From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>
Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2003 1:34 PM
Subject: Lover of man who killed Manitoba Mountie gets 7 years for her part in slaying» Storm in northern Alta. town destroys arena, picks up building, uproots trees» Death of nurse drives home toll SARS is having on health-care sector
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Woke up early this morning, even before the alarm went off, before realizing that it is a holiday so I went back to sleep. I think Karina was up until about 5 am watching movies. She was watching Ghost World then reviewing different scenes and making sketches of the outfits.
Dreamed about a huge pileup of transport trucks that happened almost in slow motion, and with great poetry of motion.
Received a lot of comments on my new summer haircut. It is very army-looking. The clippers I used were dull and pulled at my hair; I went shorter than I had planned, but it is good for the hot summer weather.
The first day of Khyber Kids seemed to go smoothly. Afterwards Andréa and I tried to learn some website updating from Shawn but the programs weren’t behaving and we postponed until next week. Am going to go over the website as it exists now and make notes of changes, as well as make text and image files to be added.
It was busy in the KDMC for the afternoon, as it was a grant deadline. I didn’t get one finished, though I did go down to the AGNS briefly to take a digital image of one of the paintings for the Art Bank deadline. Alyssa took me through the galleries; the elevator is broken so one has to use the emergency stairs to get between floors. She is giving tours of the Canvasses of War exhibition.
Spencer stopped by to check his email. He is going to be working at Live Art for 2 weeks while Sally is away in Newfoundland. We are all broke at the moment so we took up an office collection to buy a pack of smokes to share. I went to the bank to make a deposit and came back with a pack of Peter Jacksons, the cheapest cigarettes. Shawn said that they are called the “poor man’s” cigarettes in Regina. He is often talking about Regina.
Met up with Jennifer and we had a quick beer at the Club before heading to the Anna for the openings. There was a photo show combining photos and string and Jonathan Johnson’s show of paintings that reminded me of my own “rooftop” paintings I made years ago. His are little more considered and painterly, with a much more muted palette. Jason Johnson was showing his dioramas in Gallery 3, bizarre and twisted stuff, sort of like a miniature Paul McCarthy. Nice stuff.
Spent a couple hours after the openings just trying to print a copy of my CV for the Canada Council Art Bank application; what a pain. The network was glitchy. Picked up some pita, chick peas, and a lemon at Nova Grocer on my way home. Made some supper and spent most of the evening reading A Fine Balance.
Just spent the past few hours online researching for my catalogue into. Jennifer just called and we are going to find a patio to have a beer and celebrate Canada Day. Would have gone Mudding with Andrew and Co. but there isn’t enough room in the vehicles.
Oh, I forgot to mention to you that I posted a picture of you on Hot or Not. Currently you have 107 votes and are rated a 7; not bad, considering that you’re listed in the 18-25 age category.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>, chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2003 7:45 AM
Subject: Tens of thousands gather on Parliament Hill for Canada Day celebrations» Canada Day competes with moving day in Quebec as country marks July 1» Vancouver promises Winter Games that embrace Olympic ideals
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Didn’t sleep well last night; the room was hot and stuffy, the fan loud. Seems much cooler downstairs.
Spent most of Canada Day with Jennifer and Karina. She came over in the afternoon and we sat in the back yard briefly while Karina made herself a skirt from an old pair of pants; she did it in twenty minutes. We went to the Bitter End first and sat on the patio and had a few beer, then went on a tour of NSCAD, though many of the departments were closed. Karina was searching for a copy of a reading that she never did find and was supposed to have read for her class later today. Both Kane and Ed were working security; they are the first guards I remember seeing there as a student. Ed has just come back to work after taking 2 years off recuperating from a heart attack.
Our next patio venture was C’est Ci Bon, which wasn’t quite as nice. They served the beer in tall ceramic coffee cups with Christmas decals on them. We watched a man painting the exterior of Freak Lunchbox and couldn’t exactly figure out why painters wear white. It has something to do with the tradition of the painting trade, as a way to distinguish between painters and other tradesmen.
Watched many people walking around wearing red and white. Lots of folks had maple leafs painted onto their arms or faces. Lots of flags everywhere; small ones sticking out of pony tails or hats, larger ones sticking out of cars or jeeps. The whole affair, the unabashed patriotism, seems more American than Canadian. Jennifer said that when she was living in Ottawa many Americans would point out that they see more Canadian flag waving than Americans. I had always assumed it was the opposite.
We walked back to Jennifer’s to get a bottle of wine. She is staying at Jane’s small apartment across from where the fire was recently. She is looking after Jane’s cat while she is away. Jane has the biggest cat I’ve ever seen; she’s almost as wide as she is long. We went back to our back yard and drank wine and listened to the fireworks and talked about art, postmodernism, family and politics. It’s funny how much you learn about a person and their family in such a short time. It was nice just to sit in the yard until late, the temperature stayed nice and there seemed to be very few bugs about, though Karina did get bit a few times. It must be her rare blood type.
Went inside and watched Rare Birds to finish off the night.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>
Date: Thursday, July 3, 2003 7:59 AM
Subject: Vancouver wins 2010 Winter Games, first Canadian Olympics since ’88» Toronto off WHO’s SARS-affected list but need for vigilance remains high» Liberals tops in fundraising again, but reforms may cut future take
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Had a tiring day. The building was really hot all day, and the office was full. Andréa came in early and took over my desk and computer. Mareike is back from Montréal and we went over scheduling for the rest of the summer. Walked home for lunch. Sarah is back from her grandmother’s funeral in Newfoundland, I had a cigarette with her in the Club.
Mareike and I worked on enhancing the tool cart for most of the afternoon. The cart was donated to us from a design student friend of Dean’s, but it wasn’t quite sturdy enough to hold tools. Parts of it seemed a little design-driven, and overall it just wasn’t practical enough. Made a couple trips to the NSCAD woodshop to use the table saw and chop saw. I cut the grooves in the leftover wood we used from the Khyber too deeply and some of them split. Luckily there was lots of off-cuts in the woodshop that were better quality to begin with. We originally called the NS Centre for Craft and Design and asked to use their woodshop, which is chronically underused, but they wouldn’t let us use it. We needed to make a proposal and wait at least a day. Seems a bit ridiculous to write a proposal to cut six pieces of wood. Must be why the place is under-used. Now our tool cart is butt-ugly but functions much better.
Mike stopped by the office with $200 cash for me, for my entry in the new arts magazine he is starting. Caught me by surprise; I still haven’t contacted his partner in Montréal about exactly what I am going to contribute. Will do that today. The $ came in handy; I already needed to take a pay advance to pay rent. Lyndon came by to collect in the evening and of course the first thing he noticed was that the staircase carpet was missing. Karina was straight up with him in her response: that it was a disgusting carpet and we had rolled it up and put it in the basement. He didn’t press it further, though he did ask about the oil bill. There was a delivery the end of May he wants us to pay for, even though the furnace hasn’t been on since late April, early May at the latest. We’re probably not even going to use that oil, especially if we can find a place in October. Beyond that, we just can’t afford it right now. Karina told him we’d pay when her student loan comes in next week.
Was called by a radio station in Toronto about the Dear Jean… show. They want to do an interview by phone with me later tonight. I’m a bit wary yet intrigued; it is a news radio station, and the interview is going to be much longer than the CBC one. I just don’t know the interviewer from a hole in the ground.
Went home for supper, frustrated at not getting as much done in the office as I would have liked. Rebecca, Karina and I walked to Sobeys to buy some groceries. Karina made supper while I read. We watched a couple more episodes of Twin Peaks afterward, trying to cheer Rebecca up.
Congrats on the Vancouver winning bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Better hope that all the construction and increase in visitors doesn’t cause that big west coast earthquake; the one that’s been expected for so long but nobody wants to talk about. I bet amateur sports funding gets a healthy shot in the arm as a result of the win. Probably wouldn’t hurt to improve on the earthquake preparedness as well.
Our farewell party for Rebecca initially scheduled for this Friday has been cancelled due to two things: lack of adequate planning and notice, and the fact that the next big Burlesque show is the same night. We may all go to the Burlesque show; it should be fun, especially with its location being at the Legion.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>, chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Friday, July 4, 2003 7:52 AM
Subject: Supporters gather at airport to welcome home Vancouver Olympic bid team» Mad cow case could have roots in imported American cattle, says report» Over 2,100 Ontarians tested for West Nile in last two months
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Screwed up royally for my radio interview with Jim Richards at CFRB Newstalk 1010 in Toronto last night. He called at just past 11 pm for the pre-interview while I was whipping up some supper for myself and Jennifer; we had been out drinking since we finished work for the day. He said that he’d call back but when he didn’t after forty minutes I was curious and checked the phone messages; there were two from him. Apparently Sarah K. had thought I was finished with the phone and was on it when Jim called back. During his two messages on the phone he referred to my letter-writing project as “shenanigans” and “wacky antics I pull”. Maybe it wouldn’t have been such a great interview anyway. I’ll call the station or email them today to apologize; I couldn’t call them back because of the long-distance block on my phone. That and I had left the station number at work.
Eleanor picked Jennifer up and took her to CKDU as a guest on Artsmarts; she sounded very comfortable on the radio. We hadn’t planned to be out so late; Karina and I met her after work and we went for a drink at the Argyle patio, which turned into two, and Karina headed back to school and we were about ready to leave when Andréa stopped by, she is in post-breakup mode so we had another, then the weather turned cold and we went inside and had another. We ended up at the Club for yet another beer and by this time I was feeling really light-headed; I hadn’t eaten all day. When I was sick in the bathroom I decided it was time to go and eat. I offered to cook but then overdid the steak, the potatoes were dry and the salad was bland.
The afternoon had gone well; responded to lots of email, took Khyber Kids registrations, worked on some texts. Met with Jennifer in the afternoon to go over various Canada Council grants, and we discussed the potential meeting in Newfoundland. Lucas called Future Shop to inquire about the computer for the KDMC. We were supposed to have it by Friday, Monday at the latest. He was told on the phone that it wouldn’t even be shipping out until Tuesday, from BC. When he called back to complain and spoke to the sales agent, the one who had told Lucas and I that we would have the unit by Monday, he denied he had ever said it. Of course, he does work on straight commission. Our threats to charge them for the days of lost work fell on deaf ears; they wouldn’t even offer us a loaner until our unit came in. They actually suggested we buy a whole new machine and just return it afterwards. Bastards. I knew we shouldn’t have gone to one of those evil big-box stores. Now we’ve got to find another decent computer real fast; the KDMC needs six to run the classes properly next week. I’m confident that Shawn, Lucas or Dean will think of something.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>
Date: Monday, July 7, 2003 8:14 AM
Subject: Big picture of SARS obscures tragedies, strange twists of 4-month outbreak» NDP in Nova Scotia say ruling Tories soft on insurance companies» Family hopeful lost hikers in Russia will be found with smaller-scale search
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Sorry I haven’t written lately, had a busy weekend. Friday night was the Burlesque show at the Legion on Cogswell Street. Had picked up advance tickets for myself, Karina and Jen from Nora at work on Friday, but heard that the show was rapidly selling out so waited in line before 8:30 to get tickets for Spencer and Sarah, too. We had already started drinking Martinis at Sarah’s mom’s place—Sarah was avoiding her roommates, and her mom is in Toronto—and as a result of that we missed most of the first act. When we got to the Legion the upstairs was packed, hot and smoky. The second half of the show was fun and ran smoothly, each of the acts being only a few minutes long. Lots of pasties! We all stayed and danced for awhile then went back to Sarah’s to finish drinking, bringing Marguerite and Spencer’s friend Tara with us. I spilled martini mix all over the kitchen floor; the top flew off the mixer. We sat outside and enjoyed the summer air, the burlesque show perhaps inspiring more flirtatious behaviour from us.
Saturday morning Tamara called and asked if we wanted to go with them to Ponhook Lake to my grandparent’s cabin with them. My parents have been there for the past week. Karina elected to stay at home; she had work to do, and doesn’t appreciate the more rustic aspects of a cabin in the woods. Trev picked me up at about 11 after a dentist appointment and we drove back to Timberlea, picked up Tamara and Sierra (their dog) and headed out. We stopped at a pet store in Hammonds Plains to get Sierra a lifejacket.
Spent most of the afternoon pulling apart and re-assembling one section of the stone wall near the beach a the cabin. Dad had been clearing away the weeds from the shore and raking the beach and uncovered a large rock, which we rolled up to the wall. Trev caught his finger between two large rocks while trying to position them into the wall; for a few minutes we thought we were going to have another finger situation on the beach (I crushed my finger there when I was 6 years old). He’ll probably lose the nail but other than that it looks OK, a robin’s egg blue, not the blue-black of deadened nerves.
My grandparents stopped by and offered to take us all to the annual Greenfield Strawberry Supper, at the community centre nearby. We had brought food for a barbecue but somehow the decision-making led us to the strawberries, and a forty-minute wait in a line-up in the parking lot in the blazing sun to get into a medium-sized community centre filled with tables and people all eating the same dish: beans, cold ham, potato salad, beets and brown bread. It was a gazillion degrees inside. I sat with my grandparents and marvelled at my grandmother’s appetite: she’s tiny, yet she tucked away more of the supper than I did.
Went back to the lake and Trev, Grampy and Dad and I dragged the float down from the top of the beach to the water; Dad and Trev paddled it out a ways and dropped its anchor. Swam once more before the end of day; the water was warm on top, getting colder as it gets deeper. It was nice just to float in the water and try to not think of anything.
Sat out in front of the campfire until it got dark and the boats and jetskis stopped. Those jetskis are a bloody nuisance; louder than all get-out, especially on an enclosed lake. It didn’t get dark ’till past 10 PM. Trev fired up the barbecue and he cooked steak. We were swatting flies and listening for the owls. Went to sleep in one of the old bunk-beds, and woke with a stiff back and Eminem (?) in my head after having bizarre Twin Peaks-like dreams: A strange hotel, filled with a film crew or recipients of an awards gala, or both, and Heather Locklear, looking a hundred years old close-up, and a strange elevator operator with red eyes who spoke in riddles.
Made scrambled eggs for breakfast and then we hit the road; Tamara had a bridal shower to attend. We stopped at their place first, unloaded the car and Tamara dropped me off at home. Karina had been re-upholstering our couch, covering it in a nice pink fabric. It looks snazzy. Finished the last chapter of A Fine Balance; no real redemption, just more loss, more futility.
Made plans to go to the eyelevel pot luck at Rainbow Haven and took the car. Picked up some fruit on the way to make fruit salad. The weather was beautiful so of course there were tons of vehicles parked along the roadside leading into Rainbow Haven. I walked about twenty minutes just to get to the beach; then finding the eyelevel crew was like finding a needle in a haystack. I searched the long beach first, leaving my goods at the lifeguard station—it was like carrying around a couple bowling balls. Finally found them all at the smaller beach. Cut up my fruit and met the four girls from Quebec called Les Fermieres Obsedees who are performing this week. Had some of Glynis’s famous sangria. Hung out mostly with Sarah and Jennifer. Went into the water a few times but it was so much colder than the lake—a cold that hurts, that numbs the skin and you can feel in your bones.
We stayed at the beach until past 6pm and I drove Sarah and Jennifer back to the city; the car they had arrived in was crowded. We dropped Andrew McLaren off at his house and then picked up a movie from Video Difference. Karina was still working on the couch when we got in and so we sat in the back yard for a bit until she finished a cushion and we cleared a viewing space; the living room had turned into a mini factory, with all of Karina’s sewing implements scattered around. We watched Rabbit Proof Fence, about a few young aborigines who travelled 1200 miles across Australia escaping from a half caste internment camp, designed to “breed out” the Aborigine blood. It was based on a true story. At the end of the movie the main character reveals that even after the escape, marrying and having 2 kids of her own she was re-taken to the camp, and re-escaped.
Drove Sarah home after the movie; Jen walked, as she lives close by. Saw Courtney on my way back, he was out scouting garbage. He found a decent mattress nearby; We picked it up with the car, resting the mattress and boxspring on the roof and driving slow.
Hamm has finally called an election, set for August 5. I’ll have to vote in advance polls. I’ve got a tough choice in my riding, between Jane Purves, Danny Graham and Peter Delefes. I hate the idea of having to vote “strategically”. The current polls don’t reflect it, but I’m hoping the Tories are trounced. They’ve only scheduled one debate!
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>, chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Tuesday, July 8, 2003 7:53 AM
Subject: Security queries raised after Alta. premier Klein pied at Stampede breakfast» Chretien calls Bush, urges him to reopen border to Canadian beef» N.S. premier vows to complete second term if re-elected in Aug. 5 election
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Had a good Monday; it seemed to pass at the inverse rate of Friday, which dragged on like you wouldn’t believe. Had to call Judy at the AGNS first thing in the morning and ask if they could send a truck to pick up the Mass Appeal show; none of my leads for a truck had panned out. Ray arrived with the AGNS cube truck before Shawn arrived so Andreá and Mareike helped with the crates. Both were in the office and so we accomplished a lot with the membership and prep for the mailout. Craig Power and I walked down to the AGNS later to help them load the crates into the larger ETS truck, which had arrived toady with what looked to be an entire decade of Canadian art, which might not have been such a bad thing if had been the 60s, 70s or 90s. There were some ugly paintings made in the 80s. Ran a bunch of errands for the rest of the morning; showed Jen how to get to the post office, grabbed lunch from Paper Chase and enjoyed the latest issue of 6015 Explosion! Worked on some posters and PR and emailing for the rest of the afternoon, trying to dodge computer problems but messing things up along the way.
Went to the openings at Anna with Sarah and Andréa. Some good shows up this week; these great simply box structures with arrangements of string throughout the insides, very mathematical and the effects a treat for the visual senses. Hard to say if they are drawings or boxes. The artist is Katie Graham; she made very complicated folding boxes for her invitations. There were two shows in Gallery 2. I didn’t get a good look at Emily Holton’s work, though I had seen some of her photocopies posted around Halifax the past few weeks. In the other half of the space Karryn Duhaime had created a photo installation called Portal, large colour and large photocopies of photographs of a hospital room, tacked to the inside of a U-shaped curve of floor to ceiling foam. When you stand in the centre of it the whole structure sways; can be very disorienting. Good food; little wrapped sandwiches and bottled water. Talked to Andrew Chipman; I had missed his CSIS report phone call from CKDU this morning while I was out with the crates. We’ll try again next week with a cell phone. He said he had tried to visit the office but was faced with three unmarked doors, a text panel warning about what items could not be brought in, and a security guard who was gruff with him. Talked to Carol Morrison for a while in front of her display of Tom Thomson-inspired landscapes; she had good pepperoni, crackers and cheese. I didn’t stay long for Blythe’s show of textiles, though I did talk to Renato and Holly for awhile before heading back to the Khyber.
Had a beer with Andréa, Sarah and Greg and talked about the upcoming provincial election before heading home for supper. Karina had cooked salmon; we ate while watching reruns of Kids in the Hall episodes. The household wanted to watch Princess Bride but I wasn’t interested; went to the basement to organize slides. Tried to listen to a Learn to Speak French cassette but didn’t have the workbook open. Put the tires on Judy’s old bike and pumped them up, then Courtney and I went for a bike ride. Ended up down at Bishops Landing, cycling through the little fountain and getting soaked. Went back home and tinkered on the bike some more; the seat needed adjustment, then the mechanism broke. Luckily it could be replaced. Hopped back on the bikes for a North End tour, pumped the tires up real good at the Irving on Robie, and ended up having another beer at the Khyber. I admire how much energy Nicholas puts into the Satisfaction, though Mondays are just not a good night to dance.
Watched the tail end of Gosford Park when I got home, then read some French workbooks before going to bed. It is going slow.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>, chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2003 7:52 AM
Subject: B.C. premier proposes premiers travel to U.S. to lobby on trade issues» Eves and Charest’s ideological ties boost interprovincial relationship» Canada, U.S. need to ignore misinformation, focus on strong ties: Jeb Bush
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Took the car to work in order to run a few more errands in the morning; needed envelopes and office supplies from Staples, some odds ‘n ends from Canadian Tire—lights and fuses for some of the emergency lights in the building, and putty for the window—and replacement glass for the window in the KDMC. Stopped at Sarah’s between trips for coffee and to read over the essay for her exhibition opening in a few weeks at eyelevel. She’s been quite stressed out about it but it is coming along fine.
Took the car home and had lunch. The Future Shop computer had been delivered by the time I got back to work and Shawn set to work setting it up. The photocopier broke down and a technician had to be called in. Shawn seemed to be in a bad mood all afternoon; I don’t think he likes it when equipment beaks down. Met with Jessica to discuss internship options. Ryan came in to go through the archives. Jonathan came in, he is back from his vacation in Montréal, and I had him start the exhibition invitation template while he continues working on interior signage. Tried responding to phone calls and email but only made a small dent; mostly people looking for money. We still haven’t received our annual funding so I’m mostly deferring payments with people, not very much fun. A rep for Jim Richards called me and they want to set up another interview with him on CFRB for later this evening. I’ll try to ensure that my roommates aren’t on the phone this time. Dropped off the slide projector at eyelevel and gave Jennifer a house-warming present: A red lobster with a bobbing head, like those cats and kittens you’ve probably seen around. I picked it up at a Dollar Store, my favourite place for tourist items.
Les Fermières Obsédées began their performance at 5pm in front of eyelevel. They were wearing different wigs and blouses that had the words “happy Canada day” written on the back, blue ribbons hanging from the backs and grey skirts. The performance consisted of a series of repeated movements between the four: they would take off their wigs, blouses and skirts and pass them around, re-dressing and then moving into the eyelevel windows—three in one, one in the other—make marks with lipstick, either tracing their forms or making a circle, then move outside again, where three would lie on the sidewalk outlining their forms there while the other would drip pink paint on her head from a sponge or throw the sponge at the windows, then they’d line up again out front, change the music emanating from a keyboard synthesizer—I caught strains of ‘Happy Birthday”—then they’d repeat. Many times. There was a very interesting response from the five o’clock bus-waiting crowd, as the performance became a big spectacle, filling the sidewalk with onlookers, crowding onto the edges of the pavement eliciting numerous honks from frustrated yet intrigued bus drivers. Luckily no-one was clipped. A few cat-calls from a few of the souped-up Hondas or Cavaliers that often drive by, but not many. Seemed to be a lot of interest from the general public, which is always nice to see. We watched from across the street for about half an hour, then Karina and I went home for supper.
Spent most of the evening trying to re-sort and organize my slides and exhibitions folder in preparation for my residency. Later on listened to the Teach Yourself French book audio tape, but it seems a bit advanced for me. Need to re-learn a lot of my verbs and tenses before I can locate them in conversation.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>, chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Thursday, July 10, 2003 8:15 AM
Subject: Premiers deliver mixed messages on new era in relations with Ottawa» Health Canada to sell marijuana to the sick, pending court appeal» Martin views nation building as the measure of his success as prime minister
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
I’m tired this morning; it was a long day yesterday. Andréa and Mareike were both in, and in the afternoon Nora and Rilla were in the office for a bit, so I could only use my computer off and on, as others needed it as well. Updating memberships, drafting PR, planning events—looks like the Cathy Busby Jingle Night is a go ahead for August 5—and returning phone calls took up most of the morning. Les Fermières Obsédées performed again at noon in front of eyelevel gallery and in the windows. There was still a good crowd though fewer buses, which was good. Got cloe enough to hear them playing a wacky synth version of “Crazy Superstition” along with the usual “Happy Birthdays”.
Grabbed a late lunch from the Med. Changed some lightbulbs throughout the building and had to fiddle with Daniel’s Umbilicus piece; the monitor was flickering wildly. Seems there is a loose connection between the cables and the box. Went over some accounting with Andréa. Finally made plans to clean Andrea Cooper’s red carpet: I’ll be driving it to a place near MSVU tomorrow to have it done for less than $40.
Met up with Karina and had a quick beer in the Club after work while listening to Craig and Jennifer share London horror stories. Went ,home for supper and had pork steaks, veggies and beets that I found in the back of our cupboard. I’m not sure if they were ours or Rebecca’s, but they needed to be eaten.
Jen stopped by shortly before 7 PM and we stopped at the liquor store to get some wine before walking down to NSCAD for the new media presentations. In an antithetical yet Jazz-like manner Paul Litherland was drumming on plastic bottles, a boxing mitt, a bulletin board and various other odd items that had been liked and amplified. The different notes were sent to a computer and changed into binary code that altered the colours of a pixel-by-pixel drawing that was forming via data projection on the wall. Seemed very anti-climatic. We came a bit late and watched for a while but everyone left him (about 1/12 of the way completed by most estimates) to attend the presentation by Natalie Bookchin from Cal Arts. Her presentation was really, really good—one of the best I had seen at NSCAD in some time. Especially for web-based art practices. You should check out her stuff, you can find links to her fabulous gaming/mirror/narrative site The Intruder at: http://www.calarts.edu/~bookchin/ , as well as some of the other projects she has been involved in at: http://rtmark.com/ and . Went for a beer with Karina, Sarah and Jen at the Peddlers Pub Patio afterwards to discuss the presentation and the inane questions from the audience. Karina went home to work on Sally’s outfits, Sarah walked home and Jen and I went to Andréa’s potluck.
Everyone was sitting out in the vacant lot beside Andréa’s apartment when we arrived, almost hidden by the tall wild grasses. I opened a bottle of wine and took the portable phone outside to the lot to wait for the call from CFRB; I’d asked Karina to re-route it for me. Jim Richards called me at about 11:15 and the interview lasted for about fifteen or twenty minutes; I quite enjoyed being outside while doing it. Had to avoid a large barking dog at one point. Jim was certainly starting from the “wacky, crazy artist” position, but I think the dialogue tended to go beyond that, for the most part.
Didn’t stay at Andréa’s too late, and walked home with Jen. We did a tour of the Common, the skate park and the Citadel on the way home; a normal twenty-minute walk turned into an hour; I enjoy her company.
Am meeting Peter early this morning to give the books a once-over and clear up a few details before the AGM on Saturday. Then I need to get cracking on my CBC Arts Canada letter which is due on Friday, yikes.
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: ray cronin <croninr@gov.ns.ca>, chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Friday, July 11, 2003 8:02 AM
Subject: Premiers agree to set up new council to deal with federal government » McLellan plays down provincial threats that would unravel health accord» Alliance MPs lobby U.S. Congress to drop beef ban; reject idea of retaliation
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Had a good meeting with Peter yesterday morning, and we cleared up a few outstanding items in the books. He faxed a version over and still had time to make some changes I suggested to some of the account allocations. Spent the rest of the day working on some grants, correspondence and prep for meetings. Was really tired for most of the day. Went across the street and had coffee with Jen; they have a coffee maker in the office. We played a bit of Metapet on the Internet together. Mine took on a sickly colour and began surfing for porn and downloading MP3 files; his productivity dropped, I stopped making any money and eventually he quit in disgust. Hers didn’t fare much better, causing paranoia and mistrust amongst co-workers and sending threatening emails.
Karina stopped by while giving an extensive tour of NSCAD and beyond to a couple girls from Connecticut coming to the college in the fall. Elsbet is a shepherd and once lived in a monastery. Karina and I went home for lunch and she cleaned for awhile as she was showing the girls our apartment as well. They may move in for September, though they have a couple more days in town and are still looking. We need to figure out exactly what we are going to do with our place.
Christy Wade was giving a digital audio and VJ workshop in the KDMC for most of the afternoon; the usual hangabouts had to sit on the stairs in the hallway, trying to find outlets for their laptops. I guess they had nowhere else to go, it being sunny outside and all.
Les Fermières Obsédées gave another performance at eyelevel gallery, this time at 4pm, just before the bus traffic gets too crazy. They had adjusted or modified some of the movements, and performed more in just their underwear—I think the late afternoon heat, especially in those windows, might have had something to do with that decision. They introduced a nice “starting block” position, and ended the performance by doing it in the street, blocking traffic momentarily.
Spent an hour before the Publications Committee meeting trying to get some documents to print. Our photocopier/printer is being obstinate. I think our network is too convoluted and confusing for it. I eventually gave up and just printed to the inkjet and made photocopies. The meeting was well-attended, though the Club was somewhat crowded and noisy; people were arriving early for the New Media presentations and there was tech set-up going on around us, so it was hard to concentrate. We seemed to go over old ground and if we made any decisions they were somewhat contradictory to what had been decided before.
I stayed for a bit of the presentations with the intent to write about them for my CBC Letter, but I couldn’t hear well—some Club patrons were there just to drink, and were paying no attention to the presentations and were often louder than the speaker. I enjoyed Christy’s breakdancing animation/video, but left shortly after her presentation.
Worked on my letter and made some supper when I got home. Decided to write more about Les Fermières, it will be a little more focused bit of writing. My heart just isn’t into all the techno-gadgetry involved in most new media practices. Went to bed somewhat early. Had a bizarre dream about the upcoming AGM happening in a lodge somewhere in the woods and over a hundred people showing up for it. What a nightmare!
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Saturday, July 12, 2003 10:03 PM
Subject: Martin still facing questions over plan to transfer shipping firm to sons» Martin has massive team of volunteer experts preparing Liberal platform» Vanclief fails to get commitment from Japan to lift ban on Canadian beef
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Was rudely awoken at 10 AM this morning to go and unlock the Khyber for a digital audio workshop. Had only gone to bed a few hours earlier; had stayed out quite late wandering around the waterfront in the harbour mist with Jen.
We had been hanging out during and after the new media presentations that had taken place in the Turret, then had a drink in the Club with Greg, then went to the Granite Brewery, and from there things got strange. Somehow, over the course of the evening, I revealed all my past and current indiscretions to her, disarmed by her smile and easygoing nature. We talked about past relationships, first loves, family, jobs, girlfriends, boyfriends, marriage proposals and more. I was way too honest with her, and now feel somewhat vulnerable, like when one makes a few bad moves in chess and realize the upper hand is forever lost. At closing time we were kicked out of the Brewery and ended up back at her place and talked some more and listened to a music, a band she knows from Geulph consisting of talented high school students. I think we were verging on dangerous territory so we went for the long walk along the waterfront. Karina was not impressed when I came home (after 5 AM) and we had one of those draining talks about phoning and trust and paranoia before going to bed, exhausted.
Biked down to the Khyber this morning and assisting with some technical help before Dean arrived, then worked on the AGM reports. Left them for Mareike to photocopy and met Sarah at eyelevel to go over my Arts Canada letter and\ spent more time talking about the dangerous ground I am treading with Jen. Met Karina for breakfast at the Paper Chase; Dan and Lisa were there so we joined them and stayed for awhile after talking.
We were a bit worried at first that we wouldn’t have quorum for the AGM but eventually enough members arrived and we began. Things went swiftly and smoothly, partially because so many board members were out of town and there were so few committee reports, and also because Dan, despite his quite voice, is an effective Chair. Joe, an eyelevel board member who also serves as their accountant, had quite a few questions about and made some good suggestions for our financial statements, mostly concerning the KDMC and HST rebates. I’ll have Peter make the amendments on Monday. It would be so nice to have an accountant on the board. I felt sluggish and not quite up for the task of giving reports and discussing issues at length, and the meeting wrapped up after about an hour.
Worked on the Arts Canada letter until almost 6 PM, then sent it off and had a beer in the Club. Am averaging about 2 cigarettes per day now. Karina and I went for groceries and came back with a Festica-sized car load—Friday was payday. Made some supper and plan to read over Sarah’s draft of her exhibition essay before going to bed. I think we are going to skip the New Media cabaret at the North End Church tonight; I just don’t have the stamina for it.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Monday, July 14, 2003 7:46 AM
Subject: Policy changes in Ontario and Quebec expected to boost wind power » Iranian government will investigate death of Montreal photojournalist» Edmonton police find standoff suspect dead of self-inflicted would
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Rebecca woke us up somewhat early yesterday morning to see her off; she was leaving for Toronto. Andrew picked her up and drove her to the airport. She’ll be back middle of next month but will have left again before I get back from the residency.
Had breakfast and tried to track down Jen; we had made tentative plans to go to the Chicken and Goat Festival, but I couldn’t find her at home or at the eyelevel. Courtney started talking about going to the beach, and as it was sunny and hot outside it sounded like a good idea. We took parts of the iMac apart first, trying to get the mini disk out, to no avail. I’ll ask Lucas on Tuesday if he thinks we can do anything, otherwise we’ll have to take it in to Terra Consultants. I don’t want to go poking around inside the hard drive. We packed up the lawn chairs and a blanket, towels and water and headed out; even Karina came. She usually doesn’t like the beach.
We stopped at the Chicken and Goat Festival for something to eat on our way out to Conrad’s Beach, which is a little past Lawrencetown. The Festival was suffering from some major technical difficulties. The speakers were going off and were way too loud when they were on—the sound guys didn’t seem to know what they were doing. Everything seemed to be on the verge of chaos: the stage tent was threatening to blow apart, a generator kept starting and stopping, and then there was the food. I didn’t realize that frozen peas and carrots were a traditional African dish. The curried chicken was OK.
Of course, the MacDonald bridge was closed again for repairs this weekend, so we had to drive to the MacKay. Other than that the drive was uneventful. It began to get foggy at Lawrencetown. The beach at Conrad’s was shrouded in fog, so we turned around and went to Rainbow Haven. There was a police checkstop at the entrance to the beach, and for a moment we thought we would be busted for driving without current insurance. Luckily they were just issuing parking warnings, though they were checking everyone’s license plates as if they were looking for someone.
We stayed at the beach for a little over an hour. Karina spent half the time shaking and banging the lawn chairs when she found earwigs in them. They were nesting in the hollow pipes. Courtney was in the water a long time but I just sat and read until the fog eventually rolled in and the wind picked up. We stopped at the canteen on our way out for some french fries. I managed to dump some on my lap, along with the ketchup container, leaving a really impressive red stain on my crotch. Classy.
We drove home. It was sunny back in Halifax. Karina had a nap while I washed some laundry and made a salad. Jen called and I went over to her place to meet her for a bike ride, though we didn’t actually go, just stayed in and talked. About art, about life, about school, about our jobs, about us. I don’t know what is happening, but something is. I hope it doesn’t end badly. Listened to the new Johnny Cash album. Had a little bit of wine, then we walked back to my place to watch the Twin Peaks pilot episode that Karina had rented. We didn’t realize until it started that we had already seen it; we watched it again anyway.
Have to make plans today to ship some of my paintings to Warren and Judy; the exhibition ended yesterday. Keep your eyes peeled for CTC—Combat Zones That See. Worse than Big Brother.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 7:53 AM
Subject: Chretien introduces plan for international intervention to stop genocide» Confusion surrounds location of Montreal photojournalist’s body in Iran» Canadians of all stripes rally to support country’s cattle ranchers
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Conducted my live-to-air CSIS report with Andrew for CKDU while in the CSIS lobby yesterday morning. I had met up with Shawn early and borrowed his cell phone. Called Andrew at the station from the elevator and then just described the hall, the glass doors, the lobby, the plants, photographs, brochure holder and cameras before the security guard kicked me out—apparently one cannot operate a cell phone in the CSIS lobby. Good to know. We finished the interview with me on the phone in the hallway and then I went back in to pick up a few brochures and newsletters. The guard was quite pleasant with me once I was off the phone. I hadn’t realized that CSIS was such a young agency, having split from the mounties in 1984—a nice symbolic year to start a spy agency.
Played hooky for most of the afternoon yesterday. Had been at work all morning and made arrangements to drop off Andrea’s red carpet at a cleaner in Bedford. Offered to show Jen MSVU, as she hadn’t been there yet. The construction is a lot more extensive than I had thought, they are ripping out asbestos, what a mess. We couldn’t get a decent look at the gallery and the admin offices had been moved.
Dropped the carpet off at a residential home off Flamingo Drive, though almost didn’t; the guy wasn’t home, and I wasn’t sure if leaving the carpet in the driveway—a part of someone’s art—was such a good idea. Luckily the guy’s wife and daughter showed up and opened the garage and we were able to put the carpet inside.
It was such a hot day out that Jen and I decided to go to a lake for a swim; we drove back downtown to get our towels and suits and headed out to William’s Lake. Stopped at a little diner off Purcell’s Cove Road to have a bite to eat. The water was quite nice, and we swam around and balanced on the shallow rocks for almost an hour. Drove back into town and stopped for a beer at Gus’s. We were convincing each other that a day off like this at the middle of the week will help our productivity for the rest of the week. We were almost giddy with laughter most of the day.
Karina wasn’t too impressed with my afternoon off with Jen, and feels jealous and excluded. We had a discussion about it when I got home but her questions leave me at a loss for words: I just don’t understand jealousy and how it makes people so upset.
I’ve been watching a video clip for Johnny Cash’s version of ‘Hurt’. You can see it at:
http://207.36.117.143/video/cash_h.mov
We walked down to the Khyber with Courntey, met up with Jen and walked down to the openings at Anna. Stopped at the student art store first to see paintings and odd sculptures of planets, circles, aliens and spaceships by Stephen Fisher. There is a nice Lunar Module sculpture I am tempted to buy. There was a design show at Anna that was slick and typical, a stoic and sparse sculpture show by Gordon Frendo that featured a nice pool of dry blue pigment with little raised plaster islands—Malta, where he’s from—nestled away in the middle. He told me how a security guard for the college walked right though the pigment late last night. Rodney Johnstone had a show in Gallery 3 about the Id, Ego and Superego—more Paul McCarthy-esque work. I liked it, but should really go back to spend more time with the videos.
Karina, Jen and I had a beer on a patio on Argyle Street, then went home. Decided to make pad thai and Karina went off to the grocery store in search of prawns, and came back with tiger shrimp—neither Sobeys nor Superstore had any prawns—and a bagful of other groceries. The pad thai sauce was from a mix and was quite bland, but overall it was edible.
My show is down at the AGNS; I talked to Eleanor a couple times today about it and briefly with Ray and Svava after the openings. I felt like I was being a bit of a pain in asking them to be careful with the letters so that they could be used again. I’ll have to make arrangements with the gallery to have the paintings that have sold shipped off. I could certainly use the rest of Warren’s instalment to help finance my residency, especially if I am going to buy a laptop computer. Svava said there have been five galleries confirmed that want Dear Jean…: a pleasant surprise.
Went to bed early. Am reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 7:45 AM
Subject: Surprise interest rate cut aimed to boosting growth in economy » Chiefs consider opening Assembly of First Nations vote to all band members» Federal Court judge refuses bail to terrorism suspect in Montreal
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Attended a public meeting hosted by the DHBC on yet another study of what to do with Barrington Street. This one was mostly about the sidewalks. Victor Syperek was there and seemed to be in pre-election nomination mode—it is rumoured he may run for Mayor. He wasn’t into the downtown part of the sidewalk plan, and kept trying to talk about year-long patios. Who eats on an outdoor patio in the middle of winter in Halifax? Aside from that, he did have some good points, and the discussion became centred on traffic congestion, the buses, and perhaps re-introducing trolley cars—a favourite idea of mine.
Karina actually brought me a lunch on her way to work today—a nice treat. After that meeting I met up with Jen and we walked down to the CFNS on Marginal Road in the misty rain to attend the CAPS special meeting. We voted in the membership dues (of course I forgot to bring money or a chequebook—I don’t even know where my chequebook is). We talked about HX2 in either 2005 or 2006, and set another meeting for later this afternoon to discuss it more. It was my first meeting as Chair of CAPS, and with helpful prompts from Sue I think it went smoothly. Had a coffee with Jen at the Trident on our way back to work.
Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on some paperwork and exhibition planning. The next few weeks are going to get quite busy; there are a lot of activities happening back-to-back. Lots of email—not all of it work-related. I’m feeling a bit like a meta-pet at times.
Our annual funding came in today! Hooray! There are so many bills I need to pay; will most likely spend most of the day just doing that. We have a mailout scheduled for today but one of the invitations hasn’t been completed yet. I’ll work on it first thing this morning.
We hosted a KDMC board meeting at our house last night. Karina made sushi but it seemed as though everyone had eaten just beforehand. Organized some of my personal exhibition files and watched Best in Show with Karina afterwards. We had green tea and green tea ice cream.
Read over some of the CSIS newsletters and reports I had picked up the other day before heading to bed early.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Thursday, July 17, 2003 7:47 AM
Subject: Iran confirms Canadian photojournalist died of brain hemorrhage» Fontaine wins Assembly of First Nations top post with second-ballot victory» He’s Back! Smiling Phil Fontaine opts for conciliation over confrontation
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Got a lot of work done in the morning; more training with Marieke, made Kei Takemura’s invitation and took it to Allegra, paid some bills, checked email. Lucas was back which was good because we are having some annoying networking problems.
Left in the early afternoon to take a grant acceptance down to Margaret at NSACPC in the Department of Tourism and Culture, then met Jen at eyelevel and we walked up to the Coburg Coffee House to meet the rest of the HX2 committee. It was almost a 2-hour meeting discussing the problems that arose with HX in 2000 and how/why to plan another large international art exhibition. It seems sort of obvious to me, what with all the great contemporary art action in Halifax already and the number of talented artists and curators, to have a regular international art fair. The discussion sort of bogged down at times; I think there are certain conventions dictating what sort of event it has to be; those need to be overcome, or it may not be worth doing at all.
Went home for supper, made a scallop salad, then was back down to the Khyber for a board meeting. There were a lot of items on the agenda, some of which have always been on the agenda, it seems, and are never adequately dealt with. I was losing my patience a bit and expressing more frustration than I usually do. The meeting lasted about 2 hours, and had a quick beer in the Club before walking home with Jennifer.
We hung out at her place listening to music and drinking some red wine and talking art. We are getting to know one another quite well, I think. I stayed later than I expected and though Karina would be mad but she wasn’t home when I got in. There was a phone message from her; she was staying out at Sally’s place for the night. She had gone there to continue work on fitting Sally and Holly for their performances. I hope she had some fun, and didn’t just work the whole night.
-chris
Kazemi beaten on head with a shoe by Iranian official: French newspaper
» Strike at Canada Post delayed as talks between union and management continue
» Federal government invites provinces to push through gay marriage
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Had a busy day at work. Am trying to get ahead of everything and have a plan and schedule in place for when I leave. The process has been slow because so many funding officers and municipal managers are on vacations right now, so there are a lot of outstanding issues I can’t really do anything about at the moment.
Met with Jessie, a potential NSCAD Intern for the fall, to discuss programming, outreach, presentations and fundraising. Karina dropped a lunch off for me, which was nice. She had borrowed Sally’s car and was on her way to the fabric store to get material for the costumes.
Organized the rest of the material for the mailout, but there was no one else in the office, staff or volunteer, and I didn’t want to do it all myself, so it was left for today.
The Khyber Kids morning and afternoon classes went painting en plein air to the Citadel with Jonathan Johnson. They all seemed to enjoy it and came back with fun paintings
Lots of email correspondence and phone calls. Met with Jonathan to discuss Arts Atlantic ad, interior signage and work schedules. Met with Cathy to discuss Jingle-Fest. Met with Ryan to discuss archiving.
Went home for supper and baked some chicken wings. Met up with Jen and we went to a screening of video and filmwork called Spacing Places, Placing Spaces. Most of the videos had a bad David Lynch look, and were way too long. The Dennis Day video, about growing up gay in Newfoundland, was nice in that it was the only one employing humour. The rest were way too serious. We skipped out before the Michael Snow film.
We walked to Point Pleasant Park and sat watching the darkness settle over the water and boats. We talked about HX2 and ways we could make the event more appealing and relevant for the contemporary artists we know and appreciate. Had an interesting moment when suddenly, out of the blue, a local homeless guy walked right up to us, climbed down the rocks right beside us and continued on down the beach. It was very surreal. We walked home and I borrowed Jen’s thesis to read. It is about liminal spaces, the space between arrival and departure. We are going to go over one another’s slides this weekend.
Karina was working on Sally’s costumes when I got home. She was up most of the night continuing with it.
Woke up early this morning and locked myself out of the house. Went to Steve-O-Reno’s for an egg-O-reno and coffee and read the Coast before work.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Sunday, July 20, 2003 1:55 AM
Subject: Candlelight vigil in Montreal for Canadian photojournalist who died in Iran» Emotional, tearful goodbyes as 150 Canadian troops depart for Afghanistan» Second diamond mine opening sparks geologists’ memories of ‘bubbly time’
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Sorry I didn’t write earlier. It’s been a busy couple days. Friday was a crazy day at work; I ended up skipping happt Hour and going home early. Had a nap, made supper, and took the Khyber TV/VCR combo to Jen so she could watch some movies this weekend.
Took Anneke to the Framer’s Market this morning. Had to postpone a lunch date with Sarah to do so. Anneke is staying here until Monday before flying out to the Queen Charlotte Islands. She just finished two weeks of air cadet camp. Ran into Marc and Lindsay at the Market and talked for awhile about future plans, of buying old farmhouses and residencies. Ran into Leah as well, who had been given tickets to Tom Tom Club tonight at the Marqee.
Anneke, Karina and I watched the Pride parade from Spring Garden and Dresden Row, and again from the eyelevel. Sarah has been really distant with me lately; it’s hard to tell if it is just stress from her show (she doesn’t know when Aaron is coming to install, for one), or if it is the time I have been spending with Jennifer.
Helped Andréa with the mailout for a bit, then Kevin came by and I met up with Anneke and KArina again—they had gone to Freak Lunchbox for candy. We drove to Bayers Lake to visit Chapters and get some books for Anneke with a gift certificate.
Made supper—a red curry chicken and rice and salad—then went to the Khyber to meet Jen and go over our slides. That’s when the fun really began. We had viewed my slides and a section of video (from the sanding floor) and were on to her slides when Karina suddenly showed up and basically accused us of having an affair or something. It was sad and embarrassing and somewhat comical. Jen felt awful, but was really calm and level-headed. Luckily it didn’t turn violent or ugly. We dropped the whole slide and video discussion and went down to the bar for drinks. We all got drunk and listened to the jazz show. Talked to Roger about needing architects involvement with the Turret Room renovations. Even in the midst of relationship meltdown I still carry on about work. Karina and I walked Jen home. Patted Jane’s cat Ruth for awhile and we borrowed the movie Bottle Rocket. They made plans to go to the beach tomorrow.
Don’t know how to feel about the past day or so. Need to think about it all more.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2003 8:03 AM
Subject: Robert Pickton to stand trial on 15 counts of first-degree murder » Canada recalls ambassador to Iran, may impose economic sanctions» Martin now must debate issues in left-right clash over Canadian values: Copps
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Am a bit hung over this morning. We went to Bearly’s last night and stayed until almost 2. Karina and I arrived early but were soon joined by a more raucous crowd that consisted of Mike Eddy, Courtney and Sarah K., and Gretchen. The audience was the usual mix of Bearly’s regulars and artists. Karina and I did an OK rendition of our old standard, Love Shack. Jen arrived just in time for Courtney’s hilarious version of Luck be a Lady Tonight. I spent the whole time in tears I was laughing so hard. It was the way he took that old crooner song and made it perverse. Courtney didn’t know the words, and just skipped over some parts, and screamed out others, and had such a bizarre stage presence that everyone was in stitches. Karina and I sung another duet, I Got You Babe, before walking home with Jen. Everyone else took off on us without even saying goodnight.
Garry’s class finished installing the exhibition an hour before opening. It was well-attended, which probably wasn’t hard to achieve with 25 people in the show. Garry provided sushi and Craig offered drink tickets.
Drove to Tantallon with Andréa in the afternoon, after picking up the red carpet. We loaded up the little car with sod, manure and wood chips for her windows installation at the eyelevel. Later in the evening we came by the house and took some buckets of rock and gravel. Damn, I just remembered that I left the buckets there, and Lyndon may need them today.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Friday, July 25, 2003 7:21 AM
Subject: Talks with cabinet informal, leadership front-runner Paul Martin says» Quebec man couldn’t accept divorce; kills family before taking own life» Murder rate increase skewed by case of missing women; overall crime rate steady
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Took part in a three-hour conference call with board and members of NSCN to discuss the upcoming provincial elections. We compared each party’s platforms as they pertained to the arts and culture and came up with key questions to ask of each, that will then be ranked and issued as a cyber-bulletin and a media release. Despite the current government’s handling of the former Arts Council and the rage it provoked at the time, arts and culture doesn’t seem to be a hot topic for the election. Nothing does, actually—it’s summertime. Managed to avoid another board position, but got sucked into committee work—helping to plan the NSCN AGM.
Have been putting off lots of paperwork; am going to have to work straight through this weekend to get everything prepared for when I leave. Cooper came by and we looked at the gallery and discussed some options for installation. We begin tonight, during happy hour in the Club, unfortunately.
The AGN catalogues are ready; I’ll pick a bunch up, as well as the paintings, sometime today while running other errands.
Had a beer after work with Jen and Karina at the Argyle. The temperature had cooled down nicely so we sat on the patio. Shared some nachos.
Came home and decided I was sick of the clutter and mess in the kitchen and conducted a thorough cleaning. Jen came by after a committee meeting to unwind; she is becoming stressed at work, not just with work but with everything else that is going along with it—like Sarah’s emotional state at the moment. Sarah is completely distraught because Aaron—one of the artists in the upcoming exhibition—hasn’t arrived yet. He supposedly left Connecticut on Tuesday evening. She last received an email from him yesterday afternoon. She’s left messages with his parents and on his cell, but she has heard nothing. She even called me late last night (rare-she hasn’t been speaking to me since our talk on the weekend) sobbing and upset. I tried to cheer her up but the fact that he is so late and unaccounted for is a bit forboding. I hope he turns up, safe and sound.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Saturday, July 26, 2003 9:42 AM
Subject: Pettigrew tells anti-trade protesters they’re hurting developing nations » Paul Martin accepts UN commission post, sees no conflict with Liberal race» Alberta announces $79 million more to help its beleaguered cattle industry
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Had a great Friday. Spent some time with Jen in the morning before work, had coffee and went for a walk along the waterfront and back. Called Sarah and viola! Aaron had shown up, with apparently no good reason for his delay or for not calling. Met Kei Takemura, the Japanese artist who is going to be making wall drawings throughout the building. Her English is OK, but her and Mareike communicate best in German. Kei had just flown in from Berlin the day before. She started working on her drawings almost right away. Rode my bike home—got caught in a sudden rain—and took the car to Run some errands and pick up painting supplies at Pierceys. Picked up some of the Dear Jean… catalogues on my way to meet Dan Norris of HRM Heritage and Culture for lunch. Left the car parked on Bedford Row and met Dan at Stayners Warf just down the street. We talked informally about his past work experiences and our shared vision to have a trolley loop re-installed downtown. We also talked about the Turret renovations, HX2 and a Cultural Capital application for 2005, and HRM twinned cities and original and founding cultures. Took the car home (no ticket) and biked back to work. Met with Dan Walsh and we had beer in the Club for Happy Hour. Kevin and Mareike came by to help take the Ballroom exhibition down. Mareike informed me that she is pregnant! I was shocked. She seems really happy about it. Babak came by and he and Kevin set to work painting and re-painting sections of the Closet and Skylight area. The Noose Group had left it a bit of a mess, and even painted over sections of their “wallpaper”. Helped Cooper with the video projector and helped Kevin paint the floor in and outside the Closet. Smelly fumes. Ian wasn’t impressed; he was going to be working right next door until about midnight. But I can’t expect volunteers to start painting a floor after midnight, though both myself and board members have in the past. Met up with Karina and Jen in the Club, had a few beer and then we wandered up Spring Garden Road; Karina needed allergy medication. We went into the Danube—probably the emptiest bar in Halifax on a Friday night—and ran into Cooper and Gordon. Had a beer and sat with them and talked and laughed until closing time. Karina and I walked home and went to bed.
-chris
From: chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To: jean chrétien <pm@pm.gc.ca>
Cc: chris at work <clloyd@khyberarts.ns.ca>
Date: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 7:53 AM
Subject: Mtl police arrest about 200 people amid outbursts of violence against WTO» Pettigrew calls on EU, United States to reduce agriculture subsidies» Paul Martin as PM can easily avoid industry conflicts: ethics counsellor
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Sorry I haven’t written in a while. Things have been nuts around here. Amidst all the prep for the gallery openings last night and all the partying going on on the weekend, I started the painful process of breaking up with Karina. We may try a trial separation in the Fall. The relationship feels forced and cumbersome, and I think it saps our energy to fulfil our individual goals. So that was Saturday night, a sad discussion lasting hours. Sunday we went to Sarah’s mom’s house for a pre-opening party after spending most of the afternoon at the Khyber finishing up some prep. Jen and Cooper came over for a few drinks and Karina dressed up in leopard and tiger striped clothing. She drank close to two bottles of wine and was often crude and spiteful to me for most of the night—perhaps deservedly so, but still, it comes across badly at a party. No one else really knows that we are talking about breaking up. We had the car that night and after an
after-hours party didn’t materialize a bunch of us went to the Marquee. It was Goth night; I think we were the only ones wearing colour. Jen and Cooper talked and Andréa and Craig and Karina talked while I wandered around on the dancefloor, drinking really cheap scotch. It was a late, late night. We left the car outside the Marquee and walked home with Jen.
Slept through my alarm and almost missed my CSIS report with Andrew Monday morning. Luckily some workers started jackhammering the sidewalk which jolted me out of bed. I just had time for a quick shower before heading to work to finish our package. I made up the card and Nora found me a much better “bug”, a large plastic fly with clear wings and green eyes. Better than the tiny fly earclip Sarah had given me the night before at her party, but not quite as nice as the blinking lights battery Courtney lent Karina, but having something like that in a plant given to the CSIS office might arouse more suspicion than we want. Made the call to Bernie the courier, he came to pick up the plant, I followed to the Maritime Centre and made the call to Andrew at CKDU from a payphone in the lobby. Bernie stopped by on his way down to give the thumbs up: Mission Accomplished.
The rest of the day was final gallery prep and cleanup. Picked up vinyl lettering from Dave at Eyecandy after getting the car from the Marque—yay, no ticket—and picked up my exhibition from AGNS. I love that the whole show fits in that tiny Festiva. Later on picked up groceries from Sobeys for the opening. Had a brief nap, cut up some fruit, and headed back downtown. Problems had arisen with one of the speakers in the gallery: after three days of working flawlessly, one of the speakers started cutting out. Cooper was in action mode, his Video In teching days coming to the surface as he took the speaker apart and re-wired it, but to no avail. When we had collected a sizeable audience for the first screening the touchy speaker didn’t work at all. The sound was OK with one speaker, but the cutting in and out was a problem.
The eyelevel opening was quite successful; Aaron’s installation is like the raunchy undercurrents, the dark waters under the gleaming, utopian bridges suspended on their own brides, while the typical suburban lawn and garden sits out front. The show looks great and I think Sarah is quite relieved that it is almost over; just catalogue production and the artists presentations to go.
Stayed in the Club late, David Askevold had come out, talked with Garry earlier, talked with Cooper, it was a nice night. Was pleasantly tired and mildly drunk by the end, surveying all my friends in the Club and feeling warm and fuzzy all over. Karina hadn’t had much to drink so she drove Alyssa home when we left.
Still lots to do today: finish compiling my lists for the rest of the month, have to get replacement speakers before noon, have to vote at some point, have to find another projector for Cooper’s talk tomorrow night, have to plan and pack my supplies and clothes for a month, have to get the laptop and load programs and files. I have a feeling I may not be sleeping much tonight, if at all.
From : “chris lloyd” <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Both sides point fingers after Canada-U.S. lumber talks stall again
Date : Sat, 02 Aug 2003 14:35:15 -0300
July 31
Dear Mr. Chrétien,
Have been having a good trip so far. Am stopped over in Québec City for another hour and a half. There are outlets available in the VIA rail station as well as the bus station, though the VIA rail station has much nicer ambiance. The train was a bit late due to a broken down freight train. Apparently another freight train has derailed, causing everyone going to Montréal to take busses instead.
Didn’t sleep much on the train. Found an electrical outlet in the games car and worked on the laptop for hours. A couple young Black kids joined me and spent a long time making crude Photoshop drawings and writing letters and stories. They did quite well for 8 and 10-year olds.
Karina and I had hung out for the morning, going for breakfast at the Danube. I hate goodbyes. Even temporary goodbyes tear me up inside. Of course, everything will be different in the fall, when I see her again.
Have been reading through a French workbook to try to bone up a little. I ordered my breakfast in French but I think I asked if I could go to my eggs, not have them. I’m sure to make many more silly gaffs like that.
Wandered around the city a bit, found some great big murals painted on the tall columns of an overpass. Saw a parking garage that had a very interesting façade. Bought a disposable camera and took some Stumbled upon L’oeil de Poisson, an artist run centre located in a strip of really interesting looking renovated buildings. There are photo and video and film and studio facilities, as well as a café, throughout the complex.I should ask them what their lease arrangement is.
I’m going to continue working on some sample abstract portraits and maybe have a nap before catching the bus to Baie-Saint-Paul.
-chris
DEAR PM 