Doll Fest wrapped up Sunday night, and by 7 AM Monday, I was already back on the road—heading to San Diego to drop off Sarah and deliver some items for ThriftCon with Sonya around Los Angeles/Anaheim. No time to just fucking rest, just endless miles ahead and an ever-growing to-do list.
I really need to start factoring in a rest day after festivals before immediately jumping back into a long drive. Add that to the list of reminders I’ll never actually look at
Let me really start talking about travel by talking about how the Colorado mountains were getting absolutely slammed with snow. Every GPS option I checked practically screamed 'DO NOT GO THIS WAY,' which meant I had to avoid the shortest route entirely.
What should have been around 1,300 miles turned into an 1,800+ mile endurance test. Because of course it did. Nothing like an extra 500 miles on the road when all you want to do is get home, sleep, and pretend you have a normal life for a few days.
On long, endless drives like this, my urge to drop everything and disappear — to find some remote place where no one knows my name, where no one expects anything from me is just so damn appealing. The thought of just vanishing for a while, working some quiet, anonymous job, and escaping the constant pressure? Yeah, that feeling hits hard on days like this. Fortunately, I have some pretty MAGICAL friends who made the endless journey almost bearable. Needing to stop for our monthly chapter meeting forced me to actually take a break and crash outside Carl’s house for the night. The next day, I made a quick 15-minute detour for Deborah to cut my bangs—because sometimes, even the smallest reset makes a difference. And by the end of the day, I got to reconnect with Mackenzie before finally making it home.
These little stops, these tiny moments of normalcy, they’re what keep me grounded when everything else feels like an endless stretch of highway and exhaustion. We can be incredibly lucky for the friends we meet around the country. Please know I am SO THANKFUL for anyone who reaches out, who volunteers, who makes a point to let me know I can shower at their place. You are a highlight on the road.
The Reality of Coming Home to "REST"
I got home after driving over 5,000 miles and working 14 events in 22 days. Weeks of non-stop driving, setting up, breaking down, talking to hundreds of people, making sure 40+ events happening this month are being tracked, managing chapters, taking meetings, updating the website, and constantly trying to figure out how the hell to keep this all funded.
Running PRSL on the road isn’t just about showing up at events—it’s an endless behind the scenes operations as well. Every day is a juggling act of logistics, outreach, admin work, and some days it is just straight-up survival. Even though I am driving every single day, I still need to make sure things are operating. And somehow, I’m supposed to keep myself functioning in the middle of it all.
I get home for exactly 5 days where I only took two actual days off. Just two days to catch my breath, reset, and pretend for a second that my life isn’t pure chaos. It wasn’t enough—but honestly, it never is. I dream of a real week off—an actual vacation where I’m not working, not answering emails, not being asked a single thing related to Punk Rock Saves Lives. Just existing without the weight of logistics, planning, and financial stress crushing me for a little while.
There are moments when I’m so burned out from this nonstop grind that I don’t even want to talk about music. And that’s a brutal feeling—because music is supposed to be the thing that fuels me, not the thing I need to escape from.
I used those two days to shake off layers of stress I didn’t even realize had built up so badly. It was exactly what I needed.
One of the best moments? Taking my ‘niece’ out for some indoor putt-putt in Denver. The puns were on point, and we were laughing the entire time—just pure, uncomplicated joy.
Saturday was all about LOCAL LEGENDS at Moe’s BBQ. The punk scene showed up hard for All Waffle Trick, The Sleights, Dryer Fire, and Trauma Czars. Sometimes, you just need to be out with the people who make you feel alive, and I was legit so happy to see so many familiar faces. Even if every single conversation started with, ‘You’re home! For how long?’—and my answer was always, ‘Until Wednesday.’ It’s never long enough, but damn, I’m glad I had it. I really do LOVE you so much, Denver.
It felt good. Then, Monday hit. And with it, reality of computer work.
For the first time in weeks, a big check cleared. I could breathe for a second. Bills that needed to be paid? Paid. I even managed to pay myself (two weeks late). Some mornings are full of tiny little wins and it is so helpful for my week.
Then—because life never lets me coast—Rob calls. His van is overheating. He needs AAA. We drop $480 for a mechanic to check everything out, only to be told it just needed coolant. Cool, problem solved, right? Nope. The issue is not actually fixed. Looks like there’s a gasket problem or maybe a pinhole leak somewhere in the line. So now, after all that money and time, we’re still back at square one—just with a slightly more expensive headache.
We really do have some of the worst luck with transportation - we drive close to 100,000 miles a year and make sure to get regular maintenance before every trek. You’d think with all the preventative work we do, we’d catch a break once in a while... but nope. At this point, I feel like we’re just in a long-term, toxic relationship with road trouble.
Next up on the Monday Disaster List—David texts. The Bumpin Uglies tour—which I thought was locked in—apparently had no idea he was coming. Cool. Love that for us.
It looks like things are smoothed over now, but HOW?! How does this keep happening? I have spreadsheets for everything—tours, advancing, festivals, swab totals, harm reduction supplies. We have Slack to keep chapters and leads in the loop. I’ve amped up every single organizational system I possibly can this year. Just thankful David handled it, and next time I will make sure to touch base with everyone well in advance. Since he is out with them within legit DAYS.
This is my moment to give David the praise he deserves. Seriously, he is a HUGE help to me, and I don’t say that lightly. When things start to fall apart, he’s the one making sure they don’t completely crash and burn. He might not always be in the spotlight, but he is one of the best people working behind the scenes at Punk Rock Saves Lives. His dedication, his ability to just make things work—I don’t know what I’d do without him. So, here’s your public shoutout, David. You’re pretty alright, and I appreciate you more than you know.
Punk Rock Saves Lives isn’t just a name or saying we use; it’s a mission that people depend on. And no matter how much my brain tries to tear me down, no matter how many times I feel like I’m drowning in logistics and stress, I know this fight is worth it. So, I’ll take the small resets where I can get them. I’ll lean on the magical friends who remind me why I do this. I’ll keep pushing forward, five steps ahead, even if I end up 30 steps back the next day. And if you’ve got an organizational hack that might save my sanity—send it my way. Seriously. I want it. I am not just writing it for fun.
Thanks for sticking with me through the chaos. Next week, we’re hitting the road with Counterpunch, so get ready for some fun band antics and, of course, more miles, more swabs, and more behind-the-scenes madness.
XOXO, Tina
Oh, you’re still here? Weird. But hey, since you stuck around, let me give you some resources that might actually be useful.
Mental Health Resources for the Road
If you’re in the music industry and struggling with your mental health while touring, check out Backline. They provide mental health support, resources, and therapy options tailored for musicians and industry professionals.
Backline Care – Free and confidential mental health & wellness resources for music industry professionals.
Need immediate help? Use the Crisis Text Line. Text HOME to 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor 24/7.
Other Mental Health Resources:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 for 24/7 confidential support.
SAMHSA Helpline: Call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for free, confidential treatment referrals and information.
Now, Let’s Talk About the Real Important Stuff: Food.
If mental health isn’t the problem but finding good food on the road is, here’s a list of my absolute MUST-HAVES from the last month:
Top 5 Road Trip Food Spots:
1️⃣ Tacos Los Cholos – Anaheim
2️⃣ Ocean View Diner – Berkeley
3️⃣ Yukon Pizza – Las Vegas
4️⃣ Public Us – Las Vegas
5️⃣ Counter Culture – Santa Fe
Honorable Mentions:💛 Pea Soup Andersen’s 💛 Sizzler (because nostalgia, don’t judge me)💛 Any random diner I can find – I’ll forever be a diner fanatic.
That’s it for now—stay safe, take care of yourself, and eat good food.
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