From : “chris lloyd” <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : In windy Cranbrook, B.C., firefighters’ spirits high after Stanley Cup visit
Date : Mon, 01 Sep 2003 11:59:58 -0300
Attachment : Août31CherJean.rtf (7k)
August 31
Dear Jean,
Woke up really early to survey the damage from the party. I had intended to clean up the kitchen and make breakfast for everyone, but Gaston was sleeping on the couch and I didn’t want to disturb him with noise. So I went just went back to bed. Forgot to re-set my alarm and when I finally woke up it was almost time to go to the arena. Just had time to write you and have a shower. Surprisingly, I didn’t have a hangover: that scotch was really smooth. Have you ever had Bowmore scotch?
Went to the centre to print some letters and the Canada Council grant application (it is due tomorrow). Went to the arena and finished the Tadoussac painting. At the end of the day a woman from Quebec City visited the Symposium and really seemed to like my work; she was frustrated that I intend to leave the Tadoussac painting on a fence in a public space in Baie-St-Paul. She said it would get destroyed.
It felt like a really long day. It was difficult at the end to say goodbye to everyone; Dominique, Marjorie, Julie, Edith, Josée, Anne and Chantal are all leaving today. You know how I hate goodbyes.
Claudine and I had a great meal at Mouton Noir; each course was fantastic. There was a couple sitting beside us who started up a conversation with us by saying we had just missed you by five minutes. We continued talking about the new direction of the Symposium. They were somewhat critical but in a thoughtful and intelligent way—that if the Sympo was to move away from a painting-specific presentation and embrace the contemporary then it should do so in a big way. Bring in Matthew Barney!
Walked back to the house and picked up Gaston and Caroline and we drove up—and I mean up! What a steep hill—to the Balcon vert for the Kinö videos. Overall they were quite good, the most impressive showing yet. But the mermaid story wasn’t finished so I don’t know how it will end. The stars were spectacular in the sky and the view of Baie-St-Paul—especially the cathedral, brightly illuminated and smack dab, solid and heavy in the middle of town—was incredible.
We were all quite tired so went to bed early. Only one more day left of the Symposium, with only five artists present and Gaston as the guide.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 3, 2003 10:07:36 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Ontario Tories vie for third-straight mandate in vote called for Oct. 2
September 1
Dear Jean,
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. It was hectic, what with all the travelling. The last day at the arena was really quiet; after Yasuko and Christine left early in the afternoon it left just Vida, Sylvaine and me. I did my personality profile with Sylvaine, I was the last once. I find it really interesting how such deceptively simple symbols can resonate with and branch off into so much meaning and memory. Maybe I should take it to my therapist in Halifax and see what he thinks of it. I screwed the Tadoussac painting to the fence between the path to the high school and the cemetery, and took some slides. I spoke to a couple little old ladies about my project almost entirely in french—for me, a minor victory.
Had a long and somewhat difficult conversation with Karina in the evening after supper. It was quiet in the house as almost everyone had left. Karina is traveling to Calgary for a day or so before returning to Halifax. We are returning to so much uncertainty: new roommates, no money, therapy and lots of work to catch up on. Drank most of the leftover beer and port and stayed up later than I had intended because I was looking at a clock that was 2 hours slow.
September 2
Up early in the morning, finished packing. Had to really jump on my suitcase to get it closed. Packed some food for the journey. Left my suitcase and the Big Red Book at the bus depot to be shipped to Halifax. Had picked up a DVD of the movie Chinatown to watch on the way to Montréal, but then you’ll never believe what happened: in Quebec we had to transfer buses and I left my computer on the previous bus. I remembered it before the new bus left but just as the previous bus was pulling away and out of the parking lot. I started to chase it, but it was way too fast. Luckily the bus was going to the same place—Ste-Foy, and I was able to retrieve it. Phew. And the movie was great.
I took a cab from the bus station to Stephane’s apartment on Mozart. He is the one who made the film Snooze I told you a bit about. He is going to France for 2 weeks for a Kinø presentation. I would really like to start a Kinø cell in Halifax: we could call it Khyber Kinø, or even just Khynø. Anyway, he has a great little slightly slanted apartment, a lovely porch in the back with a cute cat in the yard. Stephane was heading out so I wandered through the Italian quarter, dropped off my slide film, and headed down St. Laurent and then back up St. Denis. I feel very much at home in Montréal.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 4, 2003 1:32:27 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Winds fan flames near Kelowna, B.C., 3,200 people flee homes
September 3
Dear Jean,
What a full day. Had a great night sleep, very restful. Dreamed of sleeping, and playing soccer.
Certainly got my moneys worth out of my metro pass. I was up and downtown at least five times throughout the day. Picked up my slides—which turned out much better than I had anticipated—and tried to cash my cheque. Couldn‘t happen because I have no account or bank affiliation here; the National Bank in Baie-St-Paul made an exception in cashing cheques for the artists. I ended up depositing the whole thing into Karina´s account—at least that way rent is covered. Asked my folks for some money to cover me until I get back next week.
I like that even a city the size of Montréal has a certain small-world quality. I ran into Edith´s boyfriend on the Laurier metro platform; Gabriel Doucette-Donida at the vernissage for the Mois du Photo as well as Marie-Christine and Platrice; and Shawn and Chris while having a scotch in the window of a trendy little bar on Deluth. We are going to try to get together Friday evening for Tapas at a funky nightclub/restaurant on St. Laurent. I haven‘t seen them in over a year.
Saw the Nan Goldin retrospective at the CAM. The photos are great, and it was nice seeing them in large format. She had a slide show called ‘Heartbeat´ with music composed by Björk that was quite nice, though the slide show of the self-portraits I didn‘t like so much. Neither did I like the documentary—especially when she was talking, it sounded forced and contrived—or its placement. Sort of smack dab in the middle of the exhibition. The painting show and the sculpture show that were there as well weren‘t terribly exciting; but it was Wednesday evening and so admission was free.
Shopped a bit for shoes throughout the day but didn´t find anything. There are some nice thrift shops on Mont Royal but again I didn´t find anything. Bought a $4 white T-shirt from a cheap department store. Ate some bad sushi from the IGA near the Place des Arts. Watched a bit of a cheesy American musical that was screening outdoors as part of the film festival.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 5, 2003 12:49:45 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Provincial health ministers put medicare watchdog back in waiting room
September 4
Dear Jean,
Bought some razors and shaved off the three-day beard before having a breakfast of fruits, Italian bread and coffee. There is a wonderful Italian grocery just a couple blocks away. Eating breakfast on the back porch is great. It rained, but only briefly. Called Mohanad but he was at work. Haven’t been able to find a contact for Colin. Finished labelling my slides and slide descriptions and dropped the grant off in a mailbox. Now here’s me keeping my fingers crossed for four months.
Went shopping along Mont Royal and found a great little T-shirt shack that sells American Apparel shirts and has some nice transfers. Finally bought myself a Quebec Nordiques shirt. Tried on more shoes but the ones that looked the best felt uncomfortable, and the comfortable shows looked dull and boring. Had a late lunch at Schwartz. Best smoked meat sandwich I’ve ever had. Took the metro to Outremont for Christine’s opening and ran into half the Symposium gang—Julie, Edith, Marie-Christine and Sylvaine. Almost like a little reunion. Took the bus the wrong direction on the way home but managed to get turned around. Emerging from metro stations always confuses me. Went downtown and saw a Japanese film at the Parisean called “Josée, the tiger and the fish”. It started out really strong, some great shots, good colour, interesting character introduction, but then suffered from some lengthy meandering and pointlessness near the middle and end. Overall I liked it though.
Finally found a decent pair of shoes that were not too expensive. Watched the last third of “Pricilla, queen of the desert” on the outdoor screen near Place des Arts. Ate a huge bowl of noodles on my way home and started composing a video to make for Anne on her camera before sending it to her in France. Waited a long time for the night bus and quite enjoyed watching the stupidly drunken stumble by. It was almost carnivalesque. Had a really hot bath when I got home. Was up really late—the time just seemed to slip by as if in a dream, and the day seemed full and overflowing.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 6, 2003 2:22:57 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Tempers flare as poll indicates neck-and-neck race between Liberals and Tories
September 5
Dear Jean,
I love Montréal, have I told you lately? Only slept for a few hours and had another nice breakfast on the terrace. Wrote to you and checked my email; it is very handy that Stephane has a computer with Internet access at his apartment.
Was going to go to see the movie “The anatomy of burlesque” at noon but I missed the bus and arrived downtown late. So I went shopping instead and found a nice pair of jeans at Simons. They hemmed them for an extra $2. Picked up some really sexy virgin CDRs that look like vinyl records. Stephane has some nice music I´d like to copy.
Spoke to Karina on the phone for a bit until my card ran out—I swear those crooks at Globo ripped me off again. Four bucks for only twenty minutes.
Late in the afternoon (after a really long and hot bus ride up St. Laurent) I met up with Claudine and her folks. They had just come from Shawinigan, and had seen the museum and the big circus that is in town. OK, I have a confession to make. Remember a couple weeks ago when Claudine and I went on that road trip and got “lost” in Breakyville? Well, really we went to Shawinigan. Have you been there recently? Did you see the “Missing Person” posters I put up at our office? We took pictures and just got them developed today. I may scan some and post them on my website. Your office is located in a building that has certainly seen better days. The museum was fabulous, and some of the work in the exhibition was great—though even a space that big didn’t hold Louise Bourgeois´ spider sculpture well. And Ron Mueck´s Dead Dad would have been better suited in a small white room, though the big baby head was well placed. The Bill Viola was captivating and it was so nice to see and hear Janet Cardiff’s 40-part motet in a proper space. The Plexiglas tile ceiling added a nice visual flair and helped with the acoustics.
Anyway, I digress. Had a really spicy curry and fish and bottle of wine for supper. Mohanad called and we met up at a trendy little bar called Luba Lounge that reminded me of Café Mokka. Had some drinks and then we went to a midnight screening of Monty Python´s “And now for something completely different”. It was hilarious. We went for more drinks at a couple places along St. Laurent. The street and bars were full of hip, young, trendy drunk people—very carnavalesque. It was really nice hanging out with Mohanad again. Took a cab home quite late. It took us about twenty minutes just to go a block, as the police had cordoned off traffic after a murder. Passed out in the cab on the way home. I shouldn´t have mixed my drinks.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 7, 2003 11:10:31 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Seventh trestle destroyed as crews battle relentless Kelowna blaze
September 6
Dear Jean,
Woke up with a bit of a hangover this morning but luckily it didn’t last long. Had a good breakfast and worked on the computer for awhile. Headed downtown and ran into Rob Squires, AKA Sixtoo, on the bus. It’s a small world, I’m telling you. Saw the artist known as Red again—tonight he was cycling by, the other night I saw him from the bus. Ran into Kim at the David Askevold opening at Articule and met up with her and Jeremy after she was finished work at Artetxte. David gave a presentation on the evolution of his work from the harbours project to What is Church? and the 2 Hanks performance. Left midway through the screening of the video to catch a few more openings on Ste-catherine. There was a nice group show at a gallery on the fifth floor that had a lot of interesting work by Mathieu Beauséjour. He was also screening a video about airplanes and terrorism in the project room at Optica. It was too hot in there to stay for the whole thing. Ran into the Sympo crowd again, this time at Josée´s opening. Bought a book that deals with state funding and art in Canada called money, value and art from ABC Art Books. Ate a nice papaya salad at the Souperbowl with Kim and Jeremy. He waited forty minutes for fried bananas. The server left them on the counter. Ran into Julie Lapalme outside on the terrace. She is working at CBC now. Walked up St. Laurent with Jeremy to get some fresh bagels on St. Viateur and stopped at a little vernissage at the Esperanza. The paintings weren’t that good but the drawings were great; like etchings, with nice text throughout surreal figures and situations, inverse photocopied.
It was my mom’s birthday today but I forgot to call her until it was too late. Merde.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 8, 2003 12:53:04 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Erratic pattern of West Nile spread, infection continues to puzzle scientists
September 7
Dear Jean,
The days are becoming a blur. I feel like I’ve been in Montréal a year, not a week. What did I do today? Everything I have done for the past few days and more. Worked on the computer for awhile. Burned some CDs. Scanned the Shawinigan photos to upload to my Zed account. Shawn has been updating my website, adding past letters and my CV and stuff. I’m really happy he is doing it. Met Clo´s friend Janine at a café on van Horne (it was fun jumping the fence by the tracks to cut across the overpass). Had a delicious croissant. Went to the big photojournalism exhibition at the library on Mont Royal. I find it a tad depressing that such beautiful, haunting photographs are made of such desperate human misery. Why are we so cruel to one another? Wandered around the french district east of St. Denis and bought some fresh pasta for supper. Stopped at a little café to play some chess and lo and behold ran into Christine and Marie-Christine—again. The smallness of this city gets a bit weird sometimes. Went home for supper and Mohanad came by and we hung out on the back terrace for a bit. He brought Rushmore over but I ended up watching Stephane´s copy of Punch Drunk Love. Wacky story, fun characters, great cinematography and fantastic colours. Very lush. Colin finally called me; he seems OK, still working for Simon (gardening) and we are going to try to hook up on Monday before I head back to HFX. Still haven’t bought my ticket.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 8, 2003 12:53:04 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Erratic pattern of West Nile spread, infection continues to puzzle scientists
September 7
Dear Jean,
The days are becoming a blur. I feel like I’ve been in Montréal a year, not a week. What did I do today? Everything I have done for the past few days and more. Worked on the computer for awhile. Burned some CDs. Scanned the Shawinigan photos to upload to my Zed account. Shawn has been updating my website, adding past letters and my CV and stuff. I’m really happy he is doing it. Met Clo´s friend Janine at a café on van Horne (it was fun jumping the fence by the tracks to cut across the overpass). Had a delicious croissant. Went to the big photojournalism exhibition at the library on Mont Royal. I find it a tad depressing that such beautiful, haunting photographs are made of such desperate human misery. Why are we so cruel to one another? Wandered around the french district east of St. Denis and bought some fresh pasta for supper. Stopped at a little café to play some chess and lo and behold ran into Christine and Marie-Christine—again. The smallness of this city gets a bit weird sometimes. Went home for supper and Mohanad came by and we hung out on the back terrace for a bit. He brought Rushmore over but I ended up watching Stephane´s copy of Punch Drunk Love. Wacky story, fun characters, great cinematography and fantastic colours. Very lush. Colin finally called me; he seems OK, still working for Simon (gardening) and we are going to try to hook up on Monday before I head back to HFX. Still haven’t bought my ticket.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 10, 2003 10:57:45 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Election ads brand leaders, bring Ontario’s election campaign to new phase
September 8-10
Dear Jean,
Had dreams of playing chess and discussing clouds and/or airplanes in the clear blue sky. It was my last day in Montréal. Cleaned up Stéphane’s apartment a bit and washed some laundry. Packed. Talked to Colin on the phone a couple times; we were going to try to meet up but he wasn’t able to get away from work: one of his co-workers didn’t show up today.
Klo and I stopped at the bus station, dropped off her stuff and then relaxed in a small park near UQAM. Listened to some drummers drumming in the sun, took some goofy photographs, then had thin crust pizza and beer before saying farewell at the metro. I think both of us tried to stave off the inevitable for as long as possible. I hate goodbyes. “See you soon” or “see you later” sound much better, but still don’t quite settle that ache one gets in the chest cavity. She will be in France for three months; we may try to meet up in Berlin. Who knows what will happen in the near future.
Ran into Robbie Cameron just one stop before getting off the metro to catch the train to HFX. He had just gotten off work and looked tired and grumpy. I had hoped that I would run into him. It is a small city, after all.
The train ride is long and dark. The moon is mostly full and Mars is close by to it in the sky. I’m trying to read some books and burn CDs and work on the computer but mostly just looking out the window and thinking. Quite a pickle I’ve gotten myself into, eh?
At about 2am I decided to get some sleep but an old lady had crashed on my seats. I didn’t want to wake her so I found a blanket and pillow and slept in the air-conditioned observation car. It was too cold but I slept for a while anyway. Woke up in Campbellton and had an over-priced breakfast on the dining car. Talked to an old guy who had worked for CN for forty years. His son is in the army and is currently in the Okanogan Valley helping with the forest fires. Listened to some music, read a bit and dozed off and on the rest of the way to Halifax.
Karina met me at the station. Picked up my suitcase and Big Red Book that was at the bus station. Took a cab home. It felt weird to be in Halifax. Karina told me that Jamie and Krishna’s good friend and Kerry’s brother Dave had been found dead yesterday morning. Talked to Jamie later in the evening and apparently Dave fell from a fire escape while taking a shortcut to go to the store. It is bizarre, especially after all we had been through years ago, to have a sudden accident like this and then you’re gone.
Made some supper and met my new roommates: Sarah G., who seems really nice and works at the YMCA café, and Karen, the artist from Montréal whose exhibition opens on Monday at the Khyber. She is taller than she sounds on the phone.
I think the cats were glad to see me. Karina and I had a really heavy discussion. Was up late. Was up early. Couldn’t find keys to the Khyber and locked myself out of the house. Am stuck at Timothy’s Coffee Shop on Spring Garden Road waiting for my bank to open. Thinking of that REM song: Leave.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 10, 2003 11:53:31 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Sikh militant asked me to build bomb, accused bomber tells murder trial
September 10
Dear Jean,
Happy Harvest Moon.
First day back at work. Shawn was at the Khyber and let me in. The office was a mess, but not much more than I had left it six weeks ago—e-xcept for the Khyber Kids artwork filling up the turret. Spencer came by and we had a good talk.
The mailout hadn’t gone out yet. I picked up the newsletter and invites from Allegra and called for volunteers. Luckily Emily, Karina, Elizabeth, Deidre and Jessie answered the call and pitched in big time. Shawn fixed my chronic printer problems. Jacob made another poster. Andréa and Mareike came by in the evening after work at MSVU. Karen made a wish list for her “restaurant in the gallery” installation. She has already acquired a great deal of stuff but she needs lots more. You should see the huge cloth lanterns we’ll be hanging from the ceiling. She and Pheilm painted the Ballroom walls bright yellow.
Karina and I met Ryan and Jen for a bite to eat on the Argyle Patio. DON’T EAT THERE ON WEDNESDAYS. The food was shockingly bad. Karina had chicken wings that were smothered in some sort of Heinz barbecue sauce. The french fries didn’t have any taste whatsoever. I had “Greek sausage”. The nachos Jen and Ryan had were mostly plain nachos: all the toppings were just that—on top. It was all awful. Ryan figures it is because chefs cook best when high, and worse when straight; and on Wednesday afternoons/early evenings they probably are straight as a ruler and hating their jobs.
Went back to the Khyber to finish the newsletters but they were already completed. Caroline came by to help so we just had drinks in the club.
Came home and talked with Sarah G. Actually, she talked and I listened, sometimes nodding and every now and then got a word in. She likes to talk. It’s sort of nice.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 12, 2003 8:54:49 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Canadians mourn alongside Americans on Sept. 11 anniversary
September 11
Dear Jean,
Blew what started as a busy, productive day. Judy called and we had a good talk; she is very good at pointing out just what a selfish asshole I am. I guess I deserve it, as I haven’t been that good with other people’s feelings. But I really try to be a good person, and art is in and of itself a bit of a selfish activity. Can I help it if it is sometimes a bit all-consuming, or doesn’t always happen between the artificial hours of 9-5pm?
The mailout was completed on time, with some minor adjustments to Sarah K’s knot addition to the newsletter (why put a finished knot in it when the artist page instructs on how to tie it?). Deidre and Jessie and Emily came in to help again. Sarah and Courtney were there helping with the knots. It was nice to see him again, however brief. Went to Pierceys by bus to get some supplies, and assembled some light fixtures in the Club over drinks with Jen, Ryan, Kevin and Yang. And that is where I stayed until closing time, getting progressively drunk and ranting on about how we just need to call and invite the best artists we know to come to Halifax to have exhibitions at the Khyber. Then I threw up, got dizzy and passed out on my office floor until 4am. Giving life advice to my younger brother via email. What a great start back to work. At least I am making lunches.
There is an infected cut on my pinky finger that isn’t getting better. Maybe I should amputate?
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 13, 2003 10:17:53 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Martin leadership campaign awash in cash with over $9 million in donations
September 12
Dear Jean,
Managed to get up after about two hours of sleep and meet Emily and Jessie at work to discuss their internships. I think we made some headway, which was remarkable given the state of my head. Ran a bunch of errands in the afternoon, and went home for lunch/breakfast at 3pm. Met Karina there and we ate together. She is staying at Sally’s for the next little while. I still haven’t returned the laptop. Had a beer in the club with Jen, Ryan, Renato and the visiting artist at eyelevel, Rafael Sottolichio. He had participated the Baie-St-Paul Symposium back in 1999. Went home and had a nap, then burned some more CDs, and picked up some groceries from Sobeys. Judy arrived in town but stayed with Karina at Sally’s. They stopped by briefly to pick up some of Karina’s things. Stayed up on the computer getting a Friendster account set up. I found two of you in the network, and sent a request to be “friends”. Watched a bit of Being John Malkovitch before going to bed.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 14, 2003 10:47:38 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Elusive squatters in Stanley Park spark fear over fire hazard
September 13
Dear Jean,
Had a great dream about the Montreal Metro last night; it was connected to everything, there were beautiful tunnels and windows to let in light. Colin was in my dream too, playing in a public wading pool.
Met Sarah K. at the Khyber early Saturday morning so she could unload a truckload of burned and demolished schooldesks. Had coffee with Jen at the eyelevel. Andréa was working today and mostly cleared up the disaster that was the office and organized. At one point I even caught her and Craig F. cleaning up the garbage that was blocking the basement stairs in a festering pile.
Walked to Staples in the sun, putting up exhibition posters along the way. It was hot. Stopped at Parade Square on my way back and had jerk chicken from the High Life tent. There was a MobGlob festival going on, some street theatre and impassioned speeches about the World Bank and GenModFood. Sat in the sun and talked with Mike Eddy, who has grown some dashingly-handsome facial hair. Helped with Karen’s installation most of the afternoon. We waked to Anna Leonowens and borrowed some frames and shelves. Started building her bar.
Went home for supper. Karina was moving more stuff out. With Karen’s help we networked the iMac and the iBook (still have it; Terra Consultants weren’t open today) and transferred Karina’s movie files so she could burn them to a disk. Made some supper. Went out later with Karen and met Caroline at the Khyber for the Tyler Messick show. He didn’t play any of the songs we were familiar with from the summer, but some of the new songs sound pretty good.
Was up late on Friendster. Ben is now my friend, but I haven’t heard back from you.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 16, 2003 10:16:14 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Jean Chretien tells wary MPs to be good Liberals and vote for gay marriage
September 15
Dear Jean,
Karen woke me up early so we could go to the Dalhousie University Props department and pick up a few more items. They couldn’t give us chairs, as a new production called for them. I was convinced that the bar was too large to fit in a station wagon but it did, with just a millimeter to spare. It took two trips. Jessie and Mareike were waiting at the front doors to help. Everyone was super busy all day, but everything went smoothly. The sign vinyl looks great and we added the title of Karen’s show to the lightbox MSVU donated to us; it looks sharp.
Met with Mitchell and Kevin at 5 to discuss the “basement” project. I had completely forgotten about the meeting because I scheduled it last Thursday night. You remember what happened to me Thursday night. At the opening Eleanor ragged me out for not calling in to her radio show Art Smarts that night.
Went home to shower and change and bake some spring rolls. The opening went well, lots of people from the Chinese community were there, Mrs. Thompson of the Mu Lan Cultural Centre provided a tea ceremony. Sarah had completed her installation just in the nick of time and it looked good as well. Good transformations of space.
Stayed in the bar until late. Had intended to go home early but Jen goaded me on and I ended up having three beers. Greg Forrest and I started talking about the possibility of a major 10-year Khyber Anniversary exhibition to be held in the spring. Could be our own little blockbuster. Had an unexpected visitor from out of town: Andrew Kear. He is doing a master in art history at the University of Carleton and his topic is—get this—portraits of Canadian Prime Ministers and more specifically, the official portrait “gallery”. We are going to talk more this weekend about how my project relates. Karina had roller-skated down to the openings and got loaded on two glasses of wine (they serve them large at the club—that, and she hadn’t eaten in two days). She passed out on the couches and was in rough shape so I called for a cab and took her home. The place she is staying is quite unique; a little rough around the edges, the ceilings a little low (and mostly unfinished), but it isn’t so bad. Not in the short term.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 17, 2003 8:42:57 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : MPs vote down Alliance motion to preserve traditional definition of marriage
September 16
Dear Jean,
Woke up early, went to the Irving for a few groceries and had breakfast with Karina. Stopped at a yard sale on my way to work and bought a pot, a glass and some plates.
It is my parent’s thirty-first wedding anniversary today. I forgot to call. And I still owe them money.
Received a nice package in the mail from Claudine; she had mailed it before she flew to France. She is in Bordeaux picking grapes in the warm sun at the moment. It was warm out in Halifax as well.
Greg brought his class by the gallery for a discussion of Karen’s work in the afternoon. It was fun. People seem to respond well to the transformation of the space. Spent most of the day trying to catch up on work. Put a confrontational sign over some lame graffiti on the stall of the men’s washroom. What the hell does “we love apes since ‘93” mean?
Dan W. came by and we had a beer in the Club; he brought me a samosa. Had borrowed the TV from eyelevel for the artist talk but we couldn’t get it to work and so used the projector instead. It worked better that way; Karen’s WWE wrestling video looked and sounded better on the big screen. Her talk went well, though there weren’t that many people in attendance. It makes me all the more frustrated with all the time and energy that goes into making exhibitions happen. I really begin to question the point of it all.
Talked to Shawn a bit about KDMC stuff, past grants and projects need to be realized, so much work needs to happen there, a whole other headache, really. Went home with the intention (honest!) of staying in and having a quiet night. Sarah G. came bursting in looking for her ID and had a cab waiting for her to go back to the Marquee, so I tagged along: it was the big Buck 65 show. Ran into Lucas in the VIP lounge. Ran into Allen at the bar and made him buy me a beer; I figured he owed me at least that much for making me listen to his drunken complaining of Victor having the audacity to charge Film Fest Folk $10 less a $2 discount to get in. He kept on even after I told him Film Fest Folk were getting in free through another door, and that I in fact had to pay $10 plus $2 (late charge?) to get in. Watching Rich perform amidst the sweat stench in the hot smoke of the bar, tossing glitter here and there, made me think of extremes. Made me realize I am getting sucked back into the easy routine of workaholism at the expense of my own practice and relationships.
Ran into Jen and Ryan outside and we talked for a bit before Sarah G. and I walked home. She talked non-stop the whole way.
The cut on my finger isn’t getting any better. Maybe a good old-fashioned blood letting would help? With leaches?
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 18, 2003 8:35:38 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : House of Commons votes to protect gays under hate propaganda law
September 17
Dear Jean,
It was an early morning. Worked on the computer, then headed to the Med for breakfast *Sigh* back to the old routines. Andréa and Jessie came by to eat as well. I lost control of the day early: just too much to try to plan and schedule. Trying to get more notice out about the performance series going on in the Turret, getting documentation of Karen’s show, trying to train interns, just dealing with calendars is a problem for me. In the back of my head, like a low steady hum, I keep thinking of all the things I have to do for myself—the language lessons, the CBC article, exhibition packages, slides duped, letters written—and they all fall to the wayside, are overcome by Khyber.
Had a decent publication committee meeting in the early evening; Ingrid is a good chair. Stayed briefly for one beer with Spencer and Andrew K., then headed home. Grabbed a slice of pizza on the way.
It was nice to spend a quiet evening at home. Washed a load of laundry and washed some dishes. Tried to settle down. Read some magazines and worked on some tattoo over-designs. I picked at the wound on my finger and I think it may be on the mend. The swelling is down and there is no more green stuff.
Hey, according to John Taylor Gatto, in his essay Against School in this month’s Harper’s, I can blame my inability at working on relationships, my lack of fiscal self-control and my tendency for over-entertainment on all the years I spent in the public school system.
-chris
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 21, 2003 10:08:15 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Martin wins support of majority of Liberal leadership delegates
September 21
Dear Jean,
Sorry I haven’t written in a while. The end of the week got really busy. Thursday afternoon Karina and I walked up to Dal to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but we had confused the date: Monty was on Wednesday. We stayed for Local Hero, a 1983 film with Burt Lancaster. It was great! I find it funny that a movie I probably never would have tried to see has become one of my favourites.
It was the 50th anniversary party for the Dal Art Gallery so we stayed a while for speeches and champagne. The abstract paintings on display made me feel like we were in a NY gallery in the ‘70s. We walked home and rented the Holy Grail. Stayed up late having a heavy conversation and then decided to go back to her place: the couches are not really that comfortable. She used her roller skates and I jogged alongside.
Friday night was Ian and Laura’s performance. I drank in the club from 5-8pm with Dan W., and Ian and Laura started their show before I could introduce them, so I gave a post-performance introduction. They had double-digit attendance, yay! Went out for a drink with some of the MFA students afterward.
Saturday Ian and Laura took the bus to Sackville and I met with Andrew for a studio visit. He wants to have my work in his thesis exhibition in the spring. Have to work out Ottawa logistics with Ray. Andrew brought beer and we drank all afternoon and ended up watching some of the videotape footage from our Digby Cabin group show in 1999. Headed downtown to catch the charter bus to the Mount for the opening of the General Idea show. Was pointlessly lippy and almost got in a fight with a group of drunk ladies out on a pub crawl.
AA Bronson gave a really nice presentation of the background, evolution and some of the projects General Idea undertook from the ‘70s to the present day. Snagged a couple bottles of Mount Jost wine for the bus ride home but no one drank it. In my already drunken-state I sort of assumed it would become a rowdy party bus. We filled up the Khyber Club for the Ruth Minniken show but I had to leave early (dizziness and chronic listing was setting in). Karina came over and we cooked bacon and egg sandwiches before going to bed.
Slept in on Sunday. Felt tired all day. Did some research on residency programs. Karina and I walked to St. Mary’s to check out the Kim Adams show. I’m envious of the bizarre model worlds and twisted sculptures he creates. Talked to Mitchell about possible projects for quite a while.
Courtney came over in the evening for some bike repairs. We fixed up the street bike but then had to cannibalize it for the pedals for Karina’s bike. Worked on gallery and residency deadlines with Karen in the evening.
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 22, 2003 11:22:47 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Iranian Intelligence Ministry agent charged in killing of Canadian journalist
September 22
Dear Jean,
Today was basement cleanup day. Andréa and I tackled it and made some good headway, though I managed to smash out another lightbulb in the basement ceiling. I’ve done it twice now, and someone else had done it another time. All three broken bulbs are now stuck in the sockets. We don’t have needle-nose pliers so it is almost impossible to get them out.
David A. came by with Lupo and his truck to help take the trash to the dump. He handles the truck well, backing up into the side alleyway with ease. We stopped at Bayer’s Lake to get cash from a bank (Otter lake only accepts cash), and had Dairy Queen Blizzards. We stopped at long lake for a quick dip on our way back from the second trip. The weather has been fantastic lately!
Am still feeling overwhelmed and disorganized at work. It just seems an impossible task to stay ahead of everything that is happening, and even more impossible to plan things for myself outside of the Khyber—like exhibition proposals, residency proposals, making art, reading good books, or planning trips to Berlin. My latest scheme is to try to invite myself to Berlin ARCs or other suitable galleries so I can qualify for travel grants. Not likely to happen.
Had a quick beer with Andréa after work and discussed our job duties. Picked up some groceries at Sobeys and made myself supper. Courtney came over to go over on-line maps of Montréal: he and Sarah K. are hitchhiking there tomorrow. Worked on exhibition proposals in the evening.
Thought of a new segment I’d like to add to the letters, just to give you better sense of myself. I hope it doesn’t sound too much like Bridget Jones. You’d let me know, wouldn’t you?
I still haven’t returned that darn laptop computer.
Am going to try to get into the habit of going to bed early.
-chris
Vital Statistics
Arise: 7:45, phone call from Courtney’s old boss
Shower: yes
Breakfast: bacon and eggs and toast
Bowel: later in the afternoon
Coffee: 1 Americano in the morning and 1 esspresso in the afternoon
Lunch: tuna sandwich
Beer: 1
Supper:steak, potatoes, brocolli
Reading: worked on exhibition proposals
Sex: no
Cigarettes: 2
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 25, 2003 9:50:26 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Tory-Alliance merger talks head in opposite directions according to leaders
September 24
Dear Jean,
Work was work. Still trying to catch up on mail from August and get the grants done. Jessie was hit by a car last night while riding her bike. She suffered a broken collarbone and a few hard bruises. Because it was night and she didn’t have a light she was charged, and because the poor automobile she struck lost some paint off the bumper she’ll probably be asked to pay for repairs. It doesn’t seem fair: car vs. auto, bodily injury vs. mechanical, student vs. gainfully employed, but I guess that’s life. Any advice? She still came in to work, what a trooper.
Met Karina after work to have a drink in the Club to celebrate her birthday. The gift box didn’t go over so well—some of the items I was purposefully re-gifting, which I thought was endearing somehow, but she didn’t think so. We ended up having more than a few drinks, then got really hungry and left for supper. We stood on Dresden Row for over an hour having another of those relationship/behavior discussions, and when we finally came up for air Doraku was closed. So was Baan Thai and even Jon Allen’s. We got to Mr. Chang’s a half-hour before closing time and ate Chinese, then went back to the Club. Jen and Spencer were right where we had left them. Drank some more. There was a T-Fense exhibition/fundraiser happening in the Club, and afterwards On The Strength was being videotaped for “national broadcast”. After the breakdancers relinquished the floor to the regular kids it started to look like Electric Circus. Jen, Ryan, Karina and CFP and I left to visit the Marquee. We popped our heads in to “the Dome” on the way, paid cover then asked for it back. The Marquee wasn’t very exciting. Walked Karina home and since it was so late stayed over. We washed our smelly feet together.
-chris
Vital Statistics
Arise: 7:39
Shower: yes
Shave: yes
Breakfast: peanut butter & toast
Bowel: no
Coffee: 2 Americanos
Lunch: homemade club sandwiches
Beer: 6-7
Supper: lemon chicken, rice & veggies; sausage from the Dawg Father post Marquee
Reading: none
Evening activity: drinking
Sex: no
Cigarettes: about a dozen. Enough to give me lung ache.
Drugs: no
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 26, 2003 11:51:49 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Tory leader accuses Alliance of getting cold feet on merger talks
September 26
Dear Jean,
Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. Was busy at work all day. Stopped at the AGNS to talk to Ray and Svava about touring Dear Jean…. They were in last minute preperations for the Alex Colville opening. Really enjoyed Cora Cluet’s lush, rich and luscious paintings. Had lunch at Cheapside with Svava; the AGNS sprang for it. They’ve received three rejections, including one from the National Gallery.
Had supper at home with Karina, then took a nap, then we spent the evening packing. Moved stuff from the house to her temporary apartment, then packed more of her stuff to go into storage at the house. Stayed up really late talking about truth.
Up early this morning so we could change over the Eastlink accounts. Had breakfast at the North End Diner. They have expanded. Met Judy at 9am and loaded up her Volvo. Some jackass stole Karina’s bike while we were at breakfast. It was locked up to a pole in front of her apartment. Fucker.
Walked downtown to meet Pheilm at the office, grabbed my CAPS files then walked to the house to get my bike. Headed to Dal for an HX2 planning meeting with Sue, Ingrid, Sym, Peter and Jan. Stopped at the house afterwards to shower, shave and change.
Worked all afternoon. Marc and Lindsey stopped by to say hi while runnign errands; they are living in Oxford now. Tried again to get through to Terra Consultants to make a plan for the laptop. Every time I call they immediately put me on hold and never come back to me. Maybe they don’t want the computer back.
Had a long nap at home after work. Realized that Yaga was missing when I woke up. Wandered the neighbourhood looking for him. Made some Lost Cat posters. Left messages with Animal Control. Watched some TV.
I think I’ll cut my hair before going to bed.
-chris
September 25
Vital Statistics
Arise: 7:36 (4xsnooze)
Shower: yes
Shave: no
Breakfast: tuna on toast
Bowel: 2
Coffee: 2
Lunch: leftovers; squash soup, currie chicken sandwich
Beer: 0
Supper:leftovers, pasta, salad
Reading: none
Evening activity: helped Karina pack
Sex: no
Cigarettes: 4
September 26
Vital Statistics
Arise: 7:36 (4xsnooze)
Shower: yes—at noon
Shave: yes—at noon
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast
Bowel: 1
Coffee: 4
Lunch: bagel and cream cheese
Beer: 0
Supper:leftovers
Reading: none
Evening activity: Lost Cat posters
Sex: no
Cigarettes: 2
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : September 30, 2003 9:45:27 PM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Auditor general calls on RCMP to investigate Radwanski’s ‘reign of terror’
September 30
Dear Jean,
The power went out at the house sometime during the night, but luckily my mom called early in the morning (Like, at 7:40am!), which served as a good wake-up call. It was nice to talk to her; I haven’t done so in ages. She and dad have taken in a stray cat, and now Jessie is pooping in the cat’s litter box. Jessie is a dog, remember. I forgot to ask the cat’s name. We made plans to meet in Lunenberg for Thanksgiving. She asked about Karina; she’s only heard Judy’s side of the story, but I can’t really argue with it.
Great day at work (with one exception, which I will explain briefly). The grant deadline was extended due to the hurricane. Thanks, Juan. Completing them will be much less stressful.
Had lunch at the Med, then went to the post office to mail my Open Space proposal but it was closed. Took a walk along the waterfront and surveyed some of the damage: broken wharves, sunken ships and sections of parking lot. Most of the city still without power. While I was out I just missed a phone call from Claudine in France. I think she is in Toulouse at the moment. I hope she calls back.
The Khyber was turned into an impromptu and temporary home for the Coast. Christine called me this morning asking if we had power, and if so if they could set up shop to get their issue out. They came by with half their office and totally took over the KDMC and the turret. It was fun.
The post office at Lawtons on Spring Garden was open, so I was able to mail my packages there. Went home for supper and cooked with Karen and Sarah G. again. We are becoming more and more like family; it’s a bit weird. Sarah G. baked chocolate chip cookies. Spent the evening reviewing the videos for tomorrow night’s New Media Show and Tell. Some of them I wouldn’t personally show, and aren’t worth telling about. Still have the laptop.
Came down to the Khyber to check email (the girls have the cable hooked up to the TV). Will probably have a beer in the Club before heading home.
-chris
September 30
Vital Statistics
Arise: 7:40
Shower: yes
Shave: no
Breakfast: 1 slice of toast
Bowel: 1 (later)
Coffee: 2
Lunch: Club sandwich; leftovers (chicken and mushroom currie, salad)
Beer: 1, 2 max.
Supper: mushroom omlette, Chinese fried rice (Karen’s leftovers)
Reading: none (unless grants count. Oh, and a bit of Art of the Asia Pacific)
Evening activity: DVD reviews, email
Sex: no
Cigarettes: 2, 3 max.
From : chris lloyd <chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com>
Sent : October 1, 2003 1:13:19 AM
To : pm@pm.gc.ca
CC : chrislloyd5676@hotmail.com
Subject : Radwanski just a symptom of larger problem, say MPs and academic critics
Dear Jean,
Addendum:
September 30
Vital Statistics
Evening activity: hung out in Club; talked to Greg, and Jen, and Ryan (fresh from his eyelevel interview), and Deirdre and her roommate
Cigarettes: 6
Beer: 1.75, and 4 Jim Beam
I heard that you were on the news comparing the name “Juan” with “Jean”. What’s that all about?
-chris
DEAR PM 