I'm only one person

In the fabulous TV series Hawkeye, Florence Pugh’s character Yelena had a funny interaction with Hailee Steinfeld’s character Kate. In Kate’s apartment, Yelena cooked some mac and cheese for the both of them. She went to look for spoons for the both of them but only found one. Yelena then asked Kate why she’s only got one singular spoon, to which the response was, “I’m only one person!”

I felt that innately! I’ve been renting by myself for over a year now, and I too only have one spoon. I don’t even have a fork, preferring to use chopsticks. Due to the coronavirus, I hardly entertain guests. There isn’t even another chair in my studio apartment. Any visitors would have to sit on the floor (a very clean floor, mind you). It’s just as well because it’s rather tiny for more than one person. Besides, most of my friends know my landlord/friend/housemate as well, so when they come visit, we just hang out upstairs.

It is interesting some of the quirks of living alone in your own space. Like having only one set of utensils. I also drink straight out of liter bottles of drinks, because honestly who else is drinking it but me? I pay top dollar for the expensive toilet paper and the most organic of eggs. Unlike a family of four, it takes me a long time to go through one giant Costco package of Charmin Ultra Softs. The extra few dollars over the Kirkland brand is insignificant.

As I always say to my friends, “Come on, guys, we make money now!”

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I’m definitely going to lose lots of money to this place.

Buy in bulk

One of the conundrums of living alone is: do you buy toilet paper and paper towels in bulk? A 32-pack of toilet rolls from Costco will last me well over a year. It’s not about saving money really, but rather it’s allocating the space to store the extras. Thankfully, I have plenty of unused cabinet space in the kitchen. If I were scarcer on storage space, I think I would buy a smaller batch from Target instead.

I mean, why move within walking distance to a Target if I don’t take advantage of it to the maximum?

I actually go through paper towels at quite a good pace, so the industrial-size pack from Costco is actually worth the initial storage hassles. My Asian mother would surely disapprove of how rapidly I go through a roll. I can remember her treating paper towels as if it were paper gold: only under the worse circumstances should I take a piece to use. Nowadays, I’d rip off a fresh sheet just to mop up some water on the bathroom sink. The Brawny branded towels do absorb very nicely.

The environmentalist part of me is just screaming in anger, but us first-world humans don’t care about that stuff when it comes to providing convenience and comfort for ourselves. Incentives have to come from above. The whole reason we’re getting the electric revolution in cars is not because of Elon Musk, or any altruistic feelings in the customer. It’s the super stringent European emissions regulations that are forcing automakers to ditch internal combustion.

I think if you have the storage space, you should still buy everyday essentials in bulk. Even if would take forever to go through a pack. Like the 24 dish scrubbing pads that would last me for many years to come. Something enticing about a low per-unit cost, even though we make good money now. Or perhaps I’m simply a hoarder at heart.

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Is it though?

On my own

It’s been a little over two months since I’ve moved out on my own, and I have to say it’s going quite well. This “new” place finally feels lived in, and completely my own. For awhile it felt like I was off on some long vacation, and living in an AirBnb. That feeling was especially acute when I wake up in the morning. Having stared up at the same ceiling for nearly two decades, the transition to a new one takes some getting used to. These days it’s become rather familiar.

It’s nice to be able to set my own schedule, to eat whenever I want. Back with my parents, dinners is always at 6:00 PM, so I sort of had to schedule my day around that. On my own, I basically eat whenever I feel like eating. Of course, I’m also responsible for buying all the groceries: the milk no longer magically replenishes itself when it runs low. Thank god I’m not a glutton for variety in food. Being content with eating the same thing everyday means I can buy something in bulk from Costco and eat that for a whole week.

Of course, living within walking distance to a mall with a proper food court means should I fancy not cooking, I can always get some take-out easily. Being so close to everything is one of the main attractions of moving to this place. I don’t think I can go back to having a commute to work, now that I can simply walk to it everyday. To be able to take care of most of my life needs all from within walking distance (even my dentist is only a few blocks away) is the stuff of dreams. A lifestyle I thought only possible in super dense Asian cities.

A few years back when I was traveling in Korea, I remarked at how small and efficient our AirBnb is. No bigger than about 250 square-feet, it was fully featured nonetheless: full kitchen, full bath, and a place for a bed. I thought wouldn’t it be great to have something like this in San Francisco, for a reasonable amount of rent. Turns out, in renting my current space, I found it! A studio with just enough space for everything. The small footprint makes it incredibly easy to clean. Whoever invented the Swiffer: I salute you.

I can’t wait for a time when I can actually go outside of the house for fun. I’m rooting for you, coronavirus vaccine!

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Nature finds a way.

Costco rethink

Who doesn’t like going to Costco? I sure do. There’s no place else that can get you as best a bang for your buck, no matter what it is that you buy.

Groceries is what my family most often buys from Costco, and now that I’m living by myself away from my parents, I’ve continued on that tradition. However, there’s a problem: buying in bulk is great in terms of price per single unit, but now, that giant bag of potstickers will need to be eaten entirely by me. There’s no other persons in the household to share in that burden of depleting a multi-pound tray of fish, so while it remains tempting to buy, these days the purchasing decisions involve careful planning on how to eat it all.

It turns out, that stops all the fun. Instead of buying multiple items, I’m stuck to buying just one package of breakfast sandwiches, because it will take me some time to get through all 10 of them. Never mind the fact the fridge I’ve got in the studio unit is not that large.

It won’t stop me from going to Costco probably every other week, but now I have to be more strategic with what I buy. If variety is what I want, then it’s the smaller chains like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods where I’ll need to shop at for groceries.

Luckily, there’s a Trader Joe’s within minutes walking distance from where I live, and sometime in the near future, there will be a Whole Foods as well. Be that as it may, I don't think I can give up going to Costco. It remains the most economical place to shop: a box of Keurig cups is half as expensive on a per-cost basis compared to Target.

Good thing those cups don’t need to go into the fridge, because mine is absolutely full.

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One can never escape from a Costco run with less than $100 spent.