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quietmyfearswith · 4 years

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girl at home ; andy barber x fem!reader ; 1/3

status — completed series

word count — 4,830 words

warnings — few swear words, a bit of defending jacobs spoilers, not compliant with book/show ending, fluff?? bit of angst???

pairing — andy barber x fem!reader

a/n — lmao i lied this comes first then in a few i’ll post the final part of public’s eye. if someone reads this pls tell me what youd be more interested in, august walker or steve rogers social media au

masterlist | series masterlist

After proving Jacob’s innocence Andy imagined things would have been smooth-sailing from there. He was wrong.

Laurie asked for a divorce; citing how their marriage was built on a lie and that it was time to be truthful to themselves and to Jacob. They both also agreed that it wasn’t just working anymore, but on Andy’s part he was more than willing to try harder for it to work, but didn't want to push it. He accepted her wishes and didn’t fight for full custody over Jacob — he was more than content with spending weekends and certain holidays with his son. They both moved out of their Newton house and revealed to Andy how they were both relocating to Bakersfield in California; the lawyer being partially surprised with how far they were moving, but ultimately remembered how she had some family members over there.

Before their departure, Andy and Jacob got to bond one last time and somehow their conversation shifted to how the former had no plans of selling the house and moving somewhere else. “Don’t you think you’d be too lonely?”

The blunt question did get Andy thinking but he shrugged it off, “Maybe? I just don’t see myself living anywhere else, I guess.”

Nodding, the boy looked out the window as the Audi drove by. His eyes scanned a big red sign that read “For Rent” and suddenly gave him the idea as he turned to his father, “Or you could put a room up for rent?”

Hitting the brakes smoothly as there was a red light, he turned to his son and looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed, “What?”

“Green light,” Jacob informed and Andy nodded as he released his foot off the brake and continued the way home, “Advertise my room, or the spare one, for rent. That way, you know, you won’t really be alone.”

Pursing his lips together, Andy thought about it for a while. Would anyone even one to live there? With him? He didn’t want to seem like he was rejecting his son’s idea or make him feel like he was a fool for coming up with that one so he just found himself nodding, “Sounds like a great idea, pal.”

And when they were back at home, Jacob insisted he help his dad place an advertisement online for the availability of the spare bedroom across Jacob’s. Even though he thought it was a foolish idea, Andy just went along with it for two reasons — one, he just wanted to go along with what his son wanted and make him somewhat happy. And the second one being he was absolutely positive no one would want to live here.

It was a deal too good to be true; surely there had to be a catch? $500 a month for a room that was fully furnished? Maybe the house was just ugly? Or perhaps the room wasn’t really how it was pictured? Either way Y/N found herself messaging the house owner, Andy Barber, and let her know she was interested in checking the place out.

Pulling up in front of the house, Y/N let out a long whistle as she marveled at how the exterior of the house was well-groomed and clean. Exiting her car, she made her way to the front door and rang the doorbell and leaned by one of the columns as she took in the quiet ambiance of the neighborhood. Hearing the door creak upon, she turned around and smiled, “Hi! Are you Andy Barber?”

The bearded man was dressed in a simple ragged t-shirt and a pair of sweats; and despite the impression that he had just woken up, she thought that he had this cute boyish charm to him. “Yeah that’s me, you must be Y/N?” He offered his hand out for a shake, one which the girl enthusiastically shook.

As they both unclasped their hands Y/N wondered, “Is it a bad time? I can come back later,” Her question had him chuckling and she felt her heart warm with how relaxed he looked as he shook his head, “It’s not a bad time, this is just how I normally look.”

He stepped aside so she could come in and take a tour of the house. As Y/N was being shown around the house, she could not prevent her jaw from dropping from how cozy, elegant, and complete everything looked.

“And if you choose to, this is where you’ll be staying,” Andy opened the room to the spare bedroom and led her inside and allowed her to take a look around. It had a bed, a dresser and wardrobe, mirror, a reading chair, and a study desk paired with an office chair.

Turning to the man, “So what’s the catch?” Her question caught him off guard and folded his arms as he tilted his head to the side, “The catch?”

She nodded and looked at him as if she had the telepathic abilities to let him know what she was thinking, “You know, the reason why the rent’s so cheap? Is this house haunted? Do you actually have a rat infestation problem?”

As Andy threw his head back laughing at her suggestions, he couldn’t remember the last time he was this carefree. “No catch,” he explained once he calmed down from laughing and sat down on the reading chair, “Not haunted or rat infestation, really. Just I don’t know,” he struggled to look for the right words as he placed his hands on his thighs and rubbed them, “Put a room up for rent just so I wouldn’t get lonely.”

Y/N leaned by the office desk that was beside the chair Andy was sitting on as she spoke, “Well I liked the place so much; I’m guessing that means you won’t have to be alone?”

Looking up at her Andy smiled, “That’s great then, let me get the spare house key for you.”

“I hope I don’t seem too fast or what, but I hope you don’t mind if I move my things up already? I have all my belongings in the car.”

Andy nodded, “Oh no worries about it, let me help you get your stuff.”

For the next couple of hours, Y/N settled her things around the room. She placed her clothes on the dresser and wardrobe. Settled her pictures and other stationery items on the desk. Attaching the house keys to the keychain she had which contained her keys and skipped her way down the stairs.

Seeing how Andy was by his office area she asked, “Oh by the way I forgot to ask, are you allergic to something?”

“Planning to kill me already huh?” He joked as he looked at her pointedly to which she rolled her eyes at, “No, dummy. I was planning on cooking dinner.”

“Nope, not allergic to anything,” he clarified and she smiled and waved goodbye. Looking at her retreating form, Andy shook his head as he took note of how silly his new roommate was. He buried himself with preparing his things for office as Y/N went around to explore her new neighborhood’s grocery store.

Dozing off in the bedroom, Andy woke up once a savory and aromatic smell hit his nostrils. Rubbing off the sleep in his eyes, he sat up and glanced at the clock on his bedside table and took note of how it was already 5:30 in the evening. Slept longer than I thought I would, he thought to himself as he left the comfort of his bedroom and headed to see the source of the fantastic smell.

Upon reaching the kitchen he was greeted with the sight of Y/N moving around the kitchen, “What’s all this commotion about?”

Stopping her movements from stirring the pot, she smiled, “Cooking dinner; made carbonara,” she pointed to the pot she was currently attending to, “Baked some garlic bread,” she pointed to the pyrex container which had a few loaves of bread in it, “And some chicken tenders as well, because I was craving.”

Nodding, he grabbed a chicken tender and took a bite of it to which she gasped, “Andy! Couldn’t even wait a few more minutes!” The taller man could only sheepishly smile with his mouth full of chicken, “Sorry ‘bout that, want me to set the table?”

“Please do. Oh and I noticed you had a certain beer in the fridge so I hope you don’t mind I bought you a pack?” As she mentioned that he did see a new, unopened pack next to the single beer he had left inside the fridge. “Thanks for that; red wine your poison?” He inquired since he noticed a wine bottle he surely never bought. Seeing her nod, he asked if she wanted a glass to which she said yes to. In the next few minutes a comfortable silence engulfed them as they both were focused on preparing their first meal together.

Once everything was put in place they both sat across each other, Y/N placed her hands under her chin and looked at Andy with an excited look in her eyes, the man raised his brow at her, asking her nonverbally what she was looking at him for. “Go ahead, try it,” she softly encouraged him to which he nodded and swirled his fork around the pasta which the white sauce had already clung into and opened his mouth to taste.

“It’s good,” he complimented her as he swallowed, “Better than anything I’ve eaten in the past few months.” She clapped her hands and started to eat as well. “I was surprised to see your lack of groceries.”

He waited until his mouth was empty from eating the garlic bread she had before explaining, “Don’t really cook a lot; survived off takeout recently.” Despite having her mouth full with a tender, a loud shock was emitted from the woman across and Andy lightly cuckold at how adorable her reaction was.

“Lucky for you, I love to cook so you won’t be filling yourself up with that junk,” she assured him as she drank from her glass of wine. Setting his fork down he looked at her skeptical, “What brings you to Newton anyway?”

Her hands tore the garlic bread as she gulped down her drink, “Just finished college then found a job here so there’s that.”

“Which program did you take?” He wondered; not knowing if it was his curiosity about someone living in his house or it was the lawyer in him couldn’t help but question everything.

“Took a few years off after high school to know what I really wanted to do; then just took a two year course,” she further explained as she told him which degree she chose. Somehow her answer just had Andy even more interested so he pried, “Why not get a full degree?”

She shrugged her shoulders, “Didn’t want to waste four years of my life.”

“Would four years really be wasted if you spent it studying something you’re interested in?” he retorted back as he took a swig of his beer.

“Touché,” she acknowledged as she gobbled some pasta, “But I don’t know, I just feel like the time I’m spending on studying would be better spent if I was actually doing something I want. Get a job I wanna do. Visit every state in the country. Get a house with a pool. You know, just do things that make me happy without having any regrets”

As she listed off the things she desired in life, a solemn expression graced Andy’s face. Her perspective did make him think about how he lived his own life as well. Perhaps how there were certain choices that did make him happy and somehow there were regrets lingering in his mind. “And have you done any of those?”

“Well obviously I don’t have a house,” she joked as she waved her hand around Andy’s home, “But I did get a job here that I think I’ll enjoy, an 8-5 kind,” she paused for a while to gulp down more of the red wine she bought, “What about you?”

“What about me “ he questioned back as he looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. She rolled her eyes jokingly, “What’s your story, I guess? What brought you here in Newton?”

Her naivety had him questioning whether or not she knew the whole ordeal that his family went through; but he spared her of the full details, maybe next time or once he felt like he could fully trust her he’d tell her everything. “Had family here with me, but not anymore,” her eyes widened in shock with what he revealed but he was quick to reassure her, “I'm divorced now, ex-wife has full custody of our son. Used to be an assistant district attorney, now I’m just in private practice for civil litigation cases.”

Somehow, Andy felt a weight unload once he told her about him. Though granted it wasn’t the whole thing, but having someone to talk did make him feel lighter, more human. Y/N, on the other hand, felt amazed with how Andy chose to carry on despite what he’s been through. She got the feeling there was more to it than what he let on; and pity was not what she felt but more of feeling happy with how he did not give up and instead keep on going.

Holding her glass she raised it, “Here’s to new beginnings and being single then,” she toasted. Smiling, he raised his beer bottle and brought it to touch against her glass, “To new beginnings and being single.” The two then proceeded to finish the rest of their meal in silence.

The sun was shining bright that Monday morning and Andy woke up early to head down to their basement and do his morning exercise. Thirty minutes into it, he could sense that Y/N had woken up not only due to her footsteps he heard, but also because he could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen.

As he finished his workout, he headed up to his room to take a quick shower and dress up for his work. Granted it might have been too early to do all those but the smell of the food and the company of which he’d be eating breakfast enticed him to do so. Heading down, he was dressed in his full lawyer gear, minus the jacket, and smiled as he saw Y/N eating the rest of her pancakes by the breakfast bar.

“Morning Andy,” she greeted him, “There’s a fresh pot of coffee if you’d like,” she pointed to where she had just gotten a cup for herself as well. “Thank you,” he then moved to get himself a cup and once he did he took note of a plate that had a couple of pancakes, eggs, and bacon.

Pointing to it he accused her, “It’s as if you want me to waste the workout I just did huh.” She threw her head back in laughter at what he said while shaking his head to tell him that it wasn’t her intention. Glancing down on her wrist watch she mumbled a soft, “Shit,” upon noticing the time. Stacking her mug on the plate she moved to the sink where Andy grabbed the cutlery and utensils from her, “Let me do it and go ahead.”

Placing a hand on his forearm — in which they both felt relaxed and warm at their first touch — she thanked him for doing so and grabbed her bag that she placed on the couch. “Good luck on your first day,” Andy called out as he began munching on his own food. She yelled a quick thanks and see you as she closed the door behind her. Staring down on his plate, he smiled again upon seeing how the food in his plate resembled a smiley face; She really is something, he thought to himself.

The rest of the week flew by and both Andy and Y/N spent the week almost doing everything together. The former would wake up early and get his workout down; and sometime during the 45 minutes he’d spend on the basement the latter would take that time to prepare herself for the day ahead as well as the most important meal for their day. And if there were leftovers from the night before or that she had made too much for breakfast and was able to whip it into something for lunch, then she packed those not only for her, but for Andy as well.

And their routine together did not just stop there it bled into the night as well. Where it was always Y/N who came home first. After taking a bath either she’d start cooking supper or she would clean around the house a little — she noticed how Andy’s office area was frequently messy and she did her best to fix the mess without being too intrusive about it. She never step foot in his room, wanting him to have his privacy, but from what she could see he kept it organized despite having a few trash here and there, so she didn’t really loiter in that area of the house.

In hindsight, Y/N didn’t have to cook and clean for Andy. But with how low her rent was she felt that it was only fair to do so. Plus there was a part of her that somehow liked being around him, having someone to talk to about everything and anything they both could think of. There was never really a dull conversation between them.

Friday night arrived and instead of cooking another meal Y/N decided to get a pizza, wings, and another pack of beer for Andy. As she was in the liquor portion of the grocery she bumped into one of their neighbors, Joan RIfkin, whom she also recognized as one of the friends of her workmate.

“Y/N, right?” the woman asked as she looked at her with concern. “Yeah, that’s me. We met through Emily, when you helped her get to work,” Y/N recalled, both for her and Joan.

“Is it true that you live with Andy?” her question had Y/N wondering, how the hell did she know that? Despite that thought she nodded, “Room was cheap so I thought why not?”

Her nervous chuckle could not ease the tension between the two ladies; especially when Joan gave her a stern look as she warned her, “Be careful, okay? The Barber’s caused quite a ruckus and Andy is quite unpredictable.”

As Joan walked away while pushing her cart, Y/N was left confused and conflicted. The new information presented to her, though it was vague, left her puzzled about whether or not it was true. She was also unsure about the need to clarify with Andy what she has just been told.

Once his car was parked in the garage, Andy loosened his tie and entered the house. What greeted him was not the sight of Y/N cooking but her sitting on the couch while scrolling through her phone. Placed in the coffee table was a pizza box, his usual beer, a glass of wine, and box of chicken wings as well as a couple of paper plates.

“Didn’t feel like cooking today huh?” he jeered as he placed a hand on his hip, the other hand holding his briefcase for work. Diverting her eyes from her phone to the man in front she grinned at him, “No, but I felt like having pizza. Maybe we could watch a movie while eating?”

“Yeah sure, I’ll go change quickly,” he told her and she nodded. Andy then went up the stairs, taking two steps at a time to do so. Somehow there was this part of him that was incredibly excited at the thought of being physically close with Y/N. but he just shook his head at the thought and claimed that he was just excited to unwind the week’s stress with food, beer, and a movie.

Heading down after he dressed in more comfortable clothes he asked, “Alright, what are we watching?” Y/N shrugged as she moved to open the box of pizza, “Want a slice?” Andy nodded as he grabbed the remote and thanked her, “You heard about the hippie who burnt his mouth on the pizza?”

While holding a pizza slice of her own she looked at him and tilted her head to the side, her face being a combination of confusion and curiosity, one that Andy found charming. The bearded man had his face in faux seriousness as he continued, “He ate it before it was considered cool.”

Upon realizing the joke, Y/N let out a few giggles — real giggles, Any took note. “Okay not gonna lie, that was good,” she took a bite, “ Haven’t heard that one before.” Saying that made Andy feel proud, somehow his lame dad jokes made this brilliant woman laugh. “You wanna watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off?”

She nodded at his suggestion, “Yeah why not? Haven’t watched that in a while.” And so they both began to watch it as they ate and drank.

As they watched the film their occasional laughs were the only sound emitted from the two. As Andy was grabbing for a few slices or chicken wings, he found himself scooting closer beside Y/N, who didn’t really mind it and instead found having him close was comforting. The wartm that seeped past his clothed thigh and on to her bare skin as she was only wearing shorts made her feel safe. And somehow Andy’s arm found itself draped across the couch, almost touching Y/N’s shoulders, his fingers almost touching her. When she did move to drink her wine her skin touched the tips of his fingers rested on her shoulders and Andy who drank some of his beer as well looked alarmed.

“I’m sorry, I can move away if you’d like,” he said as he began to remove his hand from where it was comfortable in her shoulder. “No, it’s fine,” she assured him a little too quickly, “I mean, I don’t really mind. I’m not the type of person who hates hugging so I don’t really mind at all.”

She couldn’t prevent herself from physically cringing with what she said and how stupid it must have soounded like; but the man beside her didn’t think so based on his eyes crinkled in laughter. His arm then dropped from being on her shoulders and settled itself on her waist and pulled him as close as they could be sitting beside, “Well I hope you won’t mind if I do this then?”

She felt herself flutter with how smooth the man was and just silently assured him by placing her head against his shoulder, both turning their attention back to the movie.

As the end credits rolled, they both were full and were just now finishing up the last of the drinks. Y/N fiddled with her fingers as she had an internal debate about whether or not she should bring up her conversation with Joan earlier.

“You alright, Y/N?” Andy noticed how her actions might have indicated how she was nervous, a complete opposite to how she was earlier. Setting down his empty bottle on the coffee table, he turned to her and grasped both her hands in his, loving the feel of her soft hands against his calloused ones.

“It’s just, there’s something I need to ask,” she sighed and looked up at the ceiling as if it would have helped her say it better, “No, not really ask, but tell you. I don't know.” Her hesitation and uncertainty was something Andy easily sensed and he did his best to calm her down by rubbing their hands together and telling her she could tell him anything.

“So after work, I headed to the grocery to grab your beer, right? Then I saw Joan there, I don’t know her surname though. Anyway, she warned me to be careful of you because you’re unpredictable and that your family had caused a ruckus?” She ended her encounter with the woman by looking up at Andy, and the latter was surprised that there was no disgust in her tone and facial expressions; but more of worry? As if she was worried that rumors were spreading around about him and his family.

He stopped rubbing her hands and instead settled with fiddling with them, “I think it’s best if you found out now,” he began before taking a deep breath, “Almost two years ago, Ben Rifkin, a fourteen year old boy, died. At the time I was the assistant district attorney and was assigned to investigate. When fingerprints of my son, Jacob, were found in the body everyone assumed he did it.”

“Did he?” Y/N question when she noticed it took Andy sometime to continue with his story. Shaking his head no he picked up where he left off the story, “He didn’t, his fingerprints were there because he just saw the body, panicked and didn’t call the police. A man who had a record for groping and stalking kids did it. But Joan, Ben’s mom was still convinced that Jacob had something to do with her son’s death even after it was proved that he didn’t.”

“I’m sorry about that Andy, she has no right to name you and your family those things,” Y/N was quick to comfort him. But he only chuckled sadly, “Does she not?” She could feel that there was more Andy wanted to say so she remained silent, “During the trial and investigation, they were fully convinced Jacob did it because of me, of my father.”

He said those three words with so much hate and disdain, “My estranged father, rather, he raped and killed some student many years ago. Now he’s serving a life sentence for it. They claimed that I had this murder gene and somehow Jacob got it too, hence why he killed Ben.”

After hearing his explanation, Y/N now understood why Joan claimed Andy was unpredictable. She also empathize with the mother who lost her son and understood why she felt this indifference towards the Barbers; but she still believed that maybe Joan would someday accept that the what they’ve been believing — that Jacob had any involvement for her son’s death — is nothing but mere suspicion that was proved false.

“I mean, I understand why she holds this sort of grudge against you or your family,” Andy’s heart dropped at what Y/N said and loosened his grip on her hands, prepared to hear her say how she wanted to leave his house that somewhat felt like home ever since she came, “But it’ll take time for her to accept the truth and disregard the suspicion she had. I believe in what you say and do think that you are harmless.”

Her statement had Andy looking up from where he was staring at their hands and looked up at her with relief in his face, “What?” He could not help but sound meek as he asked so; but he felt the opposite, he felt empowered and invincible upon knowing that there was someone on his side for once.

Deciding to do something risky, Y/N leaned forward to plant a gentle and comforting kiss on Andy’s forehead, “What happened to Joan’s son was horrible, yes. But if you say, and an investigation says your son had nothing to do with it, then I believe it. And murder gene? The only thing that a gene can pass down to us is sickness,” she joked, hoping to lighten up the atmosphere and was pleased to see how Andy laughed softly at it,”You’re not what your father did, okay? The only way to define you is through what you say, think, and do.”

Andy smiled as he stared at her lovingly, “And if I think and tell you that you’re such a beautiful person, inside and out, and that it's been great having you here live with me?” She laughed as she rested her cheek against her hand and sassed at him, “I’d call bullshit ‘cause you probably used that line with your wife.”

He just rolled his eyes as he moved her around so she could comfortably lay her head against his chest as he wrapped his muscular arms around her frame. “Well then I’m just gonna have to do my best to prove it to you the entire time you’re here then.”

Turning her head so she could face him, “Well joke’s on you, I plan to be here for quite a long time.” The butterflies in Andy’s stomach then went wild at what she said, but his composure allowed him to answer back with, “I don’t mind that at all, honey.”

Laying a kiss on her forehead, he then teased her about the grin she had on her face and two then talked the rest of the night away.

part two

#quietmyfearswith #My writing #andy barber angst #andy barber x reader #andy barber x fem!reader #andy barber fanfic #andy barber x you #andy barber fluff #andy barber smut #defending jacob #defending jacob fanfiction

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carlsberg18 · 4 years

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Housing Prices Will Be Fine After COVID-19, Right?

This seems to be a question that no one truly has an answer for, but I will do my best to give you several perspectives over the coming weeks. Including, how record-high unemployment, growing debt, concerns over a recovery, “how long before our lives return to normal?” and “how it will likely impact housing prices in 2020 and beyond?”.

This week I will focus primarily on Unemployment, Stimulus and a comparison of the Great Recession. How many of you remember the hardships of the Great Recession? My wife and I, both do and it was incredibly hard to find a job because of all the economic uncertainty. If you live in the United States, then you should know that our economy is based on capitalism. Capitalism means that corporations are privately owned and the operations are funded by profits. How are these profits made, you may ask? Profits are made when we the consumers spend money.

During the Great Recession, a lot of consumers had no money to spend, which meant that businesses had no way of paying employees. Employees were then laid off or had reduced hours. It became a downward spiral as fewer people began to spend hours continued to be reduced and businesses began to layoff employees. Unemployment surged to the highest numbers in years and peaked at 10%. The government had to bail out homeowners, banks, and various businesses, just to keep the economy afloat. The Economic stimulus package in 2008 ($152 billion) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 ($831 billion) total to a little under $1 trillion. sell my house palmdale

Is this starting to feel like deja vu? It might or at least it should, but keep in mind there has already been $2 trillion, injected into the economy for various businesses and unemployment. That’s already more than double the Great Recession. That number also doesn’t include the 2nd set of small business loans approved last week because the first wasn’t enough and it is very likely that money will be gone just as fast as the first time. To make matters worse unemployment is at a record high. According to BLS.gov (bureau of labor statistics), there are over 30 million people unemployed and that doesn’t count those who can’t sign up because the systems aren’t able to process the high volume of unemployed. There are roughly 165 million active participants in the workforce, which means our unemployment would currently be 18%. That means unemployment is at least 80% higher than it was during the Great Recession.

So what does this mean for you? Well, there are some key differences between the Great Recession and now. Overleveraged banks, insurance companies, and toxic real estate assets in part to credit default swaps and bad lending practices. The last downtown in 2008 was caused in part because of real estate, which led to a steep decline in housing prices over the following years (2012 was the bottom). This downturn may not be due to real estate, but that does not mean real estate won’t be impacted.

The worst impacts of the coronavirus may still be yet to come. The United States now has over 1 million cases recorded, more than the next 5 countries combined. Scientists are also worried about a 2nd or possible 3rd wave of the virus, which could coincide with the flu season and make things worse. I have talked to several business owners who are equally worried about a “slow bleed” when the economy opens back up. Most stated that a change in consumer habits could lead to less spending and that would mean a reduction of staff or closing their business. Fewer companies, less work, fewer jobs, and no money means there will likely be fewer people looking for homes at the price point you want. Keep in mind with real estate the prices always go up faster than they come down. As I pointed out earlier the peak of the recession was 2008-2009, but the bottom of the real estate crash wasn’t until 2012. If you are looking to sell my house Bakersfield CA or your California home, now may be the time.

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joehomebuyer · 1 month

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4. How do I know if selling for cash is right for me?If you need to sell quickly, want to avoid the hassle of repairs and showings, or are facing financial difficulties, selling for cash may be the best option.

Conclusion

In a competitive real estate market, knowing that "we buy houses for cash Bakersfield" can be a game-changer. This approach not only provides a fast and efficient way to sell your home but also alleviates the stress associated with traditional sales. If you’re considering selling your property, reach out to Joe Homebuyer SoCal Metro for a no-obligation cash offer and take the first step towards a hassle-free sale.

#we buy houses for cash Bakersfield #sell my house fast Bakersfield #how to sell my house fast Bakersfield #Sell my house fast in bakersfield with cash buyers

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northcountryprimitive · 5 years

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“I Have at Least Five Albums Worth of Material Yet to Record!” An Interview with Mark Fosson

This interview with the late Mark Fosson originally appeared at North Country Primitive on 25th May 2015

We are very pleased to bring you an interview with the last guitarist John Fahey signed to Takoma records, Mark Fosson. After Takoma was sold, Mark’s recordings for the label remained in his garage unheard for almost 30 years, until they were finally released in 2006 by Drag City. A further archival release, Digging in the Dust, a collection of early home recordings, was released by Tompkins Square in 2012. Fast forward to 2015, and Mark has just brought out his first ever new collection of instrumentals, kY, a paean to his home state of Kentucky, and mighty fine it is too - in our view, his best album yet. Recorded at his home in Baltimore, the album has a timeless, folk-infused quality and features Mark on banjo and dulcimer as well as an enviable collection of guitars…

Can you start off by telling us about the new album, kY? You appear to be revisiting your roots on two accounts: firstly, it has the feel of the sort of pure American Primitivism that could have been put out by Takoma any time in the 70s; secondly, the strong traditional folk themes suggest that you are literally revisiting your roots as a native Kentuckian. I had been trying to record a whole other group of instrumentals that I had written and not getting anything I was really happy with. I was probably trying way too hard to come up with the perfect guitar album and being way too critical, which I’m prone to do. At a certain point I realized I wasn’t having any fun at all and decided to step away from it for a while. So next time I went down to my studio, I pulled out my banjo instead of a guitar and started noodling around and came up with Kingdom Come. I had just purchased a Tascam DR-05, so I made a quick recording of it and was totally pleased with the way it came out. I thought, why not do a whole new album that way? So I would sit and noodle every day till I came up with an idea I liked and record it immediately, while it was still fresh. Most of the songs are first takes, but I never did more than three takes and I think the tunes have a very spontaneous feel because of it. I used the Tascam on quite a few of the songs on the record… Kingdom Come, Kentucky, Cold Dark Holler, Come Back John. All the songs are inspired by my childhood memories of growing up in Kentucky. I recorded it at Pine Box Studios - a.k.a my basement. What have you been up to recently? It’s been eight years since Jesus on a Greyhound came out. I’m aware of the live sessions you’ve done for Folkadelphia and Irene Trudel, but I guess you’ve been keeping busy in other ways… I moved to Baltimore about six years ago and have been writing and playing every chance I get. Did a short tour with Daniel Bachman when our Tompkins Square records came out… Done quite a few gigs in Philly and New York, some with Don Bikoff, who has become a good friend. A lot of excellent young musicians out there I’ve had the chance to play with… Hope to do a lot more. Were you pleased with the response to Digging in the Dust? Were these recordings what brought you to the attention of John Fahey and Takoma in the 70s? Yes, I was very pleased with the response… it’s good to have it out there after all these years! These are the tapes I originally sent to Takoma. There were also five vocal tracks on that demo which John really liked. I’m not crazy about the way my voice sounded back then… like I was 12 years old! Luckily I’ve learned to sing a little better over the years. There was a song on the demo called Grandpa Was A Thinker, which John and his wife, Melody, liked a lot. I’m pretty sure it was that one and Gorilla Mountain that got me signed. How did you link up with John Fahey and Takoma Records? I had been listening a lot to releases on Takoma… I think I wore out a coupla copies of Kottke/Lang/Fahey. On a lark I sent the tape to them, never dreaming I’d get signed! I remember I had come home from work - I was working in a steel plant at the time - and had fallen asleep in my chair. My wife woke me up, saying, “There’s some guy named Charlie Mitchell from Takoma Records on the phone.“ Then when I got to California, John co-signed for a brand new Martin 12-string. I kick myself nearly every day for selling that guitar later on! As soon as I got to LA, I started opening shows for him… I think the first was McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, which was right next door to the Takoma office. His records sounded great, but hearing him live - and that close! - was an unbelievable experience. How did Drag City come to release The Lost Takoma Sessions 29 years after it was recorded? My cousin Tiffany Anders had started listening to Fahey and found out I had been on the label, so she asked for a copy of the recordings. They were gathering dust in the corner of the garage and I was reluctant to let her have them at first, because I figured the stuff was too old for anyone to care about. She proceeded to send it around and before long I had three or four offers from labels to put it out. I eventually decided on Drag City and I think they did an excellent job of getting it out there. What was the musical journey you took to playing solo acoustic guitar? Did you do the whole garage band thing first or were you always attracted to acoustic music? And what were your formative influences, musical or otherwise? Everyone in my family was a total music lover, so I was bombarded with good music of all styles from an early age. When I was in elementary school, Jean Ritchie would come and perform every year… that’s probably the first traditional folk music I was exposed to. I played a festival with her later on and at the after-show jam, I talked her into giving me a dulcimer lesson, which was totally cool of her. My Aunt Rachel sang and played guitar and I was always asking to play her guitar. I bugged her so much, in fact, that she gave me one of hers - a Beltone. What a beauty! That pretty much started me down the guitar road. Also my dad would buy 45s from the guy that stocked the jukeboxes in the beer joints he frequented and was always bringing home the cool, obscure music… lots of blues and extreme hillbilly stuff. Later on I became a Roger Miller fan and pretty much taught myself to play listening to his records. My grandmother was bedridden for a long time and I would go to her house and try the songs out on her. If I got her laughing I considered it a success.

Then at the age of 14, the Beatles broke and that’s when me and probably a billion other teenagers decided to become musicians. That turned into a succession of garage bands. Then in college I started getting more in to the folk music again. My buddy Dan Gore and I would spend hours at the school library listening to the old blues and Folkways records - The Harry Smith Anthology was a big favorite - and we began performing at the school’s coffeehouse every Friday night. It was run by my English teacher, Nancy McClellan, and she also organized some of the big folk festivals in the area. She may have encouraged me more than anyone to be a musician. Then when I was stationed in North Dakota in the Air Force, I began discovering the Takoma artists. I actually bought the Kottke/Lang/Fahey album because of the cool cover - I wasn’t that familiar with the artists at that point - and was blown away by it. I think the most influential album for me, though, is Peter Lang’s Thing At The Nursery Room Window. It’s still one of my top five favorite albums of all time. Which reminds me… I think Daniel Bachman forgot to give me back my Peter Lang CD!

What were you up to between the Takoma recordings and Jesus on a Greyhound? Did you keep making music during this period? Can you tell us how Jesus… came about? When the Takoma thing fell apart, I continued playing around Los Angeles, Sometimes solo, sometimes with a small group. I played with a bass and tabla player for a spell - that was a great sounding little combo. Then in the mid 80s, I started a country rock duo called Crazy Hearts with Karen Tobin. We had a song on the A Town South Of Bakersfield compilation, along with Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale and Dwight Yoakam, then went to Nashville to showcase, but Karen ended up getting a solo deal on Atlantic Records and that was pretty much the end of the duo. Then I started a group called The Bum Steers with my good friends Edward Tree on electric guitar, Taras Prodaniuk on bass and Billy Block on drums. We caused quite a ruckus in Nashville: Porter Wagoner personally invited us to play the Grand Ol’ Opry, but I think we may have been a little too left-of-centre for that town. Anyway, after these two full-blown groups, I decided to get back to basics and perform solo again. Jesus On A Greyhound came about because I wanted to write an album’s worth of songs that sounded good with just voice & guitar. And although I did add some extra musicians to the record, the music is still drastically stripped down compared to what I had been doing. And totally acoustic. At the moment there seems to be a veritable swarm of young players influenced by the American Primitive sound. Do you feel any particular affinity for them? Are there any favourite players who particularly stand out for you? When The Lost Takoma Sessions came out, were you aware of people like Jack Rose and Glenn Jones? I started to become a lot more aware of the newer guitarists when Lost Takoma came out. I did a short tour with Joanna Newsom and she turned me on to a lot of the younger players. Of course I was aware of Jack Rose and was already a Glenn Jones fan. Then, like I said earlier, I did a short tour with Daniel Bachman and was really impressed with his playing. He’s on fire… seems like he puts out a new record every two weeks. Met Nathan Bowles through Daniel and I really enjoy his banjo playing, both solo and with the Black Twig Pickers. I’ve become friends with quite a few of the new pickers: through Don Bikoff I met Matt Sowell, who introduced me to Kyle Fosburgh, who introduced me to Hayden Pedigo. I got to play a duet with Hayden on his new record Five Steps. There is certainly no shortage of excellent young musicians out there! Lots of great records being made…I’m always checking out the new stuff. You play banjo on a couple of tracks on the new album, which sounds fantastic. Are you a big fan of the instrument? Are we likely to hear more banjo excursions from you in the future? Thank you… I love playing banjo! Seems like I don’t do it as much as I would like to, but it’s getting a little more frequent all the time. I keep saying I’m going to get a really nice clawhammer and get serious with it… someday! I was at a songwriter retreat in Stanley, Idaho, a couple of weeks ago and one of the musicians had a killer clawhammer with nylon strings that sounded amazing. So what happens next? Any plans for gigs? Have you got more material up your sleeve? Well I have at least five albums worth of material yet to record, so I’ll just keep plugging along and making new records. Been getting a lot of pressure to put out a follow-up to Jesus On A Greyhound, so that’s probably the next project up. Unless things change…which they do! And of course I plan to keep gigging as long as I can.

Behind kY - Mark Fosson’s Track-by-Track Guide

We asked Mark about the guitars and other instruments he used on kY. He responded by sending us a track-by-track guide to the instruments played and the tunings, as well as a little background on each of the tunes. Jimmy Leg Mule high strung Tacoma Road King [C -G - C - G - C - E] You need to visualize riding this mule as you listen. Loose Change 1995 Martin 00016GT [Standard Tuning] The ‘loose change’ refers more to the chord progression than the amount of coins in my pocket. The way it sort of gets lost at the end and falls in a hole… I meant to do that! When We Were Young 1968 Gibson B-25 12 String [A# - F - A# - F - A# - D] I wrote this one for my grandparents, Harry & Grace Steed. Kingdom Come Deering "GoodTime” banjo [G - D - G - A# - D] Kingdom Come is a real town in Harlan County, Kentucky. Indian Summer Tacoma DM1812E3 12 String [C - F - C - F- F- C] Glenn Jones showed me this tuning and I proceeded to write about seven songs using it. Dogwood Dulcimer was made by Robbie Long, San Geronimo, CA 1976 [A - A - A - D] I often wonder if the fellow who built this dulcimer is still alive? Simpleton 1956 Gibson LG2 [C - G - C - G - C - E] There was a fellow named John in my hometown who would stand on the corner directing traffic & waving to everyone who passed. In the old days he would have been considered the ‘village idiot” but my folks used to refer to him as the ambassador of good will. Cold Dark Hollow 1956 Gibson LG2 [D - A - D - F - A - D] A cold dark hollow is an eerie place when the sun is about to go down… I tried to capture that feeling. Avondale Strut Tacoma DM1812E3 12 String [C - G - C- E - G - C] The part of town where the black folks lived… my romanticized idea of a regular Friday night there. A Drink w/Stephen F 1995 Martin 00016GT [Std tuning] Legend has it that Stephen Foster drank himself to death in the North American Hotel and left this world with 38 cents in his pocket. Which brings us back to the amount of coins in my pocket… let me check… hmmm …39 cents. Bad Part Of Town Deering “Good Time” banjo [G- D - G - B - D] There’s a ‘Bad Part’ in every town… And I’ve been to a LOT of towns Kentucky 1990 Gibson J100 [D - A - D - F - A - D] I’m not sure what this one is about. Come Back John 1968 Gibson B25 12 String [ A# - F - A# - F - A# - D] This is me trying my damndest to write a John Fahey tune… inspired by Sunflower River Blues, which John taught me how to play backstage at Bob Baxter’s Guitar Workshop, 1977.

#mark fosson #american primitive #takoma #john fahey

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ourbestrealestateguidesbiz · 5 years

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Advantages of Selling Your Home to a Real Estate Investor

Among the assets you have, one of the most valuable maybe your home. However, it may come a time where you may have to sell your home. You find that there are a lot of challenges that may come with selling a home. You can never just wake up one morning and sell your home without going through some steps. When you are selling a home, you should never opt for the most popular method of selling the home as it may work for others but may yield the opposite results for you.

It is vital that when looking for an effective method of selling your home, you let your reason for selling the home guide your choice. One of the most popular methods that most people opt for is listing of the home since it has been used for a long time. Despite it being an effective method, there are those times when you may want fast cash for your home and listing may not guarantee you such. In this case, you may have to sell your home to a real estate investor for this to work. More and more people are opting for the real estate investor selling process since it has a lot of benefits to offer the home seller and some of the benefits are discussed here.

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By selling your home to a real estate investor, you get to avoid foreclosure. When your home was the collateral for some loan and you have a hard time paying back the loan, your home is at risk of foreclosure. When such happens, you may lose your home and not get anything from such an investment. Your home never gets to be foreclosed when you sell it before the foreclosure and since this process is fast, it guarantees such. Read more this tips to know fastest way to sell my house to a real estate investor.

Get more info at https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/economics-business-and-labor/economics-terms-and-concepts/real-estate

#Real Estate

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yourquickhousessalesguide-blog · 6 years

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The Features to Think of as You Are Seeking the Best Investor to Buy Your Home

There are some instances where you desire to get cash for your home, but you are unable. The first thing when you are preparing to trade your house is to look for more information. Remember that your house is costly and therefore you cannot joke when you are trading the house. At all time you have to locate the dealership that is trustworthy when it comes to buying homes. In this website you will discover more guidelines that you need to follow as you are choosing the right cash home buying company. Here are some of the attributes that you ought to ensure as you are locating the best cash home buying company. Learn more about sell my house fast in Bakersfield, go here.

The years the home buying company has been in work is a good place to start. Experienced cash home buying company will easily understand what you want in a better way. With experience, they will fasten the process and the results will be good. You should research and find out what is the kind of skills that the investor's employs in looking for the right home buyer. Find out for further details right here https://www.cashforkeyskern.com.

The other area to put more emphasis when you are seeking the right home buying company is the licensing. It is good that you evaluate the level of certification of home buying company you are working with. The legit cash home buying company that have licenses and can be trusted easily. Make sure to check the credibility of the license document. The cash home buying company license will categorize them on how they are skilled.

Recommendation is a good start to finding a good cash home buying company. With the cash home buying company that you are endorsed too by someone you have confidence in then it is easily transferred to the home buying company. You also should check for their reviews either online or from other friends. The best person to describe the home buying company is their previous clients. Ask them for their referees to verify their story.

Another key to a successful job is there should be both ways free communication. Being free with your home buying company will make the flow of your work easier because there will be understanding. With you being satisfied with what is going on with your project then will have nothing to argue with the home traders. You should also find a home buying company that will give you their quotation. Take a look at this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate for more information.

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movingstoriesla · 4 years

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19. Jonathan L.

Meet Jonathan, a supply chain consultant in the waste industry. He currently lives in Pasadena but originally grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.

[Editor’s note: I originally conducted this interview in June 2018. Wow, how time flies! A lot happened personally between then and now, which meant transcribing, editing, and posting this interview kept getting pushed to the back burner unfortunately. I hope you enjoy this snapshot of life BC (Before Coronavirus)!]

As a kid, how did you get to school?

I remember I always walked to elementary school because it was only about two blocks away, although it was up a really steep hill. I also used to walk to middle school, which is about a mile away, with my friends. I feel like times have changed because parents wouldn't let their kids walk one mile unsupervised anymore.

I used to walk to high school, which was about maybe three-quarters of a mile away. When I was 15, I got my learner's permit and I got a learner's permit to ride a motorcycle, so then I started riding my motorcycle to school, probably because I had the ability to.

Why a motorcycle?

I have no idea. I don't know what my parents were thinking. My dad had one, it was pretty small. I really wanted to ride it and I think he was excited that I wanted to learn but he opened a can of worms [laughs]. I used to ride it a lot and then I got my driver's license. I used to drive or walk, it depended, but I think I started school early, at 7:30, so I think I drove, even though it was right there. I guess it seems lazy, looking at it now, but it was probably the pride of being able to drive.

How would your parents take you around?

We always had a minivan and a small car and between the two of those, that's how I would get around. I remember going on family trips with my two sisters. I swear, we would go in the Toyota Corolla, a five-seater car with five people because that got the best gas mileage and is the most reliable, so that was how I got around.

The BART train came to my town when I was like 13 or 14. For the most part, it was driving in the car to get everywhere.

For college, he moved down to Los Angeles County and attended Cal Poly Pomona.

My parents actually insisted that I start school without a car, that I go to college without a car.

Why did they insist on that?

Because I think they wanted me to live on campus and embrace it. I was far away, so they didn't want to worry about me driving around but it only lasted a month. For anyone who knows southern California, Pomona is very suburban. At the time, the campus was very commuter-oriented, so there weren't a lot of people staying on campus, there wasn't a lot to do on campus, and it was very isolating by not having a car. Anyone who knows where Pomona is, they probably think if you're not from the Inland Empire and not from that area, like oh my gosh, it's so far away because it is probably 20 or 30 miles east of downtown LA. But I ended up getting my car and using it all through college to get around.

What did you use the car for in college?

Everything. Going to the grocery store, you had to drive a car. Nothing nearby.

After college, Jonathan got a job nearby, in Ontario.

I was living in the Ontario area and over those next two or three years, I was in Ontario, in Rancho Cucamonga, in the Inland Empire, which is very big and spread out, so there's really no way to get around the car. I'm sure there are buses -- it sounds silly saying that, right? There's gotta be buses there, but I feel like most people would not have taken the bus, they would've driven.

I ended up moving west because one day, my boss said, “Starting on Monday, we're gonna have you switch to the operation that's in the city of Vernon.” I went from having a 6-mile commune with no freeway and 15 minutes, to having a 45-mile commute that was an hour and 15 minutes in the morning and two hours in the evening, which is why I decided to move west. I still had like a 45-minute commute but it made a big difference.

Do you remember what it was like getting around southern California around that time?

If we take it even further: when I started college in my undergrad in the fall of 2002, the 210 freeway expanded east of San Dimas, all the way to San Bernardino. At the time, it was this huge, huge thing because you could just get on that freeway and you could drive as fast as you wanted because it was brand new and nobody used it. At the time, it was like the greatest thing ever and I'm sure it caused plenty of people to buy houses in Fontana and San Bernardino and Riverside, knowing that they had this brand-new freeway to get there, whereas now it's like a horrible commute. When I'm in Pasadena and I cross over that freeway, it seems like it's always stopped in the direction of the commute, sometimes it's both directions.

I don't really remember [what it was like driving around southern California] because at that point, I feel like I was pretty stuck in Pasadena because it's a great place to live. There’s so many fun things to do there and there's bars and restaurants. The Gold line, which goes downtown, was there but I never rode it. I only rode it a few times but it was limited. It only went to 11:30 at night, so if you wanted to go out for dinner and drinks with your friends in downtown, it was either get on the train at 11:30 or you gotta take a taxi because there was a little bit before Uber was around. Like, who takes taxis?

Pasadena is very walk-friendly, so I think that's why I didn't leave often is because I was in a little bubble. Even today, I can walk to public transit, to bars, to restaurants, to grocery stores, to farmers market. Part of the reason why I like living there is just because of the access to everything that I need without a car.

Is that why you choose Pasadena?

No, I chose Pasadena because it seems like the nicest place I could find that was close to Vernon and there's always the chance my boss would say, “Oh you have to go back to Ontario” at some point, so I didn't want go on the west side to have to fight to get through downtown LA and then still drive another 40 miles. Pasadena was a safe area, there's tons of amenities, it's relatively easy access to Vernon, but it's also easy access to go back east at some point.

Jonathan then left that job and then worked from home in Pasadena (“I would work from home a lot and I would ride my bike around and I still drove, I still wasn't- I was still pro-car. Not pro-car but just like, that's how you get around, so I didn't really think about the alternatives.”) He then accepted a job in Bakersfield and briefly lived there, but then took a three-month trip around Europe and afterwards, moved back to Pasadena.

Did you sell your car before you went away?

Yeah, but then I ended up getting a motorcycle because after quitting your job and taking three months to travel and then doing contract work, that's hit or miss. Cash flow was a little tight but I needed to get around, so I got a motorcycle. I found myself riding it way more than I would've liked to, getting around everywhere because that was my only transportation.

I'm curious about that six months of car-free life. You eventually got the motorcycle but what was your life like transportation-wise in that interim?

I spent a lot of time in and around Pasadena and I think that's when I started to embrace the Metro Gold line train, which was able to get me downtown and all over LA. I've never been much of a bus person or I hadn't been. I've been more inclined to use the bus more recently because I have a better understanding of how to get around and how to use it and whatnot.

And then you got a motorcycle and used that to primarily get around.

Yea, I was doing work and have to go to businesses in the San Fernando Valley and it's 20 miles or 30 miles each way. There'd be traffic and I was splitting lanes, where you drive in between the cars.

There was one day in particular where the traffic was horrible, it was completely gridlocked going to the Valley. I was just splitting lanes very slowly and something didn’t seem right, like there had to have been an accident or something was wrong because it just was not moving and people were looking at me and I didn't have any way to know what was going on and I wasn't listening to anything and finally I got the front and there is a motorcycle that was laying on its side and there was a coroner van, so obviously someone got in a motorcycle accident and died. I felt like, “What a schmuck. Here I am, splitting lanes and getting up to this accident and turns out it's a motorcycle fatality.”

Shortly after that, I’d been riding a motorcycle off and on for 15 years and had never gotten in an accident. Maybe now's the time to count my blessings and be done with it because when you ride a motorcycle for commuting, you have no choice but to split the lines because otherwise you're constantly putting your feet up and down, you'd be crawling, your motorcycle would probably overheat, so you just kind of zip on through. I didn’t get this to commute on, I got it to get around and I found myself commuting on it. I was like, “Well, now is the time to get rid of it,” so I ended up getting a car.

How was it getting around the LA region in a motorcycle?

It's great because there's never traffic but it's also stressful because when you're on the freeway and in the carpool lane and the carpool lane is going 50, 60 miles an hour and the rest of the traffic is stopped, it's always in the back of the rider's mind: “Is a car going to pull out in front of me? Is someone going to change lanes in front of me? Is someone going to get road rage and not try let me get past them?”

I also noticed over time, from my first time riding a motorcycle when I was like 15, 16 years old, no one had cell phones and smartphones didn't exist, so I felt like people were much more focused on the road 15, 16 years ago than they are today because now we have so many distractions. By default, we always have GPS up, getting text messages, getting phone calls. I can tell you with relative accuracy who is distracted while they're driving and who isn't because when you're on a motorcycle and you're going between the cars, you can see which cars are driving straight line and which ones are veering back-and-forth because they're not paying attention.

I remember when I was 16 years old and I had a driver’s license and no cellphone. I was just around and going from my house to school or my house to my girlfriend's house or to the mall. I'd just be gone for hours and I was on my own, I didn't have a GPS as a crutch, I didn't have a phone as a crutch. I had to know where I was going. I think it's interesting because as amazing as technology is, we also use it to reduce our decision-making and the amount of decisions we have to make -- in a sense, dumbing ourselves down because we don't have to think about how to get a route.

I actually went to a friend's house in Glassel Park, Eagle Rock area. I know where she lives, I don't need to put my GPS on, like what if there's traffic or an accident – but no. So I went to and from her house without using the GPS, it was like 8 or 9 miles, but it was one of those things where I’m normally like, “Oh what's her address?” I don't even know what her address is. But I was like, no I'm not going to do that, I know how to get there. I'm going to use my brain and I feel like when I rely on my GPS to get around in my car, I actually miss things more frequently than when I can used to ride a motorcycle before I had the GPS or didn’t have a mount for my phone, so I would have to look in advance where am I going, I'm going to take him at 134 or the 101 to the 118, I'm getting off at the street and then you make left and when I get to this street, I go right and it should be over there somewhere and I would just figure it out. And now the thought of just getting on the road without using a phone as a crutch to get me around is like crazy, although I do it from time to time.

I must say though, that whenever I travel, I try to use the public transit system of wherever I am. It's fun just to see how the people who live there get around. I'm always paranoid and I feel like I always want to have my phone out and it's like where am I getting off, what stop is it? I remember in Portugal and I cannot for the life of me in Lisbon, I could not understand what the person on the speaker was saying and if I remember correctly, they didn't have the stop posted in the train. So the train gets into the station and it sounds like Charlie Brown [womp womp sounds], like what is this and it's really stressful.

I think a lot of it is, to take that back to local life, now that I have lived in Pasadena for nine of the last 10 years and I know how to get around everywhere and now in the last year, I come downtown for work and I know downtown so well. I was afraid to come downtown because it's big, it's crowded, I don't know where anything is located, whereas now I feel like I know it, not like the back of my hand just yet because the way we label our streets is confusing. But I'm getting a much better sense. To your point, we met at a coffee shop that’s at 800 and something Olive, so I know it’s on Olive between 8th and 9th Street. I literally don't need to look at my phone to get here. I think more people would benefit from doing that and I know that’s not necessarily about driving in a car but it's about how we get around. It’s like, we use our phone so much as crutches where we actually don’t think logically. Now that I’m here I understand that if the address starts with 800 that is between 8 and 9th blocks and 900 between the 9th and Olympic in downtown LA.

After the motorcycle, Jonathan went back to owning a car.

I did the same job where I would be going out to the Valley, to South LA, and I bought a Chevy Spark, which is a really small car. Like, bigger than a smart car but smaller than a Corolla, like a micro car. I bought it as an F-you to the system, like what is the cheapest car I can buy that gets good gas mileage and it’s small because logically, this doesn't make sense so many people spend 30, 40, 50 70, a hundred thousand dollars on a car and all it does is, it’s something gets you from A to B. So I bought a Chevy Spark and I got a really good deal. I got one of those price advertised specials and it was really cheap and it was great and I had it for six months until I got my first car accident ever

When you're a Chevy Spark, I think they err on the side of caution because it’s such a small car that I rear-ended it going 5 miles an hour because I was distracted, looking at my phone, and four airbags deployed there is like a knee airbag for me and the passenger and the two regular air bags and because it was like a $12,000 car and the airbags alone were like $2,000 each, it was a total loss. But then ended up just buying a Prius because I needed a car really quickly.

How did you decide on a Prius?

Because I'm really indecisive. I can spend thinking about what type of car to get but it's the number one most sold car in America. It's a hybrid which fits my vibe and at the time, my next-door neighbor was the automotive editor for the LA Times and he was like, “Of all the cars, if you buy that car, it's not going to cause you any problems.” Okay, I don't even think about it anymore but I ended up buying a car twice as expensive as the Spark but it is also more way more comfortable to drive on the freeway. Driving four-cylinder car with a 1.2 liter engine; I've owned motorcycles with bigger engines than [the Spark]. It could go 70 miles an hour on the freeway but then it was really a struggle after that. There were a couple times on a hill, where I literally couldn't go up the hill because it didn't have enough power but I still loved it. I would do it again, I wish I still had that car and I would still have that car if I hadn't rear-ended someone going 5 miles an hour.

So how long were you doing this kind of commuting all over this the region?

Probably three or four years, five years, and then it got even worse because I started doing projects, waste audits and waste education outreach related to California's environment regulations. I started doing it for the County of Los Angeles, which is 4,600 square miles and I was routinely working from home but I'm driving to Rowland Heights or Hacienda Heights is like 30, 35 miles each direction, going to Compton, Inglewood, there's a lot of unincorporated areas, that's 20 to 30 miles south. I was going west all the way to the Ventura county line, which is like 30 or 40 miles and then the kicker was I would be going to Palmdale, Lancaster a lot which is like 70 miles each way, so it actually worked out probably having a Prius because Prius got great gas mileage but it could also get up Highway 14 really easily, whereas the Spark is more of a city car and it definitely struggled. As much as I hate to be living this zero-waste lifestyle [while] totaling a car that’s only six months old. And there's nothing worse than buying two cars in six months. It’s the worst process, buying a car. Speaking of my relationship of transportation, I hate buying cars.

What do you hate about buying cars?

They make you feel horrible. Their goal is to wear you down, to get you to spend as much money as possible. I went to buy the Spark and I was there for three hours. I was like, “This is the car I want, I called you in advance, you told me it was there. We already discussed the price, the gap insurance, I don’t want. I don't want your financing, I don't want anything, I just want the car” and they still try to drag it out to wear you down and I think it really does impact the culture of how people get around. I think most people, there’s a lot of things they would rather do than buy a car. It’s just such an unpleasant experience and that’s the only thing that we do. I may buy a house and hope that it goes value. You buy antiques or collector’s items, they maintain their value. Cars are the biggest waste of money, it’s the biggest money pit. Literally you buy it and then you take possession of it, the moment you sign the contract, you already lost money and then you would have to get insurance, whether you drive that thing or not, you have to have insurance and gas. People say they love their car but if you think about it, it's like the worst thing ever and I really struggle with it because I don't drive my car five days per week and if I got rid of it, I guess I would get used to but it would impact how I get around on the weekends.

I have been looking for some new furnishings for my apartment and just yesterday I found a desk on craigslist and it was 12 miles away. If I didn't have a car, it would've been in a different story: is it available, can I come look at it, do I have to rent a truck or borrow a car from a friend and then incur a cost and then I decide I don’t want buy it or don't want it instead? It's expensive to own a car but it could be expensive to not own a car as well.

When did you actually start working downtown?

I still do that work [waste audits], although usually it's my employees that get to do far-off projects now, but I've been coming downtown for about a year and then July 1st, it will be a year of coming downtown. I love that I can take public transit but for only being 8 or 9 miles away, it's still a commute. Originally, when I started doing it, I was walking to the train station, which was half a mile, so an 8-10 minute walk to the train station. I would come to Union Station, I have to transfer – which, if anyone's been in Union Station, the lines are not close to each other, so it's a 5-minute brisk walk but it could be longer and transferred two stops, get off at Pershing Square, and then walk. It's like 45 to 60 minutes each way, depending on whether I make the connections or not, so it’s easier than driving because we don't have parking at my office but also, driving downtown stressful because there’s tons of traffic, there’s no parking, there’s lots of congestion. I think they're trying to make it more pedestrian-friendly in downtown, so they're making it less desirable to drive a car anyway.

Maybe five or six months ago, I started riding my bike to the train station, which saves me five minutes getting to the train station and I have to wedge my bike onto the train, which is a pain. But instead of getting off at Union Station and transferring and walking, I take it one more stop in Little Tokyo and then have a mile and a half bike ride to my office. It saves at least 10 minutes each direction but sometimes it can be 15 to 20, depending on what the timing of the train and I don't have transfer, so that actually really opened up my eyes to using a bicycle to get around.

Actually it was the LA Metro bike docking stations in downtown and they were doing a promo, like a free month, and I started riding the bikes around and I didn’t really enjoy their bikes because they're only three speeds and it's like either up a hill, down a hill, or flat and they're heavy and I have a low center of gravity, so it's not really my jam but I was like, “I can spend $20 a month to maintain his membership to get around downtown, which is nice because I don’t have to maintain the bike, or I could just start riding my bike so I started riding my bike.

How did you decide to start riding your bike and taking it onto the train?

It was from that free month with the Metro bike share because they got me more comfortable riding a bike downtown. I started learning which streets have bike lanes, which are safer for bikes, where all the docking stations are and also too, my employees commute about 3 miles each way via bike and they were a good model for that, like “I can ride my back around, that's cool.” So I did the free bike thing, I like this idea, I just don't like this bike, so I just got my bike out of the closet, I didn’t even get it tuned up because I need to if I actually want to ride the thing first, so I started riding it and I started seeing the benefits of getting a little bit more accelerated cardio in the morning versus just walking but I was saving between 10 and 20 minutes each direction every day, so I still have a commute but it's much shorter and then now when I’m downtown, I find myself riding my bike just to get around in other places and then I'm even more inclined on the weekend, places that normally I would just by default driven my car to, because it was in the 1 to 3 mile range, now I can just ride my bike, it’s way more accessible.

On the weekends. what do you usually use your car for?

Yesterday I was looking for furniture, I bought a couple of lamps at a garage sale as well. Next Saturday I'm going to some event in Torrance, which is 30 miles away, it's like literally I'm going from the north side of the 110 freeway the entire length to the south side. I was looking at it: Google estimates two hours and 20 minutes each direction on public transit, which is just not very time efficient and that's assuming that they're on time and the buses are routinely not on time. I mean, I could talk all day about transportation and the problems of transportation but they drive on the city streets, they don't have dedicated lanes, so they’re subjected to the same traffic as cars are, so I have to drive, so I guess I could I uber 30 miles, cost $45 or $50 each way, if it's not the surge pricing.

You’ve taken the train and driven by car. What is your experience taking the bus?

I use it occasionally. It’s a balance, though. If I’m near home and I'm feeling lazy, it's easier to have the car but I do know that if I didn't have the car, I would take the bus more frequently. I have had appointments, I had an appointment recently in Beverly Hills and I was looking about driving during a work-related appointment, so I was looking about driving my car. It would take me 45 minutes to get here, I have to park it, then I would have to drive to Beverly Hills, and deal with parking, come back. And then I looked up a bus route that goes down Olympic Boulevard the entire way, it's only like 5 miles but it takes an hour, but I was like, I could do work on the bus in theory.

I took it and it as great because I got to leave my car at home, I was able to work while I was on the bus, I didn't have to deal with parking. I don’t think people think about the risks associated with driving, being the driver of a vehicle, the risk that you could get into an accident or you could get a ticket or both and I was like $1.75 each direction. Public transit is really cheap. I think it's one of the most heavily subsidized metro systems to the country. [Editor’s note: Although it would take some time to properly place LA Metro’s finances within the context of comparable transit agencies, as an FYI: their last Adopted Budget summary page lists: 57.9% from local sales tax and state revenue streams, 36% from bond measures, and 6% from operating and other.]

What do you like about getting around LA, by any mode?

I think that LA is a city with 4 million people, the county has 10 million people, so it's a massive area and the true Angelenos would be quick to say that I don't live in LA. I think the county of LA is like 88 or 89 cities or something make up the County of LA and within those, there's probably hundreds if not thousands of neighborhoods and what I like about it is that when you find the neighborhood that works with you and you learn how to get around, it's actually a really accessible city with a lot of things to do, so I really like Pasadena. I like downtown except downtown is too expensive for what you get, like $2000 for a 500 square-foot studio without parking. But once you figure out where you like to live and where you like to go, then it's great because as I mentioned, between Pasadena and downtown, I can satisfy all my needs, I don't need a car. The challenge is when you go anywhere outside of that bubble. Yes, I can pay $1.75 and take the train from Pasadena to Santa Monica, but I'll take me an hour and 45 minutes, whereas even in traffic it's like a one hour our drive, so it's really hard to justify that when I go to the beach or visit friends, it’s hard to justify that. It’s one thing, okay, I'm in downtown after work, I’m going to meet some friends in Santa Monica, it’s a 30 or 40 minute train ride but then now it's 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock and I’m looking at an hour and 45 train ride back home, that's not really feasible.

That goes into my next question of: what is it that you don't like here? What is the one big thing that you'd want to improve about transportation in LA?

I haven't been everywhere in the world but coincidentally, I was just in Colombia for vacation and one thing that they do really well is bus infrastructure. In the major cities where I visited, which were Cali, Medellin, and Bogotá, the buses have dedicated lanes in the center of the road, they have the bus stops on elevated platforms -- almost like a train platform -- and they're in the middle of the road and they have two lanes for the buses in each direction. That way, if the bus is stopped to pick someone up, another bus can still go around it. It was inexpensive: 2400 pesos to ride the bus, which is just less than a dollar, $0.75 or $0.80 to ride the bus. They had their own dedicated lines. Even though there was horrible traffic in the regular lanes, the buses moved freely.

It’s the single biggest problem that we have, I think, with the LA Metro and other bus systems I've seen around the country: the buses are stuck in the same traffic as the cars and everyone makes this decision: if I have to crawl, why would I crawl on the bus? I'll just drive my own car. The problem is so many people do that, it gets people out of the buses and into their cars. It takes away that incentive to ride the bus. Like me, riding in the carpool lane. If it's not flowing better than the other traffic, then why am I going to go out of my way to pick up a carpool if I'm not going to have the benefit of being in the shared lane? I think it exacerbates the problem because if I’m going to be stuck here, honestly I’d rather be stuck in my car and in my comfort zone, listening to my music, not sitting next to a stranger.

When you went to Colombia, was that your first time taking that kind of bus rapid transit?

That was the first time I've been on bus transit where the buses had their own dedicated lines and it was really really eye-opening to how much more efficient bus transit could be. It was jam-packed, it didn't matter. The morning commute was packed, but the middle of the day was packed as well because it works. The bus system seems to actually work and Colombia being a lower-income country, I’m assuming fewer people own cars, which means they’re more likely use the buses. [Editor’s note: Colombia is considered the third largest market in South America for automotive sales, after Brazil and Argentina] If I just got rid of my car, then I would start using the bus more regularly because it would be a necessity but I have this privilege, this ability, to spend hundreds of dollars a month for the honor of owning a car that I only drive one or two times a week, which sounds absurd when I say that.

I am going to be going to San Diego for the weekend in a few weeks and what I love about it is that I can take Amtrak. It's two hours and 45 minutes from LA to San Diego. It's not cheap -- having a $70 or $72 round-trip -- but I can leave work, I can go two stops to the train station, I can leave 5 PM on a Friday, at 5:10 I think it’s when the train leaves, I can get to San Diego in two hours and 45 minutes with no traffic. No driving the car, I can read a book, I can look at the view, I can drink a beer, I can do whatever I want. I don't have to worry about the driving because yes, San Diego can be an hour and 45 minutes or a 2-hour drive at 5am on Saturday morning but usually it's going take two hours and 45 minutes anyway. Since I'm going to visit friends, I don't need a car when I get there, so it seemed like a no-brainer like, why would I sit in traffic? It would take me 45 minutes to get out of downtown LA on a Friday.

Any final thoughts?

My background is in supply chain management, which is all about process improvements, about getting the foundation right, and I wish we’d spent more time improving the bus infrastructure, in making the train infrastructure more dense in downtown LA because downtown is the hub of public transit in southern California. We should be making it so good that you don't need a car in or around downtown and then start over time to expand it, whereas I feel like because the funding for LA Metro is countywide and we keep on building these trains to go farther and farther away. It already takes 20 minutes to get to Pasadena, it takes 40 minutes to get to Azusa, it takes 60 minutes to get from Claremont to Union Station on the trains because they’re all local, there's only one track in each direction, so there's no opportunity for express trains.

Rather than encouraging people to live further away because now they have this train that can get them there, I wish we would make the infrastructure denser in the center and then just slowly over time expand it out. That way, it facilitates the dense growth, it also facilitates just being completely car-free. I understand it's less equitable if you only spend [funding] in a certain area but the hub of the LA basin is in downtown LA, so that's where it all originates.

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