Turning off your Zoom self view, pizza, abolition reads & more

Author

Allison Punch
March 09, 2021

Pizza pizza

By the time you’re reading this, my first paid IG campaign of 2021 has gone live. I was particularly excited about this one. If you’ve ever been out with me on U Street, you know I LOVE &pizza. I still remember the very first time I went with Bae and one of the men working there hit on her by asking if she played ball - I felt like I was with a celebrity (insert heart eyes emoji here). They just opened up a location in my neighborhood and asked me to help advertise!

I would love for you to engage with the post by liking, commenting or sharing so I can potentially get similar campaigns in the future - and if you’re an &pizza fan, use my code ALLISON to Buy One, Get One free. I had a lot of imposter syndrome shooting this - I’m a bookstagrammer, not a normal influencer! - but it was very fun. I also priced myself way too low because I got very excited to be pitched by a spot that I genuinely love and is a big part of my life. I’m big on salary/rate transparency around stuff like this, and would be happy to share more about my experience for anyone curious.

Books, Books Books

Apparently I consistently recommend books I read at my parents lake house in the summer. Any reading done by a body of water is the best reading!

Currently reading: I finally finishedBelovedand I’m SO glad I took my time reading this one and really immersed myself in it. Toni Morrison is a literary genius and I will never forget my first time reading this book. I just started the intro of Mariame Kaba’sWe Do This ‘til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transformative Justice and am really excited about this read.

  • Backlist book recs:

    • Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindhu follows Lucky and Krishna, a married man and woman who are both gay, and rely on their marriage to keep questions from their conservative Sri Lankan-American families at bay. I loved this book for it’s nuanced take on sexuality and culture, and it was also a quick, engaging read. You can check out my full review on Lambda Literary here.

    • Black Girl Dangerous by Mia McKenzie was one of those books that was formative to my understanding of Black Feminism and unlearning of internalized whiteness. While I haven’t read it in years, I still highly recommend it, particularly for white folks looking to sit in their own discomfort and push their understanding of the ways race, class, gender and sexuality show up in all our lives.

Self Care

I’ve been having a series of weeks where I have my routine, I’m engaging in all of my best self care practices - yoga, cooking, staying hydrated, getting outside, etc - but nothing really sticks. I feel anxious and on edge most of the time. I’m trying to be okay with that. I still have tips, but I also want to be honest about where I’m at. 

That said, for a simple, practical self care tip, here’s the easiest one ever: If you haven’t started doing this yet, for the love of God, please turn off your self-view on Zoom. Zoom is exhausting enough as is, and I don’t know about you (maybe I’m exposing my Leo ego here) but I stare at myself when I’m on video calls. You can turn off self view on Zoom by hovering and clicking on the three buttons above your camera on Zoom. In my experience, staring at myself all day on camera is not good for self image. I now ALWAYS turn off self view and feel less insecure about my appearance, while reducing Zoom fatigue because I have one less square to pay attention to every meeting.

While we’re talking about self care and technology, I also recommend the Chrome extension eyeCare, which reminds you to look away from your screen every 20 minutes.

Community Care

To support my free newsletter, please consider donating $5-7 to one of the causes highlighted here! While I can’t promise to share every single link, if you ever have a need, please send it to me for inclusion in the newsletter.

  • Dee from @Deemsumreads posted Mutual Aid requests for Black folks every day of Black history month. While BHM is officially over, it’s important especially for white people to give directly to Black people all year long. Scroll through & find someone to give to here.

  • Autostraddle is a critical online resource for queer women’s media and I don’t know who I’d be today without it. They’re doing their annual fundraising drive and SO close to their goal. Check it out and give here.

Small Biz Corner

  • The Intentional Botanica is a Black woman owned business with some of the most beautiful, thoughtfully created candles I’ve ever seen. When my candles first arrived, I was worried they were scented a bit too sweet, but I’ve really enjoyed burning them (I got Eucalyptus & Ginger!). She also offers an affordable monthly candle subscription  - $29.99/month for 4 small candles - which I think would make such a lovely gift.

  • We have two items from The Trini Gee - my sister gave me a Beyoncé tumblr that I love, and I recently bought Bae one of the yoga crewnecks. It is so soft and cozy, I’m physically unable to stop hugging her whenever she wears it (ok, she is huggable naturally but the crewneck makes the hugs next level!).

Slice of Life

Actual footage of Max demanding attention while I prep the newsletter for all of you.

Bae and I are taking an extended weekend off work to celebrate six years of us and one year of being engaged. She is a Capricorn, so I regularly give her shit about how much she works and how hard it is to convince her to take time off work. All that to say, it is a big deal that we’re taking time off together. 

While we’re not traveling out of our region because it’s a pandemic, or staying overnight anywhere, I’m excited for some double masked adventures and time around the apartment.