Frugal Living in Manhattan

The following video needs a proper mention, since it has to do with frugal living, which is something I’ve been writing a lot about lately. I actually never thought it would be possible to live in a space this small, but it definitely has its practical reasons.

Frugal Living for $700 a Month!

Okay. Did you watch the video? I like the idea of just living in a small space in Manhattan. I mean, there’s so much to do in Manhattan that I probably wouldn’t be home much. But, I also like the idea of a cozy, warm home, knowing that New York weather CAN be harsh and cold in the winter time.

Also, looking at future living space when one approaches retirement age is something to really think about, and plan. Now, I intend to stay healthy, eating right and exercise, and if one is healthy enough to climb up a ladder into a loft bed then this living scenario shouldn’t be a problem.

For me, my only problem with this scenario is that I have a grand piano, and I need more space. And, because this is an apartment, I don’t know if the neighbors would be too keen on me practice all hours of the day! But, I could sell the grand piano and go with a digital piano and just practice as long as I want with headphones.

Organizing and Utilizing Every Inch of Space

Organizing your living space tends to go hand-in-hand with living a frugal lifestyle. After all, living a frugal life starts with getting by with less stuff, selling what you don’t REALLY need and organizing what you DO have so that you can maximize your living space while being need and orderly.

Organizing takes a little bit of work, but once you know where you can find everything, you tend to save money by not duplicating items that you think you don’t have, but are just hidden somewhere under a pile of stuff.

The Importance of Organizing your Stuff

I like how Felice Cohen has everything organized so that it’s easy to find everything. And, she gets by with less clothing and shoes as well. I think she’s right that most people don’t wear half the stuff they buy, so it’s important to determine what you actually wear and get rid of the rest to save space.

This is a real life situation where less is more, and you have more time to say, enjoy the night life of Manhattan.

I confess, I could live this lifestyle as a musician living in New York City. It’s definitely something to think about.

So, I upgraded from the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 4S, mainly because my wife needed a new phone but she insisted that I get the new iPhone 4S and she get my iPhone 4. That’s a good deal because I wanted to check out this Siri technology of voice recognition software.

Anyway, she already has a brand new Blackberry, an iPad 2, and a laptop from work, so she didn’t mind that I get the new iPhone 4S. Thanks, babe!

So, I’m continuing to convert all my FLAC files (a lossless, more high-quality format which I totally recommend) to MP3 for the new iPhone. Below you’ll find my Code Warrior Mix (which is always subject to adaptation and revision).

My New iPhone 4S

Code Warrior Mix

Duration: 1.2 hours

. . . .

Immigrant Song – Led Zeppelin
Vicarious – Tool
The New Pollution – Beck
Whole Lotta Love – Led Zeppelin
Devil’s Haircut – Beck
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Black Dog – Led Zeppelin
Rock and Roll – Led Zeppelin
The Battle of Evermore – Led Zeppelin
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
Wake Up – Rage Against The Machine
Super Disco Breakin’ – Beastie Boys
In Bloom – Nirvana
Communication Breakdown – Led Zeppelin
Sabotage – Beastie Boys
Kashmir – Led Zeppelin
Fight For Your Right – The Beastie Boys
Breed – Nirvana

I’m going to start something new for this blog, borrowed from Manny. In an effort to give me another reason to post more, I’ll be sharing with you my music playlists which I use for listening while walking/jogging around the lake.

This particular playlist is a combination of a few genres: New Age, Electronic, Ethnic, Jazz, Classical

Thus, the name “New Age Plus”.

Miramar Lake

New Age Plus

Duration: 1.5 hours

. . . .

Introduction – Sense and Sensibility
A Quivering Leaf Asks The Wind – Tony Scott
Planet – Kitaro
Across The View – Richard Burmer
And You And I (b) – Yes
Kindred Spirit – Deuter
Palhaco – Haden, Garbarek, Gismonti
At First Light – Patrick O’Hearn
Coração – Egberto Gismonti
Once Upon A Time In The West – Ennio Morricone
My Song – Keith Jarrett
Murmuring Sound of the Mountain – Stream Tony Scott
Awakening – Katie Hope
Life Along The River Vaal – Patrick O’Hearn
After The Snow, The Fragrance – Tony Scott
Love In the Air – Nadama
Wave of Sand – Kitaro
To Drift Like Clouds – Tony Scott
Finale – Sense and Sensibility

Although it isn’t possible for most folks to buy their very own island like actor Johnny Depp’s $3.6 million tropical paradise in The Bahamas. I’m sure many of us can travel to any number of island destinations around the world.

My wife and I have been thinking about possibly retiring to an island like Kauai, or to Palawan in the Philippines. Or maybe just staying on an island for a month, renting a place by the beach. As long as there was Internet access and a place to play music, I think it would be awesome to live on an island for a while.

The online edition of Islands Magazine lists The 10 Best Islands To Live On:

1. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

2. Ambergris Caye, Belize

3. Culebra, Puerto Rico

4. Bequia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines

5. Eleuthera, Bahamas

6. Kauai, Hawaii

7. Gozo, Malta

8. Vanua Levu, Fiji

9. Orcas Island, Washington

10. Palawan, Philippines

Hmm… island living? It’s a big step, but a worthy possibility to further research and explore… Have you ever thought about living on an island?

In the past few weeks I’d been very busy doing gigs around town. It was a nice run for a change, and typically (in my experience) January and February has traditionally been VERY slow for a working musician like myself.

That said, things are slowing down a little bit going into February, unless I pick up more random gigs on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, especially.

Klipsch S4i Headphones

My birthday was kind of uneventful (as I usually like it). I like my birthdays to be more contemplative these days, quiet and low-key. With my birthday money I was able to buy a new set of in-ear headphones, perfect for walking around the lake. These are the Klipsch S4i headphones and they are quite perfect for an audiophile like myself.

I simply can not afford the audiophile stereo speakers that I would like, so the next best thing would be audiophile headphones. The Klipsch S4i’s have a very flat frequency rating, so everything from the lows to the highs are there, with lots of bass but not overpowering like the Dr. Dre’s (which are also very pricey!).

Note: I’d really been listening to a lot of Classical Music on these Klipsch’s and the Louis Lane/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra recording of Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” is simply amazing!

Anyway, having a new pair of audiophile headphones in my life is causing me to re-explore my music collection. Mostly, all my favorites from the last two decades.

Walking Around The Lake

I haven’t been walking around the lake as much as I would’ve liked in the past few weeks, but that’s because my new routine is to NOT do a long walk on the same day as a drumming gig. Just trying to find the right balance of working out and gigging, so I don’t have the leg and knee problems I ran into last year. Lesson learned!

But, I should try to walk every day for 30 minutes, and just do long 5 mile walks on the weekends.

Current Diet

After my annual check-up early last month, I REALLY wasn’t surprised that my blood pressure had skyrocketed again. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve I had totally lost control of my diet. My fault yes, because I gave into social convention as far as eating all the “bad foods” that tend to be availabe to everyone during the Holidays.

So, after my yearly physical, reality set in and I am now back on a healthier diet, feeling and looking better, I think.

My diet has mostly been raw foods and vegan foods. Concentrating on green power smoothies (which REALLY give me a LOT of energy during more demanding gigs).

I don’t know if I can go back to a 100% raw food diet, but I am confident to go back to a vegan diet that emphasizes a LOT of raw fruits and vegetables.

I am drinking Aloe Vera juice everyday (which I bought from Whole Foods) and I think this is really helping.

My main problem is my craving for salty foods, which will obviously spike the blood pressure. But I have no problem downing green smoothies and I’m definitely going easy on the 100% raw cacao smoothies.