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From‘Shoe-ista’ to ‘Shoupista’ – En By Astrid Ambroziak


It was a cloudy Mother’s Day Sunday in Los Angeles. I decided to celebrate my mom by finally listening to her


advice…and cleanmy closets. Ever since I was a little girl, my mom would always repri-


mand me for being messy and cluttered. She would admonish me: “Less is more.”…“Honey, you don’t have enough room for all these clothes and all these shoes.” This year, as every year, I was a dutiful daughter, send-


ing my mother some flowers and a card. But to truly honor her, I decided to “de-clutter” my apartment and, finally, hear her wisdom. For as long as I can remember, I have been a “shoe-ista.” I


love shoes. If I am in a funk or down or even of a broken heart, putting on a sexy pair of stilettos always lifts my spirits. I might run out of tissue to drymy eyes, but Iwill never run out of a new pair of shoes. It’s a Cinderella factor: Those new high heels on my feet


make the world all right once again. There’s only one problem with keeping up with my Cinderella scenario:Where do I store hundreds and hundreds of these shoes? My spring-cleaning, and finding enough room for my


beloved shoes, made me think about the words of my friend as we canceled a date for breakfastMother’s Daymorning: Parking will be challenging. So while trying to find enough space for all myManolos, I started wondering if we ever think about parking andwherewe can temporarily “store” our cars. How does parking affect us on daily basis? Do we even con-


sider parkingwhenwemake our trip plans, our shopping excur- sions, or when we purchase our cars?We consider the price of fuel, car insurance. Do we take into the equation the challenge and the cost of parking? Or dowe take parking for granted? If you live in NYC, chances are you gave up on car owner-


ship. After all, parking in NYC is a challenge to say the least. To own a parking space in some garages, it often costs as much as a house in the Midwest. If you live in Queens or Brooklyn and decide to have a car and park it on streets nearby, you are sen- tenced to a game ofmusical chairs. On street-cleaning days, you probably spend an hour or two


sitting in your car waiting for that street cleaner to go by and for you to secure your spot for another week. Perhaps you use your car once a month, perhaps you don’t. Do you use it only on a street-cleaning day? If you move it at any other time, you might not be able to find that parking spot again. Why do you even own a car?


You won’t find me driving to a big grocery store on Sunday


The space of two cars parked behind each other at the curb could contain a small studio apartment.


Wouldn’t it make more sense for you to rent a car on that rare occasionwhen you need to drive it? I’m fortunate to live in an area of Los Angeles where I can


walk pretty much everywhere. My flip-flops, my Manolos and my running shoes havemanymiles stamped on their soles. My six-year old car has less than 12,000 miles. I’m not a fan


of driving. Also, I’m not a fan of parking. I don’t like being stuck in traffic, and I don’t like hunting for a parking space. If I have to drive and park, if valet is available, I valet.


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afternoon. I domy grocery shopping in the early hours of aweek- day,while the parking lot of Ralphs is empty. If I travel by plane, unlessmy trip is a short one, I will never park at the airport parking lot. I will take a shuttle or a taxi.After all, I am a shoe-ista, and I prefer to spend my hard-earned money onmy stilettos. The same goes for going to a


concert. I get stoked when I get some amazing tickets to the Greek Theatre or to the Holly- wood Bowl. I don’t mind spend- ing $200 or more for two great


seats, but I don’t like paying $30 for parking. I will often find out where there is lower-cost parking, or even free parking, and either walk or take a taxi. Often, parking in another location is $5 and a taxi ride an additional $10 at themost.Much cheaper, albeit less convenient. Convenience is pricy. OnMother’sDay, looking for enough roomto storemy shoes


made me realize that whenever we purchase something for the house, we contemplate if we have space for it. The other day I sawa great painting. I loved it andwanted to buy it immediately.


Parking Today www.parkingtoday.com


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