Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless

04 Apr 2012

An Ode to Guys with Potbellies

Straight ladies and gay gents:  think about what makes a man attractive to you.  Is he passionate about life?  Does he respect you?  Does he make you laugh, and make you think about deep, philosophical shit?  If you got knocked up and had a baby, would you not mind that

Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless 0
28 Mar 2012

How Not to Become a Gay Icon

Shortly after graduating college, I found myself in an “identity crisis.”  I realized that I had spent the last four years of my life writing analytical essays about “thingness” or whatever other words I could add -ness to the end of, and over-using the word “utterly” to make myself sound

Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless 0
21 Mar 2012

Broke-Ass Fun: Dog-Watching (It’s Like Bird Watching, But Way Less Lame)

Living in a big city can be a major bummer.  There’s the lack of nature, the competition, the depressing drain on your finances.  It totally sucks.  But instead of getting wrapped up in your status anxiety and your rapidly depleting bank account, why don’t you embrace the most innocent, spirit-lifting

Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless 0
07 Mar 2012

Notes on a Nerd’s First Hardcore Show

Last weekend, I went to my first-ever hardcore show.  I was a serious geekazoid as a teenager, so I was too busy trying to get the high score on the next AP Bio test to buy black socks, become straightedge, and be in the throes of a steamy hardcore love

Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless 0
01 Mar 2012

Broke-Ass Style Inspiration: The Baby-Sitters Club

My babysitting days were the richest days of my life. Okay, so maybe I only babysat the 4-year-old down the street every once in awhile– whenever his mother decided that she wanted to change out of her San Diego Chargers Ryan Leaf jersey into her San Francisco 49ers Jerry Rice

Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless 0
22 Feb 2012

Smells on the Chinatown Bus

It’s kind of insane that after 25 years as a broke-ass, I had never taken the Chinatown bus until last weekend.  Don’t get me wrong, I adore budget travel– I’ve been cramped on overnight buses in Portugal, watched a boy floss his teeth with twine as he sat across from

Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless 0
15 Feb 2012

My Best (Worst) Get-Rich-Quick Ideas

You see, I’m what they call a “creative genius.”  I have a brain so out-of-control, half the time I can’t even make sense of the shit I come up with.  All I know is that I am constantly sprouting figurative light bulbs out the top of my dome, having what

Carrie Laven - Pretty Penniless 0