Birthday, Beer, & Little Car

Birthday

A couple of weeks ago I turned 29. This is dangerously close to 30. I'm in denial.

I was in Boston in the days leading up to my birthday and I spent most of my actual birthday flying back to San Diego so I didn't even get a picture on my Birthday.

2 days before my 29th birthday. I think I look younger there.

The Mr. bought me a kindle for my birthday. I love it. And I currently may be covertly reading a certain book that every woman in America is reading/had read.

We celebrated my birthday a little bit all week in Boston. But also celebrated the day after my birthday with a couple of friends at Prep Kitchen in Little Italy. It was so yummy! And I get to check that off my San Diego to-do list!

Beer

Last weekend one of my best friends from LA was in town. So on Saturday we did a small beer tour of San Diego. We tasted beer at Green Flash, Ballast Point, and Societe. They were all great, but Green Flash was actually my favorite.

Green Flash

Ballast Point

So I checked another item off my San Diego to-do list! Just 14 more to go!

Little Car

On Friday we bought a "new" "car". And by "new" I mean used. And by "car" I mean low speed electric vehicle. It's basically a street-legal golf cart. It's perfect for cruising around town on errands, to dinner, and to the beach!



It's called a Ford Think. It's completely legal for roads up to 35 mph. It has a range of about 30 miles. It's 100% electric (costs about 4 cents a mile to drive). We love it.

Praise! Company Cars and Credit Cards

This will be a short post since today is another busy busy day. I can't wait for this weekend! (even though I have more work to do over it).

I have two great pieces of news from the Newlyweds Next Door!

1. Our car situation
I blogged before about the Mr. and I only having one car between us and having to ride the Metro to my LA office when I was working in town...
Well today the Mr. got a company car! So no more sharing (except on the weekends). This couldn't have come at a better time since my company is having me work in my LA office or from home more and travel by flight to my clients less. I feel like God really rewarded the faithfulness and prudence of our decision to not go into debt to buy a new car for the Mr.

2. Our credit card situation
The Mr. and I have never put ourselves in a situation where we had to pay interest on our credit cards. We pay them off each month. Well about 8 months ago we got at 0% interest card (0% for one year) to pay for stuff for our wedding, new house, etc. Well when all was said and done we had racked up (gasp!) $5,000 on that card (suddenly I realized how easy it is to go into credit card debt). Well today I made the last $500 pay on it! (we never had to pay interest). It feels so good! I feel like calling Dave Ramsey and shouting "we're debt free"! (lol) Well we're not debt "free" but the only debt we have is our mortgage and student loans which have really low interest rates. Awesome!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful Friday and are getting geared up for a fantastic Valentines Day!

Riding on the (LA) Metro

"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something. " - Don Cheadle, Opening Line of "Crash."

Car culture is as much a part of LA as Hollywood or Disneyland. We love our cars (as we should considering how much time we spend in them). We are "safe" behind the steel and glass. We can wear uncomforable shoes 24x7 because we never have to walk. We don't have to interact with others unless we choose to.

Well, even though allegedy, "Nobody Walks in LA", there's one young Newlywed braving the streets of Los Angeles and the LA Metro.



This week, I began my "car-less" lifestyle by taking the Metro from Downtown Long Beach to my office in El Segundo via the Blue Line and the Green Line (with about 2/3 of a mile of walking total). It's suprising easy!

It only takes 1 hour, 15 mins door-to-door (which isn't bad considering the freeway takes almost as long and I can read magazines and books on the journey). The walking is a good little workout, the Metro is cheap, and not driving is "green". Overall, I like it.

Here is a picture I took on the Green Line yesterday:


I guess now I'm a counterexample to the Los Angelinos described in "Crash" -- I'm not hidden behind "metal and glass" and on the crowded train (yes, it actually gets crowded.. who knew) you actually end up touching people.

Also, here's something fun -- I found this website called WalkScore.com. You can put in your address it tells you the walkability of your neighborhood. My neighborhood in Downtown Long Beach scored a 92: A Walker's Paradise!

How about your neighborhood? How walkable is it?

A Eulogy for Our Dead Camry

To Our Dear Dead 1994 Toyota Camry:

You were a wonderful car for us. Although you smelled like wet dog and burning motor oil, we loved you. You survived for 240,000 miles on earth and had a good life in Oregon with the Greers and in California with us. I’m so sorry for the time that I backed my car into you – it was nothing personal, I’m just a horrible horrible driver. I know you forgive me.

We knew that you were old and sick and would die someday soon – but we never guessed that a busted headlight and dead battery would be your COD.

You are truly an irreplaceable car (mainly because we have no money to replace you).

Thank you for keeping us safe on the 405 freeway all these years. We hope you will be happy in the junk yard car heaven. You will be missed. RIP.

The Camry: 1994-2008

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Now that our Camry is kaput, we officially join a rare group of Los Angelinos, "One-Car Couples". That's right, we live in the one of the most car-obsessed and car-required cities in the USA, and we only have one car. I'm a little worried about sharing (I'm an only child, I don't "share" well). Are there any other couples out there who share a car? How do you deal?