It’s seven days into the year. I taught my first class of the semester yesterday. I actually had an easier time than last semester, which I think is because of a few things. One, it’s now the SECOND class I have ever taught. Two, I get to stay in one building all day except for when I cross the street for lunch. I also had more money so I got a bacon cheeseburger for lunch, which was way better and might be this semester’s go to lunch, last semester I was doing chicken BLT’s. Although I have been eating SO MUCH red meat the last week or so. I made a beef tenderloin roast for New Years Day dinner and ate it for a while, before that I had made a beef bourguignon which took a while to eat. So it’s been beef all over. I need chicken and fish and pork and also I might make a halloumi dish today (depending on if the fresh ingredients are still good or replaceable).

The train ride home last night was only mildly delayed, so it wasn’t too bad. I did my two thc gummies like usual and had a pleasant time.

Posey and I went to the vet today so she could get her wellness exam and two vaccinations. She was a pricey lady, she also had to have a blood and urine test, so that was 450 on top of meds and the wellness check itself. They also want to do another echocardiogram for her heart which is $$$ and not in my budget this month. But I gotta save pennies for her.

I paid off most of the new Macbook Pro I had to get last year. It’s already been paying for itself though because now I can work so much faster. My old Mac was sluggish and would crash all the time. It had so much wrong with it. But also I was able to give the University back it’s laptop because I was done with it, so now I just have this nice sleek fast Macbook that actually works and can run more than three programs at a time.

My solo show opens soon! On the 18th of January at Doris McCarthy Gallery, 2pm to 4pm! In Toronto! Actually, in Scarborough!

I’m continuing guitar lessons this week. I get to see him on Thursday. I’ve managed to get a lot of practice in during the break, which is nice. I even broke my first pick which was amazing. And also makes me think maybe I can move up to a firmer pick. I was doing 0.5mm picks (and just got a lot of them!) because they were easier to handle while I was learning upstrumming. But now I think I’ve mastered that (or am better at it anyway) and maybe a stronger pick is better for me now.

I am waiting for some exciting packages to come. I ordered some audio gear from Long & McQuade and I’m going to start recording myself a bit so I can learn what I sound like when I’m playing and/or singing. I have been able to talk through the lyrics of Help I’m Alive while I’ve practiced, but I know I haven’t nearly mastered it at all, and I need to learn to sing along. I am almost wondering about taking singing lessons.

I knew this singer when I was a teenager named Carla-Marie Powers and she was convinced everyone could learn to sing. I don’t know. She was certain. And my therapist has said it’s possible. My family practically heckles anyone who tries to sing though so I’ve been very discouraged from it, even though I do like singing when I’m home alone.

The guitar playing and singing is still mainly a personal thing and not something I do for others yet. And I still don’t know when I’ll be more public with it. Sometimes I post it on my Instagram, but only the guitar playing. Not the singing.

I’m starting to notice which chords sound good together. Learning songs has taught me a lot about how they are constructed which is interesting. Like where the same chords will repeat and how the order will change but it’s the same stuff. I don’t know, it’s interesting. When I was in film school I paid some attention to music because I could see how as a time based medium it had some connections to film. And obviously people put music in films. But thinking of editing a film in a way similar to constructing a song has kind of intrigued me. But I still only ever listened to music at that point and didn’t make it. So hopefully I can kind of have some carry over between my musical pursuits now and my understanding of short films. And feature films.

Posey KNOWS I’m waiting for special mail and keeps alerting me that mail is here. But she’s wrong most of the time. The letter mail already came, but the packages did not.

The political landscape looks so bleak right now. I do not want Canada to become the United States, that would be the worst. No healthcare? Ugh, I have so many healthcare needs. Poorly maintained infrastructure? Ew. Transphobic laws? Gross. And also the United States has a weird backwards relationship with Indigenous nations. Canada sucks, but I think we have a little bit more of a better deal up here than the people do down there. BUT UGH even if that doesn’t happen, we have PP wanting to come into power and he’s Putin’s little stooge and going to privatize everything and make it shitty. The worst timeline.

I’m honestly impressed that Russia managed to dick with so many countries elections. Like yes it’s terrible, but they figured out how to do it without invading.

I’m trying to be online less. I think a lot of bots and government run accounts on Facebook and other sites have made the internet largely useless. Bluesky was great for a while, until the moderation team decided to bend rules for transphobes and betrayed their base. I don’t know what’s going on with that now though since I subscribed to a transphobe block list.

Anyway. I think I am looking for more teaching jobs in the future. I was googling them but there’s nothing near me in the near future that I feel interested in teaching. I’m just gonna have to keep my eyes out on the career boards etc. I don’t want to move though, which makes things difficult. I just want to stay in Toronto! And I’m also not ready for a full time job yet, I think I want another adjunct gig or two after this. I don’t know.

I did get my Evil Fire draft done over the holidays, and redid my step outline for another feature, and read an old feature I wrote and figured out how to redo it. So the writing IS happening.

I worked on my video game yesterday in my studio and made major errors and edit undid a lot and then finally fixed it, BUT also I updated it to a newer version of Unity. So I’m hoping that helps in my programming. Especially since the students are learning this newer Unity version, so I gotta know what they are talking about when they come to me for help. I think the animations are working better in this version, but I know I gotta sit down and just move all around the level and make sure the states are changing properly.

Anyway it’s 2025! I’m writing here a lot right now while I have some time.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my diet. Ugh. I never wanted to be one of those margarine people. But I am thinking a lot about my health and having a fatty liver and being pre-diabetic. And all the times I’ve been to the dietician they give me depressing advice. But I’m 46 and I know my Grandparents on both sides MOSTLY (except one) lived to be very old. My maternal Grandparents died in their 90’s. But they were also REALLY healthy. Like, when doctors gave them advice they listened.

And I’m doing good with exercise (or I was when I have time and am not healing from a revision). I know how to work out and stuff. But my diet needs an overhaul.

The thing is I’m secretly a picky person. I have textures I hate. And I appreciate sugary fatty things. Like pastries especially. It sucks that I might have to give that up, or cut back.

I guess I’m glad it’s not gout. But fatty livers and diabetes aren’t great. I did switch to Coke Zero. And I’m doing milk in my coffee and not coffeemate. I used to eat gummy candies (but a lot) and now I have gummy edibles (but not a lot because they are edibles) and don’t eat the regular gummy candies. I still have a chocolate addiction. I got sugar free Hot Apple Drink. Cutting fat is hard though, I fucking LOOOOOOVE Butter. I watch that Butter Crisis video and get their profound loss of that one year Norway had a butter shortage ha ha.

UGH I am not GOING on a diet though because that implies I want to shrink and get smaller. I just don’t want a fatty liver! I don’t want to be human foie gras!

Anyway.

The potentially cancer thing on my face turned out to be something wrong with an oil gland, so it really was not an issue. So essentially my only problems with my body are my blood sugar and this liver issue. Which are totally treatable, I’m going to be ok.

UGH I should probably switch my oatmeal. I have oatmeal with sugar in it and it’s prepackaged, like little packets. And it’s convenient to make. But maybe I could switch to Cream of Wheat.

My resolution this year was supposed to just be to write a lot more (and I am succeeding) but I think I need to also change my diet. I don’t want to go see the dietician again though because I know what she will say. I just want to slowly phase in a healthier diet. I would probably heal faster from bottom surgery and my eventual hysterectomy if I got my blood sugar back under control. I’m not at the point of having to test my sugar all the time. But it’s coming!

It’s New Year’s Eve! I’m home with the pups. They’re totally sacked out beside me on the couch. Ahhh it’s dinner time I need to feed them!

Fed!

I got the hold taken off my money today, so I donated to the Ontario and Federal NDP, UNRWA, Doctors without Borders, and Na Me Res here in Toronto. I’m hoping it helps with taxes next year.

Next year is almost here! Hours away!

I’m reflecting on the last year and the year ahead. I made a post on my Instagram about all the work I did this year and the work I’m doing next year. I finished a short film, started work on a new video game, finished another pass at my feature script, applied for a few different things, got a residency at Western in London. Taught my first university class. Taught a video making workshop to Indigiqueer youth in English and Spanish. I learned how to use Interpreter settings in Zoom and I learned a bunch of new things in Unity, especially around animating. I consulted lawyers when things got rough professionally. I felt supported by my community overall which was nice. I learned some things about myself and about other people.

I also submitted my paperwork for bottom surgery, continued taking testosterone, had my fallopian tubes cauterized, had a lot of hookups. Learned some things about hookups. Sometimes it just felt like “Wow this is totally a character study” and I would just get to know these people over an hour or two and it was fascinating. I don’t think I fell in love this year. There’s some old love that is hanging around for a couple of people. And then all the non romantic love, it’s just a different type of love than I tend to acknowledge. Which is a shame I should celebrate my friends and family more.

Next year the Union Docs publication “They Say There Are No Spirits Here” which is a reader about my work will be released and for sale. So check that out here.

That reader… well it’s a long story but I am very happy with it. Vika Kirchenbauer, Michelle McGeough, Sky Hopinka, and myself are in it. So it’s pretty cool.

I am also in a solo show at Doris McCarthy Gallery in January and it opens on the 18th at 2pm. There are other events along with it. There is information here! It is curated by Wanda Nanibush.

I’m also continuing this residency at Western, and this next semester I am teaching a studio course, so that will be fun. And I will continue making my video game. And also waiting to hear about some funding/fellowship opportunities.

I also need to do some research into MORE funding things just because that’s what being a full time artist is about.

I’m still considering teaching more after this school year is done. I don’t think I could do a commute again. But there are a few universities and colleges in Toronto. I really don’t want to pursue it so badly I would move away from Toronto though. At least not at this point in my life.

I’ve got the TV on and they are showing the London (UK) Fireworks display and it’s giving me a headache ha ha.

I remember when I was leaving Vienna for Toronto, we had a stop in Amsterdam and when the plane took off it was already night time and I could see street fireworks going off all across the city. It was about as beautiful as you can imagine. I ended up landing in Toronto around the same time and there was NOTHING! I was shocked, I’m always hearing fireworks go off in my neighbourhood around holidays. But no Toronto just was lit up like a normal night.

OMG how long do these London fireworks go on for?

Ha ha ok I should get offline or something. Definitely not continue writing up my life.

I am waiting for an edible to kick in. I’ve been having a restful holiday, just healing. I went to my friend Aylan’s house for Christmas dinner. That was nice. And I had a couple hookups. One was someone I know already. But mostly I’ve just been sticking close to home and recovering.

It’s that weird twilight time of the year, where something is leaving and a year we don’t understand yet is coming. It looks ominous. But also there are the curve balls that always happen. I’m not sure what to expect and I am not making predictions either. It could be terrible! It could be okay, who knows!

I have further things to admit. The edible I took was a mushroom.

Anyway, I started doing work, and I did get a decent amount done. But then I realized Mr. Mushroom is starting to kick in and I can’t do anything anymore. I did find all my files for this project though, and made a place for them in Premiere. So it’s like, about to happen! Tomorrow maybe I can work on it for reals. It’s a very overdue project but it would be great to get this org their sound files back this next year.

I promised myself I would do some writing, so today I spent all afternoon working on my script. I didn’t even have to force myself to work, it just came out and I knew how to fix things. So I did that. I think maybe the end is too heartwarming? I mean not really, terrible things happen. But there’s more closure. But maybe it was better when there was no closure? It was more devastating before. But I realized there were some emotional plot holes. Like “Would a person really act this way if _____ had happened to them?” And in those instances I felt like I didn’t adequately answer those plot holes before. So they are more resolved now. But also maybe before was better I don’t know.

I was having a sad moment at the end of this year about not being able to make a living as an artist. BUT sometimes it’s okay I guess. I do have a lot of projects I deeply care about. And finished projects I am very happy with. So I guess that’s my life. It’s so strange to think how rocky this year started with persons trying to ruin me because they got offended by mild criticism. Sigh. I’d rather not talk about that here tho on this end of year. Especially on a mushroom.

Anyway, I’m going to zoom with my cousin soon and visit and be on mushrooms and the first time I ever did mushrooms was with her so it’s kind of full circle.

Ahh I wish I had potato chips! I’ve finally found a steady supply of Magic Masala chips at the Dollarama near me and it’s been great. But I have none today.

Lol just deleted a post that I abandoned and which is now totally out of date. So here I am writing again!

I had my revision! I was concerned mostly about some side boob on the left side, but also asked about two points near the centre of my chest. She said my scars looked really good and she didn’t want to touch that part again because she wasn’t sure it would look as good after as it looks now. But she did do the revision on the side part of my chest that was a little extra tissue. So that was good, I was so nervous because she did it under local so I was fully awake while she worked. It didn’t hurt at all though. But I could feel like, the sensation of pulling and cutting, but not painful. But like, the pressure of it and the pulling. It was bizarre! It was like being in my body but not being in my body. A very unusual feeling. I didn’t watch it though, I am sure I would have fainted if I saw what she was doing. I just stared at the ceiling and bantered with them ha ha. But they were great, and then I took an Uber home, and now I’m with the dogs. I have to go get them some food tomorrow, but only under 20lbs of food. Because I can’t lift more than that.

I got my marks in yesterday because I didn’t want today’s procedure to interrupt my marks being submitted. So that’s good. I taught my first class! I need a participation trophy ha ha. I have the break to get my next class ready, but I already made the shell of the course in Brightspace, it’s just not visible to students yet. I need to populate it with a few more things first. And I haven’t finished my rubrics.

I’m taking a break from my video game over the break, but I am working on some scriptwriting.

I have a weird assortment of feature projects right now because one is like, so close to getting production ready and is basically in the ugly fledgling phase right now where it needs some MORE care so it can grow up. And then I have this other one that is literally just an egg still and needs to crack into a full on first draft instead of a collection of notes and outlines. It’s a weird situation and I entirely blame it on my piss poor writing habit this past while. I do write every day almost. But scriptwriting does not happen as frequently as it should. I write in my diary and my blog constantly. But scriptwriting just happens for deadlines, instead of being a regular part of my life. So I gotta work on that, I think it’s going to be my only resolution for next year.

I saw on the news there was an attack in a German Christmas Market today. That’s so fucked up. I went to so many of those markets when I was in Vienna and Berlin and Prague in 2022. They’re so fun. I remember the market in Berlin had big barriers up where the roads were because they had an attack in a Christmas Market a few years before. So senseless. It seems sometimes that there’s not really any way to be prepared for all the ways violence can happen to the public. Like we had a van attack here a while back, not to a market but using a van as a weapon. You can’t just outlaw vans, like you could with guns. And even though Canada is not supposed to be a gun culture, there are totally shootings in my neighbourhood. Because they come up from the States.

I was having this discussion in my head the other day about risk and what is acceptable risk. A long time ago I decided I wouldn’t curtail my activities because of a fear of terrorism, because I figured that there wasn’t a lot I could do to avoid it, it’s so random. And you can’t just not live your life, being inside forever is fun for 24 hours and then it’s a nightmare. I need to be out, even if it’s just to walk the dogs or pick up my antipsychotics from the pharmacy. I am a simple man ha ha.

BUT also there’s a risk in doing hookups, and I’ve been doing those for a while, and I was wondering what the acceptable risk is of doing hookups? They are sketchy. I’m trying to stick mostly with guys I’ve already played with. But also I’m in the market for a serious partner, and I haven’t met that person yet, which means I need to keep meeting people. And some of them might be sketchy. And I do talk to people long enough to feel them out but you never know. Bruce McArthur had a folder of his victims photos from dates he went on with them. Like he was getting to know these guys. Which is almost more terrifying, you could have your guard down and then it turns bad. People are so fucking unpredictable.

Matteo Lane has a joke about how all the things women are told not to do in order to stay safe are things queer men do to meet each other. And it’s true! I’ve had to unlearn a lot about navigating the world as a “woman” in order to meet men for sexy times. And is it safe? I don’t think so. But is it fun? I mean most of the time or I wouldn’t keep doing it.

BUT Anyway, I am not meeting anyone for a while because I had my revision and just want to heal. And if I had sex maybe I would sweat my bandage off and that would be embarrassing. And I can’t have a shower for two days either. Stink boy. But it’s not a super long healing time. BUT ALSO I don’t mind taking a break while the holidays happen. I’m not doing anything with my family but we might zoom a few times. I was mostly going to eat things ha ha. Just eat nice things and heal.

I’ve been seeing a lot of news about these drones in New Jersey, and New York, and they’ve been seen in Toronto and Hamilton. And California and a lot of places. I honestly did wonder if it was aliens. I couldn’t help it, that kind of makes sense. But looking at more videos of them, I think most of them are definitely human made. And honestly, even though I do believe in aliens, I think the rest of them are secret military aircraft being publicly demonstrated to cause a reaction.

And the reason is way back in this blog. On October 22, 2006, my friend and I were driving south from Saskatoon at maybe ten at night towards Cranberry Flats. BUT if you keep going in that direction, you reach CFD Dundurn, the military base. So anyway we are driving this direction and I start noticing these rainbow coloured stripes going back and forth in front of us, like two of them. And they slowly became slightly transparent white ovals, like spotlights on clouds, but there was no beam going back to the earth where there should be. And then over the course of a few hours they turned into green plasma fireballs, kind of jumping up and down in the sky.

BUT the other part of this story is that before these lights appeared, before the rainbowy streaks in the sky, I saw two dark triangular objects go overhead. And I assumed they were birds. BUT now I am thinking they were military aircraft from CFD Dundurn, secret military aircraft. Even Wikipedia says green fireballs might be secret military aircraft. And Dundurn has an airstrip.

I know that’s not the way they are appearing really in this case. But in some of those cases, it would just be a matter of changing the ship and projecting a hologram of a different colour or shape.

Why New Jersey?

This seems like such an Elon Musk prank honestly. In Orson Welles War of the Worlds radio broadcast, the first place the Martians land is New Jersey. That seems like such a pop culture nod someone that obnoxious wouldn’t be able to avoid sneaking in.

Anyway. I think we’re being conned so that the oligarchs can grasp more power, basically.

Also Palestinians have been saying Israel is using weapons on them that they’ve never seen before. So there’s been some kind of advancement beyond those robot dogs they let us all play with.

And yes I think there are aliens/star people/people might be under the sea and underground. I can’t say yes or no either way though, but theoretically some of it makes sense. But I find it suspicious that this is happening just before a new fascist president comes into power, while a near trillionaire is trying to sooth his bruised ego for making a garbage can for a truck.

I got paid the other day and after paying debts it was gone. Almost. I’m so tired of my money being spent before it’s even here.

The other day I got a suicidal thought, like watching a bird go over head. Just this thought that I wouldn’t be constantly asking people for money and to pay me if I wasn’t here. It’s just not sustainable. Someone the other day told me after a screening that I was so generous, but really the unspoken agreement for engaging with my work is you’re supposed to tip, it’s just most people don’t. I can’t afford to be generous at all, I’m constantly trying to get paid or get funding or whatever.

I’m not sure if I should be doing art anymore, to be frank. The work getting attention now is the stuff I made 20 years ago, which means the stuff I’m making now won’t be relevant to Canadians until 2044. It’s frustrating. I used to do a lot of work in the US, but that’s drying up and also legally I might not even be able to show work in the US soon because I’m trans and it will get automatically categorized as pornography under Project 2025. So that leaves the rest of the world and sometimes Canada when they feel like it.

This one place is supposed to pay me but they refuse to do direct deposit and will only write a cheque and mail it to me, but there’s been a postal strike on for like, QUITE a while, so nothing is coming to me from anyone right now through the mail. It’s really frustrating and I am trying to be patient for the posties but it is interfering with my life. So I’m not sure why a festival can’t direct deposit and is insisting on making my life difficult because ohh we can only write cheques. I know they have options, they just don’t feel like it.

And that’s the problem with a lot of people who owe me money, they just don’t feel like processing payments on time. They need a ton of paperwork, or all kinds of things. And there’s never a rush to pay artists, even if said artist is wondering if it would be easier if they were dead because life just costs too much right now. And Artists have bills too.

Anyway I AM caught up on my bills and my rent is paid and I have groceries. I’m not as fucked as I used to be. But after this residency is done next year I’m going to be back to scrambling for funding and grants and so on. Which is hard. I really just wish I could get grants for costs of living because I know I could make a lot of work with my own resources. But you’re supposed to spend project grants mostly on the project, which doesn’t leave a lot to live on.

My options as I see them for continuing with life is to either become a professor, or go into game development professionally. Which takes me away from filmmaking which is my main love. But I can’t do this anymore, it’s too hard struggling as an artist. My career is turning 30 years old next year and I am thinking I might finish up some projects in the works and then reassess what to do with my life.

Today I did a lot of things. I am currently caught up on marking until the final. So I went to the gym (so fun!) and I went for dinner after by myself (so fun!) and I have been practicing my guitar on and off all week, especially since I didn’t have to go to London yet this week. So a lot of practicing throughout the day, five minutes here, twenty minutes there. I am starting to change chords easier. I know we are still not on the super DIFFICULT guitar solo in this song. So we are working up to it. But I’m feeling like maybe just one more week and I will be able to play the song through to what I know. I’m almost constantly getting the hammer ons correct now. I am mostly memorized for the beginning of the song, but I need practice. The teacher last week gave me the verses with the chords on them and it’s a bit helpful. But I realized I need to get the tempo right before trying to sing and play. But also some of the playing changes sooner than I expect when I’m singing it. So I just need more practice, is the answer.

I’m actually pretty impressed that I managed to keep up with practicing guitar. I know I am behind in my lessons though because I don’t have as much time to practice when I keep having to leave town. If I was learning a smaller instrument I would bring it with me, but also I don’t want my modestly expensive (for me) guitar to get broken and I just have a soft shell case right now. So I can’t bring it.

I’m also working on getting the course content into my Brightspace (the online portal) for students for the next class in the Winter term. I did a rubric for scoring their game design documents, but I realized I need to redo it to grade for the things they are supposed to include (lol I was tired when I started ok). I was just titling every week and putting a loose description into the module. So week 3 they learn how to make enemies and I wrote “Why make friends when you could make enemies?” in the module ha ha. Seriously though that week is just an intro to doing a health system and dealing damage. The week after we do healing which is also part of the health system, in case they want to have magic potions or medical care in their game.

Speaking of medical care, I cannot comment on the CEO of UnitedHealthcare getting shot because a) I’m not an American citizen, and b) I would not say nice things. But really I hope privatized health care does not get more of a foothold into Canada than it already has. I like having free healthcare, it makes me happy. And healthy! Like a good healing potion.

I should start thinking of my psych meds as healing potions. Although really psych meds are like if you had to take a healing potion every day twice a day to avoid turning into Someone No One Likes and is Maybe Afraid Of. Not that I mean to be scary. But mania is a Thing and it definitely makes me act a Way. Depression is a little easier for other people because I’m generally withdrawn, but while other people might be like “Aw Theo is sad” on the inside I’m like “I’m fucking dying ha ha ha where’s the nearest bridge?” Which is difficult on me as you can imagine.

Anyway, things are fine. I have some money, enough to have Christmas not be cancelled. And I’m going back on Friday to do my Final Exam and then coming back here on Saturday to do a zoom meeting and then a holiday dinner with other people in the housing place I am at. Busy busy! Next week I have a limited amount of time to get my last gym hours in before my top surgery revision.

I’m excited to see my finished chest. I know it will be a while to heal though. And I probably won’t share pics for a while until it just looks like a regular chest. I mean I was VERY excited with the first surgery because it was such a dramatic change. But this time it will be more subtle because it’s just to get rid of dog ears and some left behind side boob.

Todd is doing good, his bottom surgery healed well. The vet showed me his tiny under developed testicle that they kept in a jar of formaldehyde. Which looked like a long skinny mushroom.

Hard to believe Christmas is coming so soon! I need to get something for my mom. It’s the least fun present that she asked for, but that’s what she wants. I’ve got to clean my house tonight because I think I have some leftover energy to use, and it’s a mess.

It’s the end of the semester! I just have an exam to do with my students and then mark it and then I can put all my last marks in. Also participation marks.

ANYWAY that’s school stuff. I have to get all the marks in for the 19th because my revision is the 20th.

And then I will be on holidays for a while which will be nice, but really I will just be healing.

I ordered a Dutch Baby pancake kit, even tho I’m not supposed to lift heavy things. Ahhh I should see how heavy a cast iron pan is, maybe it’s under the limit.

I went to guitar class today, which was good! He’s getting me to memorize the fretboard, and showed me how to tell which is what and where on the E string. So that’s a thing, he’s going to start quizzing me on where a note is. So I gotta practice! I also am starting to get better at changing chords. He showed me how to hold a G chord like a C chord which should be able to let me change chords easier in this song. I’m going from C to D/F# to Am to G to D/F# to C to Am to G. So complicated and the D/F# was throwing me off. But it’s starting to gel! I need to be able to change a chord between an upstrum and a downstrum tho, so not a lot of time. He gave me a sheet with the lyrics for one verse with the chords on them, and we worked on using a metronome and getting the tempo. So I will be practicing that. There’s only two more classes for this term! I am going to take more lessons with him in the winter term too. I really wanted to learn this song and I didn’t realize how COMPLICATED it was, but the good part of that is that I had to learn a lot of different techniques and things. So in a way it was good that it was such an ambitious song. I think I’m going to do a Metric song after I learn this one, I really want to learn Help I’m Alive.

I got turned down by a festival I submitted to, but it was a long shot anyway. So that’s fine. I’m kind of too experimental for that festival I think, which is a reason I’ve never bothered submitting before. I’m showing that film tomorrow at aabaakwad though at Innis Town Hall at 2pm so if you want to see it please come! It’s free! It’s Dreams of Sunlight Through Trees, the one about me transitioning. So it will be the first time I see it in front of an audience. It showed at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, but I was teaching so I couldn’t go.

Todd is still in his cone. He’s fine, healing went great, tomorrow after my gig I have to run him to the vet to see if he is allowed to take his cone off. There was only ONE time he licked himself because he pulled his cone off, but otherwise he has been great. Such a sweetie! We will all be happy when it’s off though, it’s hard to cuddle him when he’s got a big bucket on his head.

Ahhh I went off and did marking and now I gotta go to bed so I can go do work tomorrow afternoon showing my video and talking!

So goodnight!

It’s Saturday! I’m scrambling for money again. I have people I owe and I’m ALSO owed money, but I really need to pay one person because I’m sure he needs it for rent. Ahhh it’s stressful. Anyway if you want to help there’s a page about supporting me here that has paypal details etc. I am making money but not enough, unfortunately. Or not getting paid in a timely way anyway. I ALSO need rent money, so this all sucks.

ANYWAY.

I had a good day so far even though the money anxiety woke me up at 6:45am. I worked on my powerpoint for my last class on Monday, I got pretty far with it, it’s going to be shorter because the first 20 minutes is for feedback. And then we have the last presentation and then my blab and we watch some short films and then the reading and then wrap up. I made a list of films for further viewing, so hopefully they check them out if they want to see more.

Also I did some work on my Macîskotêw (Evil Fire) script by consulting with a close friend whose family member was brutally murdered, to talk about how to sensitively depict violence against Indigenous women. I keep getting notes that the violence is gratuitous so we talked about ways to present it differently. But also they just felt that there IS a lot of violence happening to Indigenous women and so they didn’t really think the note about violence was helpful considering the reality of what goes on. Overall it was super helpful to get some feedback about how to do this film right. And they said there still might be someone who says the film harmed them, but they can write an essay. They are going to see if some other people they know are able to talk with me though in case they have other feelings and thoughts about it. But we did generally agree that implied violence was better than straight up gore on screen, unless it comes to the fire part of the script which is only used against the predators. And the viewpoint shouldn’t be from the perpetrator. They said how since their loved one was murdered they can’t watch the gorey parts of horror films, which is why having it implied and not onscreen would probably solve some of my issues. So that gave me a lot to start with when I dive back into this script. I also sent a link to Kwêskosîw (She Whistles) so they can share it with the other people who might talk to me, so they get a sense of the story I am doing. They had seen Kwêskosîw (She Whistles) and liked the way I did it, so that was encouraging.

For a long time I’ve thought I really need to get more community input into the script, and so far it’s mainly been producers and story editors and so on. So having the perspective of a family member was really important and it’s just hard to ask of people I don’t know. I didn’t know how to ask until I realized I could ask my friend. So I’m hoping to get some more perspectives but also talking to them was super valuable for me. I’ve also been teaching this Indigenous Cinema class and this thing that keeps coming up in the work is how much community consultation goes on between the filmmakers and their communities. Like, elders telling stories or community members being interviewed or asking for notes along the way after an edit. Etc. Just making it less about me when it’s an issue the larger community is dealing with. At the same time, I’m the writer and director so it is my story. But I don’t want to make it being uninformed.

Yeah, so that’s cool.

My class ends so soon! Monday is the last one. And I am marking essays this weekend. And in a couple weeks I will be marking exams. And then I have until the 19th because my revision is on the 20th. Oh man. I have to get a new class ready over the winter break too, and I haven’t even started the online portal for it. It’s nice teaching and probably wouldn’t be so much work if it didn’t take as much commuting as it does for me right now. That seems to be what is taking up my time the most.

I’ve been very weepy these days. Todd went and got neutered this Thursday and when I went to pick him up he was having a hard time coming out from his sedation. He was small and curled up and cold and crying and I was holding him in the vet office and they were trying to figure out how to get him walking. He was starting to improve, but so slowly. He perked his little head up but would NOT walk. And we waited and waited but they were closing so they gave me the number and address of the emergency vet and told me to take him if he got worse, and otherwise to wake up every hour and check on him. So I did that. And he was slowly improving but it took SO LONG. Poor dopey boy. He did start walking once I put him on a pee pad to have a pee, he walked into his kennel which was a couple feet away. And then I went to the bathroom and he walked to the doorway to the bedroom, which is closer to the bathroom. So he was getting better and the vet was checking in by phone. And yeah, by the next morning he was bouncing around. BUT OMG when he was just small and curled up and crying in my arms at the vet I felt SO AWFUL and sad. He was so traumatized and I just started thinking about children in war zones who are traumatized and not even as safe as Todd is. OMG that empathy that keeps going all over. I don’t usually cry in front of people, so when I was holding a drugged up Todd and we were watching his favourite Florence and the Machine concert at Royal Albert Hall on YouTube, I was totally crying. My little boy! Why does he need to lose his nuts anyway? Realistically I know it’s better for him not to have them though, and now he can be boarded. But wow I was so anxious about him.

I also had this ongoing fear for weeks that his surgery would have a complication and they would take the wrong thing out, because I read about a similar surgery (he had a crypto-orchidectomy, which is when one testicle is still inside) where they accidentally took the dogs urethra and prostate and the dog had to be put down. SO OMFG I was terrified at first that that is what was happening to him. So later at home when he started peeing I was SO FUCKING HAPPY. Never been so happy to see a dog pee.

He’s doing okay now, learning to live in a cone. He’s great, such a sweetie. I love him. I’m so glad his surgery is over now and he just gets to heal and be a dog.