La Crisis: Your “eccentric” and “stylish” options.

I had written this serious post about crap you already know. Coupons, going back to school, roommates, moving back in with your parents and then I thought of something. We’re in La La Land.

Image is EVERYTHING!!!

This is why so many of us get in a hole in the first place, so I decided to give you advice on how to survive economic harsh times, yet keep your rep firmly in place. Being eccentric and bat-shit crazy always sounds better on paper than just poor.

If you are going down the economic ladder, do it with insane style!!!

One thing you can do is join a cult. Cults are always accepting new members. And many cults have a crash pad. When you have no money you isolate yourself from your friends and family anyway, so you’re ripe for a cult. Yeah you might have to do animal sacrifices, but if you aren’t a vegetarian this won’t be a problem and also there are animal friendly cults that just sacrifice people, though those kinds of cults are Continue reading

La Crisis: Can you smell it?

I’m not going to tell you there is a big fire in the Valley. It’s practically all there is on the news, and of course most peeps can smell it or feel the effects from the bad air quality.

They cancelled classes after 2 pm on Monday and I was very eager to leave. Got back to LA by 3:30 and still felt kinda like crap.

Today I stayed in LA and was hoping I’d feel better, maybe its all in my head. Looking at the Air Quality Index, I realized just how bad the air we breathe is. News to me.

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Surviving La Crisis: Sidewalk Surfing

La Crisis is making simple things hard and transportation is a crucial part in anyones life. Whether we get around in cars, the public limo or even bicycles, finding alternative modes or transportation can be difficult. So some of us have no choice and can’t go to work without driving there. Some of us however do have the luxury of riding the bus, bicycles or my favorite, a skateboard. Like a bicycle, a skateboard is a cheap, inexpensive mode of transportation that relies on you, the rider. Continue reading

Surviving La Crisis: Let Them Eat Cake!

La Crisis grows worse everyday. Stocks are up today, buoyed by the British government’s cash injection of $63 billion dollars into their banks. However, most agree the economy is not going to fully recover anytime soon. At a more local level, I’ve been wondering how much has La Crisis been affecting people in Los Angeles? My thoughts linger on apocalyptic visions of a worldwide economic collapse and the Mad Max world that might result. Okay, so perhaps it wouldn’t be all doom and gloom despair. In places like the Eastside, people might be more adaptable to living off the grid: home vegetable gardens, the innovative re-use of objects and the general flexibility of folks in this area (remember how after the earthquake everyone set up camp in their front yards?) might make them better prepared for a life minus the luxuries.

While property owners depend on law enforcement to carry out their interests in times of crisis, there has recently been a surprising exception.  Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has refused to enforce mortagage foreclosure evictions.

Too many times, our deputies arrive at a home to carry out a mortgage foreclosure eviction, only to find a tenant — dutifully paying their rent each month — who is unaware their landlord stopped using that rent money to pay the mortgage. They had no fair warning that they were about to be thrown out of their home.

That’s because, in many cases, the banks have done nothing to determine, in advance, who’s living in the building — even though it’s required by state law. Instead, those banks expect taxpayers to pay for that investigative work for them.

That stops today.

We won’t be doing the banks’ work for them anymore.

During the last big economic crash in the early 90s, I was a victim of this kind of eviction. I was paying my rent, the owner was not paying the bank and my roommates and I were out on the streets.

In my immediate family, there have been job losses (anyone need a good soundman/DJ?) and the resulting strains that come from these difficult situations. My cousin who runs a large car dealership says things have never been this bad. He’s considering taking a second job. But I wonder if there are any ‘second jobs’ out there? I’ve noticed more and more businesses with “clearance sale” and “everything must go!” signs. I know things are getting bad for us everyday folks but we will never benefit from any bailouts. The government has done a pretty good job of stigmatizing welfare for anybody besides the rich.

So in light of all this, we here at La Eastside are starting a series of posts to offer tips, suggestions and examples of how to get through “La Crisis.” Read below for the first installment of ‘Surviving La Crisis.’ We encourage readers to submit their suggestions as well.

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