✷greetings ✷

hey y'all, i hope you're getting little glimpses of spring where you are. i had the pleasure of watching a shitload of crocuses bloom in my yard this year! many thanks to my nesting partner who purchased something like 100 crocus and daffodil bulbs last year. the crocuses are mostly spent, and it's daffodil time now. i'll take it.

i've been feeling weirdly bummed this month, even though spring is my favorite season. i think the one year anniversary of quarantine hit me harder than i thought it would. my world feels very small. it certainly doesn't help that the news is a minefield of despair. please donate to the atlanta shooting victims families and/or red canary song if you have some extra funds.

✷ take a frickin' break ✷

i've had a surge of client work recently and i've been teetering on the brink of burnout for most of march. if you're like me, and you've internalized capitalism, you would probably benefit from taking a little break. from what? i dunno, could be a break from some self-imposed expectations, from overworking, from scrutinizing yourself, from scrolling into the nightmare abyss of social media. "but joy is scarce and if i look up from my phone, i'll remember existence is a meat grinder i'm being slowly fed into," you say? i know, friend, i feel you.

the fun thing about being in therapy for years is that i'm usually acutely aware when i'm coping in a way that's gonna hurt me down the line. lately i've been overworking. i call it "overworking" because i recognize that i'm doing work inside of my designated leisure times, because i'm not sure how to occupy myself otherwise. it seems innocuous at first, like "oh i have work that can be done, cool. i'll knock that out quick." until it compounds on top of itself for a few weeks and suddenly i'm inexplicably crying over my email inbox. i dunno how many other workaholics read this newsletter, but i hereby give you permission to let yourself off the hook for a little bit. i finally took a walk after spending basically a week indoors, talked to a friend on the phone and took a solid day off to just roam my house and tinker with whatever. i also listened to cheekface. i've said it before and i'll surely say it again, this band is brilliant and fun. if you need a description of their sound, they perfectly embody that comic of the dog drinking coffee saying "this is fine" while the room is on fire.

✷ zine news // patreon news ✷

physical zine subscription patrons! now is the time to make sure the address associated with your account is up to date. i'm making a fancy, limited 1st edition of my newest zine, best show ever: a celebration of live diy music and i wanna make sure it arrives in your hands safely and without issue!

this special little batch of zines is exclusively available to $10 & up patrons. i'm running this limited offer from march 29th to april 5th in hopes of attracting some new folks. after april 5th, i'll print the zines, hand number them, and send 'em off to y'all. best show ever edition 1 is submission-based, 32 pages, hand-numbered, hand-bound, and the limited cover will be shimmery gold (and it comes with extra goodies). once they're in the mail, the copies i print for etsy and future patrons will have a different cover situation (and wont be numbered, and will maybe be stapled). this offer is valid if you sign up to be a craft or diy or do diy patron, so long as it's at the $10 tier. i'm literally $1.19 away from my 1st goal on craft or diy, so if even one person signs up, everyone gets extra goodies. if you want the 1st edition and can't afford the monthly fee, you can also sign up and downgrade or cancel your pledge the following month.

woof, thank you for tolerating that marketing pitch! i was exhausted by writing it lol.

in other zine news, i got a call from my mom, responding to the copy of how to support your non-binary family member and coming-out letter i sent. it was a very brief call, but she was basically like, "it's fine that you're nonbinary, i just have a whole new language to learn now." could've been worse! hopefully there wont be much strife when we eventually have a lengthier talk.

✷ music ✷

short songs about longing turns 2 on april 1st (the songs on it are technically 3 btw). that's it, that's the whole update lol. i still have a few tapes on hand. i recently went back and listened to it and was like, "huh, why did i hate this so much? it's pretty okay."

✷ do diy dot org ✷

this might only be exciting to myself and a few other nerds out there, but i've been working on a small revamp for the do diy website. i haven't coded in a long time but i brushed up my css skills with the help of an internet friend and i was so proud of myself for the very basic thing i accomplished! so anyway, do diy is getting a side bar navigation soon lol.

✷ fucking hooray ✷

this month i'm thankful that lots of folks are getting vaccinated! i'm bottom of the list for eligibility but i am so fucking excited to get poked with that needle, and i hate getting shots. i'm also weirdly enthused about my music library on shuffle. blasting music has been helping me keep my spirits up as i tear through all this work on my plate, and it's been nostalgic and fun to return to my bizarre collection of mp3s circa 2002-2021. and last but certainly not least, i'm super grateful of a friend of mine who just randomly gifted me some money to spend on treats or art supplies. i almost cried, getting free money like that when the work grind has been wearing on me so heavily lately. it can feel really good to do something nice for yr friends, a stranger, or marginalized folks in yr community. highly backing random acts of kindness, 100/10.  til next time! take care.

love, alyssa

~ past perzine newsletters ~