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Once again, it’s a Tuesday, and once again, we find ourselves at the start of four years of grief and fear. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m overreacting—surely, surely, we came out of it last time. We will come out of it again.
And then, I remember: over 350,000 people did not make it out of 2020 due to COVID, and there were 20% more deaths that year than in 2019.
I say this, not because I want to trauma dump (though it is tempting to fall into a downward spiral), but to remind you that if you are also feeling uneasy (at best) and terrified (at worst), it’s totally valid.
As with last week, you will find the following in today’s newsletter (feel free to skip to those parts):
- Personal note
- What brought me joy this week!
- What challenged me
- What else?
- Support and love our community
- Tell me more
Personal note
All over my social media, people are of two minds about this second term of Trump. They’re either readying to fight again, or they’re keeping their heads down, minding the business that pays them, and hunkering down until 2029.
That is, of course, if they’re even staying on social media. Some folks are loud about leaving, some are loud about staying, and some are silent because regardless of who is in power, they’re never on social media.
There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t know that I have anything new to add. So, I will direct you to what I wrote immediately following election night 2024. In every way, this little newsletter is my resistance.
I hope my joy—and yours—will bloom and increase. That living our lives fully and boldly is a giant middle finger to the people who hate us. When hope is not enough, let us remember our spite.
My main survival strategy for the next four years is to gray rock Trump. I don’t know if it’s cowardly self-preservation—if I’m not principled enough, too privileged, or all that and more. But, that’s what I will try to do.
What is your survival strategy? Reply to this email and let me know.
What brought me joy
As usual, what brought me the most joy this week was connection. Some friends gathered to celebrate a birthday, and we brought a few of our daughters (who are all born a few days/weeks apart) and we had a meimei reunion! I also met up with some of my fellow Mochi Magazine editors and writers for lunch and boba!
Other than that, I found joy in the usual mashup of BTS, friends, and oh—I finished writing chapter 8 of Book 3!! I don’t know that it’s joy exactly because it’s quite a heavy chapter, but it is a joy of sorts!
What brought you joy in the midst of the dumpster fire of the world? Let me know!
What challenged me
Other than the usual THIS WORLD IS POOP feeling, what challenged me the most last week (and into this one and maybe the foreseeable future) is my right elbow is in a lot of pain. Apparently, it’s a perimenopause symptom—and it’s bad enough that I had to buy a brace and a compression sleeve. It’s hard to lift anything or open anything, and I’m just in a lot of constant and persistent pain.
Also, this is totally a first world problem, but I’m a big fan of the mobile game Two Dots, and for the last few years, their levels have gotten progressively more difficult—and the cheats/rewards you can use are more and more difficult to attain. And for the longest time, I had a surfeit of rewards because I hoarded them. But now, I’ve used them all up and I’m paying way more money for rewards and gold and really, it’s so stupid and I’m so bitter about it, but also, they’re soooooo smart at how they trick you and use psychology against you so that you spend money and I know I’m being manipulated and still, I’m like, ah shit, here is my money
Wow, that was quite the run-on sentence, but it’s too late to do anything except pay money, etc. because I’m on level 6793 out of 6865 levels and 8 years of my life—WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!?!?
I promise, I really am this trivial in real life and I’m not sorry about it. Am I the only one? Maybe not Two Dots for you, but some other game or activity that occupies the same space? Let me know in the replies!
What else
I’m going to be at a local book popup at Pier 23 in San Francisco on Sat 2/22 from 4-7pm! If you’re in the Bay Area, I would love to see you there. I’ll have copies of my books “Illusive” and “Weightless,” and I’m thinking of having merch like bookmarks, too. What sorts of merch do you like to get from book fairs? Please let me know!

I’m also gearing up to queue for j-hope from BTS concert tickets tomorrow afternoon so send me all the ticketing luck tomorrow! (And if you’re queueing for Oakland, YOU ARE MY ENEMY!)
Support and love our community
Though the media has now moved onto other things, the survivors of the Altadena and Pacific Palisades are still trying to pick up their lives. There are so many links being shared, and I totally get it if you’re tapped out! However, if you still have capacity, I am re-sharing the links I included last week.
The first link I’m sharing is to a Google Sheet created by AfroPunk that is a directory of Black families displaced by the fires. The GoFundMes are listed and even color-coded so you can see who is close to meeting their fundraising goals, and who still needs assistance.
The second link is created by my friend Michelle Villemaire whose home was almost burned down, but was mercifully spared. She’s created a GoFundMe to help workers who were employed in the Palisades but are now without jobs (eg: housecleaners, gardeners, caretakers).
If you were affected by the LA fires and need signal boosting, please let me know. None of us travels this world alone, and we would be nowhere without each other.
Tell me more
And finally, how are you doing? How are you coping with the new administration? How are you surviving the next 1460 days? Let me know in the replies.
May you have a week full of chaotic joy!
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