from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 9:23 PM
subject Chefferie du PLC: la campagne de Trudeau est lucrative; Sarnia police force’s refusal to act on rail blockade troubles judge
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. Happy New Year! I survived 2012, including the holidays, power-outages, inlaws, screaming-excited nephews, a thrown back, and Rose climbing into bed with us almost every night for the past month.
Are you excited that the NHL and the NHLPA have reached an agreement and a shortened season of about 50 games will be played? I am not.
Claudine’s uncle and godfather Claude passed away on January 1. We went to Gatineau for the weekend for his funeral and had a nice family gathering at Benoit and Sandra’s house. This was not the most relaxing nor uplifting holiday ever.
Started back at work today, things are moving along quickly. It was nice to have Iliana and Clark back on the team.
After five days of near-constant pain, my back is finally starting to feel a bit better. I believe I pulled a lower muscle while shovelling snow, or while lifting Rose up the huge pile of snow that was in front of our house.
You might have noticed that I fell back off the Facebook wagon. I got sucked in for a whole afternoon last Friday. I think I will continue to check in sporadically and leave cryptic angry messages to Mark Z.
Still no real movement with the Papineau EDA. Too tired to invest any real time or energy into it.
Going to try to go to bed early; we’ve been watching Parks and Recreation.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Jan 8, 2013 at 9:11 PM
subject Aide du Canada: le PM d’Haïti aimerait avoir son mot à dire; Harper says Friday’s meeting with First Nations leaders will not be the last
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. Still kicking, though not as hard nor as often as our little boy, now eight months in the womb. Clo is at yoga tonight, she made supper, I put Rose to bed, not I’m off to see the wizard, oops I mean off to have a shower. We are watching the Wizard of Oz with Rose. She likes it a lot.
Problems with screen materials and hanging systems at work today. Problems are being resolved.
I received tons of conservative party policy changing documents and forms I need to review before the meeting in Victoriaville on the 26th. I have no head nor heart for it but plan top go all the same, even though the meeting is all day long and costs $50 (non tax-deductible) to register. AND it is on a Saturday.
The last time we passed through Victoriaville the SQ set up huge roadblocks to keep protesters away from Charest resulting in numerous clashes. I anticipate more boredom at this meeting.
One last minute checking of Facebook for something witty and sardonic to post, then a shower. I really need to wash my hair.
chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Jan 10, 2013 at 4:57 AM
subject Haïti: les États-Unis et l’ONU déçus par les propos de Fantino; As key meeting looms between PM and First Nations, agenda still unclear
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another couple days at work, advancing in some areas, fixing problems, finding solutions, falling behind in other areas. Lots is happening. Screens are being hung, concrete anchors are being hammered into the ceiling, frames and plinths being built, electrical components figured out, but I am starting to feel overwhelmed which is leading to insomnia which is why I am writing now. Last night Rose stayed in her bed all night but tonight she came in at 1:30. She went back to her bed peacefully but I haven’t been back to sleep since. Ordered a special alarm clock for Rose which should help her learn when it is time to wake up. Also ordered a book online. Checked Facebook and then Rose was up again. Now she’s in the Fatboy which we may buy from Sarah and Etienne. We drove it over last night for a test ride while Etienne practised his driving (his exam is next week). OK I’m going to try to get her back to bed.
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 8:50 PM
subject La loi sur l’immigration contrevient à la Charte; B.C. judge declares human smuggling law too broad, putting Tamil cases in limbo
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived a meatless Monday. Actually, I had a beef stew for lunch, but we had falafel for supper. The install moving along nicely; worked on Saturday, managed to move all photos up to the galleries via the elevator, and will be able to take the final one up the elevator tomorrow, as we booked service technicians who can operate the elevator with the doors open (the only way the last photo, at 99 inches long, will fit). This saves us a lot of trouble as carrying this photo up four flights of stairs would be no fun at all! Now off to finish dishes and trim the bear. It’s getting a bit Grizzly Adams on me. Rose still getting up in the night, but my new alarm clock for her arrived in the mail today. When it turns green it is OK for the kid to get out of bed. First test run tonight.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Jan 16, 2013 at 6:24 AM
subject Québec demande à Ottawa de suspendre sa réforme de l’assurance emploi; For Julian Fantino, the medium derails the message
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. Stressed, but alive. We are having a third rear-projection screen made for Rain. Thomas’ tech gave us incorrect measurements for a 16:9 or 1.78 ratio screen while the film is 1.66. Also I somehow managed to transmit an incorrect figure to John before he built the wooden screen frame for Camera and now that needs to be rebuilt. The photos are being hung and the elevator tech came yesterday and we managed to get Embassy VII up without having to use the stairs, a small miracle there, but there are some gravity bars missing that need to be built from scratch, more time and problems. I worry about the weight of the Christie projector hanging from the ceiling in G3 but at least Arnim the German tech from CineProject managed to re-scale the image of Yellowcake. He also did a fantastic job on Pacific Sun, manually adjusting the zoom lens and focus. Looks hot. Sorry to go on and on about work.
What else needs to be done? Winter carpet installed, vinyl lettering installed, 2 screens placed G1 and G2 and the films loaded on loopers, new fabric found and stretched over acoustic panels to cover windows G2 and G1, audio installed G1, G5 and G6. Oh, and the after-party needs to be planned still. And you wonder why I don’t have time to make up amendments to the CPC constitution?
Claudine and I went to see a movie last night as we had pre-booked Lea to come babysit as we were going to go to a pre-birth massage class, however we found a private Bonapace refresher course that we will take instead. Went to see Promised Land. Did not help my current crisis of feeling like what the fuck am I doing with my life and why?
Claudine is dilated to 1cm already, which kind of means the baby is 1/10 through labour, no?
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sun, Jan 20, 2013 at 10:00 PM
subject Débat libéral: une seule candidate veut coopérer avec le NPD; Tepid Liberal leadership debate won’t change anyone’s mind — about anything
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived the Thomas Demand opening and, more importantly perhaps, the tech after-party. Also survived a quick drive to Laval to get the baby crib from Fannie’s mom, then a trip to the gallery so Clo and Rose could see what a stunning show we put up, and met with Arnim the tech for Pacific Sun to go over once more in more detail the opening and closing procedures. I might add that 2 hours before the opening on Friday we survived the film Rain catching on a looping roller and splitting, needing immediate replacement by Robert Miniaci. We were really down to the wire getting this show together; I am still worn out from it all. Yesterday we went to an opening at Oboro but I felt like I was sleepwalking and could hardly carry on even the most basic of pleasantries. Tonight we visited Adrienne and Matthew and Selby to see their house in Park Ex which is for sale and a total good deal but I don’t think we are ready to up and move again so soon, let alone tackle the paperwork and financing required to buy a house. Freedom 2012 became Freedom 2013 for me, and end of 2013 at that. September if I’m lucky.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 10:24 PM
subject Kevin Page craint pour le poste de directeur parlementaire du budget; Foreign Affairs blocked Costa Rica from naming Canadian businessman honorary consul
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. Worked on opening + closing procedures for the 35mm and digital video projectors. Found that one of the 35s skipped off a looper and has been dragging on a piece of Plexi; not good. Have to re-orient the wall-mounted bracket tomorrow. Today I dropped Rose off at daycare as well as picked her up. Clo made supper and I put Rose to bed, then we switched around and installed the new dresser Clo bought on Kijiji or Craigslist and was delivered yesterday. She thinks the baby could come on Wednesday. We each have overnight bags packed for the hospital. Tomorrow I have a Skol CA in the evening. I am not ready. Also I am not ready for the CPC meeting in Victoriaville on Saturday. I’m playing that one day-by-day, and will only go if all looks clear. Checking F-Book now but only briefly I promise. I want to watch movie previews in bed and read the New Yorker.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Jan 24, 2013 at 10:18 AM
subject Élections fédérales: le vote par internet reporté; Sorry Sun News Network, to succeed in business you can’t expect special favours
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another Monday, then a Tuesday, then yesterday, Wednesday, and now today I am taking the day off work to ostensibly do things I have been putting of for weeks, months, years. I need to renew my health card and drivers’ licence, I need to book an appointment with a dentist (especially for that growing hole in my rear left bottom molar) and a checkup with a doctor (it has been over a decade since my last physical). The last few days at work have been full-on, as the education and gallery attendant teams need to learn the opening and closing procedures for an exhibition that is a mix of analogue and digital projection techniques. On top of it all Claudine and I had a refresher massage and Bonapace class last night (Stacy came to babysit) and the reality of an imminent birth is looming. Lurking? Birthing? Making itself tangible? Clo sold our couch ($600) and tomorrow I plan to deliver it, thereby freeing up space to move the futon downstairs. My studio is growing but I am still not doing any work in it. We bought a dresser for Sol (yes I can’t remember if I had told you his name before but it seems more and more likely we will name Rose’s baby brother Sol) and Clo and Sol switched dressers and now his is currently in my studio, where it will probably stay for some time. Clo at her weekly checkup now and also dropping off her freshly-dyed fabrics to an upholsterer for the chairs she found in Saint John. If it seems I am rambling it is because I am. Second coffee and a brisk walk to daycare in -22 weather (colder with wind chill). Heard on the radio of a village in Siberia that experiences cold of -70 and still have outdoor toilets. Can’t hardly imagine it. We hear about this trivia on Radio Canada which almost never talks about visual arts. Did I mention how I survived a marathon CA meeting at Skol the other night? 4.5 hours long, I think a record since I’ve been there almost three years. Over three years? Time keeps slipping…
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 9:22 PM
subject Les Canadiens ne veulent plus parler d’avortement, dit Rona Ambrose; Lighthearted Stephen Harper tweets his #dayinthelife
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another Monday, another meatless Monday (counting just supper; had some leftover chicken w green olives n lemon for lunch). Had a busy weekend: a visit to Victor, Anne-Laure and Christophe for crêpes Saturday morning after Roses’ yoga class, then Femke, Sarah and Etienne came over for supper (I made a fish pie from a Jamie Oliver cookbook, very paté chinois but with seafood), then Sunday morning we were off to Ahuntsic for a birthday party for Adam, a boy in Rose’ daycare, and then I went down to work to help Daniel fix some film and loopers that had gone awry in the exhibition. Tomorrow we are getting a more thorough training which should help as currently there are few techs who know anything about the 35mm projectors. Rose is in bed, I’m off to have a quick shower and then to bed to read and maybe watch a film. Last night we saw a bizarre film called The sound of Noise, it was quirky and bizarre and funny in all the right places.
So I skipped out on the regional #cpc meeting in Victoriaville. Family more important than politics or a questionable artistic intervention project.
And seriously? #dayinthelife? More personal tweets? Totally stealing my gig.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 10:03 PM
subject La commissaire à l’éthique veut réformer la Loi sur les conflits d’intérêts; Royal succession bill to be introduced in House of Commons
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another day at work, another #dayinthelife, then impulsively took Rose to visit Femke and Etienne after daycare, Etienne made a nice mac n sauce n cheese, the girls played like the BFFs they are, we took the metro there and the bus back, just put Rose down a little while ago, survived a bit of Facebook, earlier today filled out a Conservative Party online survey, now I just want to find the latest New Yorker and go to bed. Last night Rose came into our room 3 times between 12:30-1:45, but the fourth time Claudine put her back to bed and she didn’t come back in until the morning and her clock had turned green. Let’s hope she wore herself out romping around with femke and will have an uninterrupted night’s sleep.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Jan 31, 2013 at 10:03 PM
subject L’envoi d’un avion C-17 au Mali coûtera 18,6 millions $; Taped phone calls reveal management response to Ashley Smith’s death
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived a call from a Commercial Credit Adjusters, a collections agency for my RBC student loan who finally, somehow tracked me down after almost a decade. So now I have to figure out if I continue to ignore it, or declare bankruptcy. According the the Canada Student Loans act (at least MY understanding), they can’t continue to collect after 6 years (a limitation period), or similar to my understanding of a Statute of Limitations. But the whole act, clauses and sub-clauses, is written in that typical legalese that I understand less than French.
19.1 (1) Subject to this section and section 19.2, no action or proceedings shall be taken to recover money owing under a guaranteed student loan more than six years after the day on which the money becomes due and payable.
But then right after comes this:
(2) Money owing under a guaranteed student loan may be recovered at any time by way of deduction from or set-off against any sum of money that may be due or payable by Her Majesty in right of Canada to the borrower or the estate or succession of the borrower.
So it sounds like they can seize property or garnish wages, and what about the 6 years? It continues:
(3) If a borrower’s liability for money owing under a guaranteed student loan is acknowledged in accordance with subsection (4), the time during which the limitation period has run before the acknowledgment does not count in the calculation of that period.
So am I to understand that interest-free periods and then my haltering, hampered efforts to actually pay anything on this loan (which if I remember correctly came to about one or two monthly payments of $100 when I had first moved to Montréal and was broke and poor and living on noodles and toast), which would mean the six year limitation period started…in 2004?
I think I need legal advice.
In other news, i renewed my health card and my drivers license today. Both these bureaucratic necessities were efficient and timely. It took longer to simply get to the agencies, once inside I barely sat down. Photos taken, cards in the mail.
Clo had a doctors’ appointment today and has lost 1lb in the past week. She was off tonight as part of Sophie’s weekly research group meeting at SBC. Rose watched Wizard of Oz and we had pasta with pesto for supper, carrots, salad and green grapes and an apple for dessert. She had a bath and went to bed OK. We started reading Charlotte’s Web.
Oh, and in response to my rhetorical question above, about how CCA found me, from their website:
Skip Tracing / Asset Location
CCA has a dedicated investigation team efficiently exercising every resource available to locate individual debtors and/or their assets. Investigation officers at CCA are equipped with the latest technology to effectively locate debtors. Tools include; database scrubbing, real time collection and trace software, online databases of addresses and telephone numbers, Internet databases and instant credit bureau access.
-chris
DEAR PM 