fast forward to present day. Another year living on the edge. Well, almost. But a year of living earning a little has transformed me into a discount store snob. When I left my good-paying job of five years for a part time greeting card merchandiser I did not have any back-up plans. But it had happened before so I managed to stretch my last paycheck into four months of cutting down on my Rocky Road ice cream consumption to almost no ice cream at all.
so, what's a guy to do when he has monthly rent to pay? I decided to keep my cozy pad and jettisoned what I could.
first thing was cancel my gym membership. It is absolutely a cardinal sin for a gay boy to not have a gym membership, especially a 24-hour one. I thought another card was taken away from me besides my gym card. Dating not only became a physical effort but also a monetary one. Suckie! I did not know there was a free one though. The streets! I started walking around my neighborhood and before I knew it I was running for a good one hour at least once a week. And that was another forty five-dollars-a-month load off my damaged wallet.
one gay sin I committed after another - zero wardrobe shopping. Even though I am living only a stone throw away from the largest grossing mall in san diego, I had endured to set my foot off the designer-store-filled fashion valley. Instead, I turned to Goodwill. At the store, I would bypass the garment section, although having vintage collection in my closet would be a marvelous one, I went straight to the bric-a-brac section which were about a-buck-a-piece. Now my pied a terre exudes Jonathan Adler-esque collections of white ceramics.
how did I eat? My whole family already knew my secret of smuggling empty tupperwares into a party. One word - rice. A bag of carbo-loaded jasmine rice costs under five bucks from my favorite vietnamese supermarket next door. Not only it would last for a month but it goes almost with just about anything for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although, I was afraid that I just violated Oprah's law on not eating white rice in your diet. I hope she's not ashamed of me but I'm still waiting to get one of her favorite things! I reserved eating out only for those especial occasions. And if i did it would be with my good friend over a good breakfast. No pseudo-trendy restaurants. I just want an honest homecooked meal.
and so, it wasn't exactly like A Year in Provence where our dear friend Peter Mayle was driving around south of France in his little Renault. Aww. But it was my year of living fabulously frugal.
it has been a little over a year and now I am back to working full time and my old self.