How I spent today figuring out ways to make and save money instead of blogging

Forget the recession, I'm in full-force money saving mode just for living on Martha's Vineyard and moving somewhere (likely forecast: Brooklyn) in the fall. Here's what I've got so far:

1) Pick up a second regular job, third job counting the internship (which I don't, because it's writing, which is my thang) at a used bookstore in Oak Bluffs, the Book Den East. Starting tomorrow morning. I've been visiting most bookstores that cross my path and writing about some of them for ages -- can't wait to work in one!

Not the bookstore I'll be working at, but a cool staircase I saw this weekend at a bookstore in Edgartown.

2) Call the editor of a wedding magazine my internship editor referred me to. Find out she'll pay me a decent price to write feature stories on couples and other articles about wedding venues and foods. It's nothing I ever imagined, but it's writing, the deadlines are soon, it's hefty word length, and I'm psyched. Getting paid to do what you love is an immensely fulfilling feeling.
3) Compare prices at two closest grocery stores (closeness matters when you're going on foot or with a bike and a backpack). We're talking two-columns in a notebook, cent for cent comparisons. Stop & Shop in Vineyard Haven (2ish miles away) or Edgartown (5ish miles away) will be my new go-to spots for big grocery loads; I'll keep using Reliable across the street for my oh-crap-I-forgot-something needs.

Annnd Stop & Shop wins by a landslide over Reliable, the ShurFine grocery across the street from me.

4) Little things: No more juice. It's nice with breakfast, but expensive, easy to drink a lot of, and water's fine. Make own hummus instead of buying pricey ready-made stuff. Start buying yogurt in the huge containers instead of the single serving guys. Realize that while a tub of ice cream may seem like a luxury purchase, it will actually save me money from frequently buying cones at the bazillion places located around the island. Splurge sparingly on ludicrously priced microbrews. I'm sure this part of the list will extend rapidly.
5) For every dollar spent on alcohol, deposit one dollar into savings account. Ingenious method of turning the cornerstore of recreation for 20-somethings into a strong savings foundation, if I do say so meself.
6) Tell the manager at the restaurant I'll work as much as possible. Train for bar-backing on Friday and work bussing a function on Saturday morning.
7) Keep scouring the Web for freelance writing. Keep networking. Keep writing every day.

I decided today if I'm going to keep up with my daily post quota, a lot of these entries will be blurbs rather than all-out blogs (I'd classify this entry as a blurb). As I've said, bear with me, because real, insightful writing and occasional actual reporting are destined for this page as the summer wears on.

Swindlers' Vineyard

I feel like everyone here is trying to rip everyone off. I'm paying at least $5 to do my laundry as I write this. It's $9 for a six-pack of craft beer brewed a block away from me.

Worst of all, my landlords want $30 per night for visitors. Oh, hey, scratch that whole, "Come visit me in this beautiful place!" thing unless you're rich. Scratch the whole idea of having a smooth summer with my girlfriend despite being 6 hours apart and each of us having to spend more money than we can afford just to get to the other. How the hell does $30 per night stack up to "defray the costs of cleaning"? Delusional. Things are going to get real miserable real quick between my landlords and I if there's no room for compromise.

I've been trying to put together a post about my initial impression of the people who populate this island and I just can't get past this overwhelming sense of people trying to make a quick buck at the cost of decency and sense. It seems like a lot of folks here are trying to get away with the laid-back, cool islander image when they're really scheming as many ways as they can to gouge tourists and probably their own year-round kind.

Take my bike repair, for example. The shop was manned by a bleach-blond, surfer kind of dude and an all-smiles Brazilian guy. The place was empty on Sunday morning and they were all about fixing my bike and helping me out. New tape on the handlebars (which they conveniently omitted was $18 and I had to spy for myself), air in the tires, new dinky reflectors and not much else came up to $45. They charged $25 for labor to work on it for 20 minutes. Prime example of people here acting laid back until the check rolls around, when you find out you've been screwed. Landlords were the same way. No mention in the lease of $30 per night, no mention of it being a "rooming house, not an apartment," as I was bluntly told this morning. But, oh yeah, there were plenty of smiles when I first viewed the apartment -- oops, rooming house, sorry! -- plenty of faux, laid-back vibes emitted from the landlords, and the promise of a new patio on the roof which, shucks, turns out that on move-in day, that whole shebang didn't quite happen. Sorry if the roof thing was a big selling point for you, along with the allure of such a beautiful place for your family and friends to come visit! Oh well, enjoy your stay, thanks for the ludicrous chunk of change. We'll be laughing all the way to the bank while we devise other ways to rip you off and inflict misery on your otherwise lovely summer.

In a foul mood. Out on the bike with my eyes peeled for a better blog to write.