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BA of the Week – Academic Editor Kate Garklavs

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Every week we feature a different person from the community shedding a little light on their life of brokeitude. Who knows, maybe you’ll learn something about the human spirit — probably not.

Wanna be a Broke-Ass of the Week? Holler at us here and we’ll send you the questionnaire.

 Kate is an Academic Editor and a culinary tour guide.  I’m not exactly sure what either of those things are, but they do sound exciting!  Especially the culinary part.  When I asked Kate what she’d like me to include in the intro she said this:

I spend most of my time editing, writing (garkyeats.com), and trying to find the cure for the common hangnail. Lately, I’ve been having a Fair Isle moment. I make a mean pot of soup.

Kate – will you please make me some of this soup?

Name: Kate Garklavs

Age: 27

Occupation: By week: academic editor. By weekend: culinary tour guide.

What neighborhood do you live in?: The Mission

Best money saving tip: Find ways to repurpose leftovers and the odds and ends kicking around your pantry. I’ve created some strange meals this way, but I’ve also made a few winners. Take your shoes and purses in for repairs rather than tossing them; I recently salvaged a leather purse for $10(!) Finally, three words: Dear Sirs letters. If you’re dissatisfied with a product or service, write to corporate. Worst case, you get to unload. Best case, you get a voucher for a replacement.

What do you refuse to spend money on?: Shaving cream. It’s a ripoff, especially those creams marketed to ladies. Why would I want my legs to smell like mangoes? I use soap or conditioner, and my legs are relatively gash-free.

Most expensive thing you’ve ever bought: Probably my car, which I sold when I moved here.

How’d that feel?: The buying? Three years of pain. The selling? Awesome.

Favorite cheap eat: Carnitas tacos at La Taqueria, bacon dogs, or the pulled-pork sandwich at Roadside BBQ. I like pork. A lot.

Favorite dive bar: I have a soft spot for Murio’s, the first bar I visited when I moved here. Subsequent visits were no less sublime — any place with Sunday-night PBR specials is alright by me.

Best deal you’ve ever gotten: In college, I got a thrifted Burberry sweater for $4. It was a men’s sweater and didn’t fit too well, but I wore that sucka with pride.

Favorite free thing to do: Take meandering walks, cook with friends, and go to readings.

If you woke up a millionaire, what’s the first thing you’d buy?: Depending on how many millions we’re talking about, a house. Maybe I’d pay off my student loans, too (at least the interest).

Despite not having money, do you still love your life?: One thousand times yes! I don’t view broke-assedness as a drawback, but as a means of helping me reframe things. Most of my favorite things are totally gratis.

Do you own my book?: It’s in the mail.

Best hangover cure: Before going to bed, drink a ton of water and take vitamin C and fish-oil (or flax-oil) capsules. When you wake up, more water, Alka-Seltzer, and bacon.

Are you a hipster?: Without stated parameters, I can offer no response.

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Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and his freelance writing has been featured in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, The Bold Italic, Geek.com and too many other outlets to remember. His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appears every other Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner. Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages. In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.

He's been called "an Underground legend": SF Chronicle, "an SF cult hero":SF Bay Guardian, and "the chief of cheap": Time Out New York.