Being Strong with Wong

It has been just over a month since I stopped using my car. These last few weeks have proven more difficult as I've been going out at night and going to Orange County to see friends and I've begun to feel like a burden to the people who have generously driven us all around.

To my dismay, I found myself considering purchasing leisure driving insurance and keeping the car.

I was growing weak.

I was mentally calculating what my budget would be like if I purchased insurance and registration.

I was resigning myself to going back to driving.

I was already going insane at the thought of sitting through traffic and looking for parking.

Then, I went to Kristina Wong's website. Wong is "a nationally presented solo performer, writer, actor, educator, culture jammer, and filmmaker" based in Los Angeles. She's funny, she's nice, and at the last Tuesday Night Cafe, I learned that she had recently become car-free (when her vegetable-diesel-fueled Mercedes had caught on fire).

The latest entries on her blog chronicle her newfound car-less-ness in Los Angeles. Reading them helped me push back my weakness and I find myself with renewed resolve to become completely car-free. Thank you, Kristina Wong, you've made me strong.

Her current show, Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, discusses the alarming rate of mental illness among Asian American women and will be showing from September 19-October 5 at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in association with TeAda Productions . Read more about her show and purchase tickets here.

Do as Wong does and take the bus to her show! From Downtown, the Santa Monica 10 and the Metro 4 both go to within a mile of the theater. The 4 runs all night!

Miles Memorial Playhouse
1130 Lincoln Blvd.
Santa Monica
90403