Here are the first glimpses of my private winter paradise. I'm trying to get used to things like... snow... or trying to use a fireplace. And all the static in my hair. And of couse... time time time!

Labels: MacDowell

It was getting late, and neither myself nor my father felt like going to Redwood City in pursuit of an old coat. So I'm cutting the tags off my purchases and I'm ready to look like a million bucks at MacDowell... Specifically... like 292 bucks.

And this is the end of JacketGate. For now at least....

I am so excited about MacDowell. I plan to go on walks and do weird meditative breathing and write and get fat eating gourmet food. And get a lot of writing in.

I learned a lot from two summers ago when I was in Florida. To not take on too much, not beat myself up for not getting as much work done. And to stay away from the internet... So we'll see how that goes!

Here's the video of where I'm going. It's so out of control quaint and perfect.

Labels: artist life, MacDowell

JacketGate continues today as I do one last day of preparation for my three week stint at the MacDowell Colony. I am still unsatisfied with the situation of being warm enough when I'm out there.

It rained yesterday in San Francisco and my friend Wei-Ming and I wandered the Stonestown Galleria, the Goodwill in West Portal, the Big 5 at Lakeshore Plaza and the Sports Authority at Serramonte Center in search of an ugly jacket and other forms of warmth that will allow me to survive an East Coast winter.

Going shopping yesterday was a horrific experience for me as I'm trying to purge my belongings in half. I borrowed my family's Prius and the parking lots were a clusterf*ck of drivers, all who felt entitled to the same slot of parking space. Under the din of bargain hunting immigrant families, teen mothers with babies in tow, and people I probably went to school with who have room in their homes for more crap they don't need... we did frenzied laps around Macy's, started asking the mannequins for directions, and emerged with a decently warm, below the knee jacket. It wasn't the LL Bean or North Face Michelin Man uglyness I'd hoped for, but it was the closest thing I could find. Perhaps it is the warmest jacket for sale in the city.

The damage was $147. Mind you, I've never spent that kind of money on a coat ever before. So it's kind of a dramatic purchase for me.

Then came similar nauseating choreography around the aisles of Ross and Big 5. Trying snow shows on at Sports Authority. Starting at the ones that were $39, but soon, I find myself putting on $49 shoes, then $79 shoes... and suddenly.... $100 shoes-- because anything less than $100 was too narrow or tight.

At each purchase, I presented my card over the sales counter, mostly in denial. Trying not to look.

I spent $100 on snow shoes. Another $45 on snow pants. I just bought a bomber hat on ebay for $15. It's getting mailed straight to me in New Hampshire.

Of course, after I got home from the puke-tastic day of feeding the economy to acquire things that I swear I could have borrowed from someone somewhere, I get an email from a woman on Craigslist responding to my ad post to barter my obscene amounts of yarn for a winter coat and snow shoes. She had exactly what I wanted. Serel brand snow shoes and an LL Bean Jacket.

I screamed. If only she had written earlier....

I guess I can always return all these purchases. Stay true to my martrydom of buying nothing and enjoy the thrills of old time "one man's trash is another man's treasure" bartering. There are issues with bartering with her though... The coat is one size too large (L) and we're not sure if the shoes will fit. She also lives in San Jose but has agreed to meet me tonight in Redwood City to do this exchange.

I also leave in the morning, so if after I find her items work out, my folks will have to return all this crap I just bought on my behalf for a refund. Not to mention, the pressure of wanting to make this barter exchange work after having driven all the way to Redwood City. And my father now wants to come with me in case this lady turns out to be a killer. My folks are very funny this way. I've been living in LA alone all this time, but when I'm here, they insist on driving me to places I could walk to, and coming with me as my personal security detail for benign Craigslist transactions.

The great irony of all this is that when I land at MacDowell there will probably be a store next door to the colony called "Really Warm Ugly Jackets, Only $5."

Anyway, looking forward to my journey ahead. To being able to go for walks in my warm/not warm coat. And soak in the luxury of time and space. I'm actually making a commitment to keep the imbibement of hot toddies to a minimum... as it seems to be the trap of an artist residency... lots of time to unwind... perhaps too much. But before the joys of MacDowell, can I ask that this city stop bilking me of money so I can sit in a cabin in the woods and RELAX already?!?

I'm telling you folks. Life should not be this complicated. This is JacketGate.

Labels: buy nothing year, crafty

I am in the midst of a conspiracy I'd like to call "JacketGate."

Ever since I moved to Los Angeles a million years ago, I have suffered from the inability of knowing what time of year it is. We don't have seasons, we just have a couple months when it rains twice and we put on hooded sweatshirts and scarves and complain about the "cold." But other than that, it's one long summer with slight fluctuations. We have one major season in Los Angeles... and that's "Pilot Season."

Right now, I'm in San Francisco. Since my last blog, I've been in Los Angeles, Knoxville, TN and New York City. In the latter two cities, I really experienced what they mean by "East Coast Winter." Imagine me wearing the one coat I own (a little suede number from the Out of the Closet thrift store) with the wind ripping right through me. Imagine me swearing through the windy streets of Astoria as I ran towards shelter and finally understood why people move to Los Angeles for the weather.

I am a cold weather sissy. And that's why I decided, January 2010 would be the perfect time of year to experience what they call "a Maine winter" at the MacDowell Writer's Colony in Monadnock, NH where I head in a couple days to work on my new play. I'll be there for over three weeks.

A few years ago, my filmmaker friend Michael Kang went to MacDowell this time of year and he sent me this apocalyptic picture from his New Year's Eve there. My jaw dropped ("froze" might be a more appropriate word) when I saw this...



This doesn't look like much of a "retreat." And granted, it's a picture of the parking lot and a homemade fireworks NYE show. But from the looks of it, it's going to be cold as misery (specifically, "feels like 11 degrees" says weather.com).

I seem to have a knack for traveling the country during the worst times of the year. Two years ago it was Florida in July. This year it was Alaska in January. Alaska was not as bad as I thought. I was inside the theater most of the time. There were times when the wind and snow would hit my face and it would feel like pins were stabbing my skin. But it wasn't apocalyptic the way Sarah Palin made us think Alaska was. And thanks to global warming, the weather hovered at a nice low of 30 degrees. I made it through Alaska wearing borrowed snowboarding clothes from my friend Teri. But this year, I didn't even have time to ask around to borrow clothes. I was traveling so much, I barely got a Facebook tweet out asking for a coat.

Looking at Michael's picture above has me realizing, that even a San Francisco cold weather jacket is not going to cut it. I need serious warmth. I need an ugly jacket.



If you've been reading, you know I have been purging the amount of stuff I own. Two yard sales and a half dozen trips to Goodwill and I have only shed the amount of stuff I own by 30%. I thought it was more, but as I really take a look around, I still got a lot of shit. Shopping has become a disgusting endeavor of late. The day after redistributing all my crap to the citizens of West LA in a yard sale, I was forced to go to Crate and Barrel to fulfill a friend's wedding registry. I almost vomited having to spend the money from the yard sale to buy more crap.

I've come to really loathe the practice of shopping.

I'm learning that everyone on the East Coast must be broke because a good winter coat is expensive. We're talking $300 North Face expensive. And I also realize, I need to get some real snow shoes which run $150. And it probably wouldn't hurt to buy a bomber hat rather than rely on this little crocheted beanie I got. I've owned bomber hats in the past that have been given away or lost. Teri loaned me hers for Alaska but I don't have it this year.

$450+ is an unfathomable amount to spend on winter clothes. My friends have all chided me: "But you might go out there again. It's an investment." But in my carlessness, I am in this time of life where I refuse to buy stuff, and I refuse to buy a jacket. Even if I need one, especially during this great purge. I'm trying to save up for this elusive house. And we live in a planet with such an excess of shit, surely someone has an extra coat to share. Surely, I can try to not contribute to mass consumption and utilize what already exists.

But nobody seems to have an ugly coat to share. My friends have offered their San Francisco winter jackets. But nobody has the floor-length puffy nonsense that I need.



I thought, I'd try Ebay. No luck. Winter coats are as much online as they are in the stores. I found some decent ones less than $200 on the LL Bean and Eddie Bauer site, that apparently have been "tested" to work in below freezing temperatures. LL Bean is sold out of coats my size, and the Eddie Bauer store in San Francisco doesn't have any heavy ugly coats in stock. You see, because it doesn't get cold enough here for that.

Then I thought I'd get clever on Craigslist. Nobody was listing a coat like the one I was looking for so I thought I'd offer up to $100 for an ugly jacket if I included a picture of one. No luck. Multiple offers of fleece tops, cashmere scarves, but nobody in San Francisco seems to have an ugly jacket for an ugly winter. I even attempted to barter for winter clothes-- because the principle of bartering means using what exists and most importantly, not using cash. I have all this yarn from my yarn hoarding phase hidden up here at my parents', and tried to barter that. Again, offers of things I don't need or the right coats in the wrong size.

I went to a cocktail party last night in San Francisco, where the hunt for this winter coat was a consuming part of my conversations. (I know, I am such the party animal.) Everyone was pretty intrigued by this quest for a jacket for cheap or free. I was offered suggestions of websites I could find them cheaper, who in the city I could borrow one from... none have panned out.

I even thought for a moment of signing up for those free coat programs for homeless people.

So I broke down this afternoon and decided, I'd buy a damn coat and put it on the charge card. Burlington Coat Factory has an obvious name for an obvious product. But what I found was only a small selection of coats that would get me through a San Francisco winter. No ugly, Michelin man sleeping bag with sleeves jackets for a Maine winter. Just thin, lightly downed selections. My mother was trying to be helpful, handing me coat after coat on the rack, and I couldn't help of being reminded of why I'd accumulated so much crap in all my years of living... because I always bought subpar shit and thus, had to buy it several times.

If I'm going to buy this ugly jacket and ugly snow shoes. I'm going to have to do it right so that I only have to do it once.

I may have to go shopping. At a mall. The day after Christmas. Like the rest of America. And still not find this ugly jacket. Ugh, nausea.

My friend Wei-Ming says she'll go post Christmas shopping with me tomorrow. Nothing is making me more ill than the idea of spending hundreds of dollars on winter clothes, creeping along elbow to elbow, from store to store with the rest of America, spending hard earned cash on crap that theoretically, already exists somewhere that I know someone is not using that I could borrow or barter.

I'm telling you. This is JacketGate.



In other news, my friends are having babies, while I'm running around the country looking for a free coat that won't put me in the poor house.... Meet Anja.

Labels: buy nothing year, marriage grown up crap, new york city

Welcome back to “Open House” my series of blog entries detailing my journey to home ownership (to suit an artist’s lifestyle with an artist’s income… all by myself.) These blogs are also research notes for my new show about being Carless in LA and will be integrated into a show I’m developing through an artist residency March/April 2010 at the Asian Arts Initiative in Philadelphia, PA.

Last week, I visited my friend Jih-Fei , a PhD candidate who presented a paper last summer at a conference in Hawaii about Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (stroke stroke stroke my ego Jih-Fei!). He lives in the Little Tokyo Lofts downtown.

From the website….
"In these extraordinary lofts, you can almost feel the electricity of the city (granted, the fact that they've been built in the old Westinghouse building might have a little to do with it)."

I’ve been curious about the new loft developments just outside the "bastion of safety" that is Little Tokyo. Since the stock market crash, downtown lofts have been foreclosing and many of them still stand empty.

Also from the site…
"You will live close to a grittier flavor of nightlife with dozens of underground clubs and bars known only by those who reside within the glow of downtown."

Yes, and that flavor is.... urine. The smell is unmistakable. The bus drops me off five blocks away from the lofts, just as the warehouse district closes and tents of the old residents get pitched. Are these cardboard coffins that people sleep in for insulation, that glow under the nightlife… are these the people who know of “the underground clubs?”

It does feel precarious to be an Asian woman carrying a large purse on my shoulder to be walking these streets alone. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have walked through this neighborhood EVER and definitely not alone. But there are new bars and restaurants that have sprung up. And even a few dog walkers. But the old residents remain. Homeless people, day laborers, and other longtime inhabitants of this area. Some of them greet me as they assemble their homes for the evening. I stutter a hello back but find my pace moving from brisk walk to light jog.

Again, from the site...

"Or spend a relaxing night enjoying the skyline view from your loft while ordering Chinese take-out. It’s nice to know your food will actually come from Chinatown."

Hmmm.... if I cook the food, will that make the food even more authentically Chinese?



PRICE
Pros
The price is right, as you can buy someone's lived-in condo for as low as 200k.

Cons
HOA fees are HIGH at around $400-500 a month. And those fees can go higher whether you like it or not.

MAINTENANCE
Pros
Aside from cosmetic changes inside the unit, bigger issues like a roof repair, and busted pipes are all covered in the HOA fee. The building is also very clean inside and well maintained.

Cons
HOA fees are still too high. And I really don't feel the need things like a dog run or swimming pool which are part of this building.

COULD I LIVE THERE CARLESS?
PROS
The Gold Line is nearby. As are restaurants, galleries and theaters. I can also rent my parking space to someone else in the building for $100/month. I could possibly get around by bike.

CONS
It's not a great sign that the parking situation requires a 24 hour security person and a large metal gate. I also don't feel terribly safe walking around there at night, stepping across homeless people. When we walked back from the REDCAT, we must have been approached by at least 4 or 5 homeless people. I don't think I'd feel good about carrying valuables on me and walking alone or waiting for the bus at night. I’m also not terribly impressed by this quote on the website: “There's also 24-hour courtesy patrol. Because while urban living has its edge, that doesn't mean you should get cut on it. "

NEIGHBORHOOD
PROS
Having lived in LA for a long ass time, I have noticed how the downtown neighborhood has shifted from a nighttime No Man's Land to a bustling pretend Manhattan. Japanese food is just a few blocks away. Its well situated in walking distance from Little Tokyo.

CONS
It's still not Manhattan. And while the homeless people were nice enough, I don’t know that I could just up and go for walks at night the way I have in other places I’ve lived in LA. Also, the human excrement smell that would be outside my front door isn’t exactly “going outside for a fresh breath of air.”

SPACE ITSELF

PROS
12 foot ceilings are nice. And do open the head. Also there are washer/dryer machines in each unit.

CONS
I don't have the imagination necessary to build shelving, storage and room dividers to keep an open loft space from turning into a whirlpool of shit. I also like greenery and there's not much here except for the planters by the sales office.

NEIGHBORS

PROS
I would be living near Jih-Fei, Kennedy and maybe some other new friends… many of which are homeless…

CONS
Don't know if I can deal with the daily irony of living in an urban luxury fortress that is so purposely built to shield you from the realities outside.

SOUND FINANCIAL INVESTMENT?
PROS
The neighborhood is changing. A condo unit could be worth something if I sat on it for ten years.

CONS
Condos don't appreciate much in value and those HOA fees don't come back to you when you sell the place. You can't write them HOA fees off in taxes either. The economy has slowed down the growth of downtown. So who knows if this is an investment that would actually appreciate.



Final Verdict: Could I see myself living here?

I think I'm more a green neighborhood gal and would miss the presence of trees and parks. While I'm adventurous, I need to feel safer where I live. And I want to be able to engage in my neighborhood in a meaningful way, not feel forced to drive because I need the metal armor to navigate the surrounding streets. I may take a look at some other lower- frills condos with lower HOA fees in Downtown or Koreatown, but am passing on these lofts for now.

Labels: Open House