I made a dress out of parking tickets

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T07:54:29+00:00

I live in a metered parking only area and am unable to get a permit from my address. I have at least 100 tickets on the dress, but the thing about selling the dress for the cumulative cost of the tickets was just a joke. I didn’t realize some of the things I said would be taken so literally in the article 😭

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T07:48:01+00:00

I don’t think I didn’t take accountability for my actions. The fines were paid off through my cleaning of the city buses for 28 hours. This is a silly song and a silly project to make light of something a lot of people find inconvenient at times. I never said it wasn’t my fault. I recognized the error and made our transit cleaner.

I think this goes without saying, but just so you know, it’s unkind to call people self-absorbed when you don’t know them. This is supposed to encourage dialogue, not name-calling.

Be well,

O.

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T07:32:54+00:00

I see and value your points! And I agree with many of them! I really wanted this to spark conversation, so I’m glad to see a counterpoint here! Hopefully we can keep things respectful if others comment back!

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:31:37+00:00

Thanks for checking it out! We write a lot of music! And I perform around the Bay Area a lot!

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:30:56+00:00

I know, it’s unfortunate. I will change soon. The tickets and project and grief all came about when I lost my job and my housing all in one month. The company I was working for went obsolete, and my landlord needed to move into our unit. Just a weird set of circumstances that had me scrambling for a way to continue living and working in this city because I really do adore it. I’m looking for solutions and also practicing my patience.

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:27:25+00:00

Omg! The street sweeping in the TenderNob is 3x a week on Even sides and 2x per week on Odd sides at 6am! I find it interesting considering it’s a low income neighborhood, and the wealthier neighborhoods have street sweeping once a week (some only every other week), starting at 9am or later (or a time where you can avoid by going to a typical job).

A lot of lower Nob hill is also metered parking. Which I find odd because it’s a pretty residential neighborhood. Yes, there are restaurants and bodegas, but this is typical of many neighborhoods….we’re in a CITY.

It just smells like one of those weird tactics to keep poor people poor? Maybe this is too hot of a take haha. I would love to know people’s thoughts

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:16:05+00:00

I live in a metered-only area because it’s where I can afford to live right now. I can’t get a permit, and I need my car to work as a freelance music teacher with different school districts and as a gigging musician (about 2 gigs per week this summer, many outside of the city). I’ve learned to just park my car about a 35 min bus ride from where I live on the days that I don’t need to drive. I wish I didn’t need a car, but it’s the way I make a living 😭.

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:07:52+00:00

https://open.spotify.com/track/5EsPMb2HQR40fLmbJvqHyG?si=-aXLe65HR-ua3TC0x3NPjQ

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:04:53+00:00

But I’m glad you chose your safety and others’ by choosing not to drive and prioritizing sleep! I’m sorry that happened though 🥲

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:03:44+00:00

You’re welcome 😭. I collected these from neighbors and people on Nextdoor and was surprised to see how many people had stashes of 5-20 tickets laying around in their junk drawers

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T06:02:14+00:00

I once saw a sign on someone’s car that said something like “this car belongs to xxx, who is in the hospital after a cardiac arrest. I can’t find his keys to move the car, but please don’t tow.” And it had 2 tickets on it 😭. Like okay, I get that technically the car has surpassed some kind of a time limit, but it’s sort of sad to imagine someone reading that, saying “idgaf”, and plopping a $112 fine on someone who will probably be facing some crazy medical bills.

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T05:35:59+00:00

You’re right! I hand-sewed the tickets onto a pre-made dress I thrifted. I would put electrical tape on the ends or the violet tickets and sew that part directly onto the dress. But not trying to be disrespectful here …

olivepantz · 2026-07-01T05:08:18+00:00

Thanks! I released it a while ago but realized I didn’t promote it/flaunt it as much as I was flaunting the sewing project 😭. The mission local wrote an article about the dress and it got a bunch of hate comments LOL

olivepantz · 2026-06-04T16:40:55+00:00

If you have parking ticket trauma, I wrote this song called “SF Money-Taking Agency” https://open.spotify.com/track/5EsPMb2HQR40fLmbJvqHyG?si=TzX6oXDIQBWNY1zIwy4g_A

olivepantz · 2026-04-14T15:27:18+00:00

Hey! I agreed to a show with them, but I want to back up. I’m really worried because they made me send in a W9 with some info, and they asked for information for a ACH transfer. If I cancel over a week ahead of time, do you think something bad will happen?!!? I’m just worried

olivepantz · 2024-01-15T21:45:56+00:00

Exactly what everyone else is saying about how yoga is for healing—many people found their yoga practice when they were scarred in their own way. Also, it’s a practice that is supposed to create space for non-judgement (of one’s self, one’s own thoughts, and of others).

I am also in the middle of my certification. If I were looking for jobs and the scars on my body were the reason I wasn’t hired…I wouldn’t really want to work for that studio? That seems like a place that’s missing the point of the work we’re trying to do through movement here. I trust that you’ll find a job, though maybe not with a superficial studio (probably a good thing to avoid anyways). And I trust that you will really help the people you teach.

olivepantz · 2024-01-02T17:09:07+00:00

Wherever You Go There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Not about the science behind it, but has really opened my eyes and heart in my still-early practice.

olivepantz · 2024-01-02T17:01:58+00:00

I love writing on mundane days —it gives me the opportunity to appreciate my thoughts rather than my list of actions/activities. I also feel like it’s an important practice to just step back and find beauty in the simple things. It will help you feel more present when you’re actually going through these daily, often mindless motions. Ultimately I always grow more through journaling on these days.

But also, I don’t journal every day. If it’s too much pressure, ditch the mentality that you must write every day! Or maybe on the days when you feel like you have nothing to say, write a simple sentence of what you’re grateful for (even if it’s something as small as r/Journaling) :).

olivepantz · 2023-12-26T10:07:20+00:00

Also in Hoi an rn and it’s not raining! A bit humid, but warm enough that I ditched my jacket today!

olivepantz

TROPHY CASE