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Help Jess Get to Vegas!

by Jess on August 20th, 2010 in All Posts

The wonderful MizFit is training for the Vegas Rock ‘n Roll Half.

I want to run the Vegas Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.

It’s on December 5, 2010 which is perfect for my school schedule since it’s during our reading week. It’s also great because my cousin lives there and I haven’t seen her in awhile, plus I can stay with her for free.

Everything is working out perfectly until I realized I had to get to Vegas.

Flights are expensive. The cheapest flight I found was around $450 after taxes.

And now that I’m back to being a broke law school student living on loans that I will be paying off for hopefully NOT the rest of my life, I can’t scrounge up enough money to get a flight to Vegas for the marathon. I mean, I walked 4.4 miles for free clothes hangers from Freecycle. I am desperate.

The Vegas Rock ‘n Roll marathon is important to me.

If I run this marathon, I will have run a race every single month since I ran my first 5K race in April.

I will have finished off December and 2010 strong, right before the end of Drop Dead Gorgeous By December (are you joining my movement?).

I want to run a race with a bunch of other bloggers whom I follow and find inspiring.

So I’m asking you for help.

Any penny, nickel, quarter, dollar extra I have is being reserved for flying myself to Vegas in December. I’ve eliminated almost all unnecessary expenses (no alcohol, no late night Jumbo Slice pizzas, almost no eating out), but with the registration being as pricey as it is, I just can’t get enough together (by myself) for a round-trip flight.

The awesome part about helping me get to Vegas?

I’m going to screen-print a race shirt (DIY is the cheapest way to go!) that I will wear at the Vegas Rock ‘n Roll marathon with a list of every donor’s name on the back. You’ll be running the race with me, inspiring me to push through and cross that finish line.

Every little bit helps!

 

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The Freecycle Foot Exploration

by Jess on August 15th, 2010 in All Posts

Aside from minimalist running, I am also a huge fan of minimalist expenditure.

I am a thrifty person.

Yes, I might have spent a thousand dollars on my Canon digital SLR camera, but I see that as a worthy investment since I’ve put it to good use and is still serving me well.

I am a huge Craigslist fan and my apartment in Washington, DC is mostly furnished from hand-me-downs. Cheap, but still functional and mostly clean.

Would I furnish my permanent residence like this?

Probably not since that would be a long-term investment, but for now, as a student on a budget, I’m comfortable with what I have.

I’ve recently started exploring and utilizing the magic of Freecycle. It’s even better than Craigslist because everything is FREE.

People are extremely active on Freecycle and are always looking to give away things that they don’t want but are useful to others.

It even helps decrease environmental waste!

When I left California for Washington, DC I didn’t bring any clothes hangers. I had left a few at my apartment before I moved home for a few months, but definitely not enough for all the clothes I had shipped out.

I need hangers but I hate buying them.

Plus, I can’t stand metal hangers. I really, really prefer the plastic ones.

So I posted a wanted ad on Freecyle hoping to get lucky.

And lucky I was.

A nice woman responded and left me a huge bag of plastic hangers in a bag with the front desk at her apartment. The beauty of Freecyle is that you never have to actually meet the people you get things from or give things to.

You can leave things on your porch, in front of your house, at the front desk. There’s no awkward moments, like on Craigslist. There’s no phone call arrangements. No money exchanged. Just go and pick up.

The place where I was supposed to pick up my hangers from was 2.2 miles from my apartment, according to Google Maps. I could pay $1.50 for the metro each way, or I could walk and soak in the lovely scenery and weather.

I chose to walk.

I didn’t realize how little of Washington, DC I had seen during the daytime until I took my walk yesterday.

I saw a whole ton of embassies scattered throughout Washington, DC. If I ever need a visa, I know where to go.

I never realized that people like lounging around Dupont Circle, talking and socializing with each other while people-watching at the same time. It was a friendly atmosphere, and I wish I had brought my proper camera instead of being stuck with my phone.

I walked past the famous Ben’s Chili Bowl which I have only visited during the wee hours of the morning after the bars have closed.

I discovered an Ethiopian restaurant that I want to try out. It looked pretty tasty.

I did not regret my decision to walk. Aside from burning calories, I got to enjoy the weather. The weather was actually pretty nice yesterday, and this is coming from a San Diego girl. I had the opportunity to find places I want to explore more in the future, and I got to integrate myself more into DC culture.

On top of it all, I got a free bag of clothes hangers and saved $3 by not riding the metro.

And, while walking to a house party last night, I stumbled upon a box of free wine glasses. I’m not a big vino, but I needed glasses, so I stashed a few of them in a secret hiding spot so I could retrieve them on my way home.

Jess wins!

 

Have you ever used Freecycle?

Would you ever try?

Do you ever explore your city by foot? What have you discovered?


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