✷ greetings ✷

happy april! there are FLOWERS out there. i hope you’re seeing signs of spring where you are. i’m just gonna jump right in!

✷ smallpresspalooza ✷

it's been officially announced so i can talk about it now! i'll be reading at powell's! frickin! books! in portland for their smallpresspalooza event. if you're around portland, i'd love to see you there! i'll be reading from wanderer issue 8, and if you're lucky, i might also read a new piece about shitting my pants.

image description: a flyer for smallpresspalooza, sunday april 16th from 4-8pm at powell's city of books in portland, oregon.

i'm trying to compartmentalize the terror i feel at the thought of public speaking, not to mention the imposter syndrome inherent in reading at an event for small press folks where i'm likely the only person who has Not Actually Been Published by a small press! just goes to show you, if you try hard and believe in yourself (or just make zines for a really long time), you, too may be presented with very sick opportunities! it's surreal and i'm really grateful.

✷ zine news ✷

okay, i actually ended up getting A LOT of submissions for the family recipes zine! i forgot that you have to enforce a deadline because everyone always submits right up against it. rest assured, i'm working on the layout now, but it's gonna be a while with the bonkers april i have planned.

i've been periodically writing bits and pieces for wanderer issue 9. it's very early days but exciting nonetheless!

✷ oly punk rock flea market report back ✷

image description: two badass they/thems standing behind alyssa's table at the oly punk rock flea market.

we did it! as always, it wouldn't have been possible without my amazing friend and co-organizer, naomi. sarah, kyle and nicole were also a huge help getting everything set up! this was our first time using lamplighters on 4th. we had pretty decent traffic all day. i heard some good feedback, saw some friendly faces and made a lil bit of money. i got some leads on how to pursue top surgery with my specific insurance (love how that happens when ya get a buncha trans folks all in one place), and i got to eat dumplings for lunch. we also got a free concert towards the end, because i guess the back room practice space got double-booked with our event (impressive tbh, that they managed to practice around all the Stuff we stashed back there from the front of the space). my favorite part was that ren brought a bunny named bug, and that lil rabbit provided emotional support for at least 3 tablers throughout the event (myself included). if you wanna be the first to know when we're planning another flea market, hit up the mailing list!

✷ a song ✷

i released a song in march, that i've been holding onto since july 2021. i actually like it a lot, which is more than i can say for most of my musical output. i've been going to a lot of gigs lately and i've been feeling the itch to play. here's to hoping i write another song i like eventually.

✷ open no mic ✷

i'm planning an open no mic for the first time since before the pandemic. it'll be either may 20th or 27th, 6-9pm. if you're in oly and have any interest in attending, feel free to reply and i will keep ya posted. i'm planning on doing it small, outdoor party style (as in, it's not technically Open To The Public, but not totally private either).

✷ the bad stuff ✷

my grandmother passed away in march. i've been feeling some kind of way about it. i got to talk to her briefly the week before. my mom called me to tell me the particulars about the funeral and it was like, all business. it's weird because i don't know if they'll really do anything to process the grief? and i'm quite literally thousands of miles away. i've done some processing in my own way through writing, because she was my last living grandparent and definitely the one i was closest to. but it was really illuminating to see my parents basically respond with, "why have feelings when you can be busy?" a classic trap i often fall into. wonder where i get that from.

i've also just been feeling bad? my body hurts most of the time. i feel so exhausted by doing anything besides being in my house and doing my silly little routines. it's a victory that i've made it out to so many shows recently. it feels like everything i do takes so much more energy/recovery time than ever before. which is bad news, since basically every weekend in april is booked for me. may will need to be chiller!

✷ fucking hooray ✷

✷ i fell asleep and woke up at reasonable hours without taking melatonin for most of the month of march, hopefully signaling an end to (or at least a break from!) the Insomnia Hell i've been experiencing since the start of the pandemic.
✷ i've seen a ton of gigs lately! and talked about music no one else cares about with a handful of folks who Get It! one of the gigs was hello shark, a band i've wanted to see for ages. i also went to real art tacoma for the first time (all! ages! venues!)
✷ i graduated physical therapy, which means i still hurt (because 30s! and hypermobility!) but slightly less than before.
✷ kyle and i are gonna go to the tulip festival later this month (as is tradition), and we'll get to visit anacortes, which i'm looking forward to.
✷ it's super early in the process, but i finally hired someone to clear out the invasive blackberry thicket in the unused alley easement behind our house and i have plans to turn it into a lil food forest (gotta stay on blackberry duty for another year tho before planting probably). we also dumped hella dirt on our front lawn, and are planting some bulbs, natives & edible dudes. kill your lawn :)
✷ alder arts walk in tacoma is happening at the end of april and promises to be a spectacle, thanks to the hard work of hugh & friends!
✷ heather finally released some songs off the new ther album! 

thank you for reading <3 this one feels kinda sad and rushed but oh well. i went back over it and added more exclamation points. til next time, take care!

love,
alyssa

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