5 / it has been a while but in my defense it was february, the devil's month
hi everyone. i haven’t sent a newsletter in a while. in my defense (u may remember this sentence construction and idea from the subject of the email) it was february and i had a very hard month. what no one tells you about life is that it is hard. everyone’s always like “life is easy” and actually on that point i am going to have to agree to disagree.
there were a lot of times this past month where i felt very sad and truly convinced things would always feel that way. i often wonder how people before me (or like, right now) cope with unimaginable pain. i think sometimes about my great grandfather, who arrived at age 14 in Palestine with nothing, having just watched his entire family die of cholera in the Armenian Genocide. like he was probably just like “...ok………………?” or something. i guess i don’t really know what he was like.
anyway, i am here. i wanted to write a longer thing about suffering, but for now I am going to share:
-a few tips and tricks for getting through tough times
-upcoming shows
-friends' upcoming shows
-stuff to read
how you can make things good even if you feel like you are in a box and it is being shaken and they are putting the box on a ledge next to the cold ocean
1. Pretend Things Are Different Than They Are. my grandmother talks about going to the dentist in France during the war (100 years war specifically) and having to get tooth work done without any pain medication and getting through it by dissociating and putting herself into a picture of a tropical beach the dentist had on his wall. according to her, she didn’t feel anything. she did the same thing with her wedding as well, which she fully blacked out for. so anyway when things are sad one thing you can do is just pretend that things are actually different and you’re in just a different place.
2. take pictures of yourself crying. ugh, i’m obsessed with this. i want to write something longer about this, but crying selfies are so helpful. pictures are all about posterity, and so taking a picture of yourself crying is really helpful to remember that at one point these feelings will be posterity, and you will laugh at how dumb you look right now. just helps you realize that there is a future where this moment will be the past.
3. summon the strength of your ancestors. they definitely went through very hard things and got through it. you have to be careful with this because you don’t want to feel like a terrible piece of shit for feeling bad when the material reality of your life is 9000 times better than that of your ancestors (like in my case i didn’t watch my whole family die of cholera in the armenian genocide). but it is helpful to invoke that strength, in my opinion.
4. go to a large room and imagine it filling with water and humpback whales slowly arcing through the space. a friend once gave me this anti-anxiety tip. admittedly it may make you actually way more scared but it helps me a lot. i love whales and they move slow and are big and that really is perfect for what i’m looking for.
5. take ibuprofen. i read a tweet that said that there was a study that said that taking ibuprofen helps with “existential” pain in addition to physical…….. i haven’t googled to verify because i’ve been too busy but it’s worth a shot. honestly i’m a big advocate of the placebo method, which like, medically works. wild. like sugar pills are effective as pain medication????? insane.
6. the serenity prayer. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This simply goes the fuck off. i think appeals to something outside yourself are really helpful.
7. rely on your friends caroline, natalie, natalie, rachel, lucy, and eytan for emotional support. this one may be specific to me.
shows
Thursday, March 7 / 8pm – Stacy (Rebecca’s Bar) (TONIGHT!!!)
this is tonight!!!!!!!!! i’m so sorry for the late notice, but my monthly show with Marissa Goldman and Caroline Doyle is tonight!!!!!!!!! we have Cole Escola, Jessica Henderson, Allison O’Conor, Steve Girard, Kiran Jani, and Jess Zeidman. as always, cheap drinks ($4 beer + shot?????), with the best bartender in Brooklyn. rwe’re so excited <3
Thursday, March 7 / 10:30pm – TV Dinner (BCC)
I’m doing a bit with Juliet Prather on the year anniversary of the BCC’s hallmark show, TV Dinner. will be warm and fun.
Saturday, March 9 / 8:30pm – SMEG Live! (Vital Joint)
the debut of a demented teen TV talk show I was on. it’s about puberty, and Rachel Kaly and I do are background dancers for a really beautiful song Francesca D’Uva wrote about being horny <3
Monday, March 25 / 6pm – Norah (Starr Bar)
just stand-up
Monday, March 25 / 8pm – The Glove (Jessy Morner-Ritt’s show)
Jessy Morner-Ritt hosts a dystopia bed and breakfast and Andrés and I play two friends she met hiking in North California
Tuesday, March 26 / 7pm – Girl With The 301 Tattoo (The Footlight)
just stand-up
tbqh i hopefully will have more shows because i love performing and i have a really incisive joke about Bernie Sanders i've been doing.
other great shows
Wednesday, March 13 and 20 / 9:30pm – Two Dumbasses Present Shit (BCC)
Rachel Kaly and Fareeha Khan, two of the most talented people in Brooklyn (and arguably???? the world) present two half hours of work. they are so funny and i may go to both.
Saturday, March 9 / 7:30pm – Blowpop (Friends and Lovers)
Lucyana Randall and Lucy Cottrell host a fun new show and Friends and Lovers, a wonderful venue. they do such a good job hosting and there might be cake.
Tuesday, March 12 / 8pm – Animal Show (The Well)
I love this show so much. Maya Sharma, Justin Linville, and David Steele are so sweet and have built a real community and it’s so warm and fun. they have great stand-up on it this month. pls go see!!
Saturday, March 16 / 8pm – Cream Sauce (The Windjammer)
A solo show by Edy Modica, another person who is SO funny. really really not to be missed.
Friday, March 22 / 8:30pm – Open Flame: 1st Birthday (Littlefield)
in honor of the year anniversary of one of my fave mics, they’re putting up a show with some real luminaries. Open Flame rly knows how to host a show and then a subsequent party, so will be a great friday night <3
other material to consume
Patsy Mink – did you guys know about patsy mink
Shirley Chisholm – ok did you guys know about Shirley Chisholm though?????????
Rich Man's Frug – iconic Fosse dance number from Sweet Charity, in honor of the upcoming Fosse tv-movie. you may recognize this dance number from Beyonce's Get Me Bodied. an amazing song/video/homage. ur fave could never. i maintain that beyoncé is underrated.