Life-hacks for surviving LA

When you live in a big city and you act, you drive. A LOT.

Since June 1st of 2013 I have driven almost 6,000 miles. The longest distance of any of those car rides was 125 miles. I can’t even process the obscene amount of hours of driving that has been, when I consider the amount of those miles that were in bumper-to-bumper traffic. As I sat in traffic tonight I made this list of things that have been an absolute lifesaver to me this summer:

1) The smartphone app “Waze”. I still use my Apple maps app on my iphone, but Waze helps me figure out what traffic is like and what alternate routes I can take as traffic backs up. If there is an accident it will automatically reroute me and update me that my estimated arrival time has changed.

Waze: outsmarting traffic, together.

2) My keychain flashdrive. When I’m out-of-town for the night and get a last-minute early audition and only have one resume left and my computer is home in LA (and trust me, this scenario happens way more than I like), I run into Staples or Office Depot, whip out my car keys, and print up a bunch or resumes (because at least I usually remember to put a copy of my current resume on the flashdrive) and BAM I look like I was responsible and planned for that audition.

She needs a name. Suggestions?

3) Instant drinks. Because I’m poor. And when I’m about to go insane from traffic I pull over and buy a cold water at the store and mix in a Starbucks Via iced coffee or Via fruit refresher. Or at least that was this summer’s flavor. The packs of flavored water powder are good too. Anything to keep my energy and blood sugar levels up and the junk food levels down. When the weather cools down I sometimes grab a box of Trader Joe’s instant coffee with milk and sugar. It’s great for running out the door early in the morning if I don’t have time to brew coffee or grab some on my way.

Iced coffee- I’m obsessed.

4) A car charger for my phone. I can go a few days without using my home charger. But the one time I left my car charger at the theater before 3 days off, the world almost ended. My phone kept dying, and with it went my contacts, my map, my calendar.

See, I don’t even know what to do with this.

5) Good music. Do yourself a favor and create some awesome Pandora stations. Or go rent some new Broadway recordings from the library. Because with this amount of driving, Top 40 Hits with Ryan Seacrest on KYYS FM will only get you so far before you go crazy.

In The Heights, my current go-to station.