Cowabunga duuuuuuuudes! How to couchsurf with nomads!

We've all been stranded places. 

In fact, I'm sure many of us have had to rely on complete strangers for directions, information or maybe even a place to stay and/or a lift home. Hell, when I was in Europe, strangers opened their homes to me left and right when I was lost with no place to go. It was amazing!

However, I've always felt like we're less hospitable in the states. I mean, have you ever been the one doing the helping? Have you ever picked up a hitch-hiker? Have you ever let a complete stranger stay at your house?

Besides letting "friends of friends" crash at my place, the closest I ever came to helping out a stranded traveler was when I was working at a restaurant in Ventura a few years ago. I happened to find a sleeping person (dressed like a gypsy!) in the women's restroom near the end of my shift. When I woke her up to see what was going on with her, she began to tell me how she needed money, because some guys she came to Ventura with from San Luis Obispo (2 1/2 hours away!) had just ditched her. So, I told her to wait for me to finish my shift, and then I gave her a lift to the train station all the way across town. I also gave her $5. Not much, but I figured it was a start. It was pretty scary, but also pretty eye-opening. The woman was obviously fucked up on some kind of drug, but I felt bad for her and wanted to do something. Perhaps it's because I kept picturing some asshole guys laughing about totally using her, getting her all fucked up and then leaving her in a town far away. (I'm like tooootally a feminist.) So, she didn't try to kill me or rob me. Instead, she thanked me the whole way, said some spacy things, offered me some pot (which I refused), and stunk up my car with patchouli oil.

You've gotta love those transient hippies.

Anyhow, here are just a few resources for those who want to help poor travelers, and for those who need a little help from strangers. This way, you don't have to go to sleep in the bathroom of a Greek restaurant. 

The Couch Surfing Project:

The name gives it away, but here's their hippified mission statement -- 

As a community we strive to do our individual and collective parts to make the world a better place, and we believe that the surfing of couches is a means to accomplish this goal. CouchSurfing isn't about the furniture- it's not just about finding free accommodations around the world- it's about participating in creating a better world. We strive to make a better world by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world!

(SN&R's write-up about the Web site)

Hospitality Club:

A similar mission statement --

Our aim is to bring people together - hosts and guests, travelers and locals. Thousands of Hospitality Club members around the world help each other when they are traveling - be it with a roof for the night or a guided tour through town. Joining is free, takes just a minute and everyone is welcome. Members can look at each other's profiles, send messages and post comments about their experience on the website.

Craigslist Ride Share:

I'm a little scared of Craigslist stuff sometimes. Here's a sample post that kind of creeps me out, just because it's so nice... also, he uses the phrase "velvet-bellied"  --

Hi there! Tomorrow morning I am headed to the beautiful land of north and could use some company for the long drive. From Sacramento on out, there will be room to comfortably seat 4 adults (or children masquerading as adults), 5 if we put an extra in the front middle bench seat. I'd be willing to drop you off in whatever town you wish along the way, be it Yuba City, Chico, Redding, Mt Shasta, Ashland, Medford, Grant's Pass, Roseburg... The plush, spacious, velvet-bellied boat of a car I'll be driving is a purple air-ride Lincoln Town Car- very comfortable and cushy for such a long venture, but unfortunately not equipped with A/C. I also have a bike rack on the back with room for one more bike!! I will be coming from Berkeley and am shooting for about an 11 am departure from Sacramento. Let me know who you are and where you need to go. You can reach me on my cell phone, any time, at XXXXXXX. Thanks very much for reading and I hope you have an excellent day. Happy travels!

Road Junky Travel

This online guidebook may or may not have been started by a certain awesome musician named Tom Thumb, but I'm not sure if it's the same one. Either way, here's what this gang is all about. They get extra points for their stellar use of a certain (commonly masculine) default pronoun --

Road Junky Travel Guides are by no means the authority on the world. They are instead written to make you think, laugh and get a rough feel for a country. We go the extra step and tell you things other guides don’t and won’t dare to discuss. We’re for the inspired, independent traveler. The person who can just get up and go. The person who is moved by what she sees. The dreamers.

Inspirational!

"...And underneath that, write 'We will miss you'. Got it?"

My current blog obsession is Cake Wrecks where disastrous and hilarious cakes are documented. In terms of sites you go to out of complete boredom, it's almost as good (and pointless) as ManBabies.

another fabulous art/craft website - ETSY.COM

"Your place to buy and sell all things handmade"
...and you really should buy AND sell, because everything I've seen on ETSY is wonderful, beautiful, and surprising.
Felt barrettes, crocheted hats and jewelry, earrings, aprons, paintings, clothes, infant clothes, pet accessories... you can pretty much find anything your heart desires on this website (made from almost any material). And it's all with a handmade, artistic flair.

I am not poetic or graceful with words, so I won't ramble. Check it out! You won't be disappointed.

[ this post was inspired by the 'little paper airplanes' post by mel<3 ]

"Little Paper Airplanes" makes my heart soar!

This is what I love: Artists getting together, supporting one another and selling decently priced prints of their work. Go to Little Paper Airplanes to find cute pieces of art, clothing, adorable accessories/buttons and -- my personal favorite -- zines and papergoods. Most items are around $20, but prices range.

Here's a snippet of info about how the site got going:

Little Paper Planes was started in December of 2004 in Los Angeles. As of July of 2008, Little Paper Planes calls San Francisco its home. Everything is stored/shipped in San Francisco. I started it to have a place where my friends and I can could sell stuff we make to help us make some money while we focus on our painting careers, but now the store has grown so much and is a place for all sorts of artists and designers. I feel honored that all the people who sell on the site are a part of it. Everyone is very talented and I have made lots of new friends. Oh and I love all the customers too, and even some of you now sell on the site! Anyhow I am going on and on, just wanted to say thanks.

Thank you so much for visiting Little Paper Planes. xoxo-kelly

Oh, and they accept solicits from other artists too.

(Props to Hilary Weisert for pointing the site out to me!)

This is what your ramen looks like on drugs?

Addicting and dirt-cheap, ramen is kinda like crack... but safe. When all else fails, break open a pack of that noodle block and you'll be a-okay, budget buddies. I usually crack (no pun intended) an egg into my boiling ramen and add frozen veggies, fresh sliced mushrooms and sometimes bean sprouts and chives (best with Oriental flavor). Add a little soy and maybe some hot sauce and you're good to go.

But today I discovered a Web site dedicated to giving the barren noodles crazy makeovers. Most ask you to ditch the flavor packet (good advice), and many are just frightening in general. Recipe ideas range from the safe Ramen Shrimp Salad and a yummy-looking Ramen Vegetable Soup to the questionable Beef Pie (with the also questionable tag-line "Now that's a real man meal!") and iffy desserts like Ramen Pudding.

Here's one of the weirdest recipes from Ramenlicious.com that I plan on trying, because I bet it's delicious (and unhealthy). I'll let you know how it is after I make it:

Doritos Ramen Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 package of ramen noodles
• 1 bag of Doritos
  
• 1/2 lb. of ground beef
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
• Taco seasoning (optional)

1. Cook ramen noodles (On the Web site, it actually had instructions on how to do this. Ha!)
2. Cook the ground beef in a cooking pan and place in bowl.
   
3. Add the ramen noodles and mix it with the beef.
4. Place the Doritos chips around the beef like on the picture ("It looks like a flower!" - Recipe Creator)
5. Break into small pieces the Doritos you have left and put them on top of the beef.
6. Add the shredded cheese and taco seasoning (optional)

Oh, and here is a ramen recipe care of Strung Out guitarist Jake Kiley from one of my favorite cookbooks ever (shown below):

Rock 'n' Ramen

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Creamy Chicken Ramen
• 1 package of Roast Chicken Ramen
• Tabasco Sauce
• Butter
• Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup milk

1. Make the Ramen and drain.
2. Add the two seasoning packs, 2 spashes Tobasco, some butter, pepper, garlic powder and Parmesan. (Kiley says "How much of these ingredients you add is at your own discretion, but I put in a lot!!")
3. "Mix it up and you will notice it becomes a very dry, clingy clump of ramen. That's where I add in about a 1/4 cup of milk to give this ramen it's creamy, exotic texture."

Bummin' around on Bomomo.com

I just spent way too long creating psychedelic art online. With Safari and Firefox, you can "paint" and print your work here.

I can't really figure out how to control the paintbrushes that fly around, but isn't that the fun thing about it?

If you make something cool, post it as a comment.

I've got gas!

The strangest thing happened this weekend: I drove to Southern California on Friday night, drove back up on Memorial Day afternoon, and... get this... I hit NO TRAFFIC JAMS. Yep, the apocalypse is upon us, ladies and gents; expensive gas is leading to less travel on weekends when roads are typically most-packed. 'Twas weird.

To look on the brighter side, the prices have undoubtedly left some people finding creative ways to get around -- bikes, buses, straight-up staying home. But for those of us who need to fill 'er up, News10 has a pretty great Web site that posts where you can get the cheapest gas in the Sac area.

Maybe we should all get Costco cards, because it looks like that's the best deal around.


As a side-note, doesn't News10's Marcey Brightwell (first) look exactly like John McCain's creepy wife Cindy McCain (second)? AAHHH!!

Eat Cheaply -- Rad Web site

Hungry?

Cheap Eats Web site

I'm pretty excited about this blog, which features tons of recipes (Make Your Own Gatorade?!), tips and more -- specifically for the poor. (I couldn't resist the rhyming there.)