I’m here in Saskatoon because I’m screening some 2 Spirit videos by other people, mostly women and/or Femme Identified people (but one video is by a straight woman but about Queer Inuit love). I can’t say for sure everyone’s identity though. I mean, Identity can be super fluid anyway, so I don’t want to say it’s ALL these certain types of people, but it’s a very woman/lez/bisexual/maybe trans/non-binary content. So anyway, YEAH! I am screening that and also I curated Chandra Melting Tallow to do a performance, so we’ll see how it goes, I’m excited, it should be awesome. And then visiting people. I’ve only visited my friend Laurel so far, and seen my Mom a lot. I don’t have tons of days here, I leave Sunday. So it’s a very short trip. I haven’t been here since last May, when Grandpa’s feast was held. Normally Crees have feasts for four years after a death, but Grandpa only wanted us to do the one year.

I’ve noticed people are more wary of me in Saskatoon. White people specifically. I made a facebook status about it, how I like try to be disarming by being humourous which was always my go to to deal with like, butchphobia and stuff. But man, people don’t want to laugh when you have ink on your face. It’s like SUPER Indigenous and SUPER subculture (as cheesy as that might sound) and I dunno, it comes with a certain kind of baggage. I knew on some level it would be like that. But I notice it’s more awkward in Saskatoon. And I’ll be like trying to be funny or smile my goofy smile and white people just stare and sweat harder. And they don’t seem to care too too much if they are just passerby, but if they have to interact with me they look like they would rather be somewhere else. I have yet to decide if that’s a good thing or not. Obviously though I really just wish people were cool with it, because it’s part of my identity. BUT ALSO I’m a biracial butch dyke and I’ve had funny coloured hair most of my adult life so like, I’m used to people staring at me or acting weird. But this is different. I’m not hurt by it though, as these people are generally people I won’t have in my life.

AND I did get to be at Wanuskewin today where my Mom is doing a residency, and it’s an interpretive/cultural centre on the site of a buffalo jump, so like, there are a lot of Indigenous staff, who all smiled at me and were friendly and I felt recognized and they were interested in knowing about skin stitch and how it feels and stuff. So in that regard, I felt pretty at home and accepted. Especially since the design on my face is related to Plains Cree women.

ANYWAY it’s been good. I did some shooting outside with my Lumix, and got amazing shots, really gorgeous 4K footage of the prairies. Now I need to get some urban stuff to contrast. I was gonna do some Saskatoon and some Toronto shots. I edited with them today and they were fitting in nicely, I have a LOT to cut from this video, like, about 7 minutes needs to get cut at least. But it’s looking good and I am happy about that. I got some tipis and some sky and some plains and some water and trees and brush.

I have a LOT of work to do this month, a script, this video, three meetings, two screenings and workshops besides my own, I need to watch a bunch of submissions for TQFF. Next month is my fertility clinic appointment and I have some decisions I need to make around that. I did some calculations and I should be able to afford the fertility drugs. But if I have to pay MORE it’s gonna be lean. Possibly still doable, just lean for a while. I also have to put out a casting call for July and do some location scouting up North. So it’s busy. August all I have is one trip to Vancouver. I ALSO have to finish shooting this documentary this month and for sure by early July. So it’s super packed. And I am also going to Haida Gwaii this month, which I am super excited about because I’ve never been.

Today was funny because I went with my Mom to Wanuskewin where she’s artist in residence. And she was doing Beadhive today where she sits at a table and beads with anyone who wants to come sit with her and also bead or learn. Anyway, she was beading with Aurora and I was working on video stuff and the head curator of the Tate Modern came by because she’s talking at the Remai tonight. And Mom talked about her current project which is beaded smallpox blankets, so she gave context about what the deal was with British giving Indigenous people smallpox blankets, and then the curator felt guilty and apologized on behalf of the British and then we all laughed. Anyway, then she moved on and Mom and Aurora were talking about it being fancy people day. Then I went out on a trail walk to videotape some landscape. And then when I came back, Mom was going to the car to get the two smallpox blankets she had already beaded and put them on her table and it turned out it really WAS fancy people day because all these directors and curators from galleries and museums across Canada were at Wanuskewin getting a tour. So they came and stood around us and we all got introduced and it was pretty cute. I didn’t expect going to Mom’s work for the afternoon would be so schmoozy. I had no videos to show anyone. I mean I did and didn’t, my video I’m working on today is still really rough and not impressive yet. And clearly way too long. But Mom had some nice art to show and talk about.

Tomorrow I am going with her and my friend Michelle to Costco, mostly because I know I can get super cheap and big flash drives there. Maybe more power banks. Maybe hotrods. I already went on the first full day here to Berry Barn to get some Saskatoons, and a friend is gonna bring me chokecherries in Prince Albert that I can crush at home and eat. I really love those two berry type things and only find them here.

Anyway, yeah things are good. I have a lot of work, but I think I can do it!

SO I am back in Toronto. I was initially worried about how people would receive me with these markings on my face. I’m pleasantly surprised to say that in Edmonton, Calgary, Port Dover, and Toronto, people have been pretty okay so far. I’ve been in two airports, a few cabs, very rarely will someone obviously stare at me. I’m sure that will change as more time goes on. But I’ve only had a couple of people give me stink eye about it, both of them were white people, and I pretty much felt it roll past me because I didn’t need anything from either of them, not a service or approval or anything. I did just come home yesterday though, and I know probably some people in my co-op will comment, and possibly acquaintances I have around the neighbourhood who know me because I shop at their store all the time or eat in their establishments. But I have good relationships with those people anyway because I’m generally a friendly person to customer service and wait staff.

I’ve had a pretty good response from people I know in my real life on facebook and stuff. My Mom was in the room when I got it done and has heard me talk about wanting them for years, so she was really positive about the whole thing and it was really nice having her there. I sent a pic to my Dad over text because I actually am not super close to him so he never heard my years of thinking and wanting them. He didn’t even know I was getting them. He just said “You have lines on your face” and then said he had met an older woman many years ago who had the same lines. But both my parents are Indigenous artists, so it’s really like, pretty much impossible to shock them, thank god. And I also really didn’t do this to be shocking, I just did this because I’ve had a yearning for it for so long.

I did feel DIFFERENT though, like the way I move through the world now feels different. When I was in the airports I felt like I was a link between the past that my ancestors lived in and struggled and survived, and a future where MORE Cree people were surviving and thriving and being involved in the world. Like there are people from all over the world who pass through the Calgary and Toronto airports, and there was I! It felt like passing through a barrier, this getting tattoos thing, I’m not really sure how to explain it. I both feel connected to old Cree ways, but also new and like a connection to a vibrant future where Cree people are visible and present and creating impactful changes. I feel like before I had more anxiety about what was going to happen to Cree people, because I’ve got intergenerational trauma from Canadian and American genocides of my people. So even tho I felt like maybe we were okay, there was this sense in my blood and bones of how tenuous our survival is. But something about having this tattoo makes me feel like we are gonna make it, like we are gonna be okay, like of COURSE there are gonna be Cree people in the future, we’ve already survived a massive apocalypse and even though things are hard we can still laugh about things and love each other and do things like mark ourselves with Cree markings in a traditional way like skin stitch. I dunno, it’s really empowering for me as a Cree person to have this on my face. And I’m also really happy as a light skinned person that it’s made me really look obviously Indigenous. People have said it makes my eye shape pop out more, which is really interesting because that’s a part of my face that is really OBVIOUSLY not a white person trait. I have really Cree shaped eyes, some people who don’t know I’m Indigenous think I’m Asian. Like we just have similar shapes. BUT YEAH now I look even less white which is a relief.

I feel like I wasn’t ready for this until now. Like, the artist who did it has only practiced skin stitch for three years now, so she wasn’t available even four years ago to do this. I think the fact that more Indigenous women especially, in particular Inuk and Maori women, are doing so much to bring back their traditional markings, has made this a good time in recent history to finally get them. I think there’s more support among other Indigenous people to do this, which maybe wasn’t as strong before. When I first wanted them in 2007 I knew it was a super radical idea at that time and I didn’t even know really why I felt called to get them. I just knew it was something that got put in my brain and I wasn’t ready and I knew I wasn’t ready and I was trying to figure out what I needed to do to be ready. I thought I would need to be fluent in Plains Cree or something. And I do know a LOT more Cree, but also I just finally knew last year that I could do it when I was 40. I think I also had to seriously think about work, and how to make money and be financially stable without depending on someone who would turn me away for having facial tattoos. And now I am doing pretty good with my career, and feeling able to make money without working a JOB job. I feel like I have skills and knowledge that is pretty specialized and I can rely on, in a field where this isn’t going to fuck me over. If I wasn’t an artist of some kind, I would probably still be considering this and how to keep earning money. I think also just knowing people who have facial tattoos, and seeing this coming back in all kinds of tribes, has really made me feel like it was finally the right time.

Anyway, yeah, it’s really interesting noticing those things, and feeling not only connected to my tribe’s past, but also part of my tribe’s future. I really like that feeling and I hadn’t anticipated having it. I didn’t know what it felt like to know that Plains Cree people were going to survive what has been happening to us.

It’s Friday!
I have to work this weekend though. I have a script beat sheet due on the 24th. SHIT MAN 6 days! And in that time I also have a shoot I am doing. I’m lucky that we can all agree the ending is fine, so it’s the lead up to that that needs work. I have to get the final script done by the end of the summer, so it’s coming up!

I can’t believe I’m already looking towards the end of the summer.

Also I didn’t realize my work for the last two years would be so busy every summer. In some ways it makes sense though, people shoot in the summer times. Like of course, of course!

I haven’t heard from the ex friend I had to stop being friends with. I think some sadness is creeping in about it, but also part of that is knowing she was being so abusive that there’s no way to go back again.

I’m feeling overwhelmed by baby making stuff again. I know it’s still early days, but I’m trying to get more information for the woman who might be a surrogate but needs to know more, and a lot of information is pretty fucking dire. Like it’s a massive thing to do. Also I was talking a friend the other day about sperm donors and gay men get quarantined for six months when they donate (UGH Fucking government) so it’s better to say you are a couple or throuple or whatever depending how many people are involved. Yeahhh, that is a lot to think about. And then with public adoptions a social worker will come visit you once a month for six months to make some judgements, and you can’t be on social assistance. Which I kind of thought. Anyway yeah, technically I am still on Ontario Works even though I haven’t been paid in three months and want off. So I gotta get off before I go things like this. I am making too much money next month to stay on anyway.

I went and got my hair cut today. I think I overheard my hairdressers talking about noticing I lost weight. I mean I have, and I wasn’t offended, but it’s kind of nice that other people are noticing. AHHHH SHIT and then that gets into that whole fat hating thing I don’t want to fall into.

I have a gut, I mean, it’s likely that will always be around, I had a bit of one even before I got on the meds in my early 20’s that caused me to gain so much weight. But I’ve got more of a shape than just a tube now, which is nice, and my chins are smaller, like the fat is really disappearing there. It’s making me look different. I’m not really sure what I am gonna look like as I keep exercising. I haven’t been to boxing in a couple of weeks, but I want to go this next week. I can only go swimming next week then I have to take a break while my tattoo heals. And then I can go swimming in a few weeks again, and then in late July I have to stop again for another month after the NEXT tattoo heals.

Having my body change on me is weird. I actually never really thought I WOULD lose weight. I thought I would just be the way I was for good. But now I have things changing my body, and I know I have more muscle because I am stronger and I can also see more muscles in my body. And more muscle mass means more fat being burned even at rest. I mean so I heard.

ANYWAY I hate being excited by my body changing, because of the fat phobia and ALSO I think fat bodies are fine. BUT ALSO I had a lot of dysphoria when I DID get fat in my 20’s, because until that point I was honestly quite a skinny kid. Like, it looked so different for me and I had a lot to deal with coming to terms with it. And so now going back the other way is also weird but also exciting like it’s the old me that has always been here. And I can also see some other reasons why that happened. Like as a kid I was VERY active, I rode my bike a lot, and all through high school I walked my dog for an hour every day. I haven’t really been so active as an adult.

Ha ha so anyway, maybe I am gonna be one of those annoying light skinned masculine of centre androgynous skinny people that everyone rolls their eyes over because they are in a certain place in desirability levels. AHHHH ha ha desirability privilege. But is that still true for masculine women/non-binary people? Oh hell I don’t even want to try and unpack this right now, I’m so tired today. I do know though that I am getting more flirty attention from people. A lot of men unfortunately, and it’s just like ohhhh no that’s not what is gonna happen here. But I think probably some women are giving me a little bit of attention, they can be really subtle though and I don’t pick up on subtlety well.

Either way, this is all gonna be changed very shortly, since next Sunday is when I get my face tattooed in Edmonton. And I’m sure it’s going to change who is attracted to me and why. It’s probably going to make people find me very confrontational/scary also. And also it’s going to make me more obviously Indigenous, which is what I really want.

I have reached out to the other two individuals I am hoping will help me make a baby. It’s been really strange. No one prepares you for having those kind of blunt upfront possibly life-changing conversations with people. I really didn’t know how either of them were going to react, and I was worried I’d totally weird them out. BUT I did choose both of them to approach because they are genuinely kind loving people who I have positive relationships with. And one of them seems very excited to be involved, which makes me really happy. The other one said they were honoured, but they need more time to consider it, which is totally fine by me, and I was expecting them to need time to think and talk it over. I’m really not sure what it’s going to look like if all this works out and I do end up with a baby, as in if anyone will want to continue being involved in some way in the baby’s life. I would be pretty open to co-parents and aunties (and uncles) being involved in this child’s life. But also I don’t want to make either of these people feel like they are signing up for a lifetime commitment if really all they want to do is help out in creating a life and then see some cute pics of the kid on Instagram. I’m feeling really flexible about it.

I think something I like about the queer community is how different families can be, like, they aren’t always nuclear families, they can involve multiple parents, there are polya families, like there’s a lot of different ways of having families and raising children. You don’t have to be in a romantic partnership to parent a kid with someone, you could be friends. And who knows, maybe I’ll really just be a single mom whose friends like hanging out with my kid. Which is a nice community to raise a kid in too. I think growing up with a single parent made me feel like it’s very possible to do that. Like I DID want a partner to do this with, and I still do, but also I can see how I could do it alone. It wouldn’t be awful. It would be hard, but not impossible.

I’m really having a breakthrough in having difficult conversations though. I’ve been contacting people through OKC for maybe dates or friend hang outs. I tried to open up a conversation with someone about something that had happened between us, and even though she evaded the topic and we went back to talking about something else, I kind of felt good about bringing it up and having given her the option to discuss it with me. And the fact she didn’t want to kind of told me all I needed to know about it. I don’t really have any other heavy conversations I need to start, so I’m glad about that. It’s hard, even when it’s about positive things, or POTENTIALLY positive things. Maybe especially when it’s things that could be positive, because people are really unpredictable, and can take things in so many different ways. Like shit can just go sideways so fast.

Anyway, it’s Mother’s Day today. I promised my Mom I would make her crepes suzette and mimosas when I come back home in June, and take her for dinner to her favourite Korean restaurant. She’s finally gotten really excited about this potential baby. It’s so unknown still, there are so many variables, and so many more steps, and so much more money involved. But even if I don’t end up with a genetically related to me baby, I’m still gonna end up with a baby, because if this doesn’t work out I’m going to try adoption. But I think the idea of having a baby that belongs to me and is part of my tribe is really important. I admit I would be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. I wouldn’t give up on kids, but it would feel just a bit different. I’m sure I would love whatever kids I end up with, and probably even if I DO have this baby, there’s gonna be a kid in my life who is not biologically related also, because I’m probably gonna have two. I dunno, it’s interesting.

BUT I’m glad that it’s Mother’s Day and I’ve finally talked to the two people I hope will be able to help me with this task of making a baby. It’s a journey and I’m taking steps everyday.

So, I’ve been trying on the pronoun “they/them” and actually I’ve decided I prefer “she/her.” I really did give it a shot. I just feel comfortable with she and her. I still feel really non-binary/genderfluid though. I still don’t feel like getting medical interventions for my gender stuff, I’m happy with the body I have.

So it was kind of surprising to me when I went swimming today how much apprehension around swimming I have had due to gendered issues. I didn’t realize I’ve had so many negative experiences swimming because of being a little girl (when I was one) and being a masculine girl especially. Anyway, there were some differences in my experience today that made me relax and feel better about it.

The first one was my swimsuit is a one piece Beefcake Swimwear swimming suit that is modelled after 1920’s swimming suits, so it’s got like, shorts, and a higher top, and it covers a lot, and for my gender it feels really good. I didn’t like all the other swimming suits I have had, ladies one piece flowers etc things with skirts and shit like that. And this is made for non-binary people and others who don’t feel comfortable with regular swimwear. It felt really comfortable and I felt protected even though I was just wearing some spandex. But I don’t know, it made me feel at ease with myself and my body. I liked it. So that was a big change.

Also the pool we went to is new, and the gendered things you find in most pools just weren’t there. There’s no gendered group change rooms, you go into individual stalls to change. Which also made me feel better as a queer, because I hate just trying to put on gym/swim clothes knowing there’s a big neon sign over my head going “DYKE! DYKE!” and feeling like lesbophobic women are starting to act weird. ANYWAY yeah, ALSO it’s just nice having privacy like that to change. I’m not really like, prudish, I don’t think, I can be naked lots of places. But I don’t always like being naked with strangers.

There’s also not gendered shower rooms, like basically it’s a totally gender neutral aquatic centre which I found SO AMAZING. I didn’t realize how uncomfortable I felt with gendered swimming pools until I went to one that wasn’t.

They actually do have swimming times there that are specifically for women, and I’m curious about going to those. But mostly I was just feeling pretty safe. And it was lane swimming today, pretty “boring” stuff, so it was mostly people wanting to exercise and not really just playing in the water. I’ve never done lane swimming before, it was kind of nice though, and my arms feel a little bit stronger from it. But yeah, there were a lot of elderly people there, and that felt comfortable too, because I don’t really like being around jerky youth that treat me shitty because they don’t get me. Maybe I am just remembering that from when I was also a youth.

Anyway, I have another exercise activity I can do, and that feels pretty awesome. Swimming and boxing! I’m gonna stick with that for a while and see what happens!

It’s now AN ADDITIONAL DAY before I can get my Macbook Pro from the shop. They got the part delivered at 11am, but no one did anything until I called at 3:30 and asked how it was going, only to hear them have to go and find out the part had been sitting at the front the whole time. Then I had been told it would be 45 minutes to install, only to call at 5:15 and tell me it still wasn’t done and after that they still needed to do a three hour test, with the store closing at 6pm anyway. SO BASICALLY it’s hopefully gonna be done at 1:30pm, but the way things are going I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to break something new. It’s such a shit show. OMG. I took this thing in April 4th, and it’s gonna be May 8th tomorrow.

Also I did a shoot this past weekend, so I have footage that has been shot and needs to be transferred to the new computer and converted and then brought into Adobe Premiere and After Effects for some editing and colour correction and possible other effects. So it’s like, I can’t do any of that with this broken Macbook I am using, this 7 year old sad heap. I tried to convert some AVCHD files to 4K video, and it just like, got real sad and slow and suddenly nothing worked. And then I tried to convert to even smaller files and it was just like, nope!

Anyway whatever, the end is sort of in sight, although that might completely change again depending on the skill of the repair people.

I’ve had a couple of personal breakthroughs recently, which is really nice. I guess “interpersonal” breakthroughs is probably a better way of putting it, since they involve other people. One is that I was finally able to completely let go of feelings for someone who just wasn’t feeling anything for me and wasn’t going in the same direction with her life either. I’m so fucking relieved, because I’ve been trying to be open to new women, and completely shut down at the same time. But now it’s like, different. I still doubt I am gonna massively fall in love in the next couple of months, although surprising things happen all the time. But yeah, it’s a good move for me, to move on.

The other interpersonal breakthrough is basically feeling pretty confident about no longer being friends with the “best friend” who flipped out on me three times in the last year and took everything to a dark place and got so goddamn toxic. I’m feeling pretty relieved about the end of that too. She tried to wish me a happy birthday after and it was so fucking weird, especially after her completely evil toxic sludge of a meltdown in my emails while I was at boxing class. Like not even an apology before she started trying to talk to me like she cared anymore, when her expressions before were about totally loathing me. Like loathing everything that I do and am. And it feels kind of like, fucked, like why would I have been such good friends with someone who hated me that much? Why would SHE have been friends with me so long if she’s hated me and what I do and talk about this whole time? It’s kind of sick and twisted. Anyway, THAT is over and she paid the rest of the money she owed me and basically now if she emails me again I’m going to block her and that will be the end of it. I already deleted her number, unfriended her on Facebook, and blocked her on Instagram. I guess I am still following her on Youtube but I’m gonna “unsubscribe” whenever I get around to it. Basically I only use youtube for music video watching and tutorials anyway. Plus who knows, if I keep “following” her and she has some kind of meltdown again I don’t really want to get a notice where she makes a video about the people she hates. What a drag that would be.

I’ve been listening to the new Janelle Monaé album a lot, I’m super into it. It’s kind of perfect for my life right now.

I’ve got an appointment to get my chest done, and I don’t mean top surgery, I mean a gorgeous roaring bear on my solar plexus that I can show off with low cut shirts this summer. I’m only getting the outline done first. The artist has tattooed me before, which is good cause she kind of knows my limits from the last time. I’ve managed to do about 2.5 hours before hitting the threshold of pain, and the last time was like, only an hour but she works fast. I’m scheduled in for about three hours, but that’s pretty flexible, it won’t be the whole time. I’m excited! I’ve wanted it for a while, not as long as this other tattoo I wanna get on my ass, but like, long enough that I’m sure I want it there. Eventually I’ll wanna get a Little Mister and a Posey tattoo I am sure, but that’s for another day.

I’m also getting my chin done in literally 20 days. It’s coming soon and gonna totally change my life!08

THE NEXT DAY!

I’ve got my Macbook Pro BACK! BUTTTTTTTTTT it needs to be restored, so for whatever reason I decided to follow the Carbon Copy Cloner advice from the internet and now it’s taking a fucking long time. I mean, it’s at 178.09 GB transferred right now, BUT I need to transfer 1.65 TB which is a lot. And this has already taken 3 and a half hours. SO LONG! OMG. I did this before and it went way faster, I don’t know if I had less GB at the time, or what, but this is like, oy. I am also using the external hard drive as the startup disk and I am beginning to think that was a poor choice. BUT I was following internet instructions. I’m sure when it’s done it will be fine and perfect and I’ll be in love with it again, BUT it might take 26-25.5 more hours to get there, which is disappointing. That’s basically a whole other day. MY LAPTOP I JUST WANT IT BACK!

Posey had dog class, she did good while we had high value treats like cheddar and wieners, but I ran out early, and she ran out of patience, and basically we were sent home early after she just stood on alert barking at every little noise she heard. She did good tho for a little worried dog, she’s a good girl, she just needs more cheese and wieners. Don’t we all?

It’s a beautiful day today. I’m beginning to think I might have a new crush which is totally ridiculous and it’s probably not going anywhere because I don’t really know this woman and she doesn’t know me at all. I just think someone is cute. BUT it’s nice to think someone is cute.

More cuties! More cheese and wieners!

This morning I was watching a slow lazy bumblebee buzz around outside my window. I think they are my favourite of all the bees. I took it as a good omen.

And then my mail came, and it was a confirmation of an appointment with the fertility clinic to explore getting some eggs frozen! I had to email them back to confirm, and anyway, in July I go meet with this fertility doctor! So that kind of made my day! I also found out some good work news, and am gonna have some work phone calls this afternoon.

AND I went and bought a fancy camera. I’m waiting for some lenses to get delivered today, I have been following the tracking number and it’s left Montreal yesterday and said it would be delivered today, but even tho it’s only almost 2pm, I am suspecting that it’s going to be tomorrow when it comes. UNLESS it comes around supper? Who knows! I also ordered a camera bag which came this morning with my other mail. I really want to fill it up with lenses and feel prepared, BUT noooooo where are they? Somewhere between here and Montreal.

I’ve been reading some fertility advice on the clinic’s page, apparently it’s a good idea to quit high impact exercise, which boxing is, which sucks because I love my boxing classes. I’m totally willing to stop for a while and do other exercise. I just got a new non-binary swimsuit that I want to try out, so that would be a good go to. My nearest pool has free admission, so it’s completely within the realm of possibility for me to start swimming once a week or something. It would be nice, I haven’t swam in a long time. Is it Swam or Swum? Past tense for swim? I dunno!

I got an update on my Macbook, Apple has PROMISED to ship the required custom part tomorrow, which means it would get there Friday or Monday. I’m at the top of the priority list for getting it installed, so as soon as it comes to the shop they would take 45 minutes to install it and call me to come pick it up. SO it could be soon I have my macbook, or it could be Monday. STILL that is at least an end in sight to this terrible sad situation.

AND my new camera bag also has a compartment for a laptop, so technically I could carry all of this equipment with me all at once, which would be amazing. I’m sure it would be heavy, BUT probably not as heavy as I am imagining it would be. If the lenses arrive today I’m gonna cancel my camera booking for this weekend and just use what I got.

I have a shoot this weekend and I booked a bunch of stuff, but recently cancelled some of it because basically I have a total audio package now with a boom pole and windsock/thingy and shock absorbing mount for the mic, and of course the mics I got last year and my Zoom recorder. So now with my camera and my laptop, I can basically make videos all on my own without grants again, I just need to rent lights on occasion which are so inexpensive. So I’m pretty happy about that. I’ve also been paying for adobe creative cloud these days, so I have access to all the Adobe programs and can edit shit, and do fancy ass things. It’s nice! I almost feel spoiled, except I spoiled myself, except also really it’s just work stuff so ha ha it’s like, yeah, I needed it.

The thing is, I DO need grants to make videos, because there are OTHER costs besides renting equipment. BUT technically if I wanted to do something I thought was more controversial or dodgy in terms of getting funding, I could probably do it on my own. Like say art porn or something. But I dunno, I feel weird about making porn, cause honestly I haven’t had a ton of sexual partners in my life, so I don’t even really feel like the kind of sex I actually like is the kind of sex I have even had myself yet. So making porn about sex I haven’t been able to have because I’m what the millennials call Demisexual, AND kinky, I dunno…. Seems like I need to have more experience before I can make that kind of porn. I’m just weird that way. Like yeah, I guess I just don’t want to make stuff about things I haven’t done.

Which is ALSO a funny thing to say because I’m making a feature about things I haven’t done, and that to my knowledge no human is capable of.

Tonight I think I’m gonna chill out and watch Mulholland Drive for the first time in a few years. I lost my DVD and ordered the BluRay from Amazon a while back. Actually today I took recycling out, and it was a shit load of Amazon Prime boxes and I felt super sheepish like “there’s the Big Spender in Unit X.” Not to mention this summer it looks like I’m gonna shell out a few thousand for some miracle science baby making stuff. BUT at least I don’t have to order fertility drugs off of Amazon. Although the shipping would be free.

I’m trying to do my dogs training homework with her. It literally would only take 5-10 minutes, during which she would be fed a whole bunch of hot dog pieces. But she saw me put on the treat bag and got terrified and hid. So now I’m sitting on my couch wearing a pouch of hot dogs and writing in my blog. And Posey is under the couch.

Little Mister wanted to do Posey’s homework for her, but I told him no. Even tho I know he’s so smart and obedient that I could probably teach him to juggle three balls in the air at once for hot dogs. BUT THAT’S WHY! Posey needs assistance, and he is fine. I did give him some hotdogs tho.

SO some things have happened. One is that I got my personals ad posted! And I’ve gotten some attention, which is really sweet, and who knows what will happen! The interesting thing is I am not just getting attention on Instagram, I’ve also seen women checking me out at other events in real life, which is very strange for me but also flattering. I’m not very good at flirting back, I’m used to kind of feeling like I am chasing women and feeling pathetic about it. So having interested women approach me is really unusual. Also it is springtime, which is really nice, and I think a bit of spring fever is in the air. I think the problem is part of me really wishes I was with a sort of unrequited love, and it’s just not happening, and it bums me out but also I need to keep myself open to people who can actually give me love and attention. And I just wish it was playing out differently than it is. And I also know I can’t wait around forever and just stay unloved and undesired and feeling shitty about it. And there are some interesting women who want to get to know me, and I really can’t turn down people when I don’t know who they are yet. I mean obviously I could, BUT I think it is good for me to remain open to people, ESPECIALLY when I am finally entering a period in my life where I am getting some flirty attention.

Dating is weird. I’m not actually going on any dates yet, just messaging people. BUT being monogamous now (or potentially monogamous maybe since I’m still single) makes things weird cause I don’t want to offend people being like “I don’t know and I am talking to people but things can always change,” BUT ALSO I really haven’t committed to anyone and that doesn’t mean I never will commit to one person. But it feels lowkey shitty to flirt with a bunch of people. I think I feel shitty about it just because I know as a person who accepted polyamory just because I didn’t think I could do better, how awful it feels to see someone you like chatting someone else up. And I hate making people feel shitty the way I have felt shitty.

And the other part obviously is wanting to be available for this person who doesn’t even want to spend time alone with me anymore. BUT Therapy is on Friday so that’s a plus. Gah! Why is life so weird?

Anyway! The shitty thing that happened this last weekend was my friend nuked our relationship. Like threw multiple grenades into our friendship and even gave a parting shot when I had to tell her we couldn’t be friends anymore. I don’t even feel like saying all the terrible things she said, but I was in a boxing class and she suddenly flipped out and sent multiple angry emails ripping into me about all my gaping faults and how I was gonna be a terrible parent and was a horrible filmmaker and couldn’t tell a story and she said shitty things about me flirting with people on Instagram too. Like it was so crazy and fucked up. And I wasn’t even done reading the first paragraph of her emails to me after boxing class when I knew we couldn’t be friends anymore. And this is a 15 year friendship, the same one I had problems with in January.

In hindsight I wish I had ended this friendship last year, when she started getting aggressive and negative and tearing me down and making me doubt my experiences and my relationships with other people. I now see she was trying to bring me down because she was threatened by me. And I held on so long because we had years of good friendship times, and I thought if I waited long enough she would go back to the way she used to be. But instead she just got worse and worse. OH and she got angry at me for not responding to her fast enough through emails. And last week I had a deadline I was working to, and a lot of other work and social events to be involved in. So really I couldn’t spend the emotional energy to respond to her. And I was going to, but then she started ranting about how horrible assisted reproduction was and how the government shouldn’t pay for it. KNOWING fully that I have a referral to a fertility clinic to freeze my eggs and eventually do IVF with a surrogate. And I think I was making spaghetti sauce, and I was like oh man I had better answer this, so I sent a one sentence email kind of telling her it wasn’t okay, especially when talking to an Indigenous person who comes from a city where they were nonconsensually sterilizing Cree women as recently as a couple of years ago. And then she got madder and double downed, and then I was doing something else and could only answer on my phone so I sent another one sentence email. ANYWAY that’s when she flipped out the next day. Yep.

SO it’s my birthday in three days. And I’m looking forward to it, even tho my ex-friend did her damnedest to make me feel as shitty about myself as possible. The thing was she was working hard to make me feel shitty for a whole year, and it was an entire campaign. And I’m just like, so done with it. She can fuck off back to loserville. It was the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen, like a two year old having a tantrum in my inbox calling me a poopyhead. Only with adult language and years of intimate knowledge of my life. It was fucked. And the other thing too is that I was coming to realize I would need to end our friendship anyway when I got into a serious relationship, because she’s made it clear that she HATED anyone I liked, like just loathed, for no good reason and without ever meeting these women. And part of me knew if I got a girlfriend she would actively try to break us up. And I just didn’t want that kind of negative energy in my life anymore. SO going into my 40’s without this friendship is a blessing really. And I don’t think I’m gonna let anyone treat me that badly again. It’s over, my boundaries are clear, and I’m way better than that.

So today I got myself some kind of flowering plant to kill this season (I am bad with flowering plants) and I went to my favourite Thai restaurant for basil beef and fried bananas. I washed the floor to get this bad energy out of my house. And I got some lottery tickets on the off chance some magical karma is coming my way.

Today 10 people died on Yonge Street. And I talked about it a lot on my Facebook. And it’s becoming clear to some people (and I don’t know how true this is) that the driver of the van that plowed into all those people considered himself an Incel. That’s kind of a dark underbelly I am still shocked by. I haven’t had sex with another person in a really long time, but I’m still not gonna try and start some kind of toxic masculinity “revolution” over it just because I’m bad at getting laid. I was telling Mom how ridiculous it was, this whole Incel thing, and she was like “Oh but you’re not a man! You don’t have those urges!” (She’s totally joking she knows it’s a bunch of bullshit) and I was like “OH god, you can solve those urges with a hand and a piece of kleenex!” I mean sure it sucks not having an intimate relationship, but I think there’s probably some good reasons some people aren’t getting women’s attention the way they want. Like being a misogynist pig who thinks it’s legit to kill people because no one touched your penis recently. It’s been a fucking long time for me, but I have access to toys, porn, and my imagination, and until I find someone I can have a mutually loving relationship with, I’m just gonna have to live with that and the love of my friends. And that’s okay!

UGH some people! To ruin and destroy so many peoples lives just because of something petty like that.

Posey still doesn’t want my hotdogs. And I’m not gonna make her eat hot dogs if she doesn’t want them. I guess I’ll put them away and see if she wants to do her homework tomorrow.

I did my laundry, made chicken wings, went to an appointment, had a phone meeting, and wrote today. It seems like a lot. I had a look at my week this week and it’s like, oh man, soooooo many things to do. Like I don’t even have time to go get my hair cut, unless I go super early one morning. And my hair is getting plenty shaggy. I don’t feel like talking about work, even tho that’s basically my whole week and weekend coming up (yes! Both Saturday and Sunday!)!! What do I want to talk about?

I’ve been mostly writing about feelings this last year and some. Okay, so probably longer than that. I have a lot of feelings! All the time! I’m not crying everyday anymore though, so obviously things are changing for me, which is probably a good thing. It was getting ridiculous. Just start writing about something and then cry cry cry.

I think that’s what happens when you spend a decade thinking your life is gonna REALLY start when you finally get into a serious relationship. And meanwhile things are happening, like life is still going on and things are majorly changing and it’s still like “Someday I will have a girlfriend and everything will be perfect and I can do all those things I always wanted to” like have way more adventurous next level sex, and have a family with human children instead of just dog children, and live with someone, blah blah blah. BUT waiting around for that to happen kinda sucks. Like it’s just boring, even if there are cute people to flirt with it doesn’t mean much if they don’t want to really be with you. Like maybe things are meant to happen without this unknown partner.

At the same time, I spent a long time crafting the ultimate Herstory Personals ad to submit tomorrow, and it’s probably not gonna get me any dates, but maybe? Maybe it will at least pique some interest.

Someone not very long ago told me they thought I was too cool for them and that’s why they didn’t date me. It’s kind of bothered me ever since. I mean, she went on to get married and have a happy life or whatever. But I’m left wondering if I am some kind of horribly cursed TOO COOL person who people are afraid to date. Oh man! And the thing is I see myself as quite a nerd really. I like all kinds of weird things which probably aren’t cool, I do thinky things like write all the time, I make experimental videos a lot, I would rather spend an evening in with my dogs than go to a club. I’m not cool! It was hammered into me through elementary school that I was SO NOT COOL and therefore so not respected. And my teachers would always write “Thirza is well respected in class” and then some kid would be calling me ugly on the playground and I’m like seriously? You really think this, that these white kids respect me? Some NDN nerdy tomboy?

Anyway ha ha let’s save that for therapy at the end of the month.

But anyway, I don’t really know how people see me, I mean potential dates. Yesterday while I was walking to Kink Toronto to pick up a cane and another hurty thing, my friend was texting me being like “I didn’t know you were famous. Did you know you are famous?” and I was like “Ha ha yeah.” But it’s still kind of ridiculous, like I’m not TMZ famous (thank god!), but I’m famous enough people write about me in university classes.

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I abandoned this post, finally came back to it. It’s been a busy week, only halfway over. I’m tired, I worked on my writing really really hard yesterday, then was immediately unhappy with it and today ended up getting my haircut and thinking a lot. Also went to an AGM. And had a teen burger. I’ve been doing some good stuff this week, mostly not wrapped up in my feelings the way I was at the beginning of the week. I did get my Herstory personals ad in, so I am hoping it gets posted. YAY! It better, I gave them a donation.

I’m so tired. I’m so tired. I wish I had weekends back. I mean, honestly I am mostly making my own schedule these days. I just wish I had more veg out time.

My laptop was supposed to be finished today, but I didn’t get a call back. I’m hoping they call me tomorrow. I really want it already, I want to go back to my real life laptop.

I’m thinking of reworking how I operate on social media. Not so much NOT being on social media, more being judicious about how I relate to each one, in particular Facebook. I need to figure out what I am getting out of Facebook, and what I am NOT getting out of it, and what I want them to know about me and be able to sell to people. Because I have no hope that they will ever not be selling my data. That might look like me unliking a bunch of pages that are more commercial, changing my settings and profile info, reducing my use of check ins. I’m not totally sure and I gotta think about it a lot. Also people have been using it for networking with me, and in many ways I see my profile as more of a personal place for real life friends. I may delete a bunch of people who just lurk, because I feel like I don’t want people seeing my profile when I don’t get anything out of them. I also know I’m not gonna leave because it’s become the place to find out about events and publicize things. It’s very frustrating, this dependence on that ONE site. The other thing is that I am going to try and spread myself around a little bit more, use Twitter a little more, use Tumblr, I like Instagram because it’s a more chipper positive place. But FB owns it too, so it’s not really such a separate place. I usually post things from Instagram onto my fb, but only because my Mom doesn’t have an Instagram. I might change that too tho, and not share as frequently from Insta to FB. Ha ha fuck. I’m also really happy that Open Diary opened up again, because I got a lot more emotional validation there than any other social media network I’ve been on. It’s going to be a subscription service. But to be honest, I would pay for that kind of honest anonymous way of relating to strangers again.

Ha ha yeah and obviously I have this overshare blog, but this is my artist page project, and not really part of a social media network. I have way more control over this page. Anyway, those are my thoughts.