The Frugal Bostonian

For at least the past ten years, there have been Free Friday Flicks at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade.  The movies are family oriented and start at sundown (usually around 8:15-8:30).  Prior to the movie starting an announcer gives stuff away in trivia contests (he’s really loud and I did not enjoy it, but some people seemed to be having fun).

I went last week and saw “Evan Almighty.”  This Friday, August 1st, the movie is Happy Feet.   Here’s some tips on truly enjoying the experience. 

Bring something to eat - people had some really nice food with them.  I saw gourmet pizzas, fancy pasta dishes, and overflowing buffets.   There’s a snack bar near the back of the Hatch Shell that’s got some good treats, but its expensive and not as nice as what you can get on your own.  Note: alcohol is not allowed, so don’t bring any in.  

Bring something to sit on.  Some people had just blankets and seemed perfectly comfortable, but I was happily perched in one of those folding chairs that stores in a tube.  You can get them at CVS or Target for around $10 if you don’t already have one. 

Bring bug spray.   The bugs start after the sun goes down.

The best way to get there is to take public transportation.  Charles Street is the closest Red Line station, take the Arlington stop if you are on the Green Line.   Part of Storrow Drive closes for parking around 7:30 p.m. when there are events at the Hatch Shell, but I have never ventured to try to park there (it is free, though). 

If you can’t make it to Happy Feet, there will be free movies through August 29th.

restaurant.com - “eat. drink. save money.” - is having a clearance sale! 

153 restaurants within 15 miles of Boston belong to restaurant.com.  I’ve used these gift certificates a few times.  Go to the website, pick the restaurant you want to eat at, order the certificate, print it, then hand it in with the check.  When in doubt, alert the server before ordering your food.  Regular prices for these certificates are usually $3 for a $10 certificate, $10 for a $25 certificate.  With the clearance sale, they will take 70% off.  Thus, a $10 certificate will be only $2.10, and a $25 certificate will cost only $3.00.   Most of the certificates have restrictions, make sure they work for you.  When you order the certificate, you can pay with your paypal account. 

Getting $25 off the check (for a $3 investment) makes finer dining more affordable.  If splitting the check with friends, I recommend that whoever submits the certificate deduct what they actually paid for it, rather than the face value (it’s probably not really fair when dining with friends to claim a gift certificate as $25 when you only paid $3).  The last time I used a restaurant.com certificate was at Brasserie Jo (sadly, none now available) and got an excellent dinner for two for less than $20.   I just put the certificate in with the bill and it was deducted.   The certificates I’ve ordered are good for one year, so I keep a few in my wallet in case dining opportunities arise.

Offer ends July 31, 2008.  [This is a national promotion, so check out the site if you are someplace other than Boston]

http://www.restaurant.com/index.asp?pgn=home

 Enter Discount Code: CRAVE At Checkout and Hit “APPLY”

A few months ago I participated in a memory study at MIT and made $48 for about 2 hours of my time.  I just checked the “etc.” section of craigslist.org (in the jobs section, at the bottom of the list), they are still looking for participants (information is appended below).

I completed a brief screening by email, then scheduled a time to do the study.  I went to a lab on the MIT campus in Cambridge.  I was greeted by a pleasant student in a conference-type room that contained a real car (a newish volkswagen bug).  We filled out a few forms, a few electrodes were hooked up to me, and I hopped into the car to go on a “drive.”  A road was displayed on a screen in front of the car, and car responded to the projected images.  Somewhat cool, but the graphics were not very good. 

I “drove” the car for about 90 minutes.  Every 20 minutes or so, a voice would annouce numbers, which I had to repeat.  The base pay for the experiment is $40.  You get paid more if you do well remembering and repeating the numbers, but there are deductions for “crashing” the car, going too slow, or getting a ticket.   After my “drive”, I completed an exit questionnaire and was handed my payment (I got all the extra points for the memory test, but crashed twice, and went a little slow).

It started to get really boring, but they were paying me for this.  Enjoy!

We need your help. Join us at the MIT AgeLab and contribute to cutting edge research on how technological breakthroughs can improve the quality of life for older people and those who care for them.

We are currently looking for drivers between the ages of 20-29, 40-49 and 60-69 who are willing to contribute to our growing body of research. If you have a valid driving license and have been driving for at least three years, you may be eligible to participate in our study. You will be compensated for your time and travel.

Register online at http://web.mit.edu/agelab/volunteer.shtml or call us at (617) 324-9054.

This was a freebie (dental cleaning) and an income opportunity.

I recently perused the volunteers section of craigslist.org (in the upper left) and discovered that the Forsyth Institute (located near the Museum of Fine Arts) was looking for volunteers to participate in a gum study.  I went to the Forsyth for a screening (15 minutes), then was called back to participate in the study.  I spent about 90 minutes in the dental chair while the backs of my teeth were scraped.  Painless and somewhat interesting, as the technician explained the purpose of the research.   Although the building is old, the place I was sitting was like any other dental office.

They thoroughly cleaned my teeth and gave me $50 (the check arrived in the mail about two weeks later.) 

I just checked craigslist, they are still looking for volunteers for studies. 

From craiglist

“To learn more, please call us at The Forsyth Institute at 617/892-8365 or send an e-mail to clinicaltrialsinfo@forsyth.org.

The Forsyth Institute
A Leading Research Organization
Dedicated to Oral and Biomedical Sciences

Located at 140 The Fenway, adjacent to the Museum of Fine Arts and Northeastern University. You can reach us by the MBTA Green and Orange lines. Parking can be arranged in our lot next to our building off Hemenway Street. “

Last week I went to the Appollinaire Theatre Company’s outdoor production of The Real Inspector Hound at Mary O’Malley Park in Chelsea.  It’s a Tom Stoppard play, slightly corny but suitable for almost all ages (small kids might be bored, but several sat attentively through the performance I saw.)

It’s presented in English on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and in Spanish on Fridays and Sundays.   I saw it in English,  I hope to see it again in Spanish. 

Bring a chair, bug spray, and a blanket in case the night gets chilly.  The performance is totally free, but they welcome donations and will pass a hat at the end of the show.  Parking is free but limited (if you are willing to walk through the park, you should be able to find parking).  Through July 26th.

http://www.apollinairetheatre.com/

I haven’t been to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in ages, but after the recent hoopla over the reopening of the doorways on the Fenway side, I wanted to take a peek around. 

It’s totally free on Wednesday evenings from 4:45 - 9:45 p.m.  (The museum does welcome donations).  I went through the new Fenway entrance (its very nice) and went up to the check in desk.  They printed a ticket for me to take inside (this seemed irrelevant given that admission was free).  I had a nice walk around.  It was not crowded, and I got to visit with my favorite exhibit: the Egyptian mummies.  The museum seemed subtly different from the last time I visited.  Maybe it was new lighting due to the renovations, or maybe they just spruced the place up a bit, but it’s definitely worth a visit.  Ongoing.

I collect Pepsi points - the caps on bottles of Pepsi product and the flaps from 12 packs of cans.  Each bottle cap is worth one point, each box flap earns two points.  Sometimes the supermarket prints out a receipt with codes for extra points.  

To participate, I opened an account at pepsistuff.com.  It’s very easy  - just some simple biographical information - and the pepsistuff account tracks to my amazon account.  The only aggravating part is reading the codes from the caps and entering them online.  Pepsistuff lets you enter as many points as you want a day.

Sadly, by the time I had amassed enough points to start looking at redemption, the selection of DVD’s was very slim.  But, I found these great headphones from Sennheiser for 125 points.  Shipping was free, these did not cost me anything.

There arrived two days after I placed the order.  I really like them for plugging into my computer at work.  They cancel alot of background noise and plug into the audio port, so I can listed to music at my desk.  They also have an adapter that is supposed to make them compatible with airline audio systems.  Amazon is selling them for $24.99.   This freebie is a great replacement for ipod earbuds.

I did not drink this much Pepsi on my own; friends who think I am eccentric have been saving their caps to give to me.  I’ve also gotten caps by digging through the recycling bins at work, and picking caps up off the street.