was the only time she had to help me move, so I didn't have time to sort it before moving it.) I want to reduce my clutter. Reduce my possessions that make it hard to move around. I don't know where I will be going next, I might be applying for school in Sweden, or working architecture in Colorado (or other random state), or living in Brooklyn. As far as 2010 this is what I know
- my brother is getting married, and I will be there
- I want to meditate, do yoga and run
- I want to explore the field of architecture and get more experience and figure out what part I want in it (via classes, informational interviews, apply for school, do certificates, get an internship- do what it takes to figure out what I want my career to be)

I was inspired by the film 'Coco Before Chanel' to take a pattern making class so I get more out of my love of sewing, hopefully there is a spot left. I'm also interested in furniture design, graphic design as well as green architecture. Much to explore. I also plan to get this blog back on track... food!

Tonight we went to North Star on Fall Street in Ithaca, NY. It was fantastic! Large portions, tasty local food, good conversation. The service was a little slow, which makes my only warning: don't go here if you are with someone you can't make conversation with!

Time to chill a bit and lay down, my back is sore from a day spent packing and lifting and descending stairs. I am excited/scared/nervous about why lies ahead, which made it difficult to pack.

Making lemonade, finding the silver lining in a broken heart

I just drew this trying to do some art therapy for myself...

Moving away from learning to be cheap my recent decisions will not be cheap at all... except hopefully in the long run. Last weekend KE and I broke up. I spent a lot of time thinking and talking to my mom and I was telling her how I was not happy at school. I have been less and less passionate about my career path. After my summer at Yestermorrow I went straight into school without time to process how the experience changed me. In part because I don't feel solid in my program and in part because I wanted to be closer to KE I said I wanted to move back to the city. KE decided that he needs to focus on his career fully which means no time for me. I am devastated, dropping weight like crazy for lack of appetite and still planning to move back to the city.

I emailed everyone I know, I have a couple friends I can stay with while I look for a sublet apartment and a new job. I believe that KE and I will be friends but I need to really take a break in order to be ready for that. I still want him to be a part of my life, he was my rock for the last 6 months when I went through a lot of change. Now I need to be my own rock and face change again. Luckily I have many great friends and very supportive family. I have already had offers of places to crash all over the country. I am taking this opportunity to really reevaluate my own career goals. I lost sight of my goals because I had KE and he became my goal. I had my eggs in many baskets and then suddenly I had one basket and it was him and he wasn't ready for it. This has been easier than the last break up, I have grown a lot and I am both dreading and looking forward to even more personal growth to come in the months ahead.

For this move I will be traveling light. I will put all my things in storage near my mom's house, and coordinate my move with her move (again!) so that we only rent one truck. This way we can also help each other move. I will keep my car at her house in DE and come up to NY with what I can carry in a backpack and a duffel bag. I have already contacted friends and gotten a couple offers of places to stay while I look for a sublet, which is near impossible when outside the city. I am going to push this time of change for myself and try to move to an area that is outside my comfort zone. I lived in the Pratt area for 8 years and it is what I know. I am going to try living in Manhattan. Even if that means more money and less space. I am also going to do what I was doing in my last between relationship time: self improvement. I want to say yes to going out. I want to be more involved. If I am living in a small apartment I will go out. If I start out with just a few months sublet I can see how this new approach works for me.

I will also be job hunting. Part of why I am leaving this prestigious school is the cost of the school and the benefits I will gain that require the degree I'm working towards just don't add up. After my summer on a construction site, where I was working with my hands, and I loved it. I have learned through my limited work experience I need an office that keeps me busy, especially with a variety of tasks or else I tend to get bored. I like working with my hands, I always have. In my free time I sew and bake and do crafty things- like a card cut out of paint chips with an exacto knife. Precision and detailed work. In architecture school I was well known for my detailed models and love of tweezers for assembling them. I need to do something using my hands. If I can't do it for my main career at least I can find a job where I am on a construction site, and over see schedules, planning and coordination. These are things I do in my spare time for myself. Right now, however, my plan extends until Feb. Move to NY, find a job. In December I will be reading a couple books to help me think about the kinds of jobs I want to apply for and to work on my cover letter writing skills. This trip to Oregon couldn't come at a better time. Xmas with family at the beach house will be comforting. Although the wedding weekend that I'm about to head into might be a little rough. Friday bachelorette party, Saturday bridal shower, Sunday wedding. But if I remind myself that I'm not ready, but like the last breakup, I want to do new things, get a hair cut, dress up, make myself feel attractive. Perhaps a ladies night out is just what I need.

This has been an exhausting week, and it hasn't even been a full week yet. I had to come home and de-KE my apartment, I have gifts for him for Xmas that are now sitting in a box making me sad. I understand his reasons for not being able to focus on a relationship but that doesn't make it hurt any less. I hope that he figures out what he wants just as I hope that I figure out what I want.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But don't just make regular lemonade. Think about how you can make better lemonade. What can you do to improve your lemonade? I am working on improving myself so that my next relationship will be even better because I will be stronger and remember keep my eggs in more than one basket.

Sigh. I'm looking forward to going back to the city in part to go to museums, maybe practice some more drawing, that was one of my favorite things in Rome was all the drawings we did. I need to get out more and being in school does not lead to me getting out more, it leads to me retreating into my hermit shell, having KE made that feel like it was ok but it really wasn't.

Time for yet another cup of tea.

Getting settled in my new place

The move is complete, I've met several of my neighbors, been to the farmer's market, Wegman's grocery store (24hrs! yay!) and wal-mart and now it's time to get back to blogging about learning to be cheap.

Some thoughts on setting up your apartment and how to do it cheaply.

• Share- ask your neighbors if they are interested in sharing wireless internet- if they already have it even better- you can check the strength of the signal.

• check craigslist for furniture or look up cheap ways to make your own. I went with the classic 70s style shelves because it's just me living here and I could carry each of the components individually.The black felt is to protect the recently refinished floors (and to prevent a heart attack in my landlord should he see concrete blocks on his floors!).
  

• Unpack your kitchen and bathroom first- make a list before you go shopping for things you absolutely need. If there is a category of things you would like but could live without for a while save them for the next month. I didn't do this and spent way too much in my first month here. In the end I decided not to go back and get the paper towel holder, just one more expense that could be done without.
  

• Take notes when you grocery shop. In Ithaca there are farmer's markets, a co-op, and a grocery store (that offers organic stuff, not so much fair trade, and is open 24 hours!). I have saved all my receipts so I can compare the costs. Tomatoes are cheaper at the farmer's market (for now) than at the big grocery store, same with potatoes (I got potato seconds for $1.50 a pound!). I am also comparing the costs of bulk pastas and grains. I'm not just comparing costs but also eco-footprints. I prefer to buy local because local food supports local farmers and I <3>

• If your apartment doesn't come with things you are used to, like a microwave, toaster or toaster oven- try going without for a while and see if you really really need one. I don't have a microwave but reheating food in a skillet tastes far superior and I'm learning to use my broiler to quickly toast/melt things (nachos!)

• Get an EZpass! Now that I have an actual address, I'm ordering mine I already have two trips to NYC planned and the ezpass will make the drive quicker, probably save gas from not slowing down and then accelerating and I will get discount rates on my tolls. How could I not get one!?
  

A couple foodie-on-a-budget tips:

• Make your own salad dressing. It's super tasty and you can experiment with mixtures. My recipe is as follows (quantities vary): dijon mustard, pressed garlic (or finely diced), lemon juice from half a lemon, fresh ground pepper, olive oil. Mix together and keep in a container with a lid. It will get a little solid in the fridge but when it gets to room temp it will be runny again. You can make it as thick or thin as you like depending on how much olive oil you add.
• If you have some ingredients and want to make something specific browse the web for recipes that use only things you have in stock, that way you don't have to make a special trip to the grocery store (so long as you keep your staples stocks) and you get what you wanted. I believe the phrase is "have your cake and eat it too"!
• leftover roasted potatoes could be remade into mashed potatoes (really easily), add some roasted garlic to give your potatoes new flavor!
  

This was my dinner, reheated roasted potatoes (with way too much oregano, gotta watch that pour spout!) and romaine lettuce with my homemade dressing. I also had some guac-salad with nachos earlier today. I love having my own kitchen!


Tonight I am making an apple bread using this recipe. I changed it to make one loaf, it's just me and I don't want too much bread! I think it could potential make a phenomenal grilled cheese sandwich- granny smith and cheddar are a great combo! I will have to taste the bread before I get to excited. It had all good reviews which is a good sign, I did make some changes though. No sugar was added, I used white whole wheat flour, instead of oil I added a 1/2 cup of no sugar added applesauce. I poured a little olive oil and agave nectar in when it needed more moisture. I If this bread doesn't spread too much it could probably be made as a free-form loaf.

This could totally be made into whatever shape you wanted. The dough was super thick, it didn't rise/spread much at all. It's really tasty and hearty. I think it would be great with some whipped cream, a glass of milk or some vanilla gelato! Warm it's pretty good because of the soft apple chunks (I put in like 2x the amount of apple it called for). It's not overly sweet, would be a good hearty breakfast bread, possibly with some yogurt.. ooo or peanutbutter!

Go forth and create!

How not to buy a car in another state and then exchange it between family members

Why are state-to-state transactions so difficult!?

My mom lives in DE, she bought a car in MD and didn't pay sales tax because Delaware doesn't believe in taxes. She bought the car and put both our names on the title. Lesson one: don't do this.

If you are going to buy a car and give it to your child who lives in a different state (especially one with tax/higher tax) this is what you should do:
1. buy the car in your name in whatever state
2. get the title in your name in that state
3. sign the title over in your state to your family member, in that state
4. have that family member request a new title in his/her state- if it is gifted in the other state and you have a title you shouldn't have to pay sales


What not to do:
1. sign your name and your giftee's/daughter's name on the title
2. register the car in your state
3. take the car to NY with only the giftee present at the DMV
4. have to get the other person to take a trip up to your state in order to show proof of ID and sign the paper- oh and pay NYS sales tax because the NY residents was on the original papers
5. be told the credit card machines aren't working (and you are going to owe more than $500- who carries that much cash? or a check book unless you expect to use it?!
6. have the credit card machine work (thankfully!)
7. get plates, get emissions testing and wait for new title in about 3 months


Ugh. What a frustrating experience! Ready to leave the city where hopefully things will be clearer.

Never rent a 16' truck in NYC and other lessons learned from moving out

A 16' truck is a commercial vehicle. No one at the rental place told me this when they said "well it's the same price as a 10' truck". It is not the same price. On the Verezano bridge alone I paid $20 to get through, I had to take truck routes and pay truck tolls. There is no parking of commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods overnight (a $65 ticket). So while the price at budget was the same as a 10' truck the price within the city and the reality is that it cost more than that. On top of that, it was a huge pain to drive in the city.

Now I am staying with KE and trying to get started with my fitness regime I was so excited to have the time to implement. So far, it hasn't been going as well as I'd hoped, but I'm working out my eating plan again and trying to figureout what to eat that's healthy and cheap before I head off to an unknown kitchen this summer. I did pick up one thing at Wal-Mart for the summer though: a mini food processor. It holds 1.5 cups and I look forward to making fresh pesto! I may even get some potted basil plants to keep in VT. When I get there and check the lay of the land I'll know more about that.

Back to diet planning!

Slow times for blogging

In the throes of packing (yes KE, throes) and getting ready to move. My kitchen is packed up in part so that I can make sure that all my stuff is clean when it goes into boxes for 3 months. I'll be staying with my mom for 1 week then with KE for 3 weeks then I will be in Vermont, using a shared kitchen with unknown amenities. I plan to live off things from the farmers market cooked in an Alice Waters sort of way. I am bringing the following cookbooks to Vermont:


I will be on a 3 month hiatus from baking. It will be rough but I mostly have faith that I can handle it! I will also be training to run because I am going to sign up for 2 races in Ithaca int he fall (a much better time for races than the February one I flaked out on because it was like 2 degrees and I knew I'd hurt myself if I breathed in that temperature air. So KE stayed in bed - he was supposed to run too!).

I hope you look forward as much as I do to my baking free summer of fresh food experimentation! I think it will be a tasty and exciting time. I will probably bring my blender/food processor thingy too, for the making of smoothies and pestos. Fingers crossed for garlic scapes!




Get ready for a link to purchase chocolates as well, Brooklyn Homestead is almost up and running for our first batch of handmade chocolate truffles. This along with moving has been quite the busy time. Tonight is of course seafood night (Wednesdays for me and KE for the past 2 months). He has been kind enough to take the wheel of making dinner while I pack, so I don't know what we'll be having! Last week it was bay scallops!

Moving Preparation and Planning

I've made a list for the order in which to pack things. I have to budget my time because my last day of work is a Friday, Saturday night is my S'mores and BYOB going away party then I'm loading up the truck Sunday (with the help of some friends!) and driving away Monday. And before that, I'm working fulltime - I might need to see about leaving early a few days when the reality of the quantity of my stuff hits...

Packing list, order of operations:

• Tv. Monitor. Cameras. Cables.
• Camping. Hardware. Documents/ Papers.
• Fabrics. Patterns. Art supplies.
• Exercise equip.

• Books. (big job, want to get all the other stuff out of the way before I start tackling this- also so I can get to the books as my table is in the way!)

• Toiletries
  
• Sewing machine (finish project ASAP!)
• Kitchen. Clean fridge and pantry.
• Clothes. Shoes. Towels. Sheets.
• Computer. Hard drive. Speakers.
• Mattress. Bed frame. Dressers. Folding table.

Brownie Break: These were the most phenomenal brownies I've ever had. I'm pretty sure- ever. Picked them up at the food co-op. Sometimes you just need a treat!

Misc. things to do for move:

• Change of address form at post office. (You can do it online!)
  
• Change Netflix address.
• Confirm electricity is shutting off.
• Get security deposit.
• Confirm moving truck rental.

I did a bit of research (though not enough...) on moving trucks and budget was good because of unlimited miles as I will be also helping my mom (and splitting the cost of the truck!) to move at the same time. From Brooklyn, NY to Wilmington, DE to Seaford to Wilmington. A lot of driving and a lot of moving! It's gonna be a long couple of days!

Things I'm purging:

• old spices
• unused and most likely never to be used art supplies
• those bags of clothes that have been waiting to go to salvation army for like a year
• clean out fridge and pantry and face the fact I'm never going to eat that can of garbanzo beans

Things to do before I drive off into the... afternoon:

• sweep and mop my room and work area
• one last check for stray toiletries and frozen foods