My Makeshift Light Table for Animation Drawing

As you may already know, I quit my full time office job back in January to do whatever I wanted to do for a year. One of the things I have always wanted to do was to learn the process of making animation. Now it's October, and I have created a few short animations. It is a lot of work. Traditional animation involves drawing hundreds of frames just to have a few minutes of animated film. A light table is essential for drawing these frames. I could buy a nice light tablet for about $50, but I doubt I'll use it often. Most animation is created with computer software now. Doing it the traditional way is just to deepen my understanding of what the animation pioneers went through before there was computer.

What is a light table? It's basically a piece of glass or transparent plastic with light underneath. It's not that hard to put something like that together. I gathered a piece of glass, which was from an old entertainment center that I no longer have. I kept the glass thinking it would come in handy for something. I have several lamps lying around. So, as you can see in the photographs, I saved myself $50 by putting together my own light table. It served the purpose.

Come to think of it, the only thing in the photographs that I had to pay for is the Cartoon Animation book underneath the lamp. It was $0.75 from Goodwill. The laptop was given to me because the previous owner upgraded. The pencil box was a gift I got when I was 10 years old, I think. I did buy some drawing pencils. The two tray tables I use to hold the glass were given to me after my neighbor passed away.

San Francisco Fallfest 2011

There are events in San Francisco all year around, and most of them need volunteers. I have volunteered for San Francisco Pride, which rewards the volunteers with T-shirts, goodie bags and lunches donated from its sponsors.

If you love food and trying a variety of it but don't want to pay for food events, volunteering is the way to go. Today I volunteered at San Francisco Fallfest. The ticket for this event was $95 in advance and $110 at the door. As a volunteer, I worked at the silent auction booth for a couple hours and got to attend the event for free.

There were live music, plenty of food samples, wine tasting, and chef demos. The money raised from the silent auction goes to Meals on Wheels of San Francisco, which delivers nutritious balanced meals to homebound seniors in San Francisco.

I enjoyed the food and spending the day in San Francisco, and it only cost me the round trip BART fare from home to the city, which was less than $8.00.

Foraging Blackberries

Blackberry bushes are extremely invasive. Once you have them in your yard, it's almost impossible to get ride of them. They constantly pop up at various spots on Sand Village Farm. Although I love perfectly ripe blackberries, I have to keep cutting the berry branches off. They are just too thorny! So, instead of growing my own blackberries, I go pick them just like I would with wild mushrooms. They grow abundantly in the neighborhood and are free for the picking. As you can see in the picture above, it grows on someone's fence. In addition to providing berries, the bushes also act as a barrier against critters and burglars. Believe me, you would not want to fall into these bushes.

I took a walk this afternoon and picked a bunch of blackberries. There were a few other people picking them, too. Some areas obviously have been picked over. It would be a shame to let these wild blackberries go to waste. Blackberries are expensive in the stores but you can easily pick your own for free!

"Spirited Away" - American version

covered carriage bridge

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit Yosemite for the second time. It's a shame that it was only my second time there even though I have lived in California most of my life. My first time going there with my family, I got car sick on the way up the hill. This time I was fortunate not to feel motion sickness, so I was able to enjoy more. One of the highlights was seeing Pioneer History Center. We stopped there because the elders needed to make another bathroom stop. I noticed a covered carriage bridge on the other side of the lot and walked over to check it out.

Artist's Cabin

After crossing the bridge, I entered a pioneer village. The year was 1910. The first cabin I stopped at was the Artist's Cabin. As an artist, I can see myself living there. Actually I wish I could live there. Perhaps it's something many artists share - the desire to get away from it all, at least for a while.

I peeked into some of the cabins. I have always loved to see how people lived in the past. The furniture were simple and sturdy. People had just a few belongings that were necessities.

George Anderson Pioneer Home

I wanted to spend more time and have a better look at every cabin. I wanted to sit at the bench of the pioneer home for a while just to imagine living there.

Hodgdon homestead cabin

I wanted to run up those stairs of Hodgdon cabin but didn't get to do it. I knew that I didn't have much time.  All I could do was taking a photo from afar.

Wells Fargo Office

I peeked into the windows of Wells Fargo office. There were electronic equipments from 1910 sitting inside. You know one day our iPads will be sitting in some museum, and the people in the future will wonder why people in 2011 carried something so bulky with them all over the place.

storage for wagons and stagecoaches

I walked passed by the storage for wagons and stagecoaches, but there was no time to stop and admire them. I knew by now that my family must be looking for me.

I exited through a different gate and hurriedly went back to the parking lot. I was puzzled that the family van wasn't anywhere to be seen. I wandered around and saw the van coming from the direction of the covered carriage bridge. They drove over there to wait for me. As I settled in my seat, I checked the photos I took on my camera. All I could think of was the story of Spirited Away.

Making Hamburger Chili

soaking the beans

I get to take hamburgers home among other food items from one of my part-time jobs. I usually get to take about 4 hamburgers home, and I certainly don't feel like eating these cold hamburgers. It is also against my belief to throw away perfectly good hamburgers with onion and tomato slices. I thought they would be perfect for making chili. I have made chili with these hamburgers with and without beans. Canned beans work great, but since I am trying to spend as little money as necessary, I got some dried beans, too.

I like to mix different kinds of bean together. My favorite beans are black and kidney beans, but I would mix any kind of beans. For this batch, I mixed 1/2 cup small pink beans and 1/2 cup white beans. The beans were soaked during the day and then cooked overnight in my 1.5-quart slow cooker with about 1 inch of water covering the beans.

chopping up the rest of ingredients from hamburgers

While the beans were being cooked, I chopped up the rest of ingredients - cooked hamburger patties, onion, and tomatoes. I put all of them in a Tupperware and put it back in the fridge. In the morning, I checked on the beans and they were all cooked through.  I added the chopped onion, tomatoes, and hamburger bits into the pot. I wasn't too concerned about the proportions of each ingredient. I just filled up the pot. For spices, I used:

1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon chopped up garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt

dried beans are pre-cooked overnight

I also poured in some tomato sauce. Sometimes I add a can of tomato paste or diced tomatoes. It just depends on what I have in the pantry. Sometimes I add some cut corn kernels if I have them. After all the ingredients were in the pot, I carefully mixed them all together with a spoon and let it cook.

I got all the ingredients in the pot around 10 A.M. I went out to run some errands, and when I came back around 2 P.M., I could smell it as soon as I walked in. The chili was done, and it was easy. I didn't even have to be in the kitchen much of time.

By the way, I got the 1.5 quart  Crock Pot for $5.00 from Craigslist. The woman who sold it to me said that she probably used it only once or twice since she got it, so she decided to get rid of it. It was still in its original box. The pot is perfect for bringing hot food to potlucks, too.

Chili is done!

Downsize and Live a Simpler Life

For years I had housemates so I could save money on rent. After I finally became debt free, I decided to get my own place. However, I always looked for the cheapest place in a nice safe neighborhood. Safe is more important than cheap. I learned my lesson when I rented a cheap one bedroom apartment in a funky area of San Leandro. My car window was smashed, CD changer and gym bag were taken. My locker under the carport was broken into and the box of art supplies was taken. They were most likely useless to the burglars, but they were expensive to acquire. After that, my rule was to find the most affordable place in a nice neighborhood. You can get a feel by just driving around the neighborhood. You can also do some research on the internet for any area you are planning on moving to. Apartment Ratings is also a good resource to get some idea whether you want to move into a certain complex.You want to avoid any apartment complex that has a history of keeping everyone's security deposits or have pest problems.

My rent had always been on the cheap side. I have rented studios and taken over other people's leases. I didn't mind whether it was an old apartment as long as everything was functional and clean. I preferred to use the money I saved from rent for traveling. The biggest monthly expense for most people is the rent or mortgage. I personally feel it is important to keep this expense as low as possible so I wouldn't feel trapped at my job. I wanted to have the option of walking away from any job when it was no longer making me happy.

I think Felice Cohen's apartment (see video) is awesome. I would totally live in there although I would miss having a real kitchen since I do love to cook.  The original article is here.

Taking On Odd Jobs

I never had much trouble getting a job or a few jobs. One of the reasons is that I don't have my eyes fixed on some 6-figure position. I would take a tolerable job just so I could pay my bills. Although I am taking a year off from working full time, I applied for a few part time jobs so I have my basic expenses covered, such as health insurance (it's a shame that we Americans still don't have universal health care), utilities, internet, cellphone, car insurance/expenses, tuition (only because I want to take classes!), and food.

The best place to find odd jobs is Craigslist.org. I think all of my full time jobs were applied through craigslist in the last 10 years. Through its part-time section, I was hired for 2 jobs. One job asked for a year commitment, and it's just one day a week. However, since it's a restaurant business, I get to take quite a bit of food home each time I go to work. I hardly have to do any grocery shopping.

The second part time job is more freelance. I get a call when computer help is needed, I let them know my earliest availability and work anywhere from 1-4 hours per visit. I get paid at the end of each session. I usually get called only once a week.

Between the two very part-time jobs, I have all of my basic expenses covered. Sometimes there are unexpected expenses such as car repair, which happened last month. My car could not pass smog, so repairs were needed even though it ran perfectly. That was an unexpected $500 expense. Of course, an alternative would be to get rid of the car altogether, which is an idea I have been contemplating.

The "gigs" section also has some paid odd jobs. I have answered to several postings under "gigs" but didn't receive any response. If I needed extra money to cover unexpected expenses, I would look through "ETC" under "jobs" and/or "gigs" to make extra money.

How I Fought My Speeding Ticket and Won

Last summer I was pulled over on a Monday morning around 9 A.M. for violation of speeding.  It was on a 4-lane street, 2 lanes for each direction. The street leads to I-80 freeway entrances, so it is always very busy during commute hours. The intersection which the officer claimed that I was speeding was just 3 blocks away from the freeway ramp. In fact, when he signaled me to pull over from behind, I had just turned left to get on the freeway. I had to pull over to the side of the ramp. I had no idea why I was pulled over. My mind quickly thought about my car registration, which was up to date. When he told me that I was speeding and asked me whether I knew the speed limit on that particular street. I told him the correct speed limit; however, he indicated that it was 25 mph and not 30 mph as I stated.  He claimed that I was going 40 mph in the 25 mph zone.

I have lived in this area for more than 25 years. The speed limit of this 4-lane street was 30 mph for as long as I could remember, but apparently, with the increase of traffic and population, it was adjusted to 25 mph in the last 5 years except the part that is 500 feet right before the freeway ramps.  Since I was not aware of being speeding, naturally, I stated that the speed limit was 30 mph because that was the last speed limit sign I saw before being pulled over.

The officer claimed that his Lidar had locked down my speed as 41 mph and issued me a ticket for it. Most people assume that if you drive over the speed limit, you are speeding and breaking the law;  hence, you are guilty, case closed. What most people don't know is that a person traveling over the speed limit—but less than the usual 65 mph maximum speed limit (55 mph for two-lane undivided highways)—isn’t necessarily violating the basic speed law.

"What you are really being charged with is driving “at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent….” The posted or otherwise defined speed limit is only presumed to be the “reasonable or prudent” speed. When you are ticketed for exceeding the posted speed, the officer is taking advantage of a legal “presumption” that anything above the posted speed is unsafe." (Fight Your Ticket & Win in California, Nolo, 13th edition, page 35).  Since I am a squirrel without a full time job, it would be against my principle if I didn't fight for this ticket. For the following days after the citation was issued, I took over 20 photographs around the same time on that stretch of the street. I wanted to the photographs to show the road and traffic conditions at approximately the same time each day. I made sure the photos show the street signs and other significant signs that may be favorable to my defense.

I followed the book's advice and mailed out an informal discovery request. I did receive the discovery, including a copy of Engineering and Traffic Survey for the part of street where the alleged violation occurred, within 20 days - the time frame the prosecution (in my case, the police agency that issued the citation) needed to respond.   I then submitted my request for trial by written declaration. I have done written declaration in the past and had the citation dismissed. This is particularly useful if you get a citation far away from home. Last time I did this, I was driving to Reno with a friend. My friend also wrote a witness statement for my written declaration.  That case was dismissed. Even if you are in your own neighborhood, it still doesn't hurt to have a trial by written declaration. If you are found guilty, you can always request for a new trial, Trial De Novo, to appear in traffic court.

I mailed in my written declaration in late October. I had to pay the bail, which was the amount of the citation, $ 356.00. If the judge found me not guilty, it would be refunded to me. I enclosed a Google Map printout and a few photos printed on regular paper with a color printer in addition to my statement. I admit that the printouts didn't have the best quality. I also had to dig up an old typewriter (yes, typewriter!) to type on the first page of Request for Trial by Written Declaration form.

In January, the verdict came in the mail and I was found guilty. I was very surprised since I pointed out that the Engineering and Traffic Survey was expired from its basic 5-year lifespan. I took a few days to think over and decided to move forward. I went to the traffic court clerk's office to file for Trial De Novo. You can do this by mail, but it would take much longer to hear back from them. Since I don't have a regular job, I just drove there to take care of it in person and got my trial date on the spot. While I was there, I requested a copy of the officer's written declaration, which is public record. After I read it, it was understandable why I was found guilty. The officer covered everything as if he knew I was following the book. He stated that he had completed various training courses; thus, the validity of the Engineering and Traffic Survey was extended to 7 years.

A week before my trial, I read the officer's declaration repeatedly and very carefully. I looked up the Operator's Manual, Training Manual, and Specifications of Kustom Signal Pro Laser III (Thank you, Internet!), which was the hand held Lidar unit the officer was using that day. I needed to know how it works and its limitations. I prepared a Peremptory Challenge form, so I could disqualify the judge if I found him siding with the police officers. I went back to the location to take additional photos to show a vacant 3-acre lot right next to the intersection, which the officer claimed that it was unsafe to drive above speed limit due to its residential nature. I had the photographs printed at a drug store on photo paper and printed a satellite view via Google Maps of the area to show the large empty lot. I made a diagram of the location on my large 18"x24" sketchpad with multi-colors to indicate streets, street signs, traffic signals, and measurements. Lastly, I prepared a list of questions for the officer:

“Where were you located when you first saw my vehicle?”

“Where was my vehicle when you first saw it?”

“Was your engine idling, or was it off?”
(If idling, you can later argue that he was already intent on stopping someone regardless of whether he saw a violation or not.)

If the engine was off:

“What did you do to start your vehicle?”

“Did you turn on your lights?”

“Did you use your two-way radio?”

“Was there any other traffic on the road other than your vehicle and mine?”

“Could you describe the make, model, or color of the vehicles around you?"

“How fast was the flow of traffic?”

If slower than your vehicle, ask:

"Did you see my vehicle passing any others?”

“Could you describe the vehicles I passed, by make, model, or color?”

“Do you consider yourself to have fairly well-developed powers of observation and memory for details concerning weather and road conditions?”

“Isn’t it true there were no sharp curves over the area you say you determined my speed?”

“There were no road repairs in progress, were there?”

“Was the road pavement dry?”

“Was the visibility good?”

“There weren’t any other obstructions in the road, were there?”

“There weren’t any soft shoulders that you saw, were there?”

“There were no pedestrians or bicyclists present, were there?”

“Isn’t it true this entire block of X Avenue is an empty lot with no residents?”

“Did my speed change after you observed me?”

“Have you ever participated in controlled tests where you were asked to estimate vehicle speeds?”  If the officer says he has participated in such tests, ask whether he always guessed the exact speed correctly.

A week before the trial, I stopped by the traffic court and sat in to get a feel for what the judge was like. One the date of the trial, I ended up with the same judge who found me guilty with the written declaration. After extended observation, I decided that he was fair and even a nice and caring person, so I didn't file for peremptory challenge to get a different judge.

A group of police officers showed up from various departments in the area. I spotted the one who issued me the citation, so I knew the case was not going to be dismissed. I had to move forward with everything I prepared. I watched the people before me testifying against their issuing officers. Most of the defendants came totally unprepared. A few of them tried their best on the spot. The judge was extremely patient with each person. I have seen very harsh judges who showed displeasure from having to deal with people who were obviously not legal professionals.

I cross-examined the officer after he made his statement, which was almost identical to his written declaration. He was most likely surprised by the amount of questions I had. I presented the judge with all of my photographs and diagram, which were marked as evidence. I emphasized on the road and weather condition, and that it was safe to drive at the speed I was driving. I never admitted that I was driving at 41 mpr. In fact, I stated that I was not speeding and if I was over the speed limit, it was by only a few miles and perfectly safe. The judge immediately gave his verdict after giving the police officer another chance to speak following my statement. I almost couldn't believe it when he said "not guilty." I thanked the judge, packed up all my paper, and left the courtroom. I stopped by the clerk's office to confirm that a check in the amount of my bail will be mailed to me in the next month or so.

There are many unemployed people out there right now. If you get a traffic ticket, do yourself a favor and get Nolo's How to Fight Your Ticket and Win in California (assuming you are in California). It could save you hundreds of dollars.  My previous copy, 6th edition, had save me hundred of dollars, too. 

Zombified

In January I met a group of fun loving film enthusiasts while playing an extra in a vampire movie. A few days ago, some of them were looking for zombie extras. I immediately signed up for it. Yesterday I picked up 3 other cast members at MacArthur BART station at 9 AM, and we headed over to the meet up location in South San Francisco. It only took us less than 20 minutes to get there, and we were supposed to get at 10 am! The day started slow as we waited for everyone else to arrive.

Things got really lively after the makeup artists and food arrived. We couldn't stop laughing and joking as soon as zombification started. We all became fast friends and took tons of photos. How often do you get to play a zombie complete with latex makeup and fake blood?

We shot a few scenes inside and then we headed over to a park for some outdoor scenes. People were giving us funny looks, but hey, this is San Francisco, and nothing is too weird.

We finished up around 5 PM. By then, we couldn't wait to remove the dried up latex and blood off our faces. It felt so great just to wash my face again. We got on the road and were stuck in traffic for 30 minutes. This is San Francisco after all. We love it and just have to put up with the traffic. I dropped off my new friends at MacArthur BART Station but in a couple hours we were all reconnecting via Facebook and sharing our photos from the shoot.

As I was reminiscing yesterday, the director for the vampire movie I participated just released its trailer, and I am in it, too!

EasyPass Clipper

The transit system has been heavily promoting Clipper

After I signed up for my classes at Berkeley City College, I noticed a "AC Translink" fee of $31.00. What was this fee? I immediately started Googling around for an explanation. It turned out that a proposition was passed during the May 2009 student election requiring all Peralta students carrying 9 or more units to pay $31 for an AC Transit EasyPass, which is now an EasyPass Clipper.

I wasn't sure whether I would use it because the BART station is just 5 blocks away and two stops from Downtown Berkeley. However, since I had to pay for it, I figured I would pick it up during the first week of school. Not so fast. It turned out that since I have been taking a class on Sundays at Merritt College and obtained a student ID there, my EasyPass Clipper was sent to Merritt for me. I ended up making a special trip to Merritt College, paid $2.00 for all day parking (all short term parking spots were taken), to pick up this card from the cashier's office.

The regular AC Transit fare is $2.00 or $2.25.

Since now I finally have this unlimited bus pass, I must take an advantage of it! Round trip BART fare from El Cerrito Plaza to Downtown Berkeley is $3.50 or I can use my pass and save $3.50. I looked up 511.org. It turned out that the bus with shortest ride to downtown Berkeley stops just a block away from home. It takes 17 minutes to get to downtown, and the bus comes about twice an hour. Awesome! I started taking the bus whenever possible. There are a lot more riders during commute hours, but during mid-day and evening, there are hardly anyone taking the bus. The bus now has a lot more room to accommodate people with disabilities. In fact, there are few regular seats compare to many years ago. The seats and buses are in very good shape and up to date. I was pretty impressed.

I also noticed how polite people are. The passengers almost always thank the driver as they get off. The bus drivers also wish the passengers to have a good day or evening. It's very pleasant. I feel like I am going on a trip somewhere just by taking the bus. This is a good feeling that I wouldn't have when I was trapped in that cubicle routine.

OK Go & Atomic Tom

I got a text invitation to see OK Go and Atomic Tom. I didn't know much about the bands. I had seen OK Go's video (yes, that marching band video) on the internet but never heard of Atomic Tom. I had never been to Avalon either even though I lived in Silicon Valley for over 7 years. Nevertheless, I was excited to go to see a concert with my gal pal. I rarely turn down an opportunity to see a live performance especially when it's free.

The show started with The Relay Company, a local band from San Jose. They were pretty good and wasn't shy about asking the audience to check them out on Youtube and follow them on Twitter.

I looked up Atomic Tom before the concert, and they totally reminded me of 80's pop bands. Sure enough, the lead singer announced during the show that they love 80's music. They started performing one of the 80's biggest hits and got the crowd all rowdied up! I recorded a part of it:



By the time Atomic Tom finished performing, it was 10 PM, and it seemed like forever for the crew to setup the stage for OK Go. The audience was getting really excited because most of them were there to see OK Go, the headliner. I was curious how good these guys might be. Their videos sure are creative and fun to watch. The band came on stage wearing their colorful suits - blue, red, yellow, and green. They started blowing tons of confetti from the stage. At one point, the crew brought out a table with bells of different sizes, and they performed a song by ringing those bells.

Besides singing, the lead singer also joked a lot. He stepped down from the stage and sang among the audience for one song. The crowd just went wild. He didn't forget to turn around to face the other side at the midway of the song. I know how much his fans must have appreciated that. I never forget any concert that I had the opportunity to see the musicians straight in the eyes. For that reason, I much prefer small venues over big sports arenas for live music.

Avalon is a pretty cool concert venue. It's all general admission and there's plenty of parking. In the same parking lot, there is a L&L Hawaiian BBQ, an Indian restaurant, and a few other eateries. Inside of Avalon, they have a kitchen, a full bar and plenty of booth seating although it's harder to see the stage if you sit in a booth. I got the schedule of upcoming shows. I might catch another concert or two at Avalon.

Vampire Dream

A week ago I applied to be an extra as a vampire for a local film. The day of filming has come. We were to meet at the shooting location in Oakland at 10 A.M. on Sunday. I arrived there about 7 minutes after 10 A.M.  I was surprised to find that most people have already arrived and some have already started setting up equipments. That meant they took the movie work quite seriously. Some of them have been making film for a while. Some of the actors and actresses are pursuing their dreams as professional actors. Some of them are planning on moving to Los Angles for more opportunities. The makeup artists (MUA) on the set were all volunteers, but some of them are quite experienced and do work on TV, commercial, and movie sets.

It was a very long day. As an extra, my scene wasn't shot until much later in the day. I had the opportunity to chat with the makeup artists, other actresses, the wardrobe girl, and other people working behind the scene to make things go smoother. I later on found out that two of the lead actresses' mothers were on the set working as well. One of them explained to me that MMTB (Movie Making Throughout the Bay) has provide many opportunities for people who are passionate about movie making to get together and practice their art and skills.

The director shot every scene several times. I could see that she wanted to have extra shots so she could put together the best footage for the final movie.  I was very moved by everyone's dedication and passion for what they love to do. You've got to really love it otherwise you wouldn't be able to get up early on a Sunday to work on it all day without getting paid.

By the end of the day, some of us have become friends, and we will keep in touch via Facebook until the next casting call.

Step 2: Spend Wisely. Save Wildly.

Leonard McCracken

I saw a headline called View of Retirement at 107 a few days ago. It's about Leonard McCracken, who has been living in retirement since about 1969. The article explains how he has done it in great details, but the key points are:

Thrift
Real Estate Investments
Use Debt Well
Work Even When Jobs Are Hard to Find
Save and Invest Conservatively
Stay Healthy

I understand that being thrifty can be extremely difficult to do for many people since credit cards are so easy to apply. You can buy all kinds of stuff you don't need with no money up front. When I finally paid off my credit card debt, I wanted to put the money for my monthly payment into a savings account. Not only I wanted to put it in a savings account, I wanted a savings account that's not easily accessible. I found ING Direct Orange Savings. They don't have branches all over the place, so I wouldn't be able to just go to an ATM to withdraw cash. Additionally, I was also offered a $25.00 bonus to open a savings account with a minimum balance of $250.00.

The bonus is not automatic. In order to get the $25.00 bonus, you either need to have a bonus coupon or have an existing ING Direct account holder email you a referral link. You MUST use that referral link to open the account in order to get the bonus. A friend of mine jumped the gun and opened a savings account through ING website after I told him about the bonus. He didn't realize that I had to email him a referral link first, so he wasn't able to get the bonus. I have been an ING Orange Saver since November 25, 2003, and I never had any issue with ING. By putting the money far away, I can't make impulse purchases. They have never ever charged me a fee for anything. One time I messed up in making a deposit transfer from my checking account when there wasn't enough money in the checking account. ING didn't charge me anything for insufficient fund. The deposit simply didn't take place. That was all.

If you decided to start saving like I did, and ING Direct looks good to you, email me at squirrelliving@gmail.com to get a referral link for your bonus. I do not work for ING. I am just sharing my personal experience on what worked for me. It may work for you as well. You will have to decide.

How to Stretch One Free Meal into Three Meals

A few days ago, a friend of mine treated me to Plouf to celebrate my soon-to-be-free life. Plouf is located at 40 Belden Place in San Francisco's Financial District. Belden Place is a very short dead end street hidden between Bush and Pine and between Kearny and Montgomery. The little block is filled with European style restaurants, and they are all a bit fancy and quite good. A squirrel like me wouldn't normally go there, but my friend was treating me, and it really is an occasion worth celebrating.

I ordered "Plouf Mussels." The Mussels were cooked in a broth with shallots, pastis, roasted garlic (lots of it!), chili flakes and fine herbs. I think they also added cream and butter. It was excellent. I ate almost of the fries and all the mussels. When I was done, there was a bowl of that awesome broth. I couldn't leave the broth there. It would just be a shame to throw away that broth. If you were traveling and have no way of taking it home, then I would forgive you; otherwise, you would be a damned fool to leave it there.

The restaurant also served complimentary French baguette that was crunchy outside and soft inside. I had to take that with my broth. You know they would just go into the garbage if you don't take them. The sweet waiter even gave me an extra piece of baguette to take home.

I took some of the broth and the baguette to work next day for lunch. For the rest of the broth, I added some water and cooked rice noodles in it. I added water because you know everything from a restaurant is high in sodium. Even though I added water, it still tasted perfectly seasoned. I also added more cayenne pepper and some chanterelle mushrooms to the soup. It was a great dinner.

So, this was how one awesome meal was stretched into three awesome meals.

Still Eating Out of Pantry

Over a week ago, I stopped going to the grocery store. I wanted to see how long I could last without going shopping. Now over a week later, I still have plenty of food in the pantry and in my garden. I do have to get a bit more creative than usual. I bought some Knorr's Chicken Bouillon a while back from 99 Cents Store. 99 Cents Store is great if there's one near you. They even sell fresh produce now. In the summer, I bought many packs of blueberries from there for 99 cents per package. They are usually about $3 in regular grocery store. You do however have to refrain yourself from impulse buys since everything is 99 cents or less. If you can't control yourself, you may end up with a bunch of things you don't really need or eat. Try stay away from those mini candy bars.

For dinner tonight, I boiled a pot of water with a cube of chicken bouillon then added some rice noodles into it. I bought the rice noodles a while back and had been too lazy to cook them. You need to soak dried rice noodles in water or warm water first. When I tell people that I am eating out of pantry, people may get the impression that I didn't have any fresh produce. The mini produce department is actually right outside of my backdoor. One of my favorite vegetables is broccoli. I grow broccoli De Cicco, an Italian variety with open heads and long stalks. The leaves and stalks are all edible. They are smaller than regular broccoli and a lot more tender. I got some seedlings from a local grower over a year ago. Initially I thought they weren't going to survive, but they made a come back and flourished and seeded. They even survived the winter frost last month.

I clipped some broccoli De Cicco for my noodle soup.

I also have some mushroom blocks in the back garden, and some shiitake mushrooms are growing now. These might be the last of them for the season if it doesn't rain again soon. The mushrooms went in the soup, too. I think I eat quite well. I much prefer what I have over a box of frozen dinner. I will see if this can last another week.

San Francisco City Tour on a Budget

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday in the United States. I took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to San Francisco to spend a day there with a friend. I got off at Powell Street Station, which is the stop where Westfield San Francisco Centre is located. You can exit the BART Station and go straight into the food court of the shopping center without going outside. Normally, I would go straight to the food court to grab something to eat. Today I didn't want to spend more money than I had to.

I remember when I went to Tokyo two summers ago, I was so grateful that my cousin, who has lived in Tokyo all her life, took me to the restaurants which local people go. They were good and much cheaper. I used to come to the city when I was a teenager before I had a job, so I certainly know where the cheap eats are. I got out of the Westfield Mall and walked down Powell Street, passing the line of people waiting to get on Cable Car. There is a Blondie's Pizza at 63 Powell Street. I got a slice of their daily special for $3.75. If you must drink something with your meal, water is free. The reason I mention this is because some countries in Europe charge you for regular water, too. Not here in California. I don't normally drink anything when I eat anyway. However, I did feel like having something sweet after the pizza.

I headed back down Market Street toward 4th street. There is a 7-11 located at 711 Market Street that I always stopped by if I wanted something cheap to drink. On a hot summer day, I would get a cup of Slurpee. If you are really tight on your budget, you can have an entire meal at this 7-11. They have everything - fresh fruit cups, salad bowls, sandwiches, burgers, hard boiled eggs, red velvet cupcakes, hot dogs, Cup Noodles, sushi, etc. There is a large selection of self serve hot beverages, too.

During those days when I was paying off my credit card debt, I never went to Starbucks. If I needed to get coffee before getting to the office, I would stop by a 7-11 with my own mug. You could fill it up at a fixed price. I think it was about $1.00 back then. It's probably a little more now. Now they have this latte machine that makes 3 different kinds of latte and hot chocolate. There is even a whipped cream dispenser at no extra charge. I got a medium size vanilla latte with whipped cream for $1.69.

As I sipped my latte and headed back down Market Street, I heard someone playing drums - rock style. I love loud and fast rock drumming. I attempted in taking some drum lessons when I was a teenager and immediately realized that I don't have that kind of coordination to move my two hands and foot altogether at different timing. What was a girl to do? I dated a bunch of drummers instead.

There is a sign next to the drummer. It turned out that he's a traveling musician from Japan. It is awesome that he came all the way here and already set up his drums on Market Street to be a part of the scene. There were other people gathering around to enjoy the show. I wanted to help him out but I didn't have much cash on me, so I emptied out my coin purse into his box. I had a brief chat with the drummer, Masakazu, who hasn't decided which town he's going next; however, he will be touring with the pillows as their backup drummer later this year.

How cool is that? This is one of the reasons I love this area. You never know who you are going to meet when you go out there. All those years of being trapped in cubicles made me a recluse. I started to talk less and less and stopped talking to strangers completely. Talking to people is another thing on my "To Do List" for this year.

Masakazu is the one on the right giving the toddler a quick lesson

My friend and I walked up Stockton to Chinatown. We reminisced last time we came to Chinatown and other parts of the city. From Chinatown we continued on to North Beach. At Broadway we made a turn and headed toward the pier for the Ferry Building. It was quite a warm day for January. I was totally overdressed and overheated from all the walking. We got some gelato ($3.65 per scoop) from Ciao Bella and sat outside for a break.

After heading back up Market from the Ferry Building, I hopped on the BART from Embarcadero Station to take me back to Berkeley ($3.90 each way). Spending a day in San Francisco can be as cheap as $16.89 (not counting the change I gave to Masakazu) if you are not into buying things you don't need.

View of the Bay Bridge from the Ferry Building