On starting over and Los Angeles

You're reading GET IT TOGETHER, a weekly newsletter about punk/indie/pop music and visual art from a queer-feminist perspective, exploring things that are adjacent to my own creative practice.

I really loved my life in Los Angeles and I've been sad that it's gone for a while now. I moved there intentionally because I knew I should. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I'm learning to love my new life in the desert but I'd be lying if I said it was a seamless transition without its fair share of grief. I wish I could snap my fingers and go back far enough to shift my circumstances so I could stay in LA longer, but that's obviously not happening.

It's hard to find the words to describe how I feel thinking of my friends there dealing with the tragedy of the past couple of weeks - living through it and the following uncertainty. The toxic air. The rising rent during what was already a housing crisis. Things that were already precarious for artists and musicians disrupted again. If I thought the life I knew in that city was gone before, it certainly feels that way now.

As we started to see the aftermath of the Eaton fire, one of the first places I thought of was Pizza of Venice in Altadena. Musicians and general badasses Rosie Tucker and Wolfy had been running the monthly event Trans Pizza Party there for quite a while.

I went to last year's Thanksgiving edition and it was the most wholesome Thanksgiving experience I've had in recent memory - surrounded by queer folks and friends taking over the entire front room of the restaurant. It was really special. You know where I'm going with this. I can't even write it, just see the link above.

Today of all days, none of us know what's next. All we can do is try to be one of the helpers. Here are a few ways you can do that:

🐶 Pasadena Humane - helping over 700 animals hurt in the Eaton fire
🎶 Musicares - helping musicians impacted by the fires
🏘️ Displaced Black Families GoFundMe Directory - find GoFundMe's that haven't hit their goal yet
🆘 Mutual Aid LA's spreadsheet - ways you can help locally or donate directly

I was going to announce a positive change for this newsletter last week but the winds had other plans and now is just not the appropriate time. Saving it for next week. I appreciate your patience.

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