I LOVE LA SO MUCH
by Jenny Yang, January 2025
I love LA so much I cry every day for you.
I love LA so much we move from a tropical island and everything we know for you.
We mute the TV and turn up Chick Hearn to watch the Lakers for you.
We fall in love with the stars on field trips to the Observatory because of you.
I love the South Bay so much I get feelings just seeing Tyler put up a picture of the Galleria Mall.
Love the South Bay so much my older brothers get FILAS with a P, Egyptian Lover vinyls, and bootleg Starter Jackets at the Roadium and Compton swapmeets for you.
I love Hawthorne so much for showing me a Slip N Slide when I was six years old while I get Ching Chonged for the first time by the only white boy on the block. F*ck you too, Zachary.
I love Hawthorne so much even though my oldest brother gets beat up at Leuzinger for being too FOBBY because of you.
I love Gardena so much my mom works her ass off at a garment factory learning more Spanish than English because of you.
I love Torrance so much even when the gang bangers ask me where you from and laugh because they know it’s a joke I’m obviously not repping any gang and I’m supposed to be scared, but I’m like, um Taiwan?
I love Los Angeles so much aprendo español por dos años y así puedo entender Sábado Gigante, leer Isabel Allende, y cantar Maná para ti!
12th grade I drive to Fairfax High every week rush hour on the 405 and La Cienega, eating Choco Pies for dinner, to play clarinet in the LA Junior Philharmonic Orchestra for you.
I start and fail running a socialist collective for Chinatown youth and families for you.
I give most of my good child-bearing years to LA County public workers as a labor organizer for you.
I love Santa Monica so much for giving me two sweaty summers of 2-on-2 beach volleyball.
I go to UCLA for a master’s in Urban Planning specializing in community development and the build environment that I do not finish sorry I’m a comedian now because of you.
I love LA so much I even live on the Westside for two years during grad school for you.
I love LA so much we got the biggest populations outside of their home country ILuv2Eat Thai, Carousel, Pollos a la Brasa, Portos but don’t sleep on Gigis, Golden Deli, SinBaLa, BoPoMoFo, Shamshiri, King’s Hawaiian, Park’s Finest, Kusina Filipina, Surati Farsan, Spoon House, El Huarache Azteca, Beverly Soondooboo RIP.
I love the San Gabriel Valley so much I would forget Taiwan without you.
I love Rosemead so much the sidewalks are covered in walnuts and oranges and dad makes me drink a glass of whole milk every day just so I could fit in with you.
I love Alhambra and Almansor Park so much even though that’s where my first love breaks up with me over a gallon ice cream with a flavor that HE chose. Pecan praline. Rude.
I love Pasadena so much it’s where I get to throw house parties at the Okamotos instead of my tiny Chinatown apartment.
I love Altadena so much for teaching me the beauty of an affogato at Bulgarini Gelato and for giving us Octavia Butler.
I love LA so much they talk sh*t about us but we don’t even think about you? I’ll spend time explaining to every asshole how big and sprawling and beautiful we are with 88 cities within LA County each with their own mayors and city councils, LA City shaped like a poodle with a tail so we can have the Port, and LA County is four times the size of Chicago’s Cook County, and the fires have burned the size of THREE Manhattans — you can pry my love for LA from my cold, dead, lucky boy breakfast burrito-clutching hands.
I love LA so much these fires got me outta retirement to write this f*cking poem for you.
Why do you love LA so much? And is there a GoFundMe or non-profit org that we should amplify? Tell me in the comments.
This is a SOLO episode of my revamped podcast via Substack. Surprise! I’m back! This episode of my new What Should We Talk About? podcast is just me. Consider this a soft launch because 2025 has already been super hard and I’m still not back in my Los Angeles house yet (it’s fine by the way and so is my family). (click here if you want to see the video version of my poem on Instagram — comment to say “I’m saying hello from Substack!”)
Upcoming Shows Update: Are you in the Bay Area? Or have friends there? I am taking my live stage show SELF HELP ME: a competitive self-care comedy show to COBB’S COMEDY CLUB, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST AT 7PM for the San Francisco Sketch Festival.
A portion of the proceeds from our show will go to underfunded BIPOC Altadena GoFundeMes. THE THEME IS BURNOUT (aka exhaustion and existential tiredness) AND WE 100 PERCENT CHOSE THE WORD “BURNOUT” AS A THEME BEFORE THE FIRES lol sowwy. It’s about BURNOUT but we are calling the show theme…
“CAN WE RETURN 2025 FOR A FULL REFUND?”
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