from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sun, Mar 2, 2014 at 9:37 PM
subject Répétition générale avant le scrutin fédéral; U.S. warns Russia of trade sanctions, G8 expulsion, isolation
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived the weekend, Nuit Blanche, Karaoke, swimming at the YMCA with the family yesterday and ice skating with the family on the mountain today. I also survived picking up the karaoke machine from Dorval and returning it this afternoon. Tonight I made meatballs after buying a bunch of groceries on our way back from Dorval. All my Foursquare Tim Horton check ins this weekend lost me 5 followers on Twitter. I’ve got a solid 356 who stick through all the quasi-art related nonsense. Still have not written my intro letter for Skol members. Was there until 4am after Nuit Blanche, which went well all things considered. Myriam’s installation is quite good. It’s comprised of homemade light boxes inscribed with phrases about “maman”, flashing intermittently, all different sizes but filling 2 whole walls of the gallery, lots of extension cords, and some of her videos. She hosted her own karaoke early in the evening and had decorated the gallery in a kitchy quebecoise-country manner, and invited folks to sing but the catch was no-one knew the song that would be picked, which was inevitably some obscure acadian country tun from the 70s.
Are you watching the Oscars tonight? I’ve helped get the two kids to bed and to sleep, had a shower, now planning to be asleep real soon. Already in bed. Had about 2 hours sleep last night. Will try to limit Facebook to 10-15 minutes, max.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Mar 3, 2014 at 9:47 PM
subject Harper condamne l’intervention militaire russe; Conservatives harvested emails from livestreams of Aga Khan events
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another Monday, a day full of Excel spreadsheets, detailed shipping and insurance information, and numbers that don’t quite add up.
I’m taking the day off tomorrow to visit the clinic with Clo.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 11:06 PM
subject Scandale au Sénat: un haut fonctionnaire a été muselé; Q & A: Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird on Russia’s ‘provocative’ actions in Ukraine
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived our trip to the Morgentaler clinic. Let me tell you, it is a much more humane and efficient manner of terminating a pregnancy than in the hospitals (where one generally goes to have a baby). It kind of blows my mind that the abortion law in Canada was only overturned in 1988! And even more that provinces like NB and NS still fight to keep the practice restricted and do not reimburse women who go to the private clinics EVEN in their home provinces. You’ve been good to keep the loonie right-to-lifers in your party very little time to shine. Hard to believe that there is no actual federal law governing abortion, just that it is a right protected by the Charter. It’s the woman’s right to choose – PERIOD.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 12:14 AM
subject Des observateurs canadiens en mission en Ukraine; Politicians willing to play along with Chrysler bluff
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another birthday. I celebrated by going to work, having lunch at the diner on McGill with friends and colleagues, and meeting with a building evaluator briefly after work as we continue to prepare ourselves to make an offer on the place. Then the whole family piled into the car and we went to the MBA to check out the Peter Doig show (I had seen it already but the rest of the family hadn’t, and we had a free pass, which is easier to use than showing our pay stubs, which they seem to accept begrudgingly). We had planned to eat out but came home and had leftovers instead; I bought a cake half price from a Provigo on the way home. Claudine had bought me new slippers. It was 10:30 by the time I got Rose to bed, 11:30 by the time I woke up to do a few dishes and run the dishwasher – which is now paid for! Last payment from my account yesterday, that will be a bit of relief in the coming months. Fifteen minutes of Facebook and now I’m in bed. F-Book comes in handy sometimes, like for tracking down that most excellent song that Courtney and Andrew made for me on my birthday back in 2002 or 2003. You know the one: Happy Birthday, Christopher Lloyd. With the sweet Michael Jackson Billy Jean backbeat.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Mar 6, 2014 at 11:22 PM
subject Le DGE «très préoccupé» par la réforme électorale du gouvernement Harper; Opinion: Canada’s chief electoral officer on what’s wrong with the new elections act
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another day of work where I learned that Excel is out to get me. Seriously, there are mysterious cells that act independent and weird and mess up my calculations. I think the registrar from White Cube must think I am an idiot. Good thing I am not technically more than a lowly technician within our organisation. Had some beers after work with the education team, Cheryl, James, Stacy, Victoria, Jon T, it was quite fun, but now I’m home with an empty stomach and a bit too much beer. At least I don’t work tomorrow…from the office. I’m sure I’ll have a bunch of emails to deal with…
It is essential to understand that the main challenge for our electoral democracy is not voter fraud, but voter participation.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 11:35 PM
subject Pari perdu sur le hockey: Obama expédie deux caisses de bières à Harper; Right-wing conservative writer Ezra Levant unrepentant in libel trial
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. Survived a day off work. Went downtown anyway to meet Victoria for lunch at The Bay (it’s this thing we do together occasionally). Was going to make a blade roast for supper but the Best Before date was three days ago, and it was off, so it was a waste. Gathered the kids after daycare and we trundled off to oboro to see a sort of puppet show – more of an art and musical installation, really. Rose quite liked it. This is the description:
Le Pavillon des immortels heureux est une installation qui met en scène un ensemble de marionnettes automates animées par des fréquences inaudibles. Des marionnettes légères, fixées à des hauts parleurs et à des petits moteurs, semblent être mues par une force invisible. Les modulations des fréquences sonores font varier leurs mouvements. Leurs ombres vibrantes mettent en parallèle la sensualité, le combat et la vivacité de la nature.
Came home, fed the kids supper, had a surprise visit from Tarik, mostly I think for him to let us know the value of the building and what he is expecting to get, which is $750, and that the market will bear it. We don’t know if we can or should go that high. Fred is organising the building inspector for next week, and after that we can come up with an offer based on roof repair and possible foundation work included? But I have a feeling we may be moving in the near future.
In other news, I was accepted into the MST festival in October, so I’ll be heading out to your neighbourhood to perform Everyday Goalie! Makes me kick myself for not making the L’Écart performance art biennial deadline.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sun, Mar 9, 2014 at 11:08 PM
subject Guerre des Boers: une commémoration «adoucie»; Testosterone use growing amid new safety concerns
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived the weekend, which was comprised of but not limited to videos of Super Why!, a music lesson, naps both afternoons but early early mornings, an opening at Oboro (Colin Lyons), a visit from Mohanad who cooked lamb Saturday night, ongoing discussions and debate about what to do about the apartment, buy or not to buy, and for how much? Ice skating at a bumpy Parc Jarry with Rose who is improving with each outing, a visit to Femke’s and supper there, and some warm olive oil in the ear to try to soften up the ear wax which is reducing my hearing in my right ear. Aside from signing in to Foursquare at Tim Hortons and thinking about using his signature in a project, and this letter to you, I have not been active at all in any art project, including the infiltration project. I need to find a PC to download CIMS so I can notify the remaining members of Papineau of the upcoming AGM on April 24. And I need to start on my nomination papers On the Road to 2015.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 9:34 PM
subject Le dossier des prisonniers afghans disparaît peu à peu; Ezra Levant’s libel trial could have been settled long ago — if the two sides had cut each other some slack
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another Monday. I’m failing. At everything, it seems. Feel immobile and ineffective at work; art career stagnating; daily grind feels too repetitive; can’t clean or organize or throw anything out at home, so I am already a week behind the 40 bags in 40 days gimmick to entice people towards a deep spring cleaning. Claudine had yet another job offer (fourth in the past year) tonight, and for me the one job I do apply for I don’t even get an interview. Should I go back to school to get that piece of paper, that magical MFA that would enable me to teach or work as a director-manager? Do I even want that? Tarik sounds like he wants at least $775 for the building, so we are all trying to meet with the Caisse Populaire (the one bank that grants mortgages to groups wanting to buy undivided) early next week and then hopefully soon come up with our own ideal price for an offer and a limit to what we can negotiate. I’m so broke all the time it is getting me down and not helping me get excited about the prospect of diving even deeper in debt. I just want…the news to go away.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Mar 11, 2014 at 11:28 PM
subject Les ex-sénateurs Brazeau et Harb compaîtront la semaine prochaine; The Parti Quebecois moves to execute Parizeau’s vision
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another garbage-recycling pickup (every Tuesday!). Monday evenings are often when we go through the house, gathering up the various trash bins and finding any extra recycling to put out on the curb.
Today I also survived our first Pacart delivery, 7 cases of 2D artworks (they came on a direct flight from London) and 1 box of “hazardous materials”, which I think is just poster paint to splash onto the insides of the vitrine work Kontamination Examination.
I survived supper with the kids (Clo cooked again) then I had a massage at Ovarium. Claudine had booked it for me weeks ago but the timing was excellent as my neck had been really bothering me the past few days. Afterwards I met Victoria at Bethlehem XXX to complain about work. Still no organigram! Still no sense of direction! But I shouldn’t be too harsh, everyone is still on vacation, March Break and all.
What are your thoughts on PKP and the PQ?
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Mar 12, 2014 at 11:22 PM
subject Olivia Chow démissionne de son poste de députée; Case of seeming cruelty more complicated than it looks
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived an afternoon of very large crate deliveries; Kontamination and Free Willy are almost the exact dimensions of the inner doors, with a few centimetres to spare. Also received a very heavy box of paintings that we pulled up the stairs strapped to a pump truck, and an exceptionally tall case that Claude picked up from Pacart in his flatbed and hoisted down with his crane. That crane, and his expertise and confidence, will come in handy next week when we receive The Sum Of All Evil. I hope it doesn’t snow then; going through all the hoops to get the street closed has been a real pain.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 10:15 PM
subject Des militants mécontents des nominations libérales fédérales; Conservative MPs scramble to lock up party nominations 18 months before election
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived a major bout of insomnia last night. Sol woke me up around 12:30 and I couldn’t get back to sleep until around 5. I watched Youtube clips of Kid Snippets, parts of Withnail and I and a documentary about shocking contemporary art called Bad Art for Bad People. Today at work I mostly survived compiling the condition report binders. I was late for work because of the snowstorm? And it was so cold today.
L’insomnie en chiffres
1 adulte sur 3 vit de l’insomnie à l’occasion. L’insomnie chronique touche 10 % de la population.
10 % des Canadiens consomment des pilules pour dormir vendues sous ordonnance, et 16 % ont recours à des produits naturels ou à des médicaments en vente libre.
28 % des insomniaques utilisent l’alcool pour s’endormir, alors qu’il s’agit d’un facteur aggravant l’insomnie.
100 est le nombre de références à l’insomnie sur Twitter en moyenne par minute.
6,6 milliards de dollars est le coût de l’insomnie au Québec. En comparaison, le cancer coûte 14 milliards de dollars par année dans l’ensemble du Canada. 76 % des coûts de l’insomnie sont attribuables aux absences et à la perte de productivité au travail.
12 % des insomniaques sont insatisfaits ou très insatisfaits de leur vie, contre 4 % chez ceux qui dorment sur leurs deux oreilles.
No 1 – Les Français sont les plus grands utilisateurs de somnifères au monde. Ces médicaments sont, avec les anxiolytiques, les plus vendus sur la planète.
80 % des insomniaques sont rongés par l’anxiété, la peur, le stress.
I wonder if it is stress from work? The anxiety about the possible purchase of our apartment? The collection agency letter asking for $41-K (from the Royal Bank federal portion of my student loan, which came in the mail yesterday, and which I will ignore of course, but still), or the resentment I feel at work. The sensation that I may soon become more trapped, financially. Spiritually?
And no, I have not advanced further on my nomination papers.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 10:28 PM
subject Un candidat vedette du PLC démissionne; Case of Sen. Patrick Brazeau’s housing expenses now in court
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another Monday. I survived St. Patrick’s Day (though I did not go to the parade or drink Guinness or any whiskey). I survived the weekend, which was pleasant. Rose had a sleepover at Louneva’s on Saturday. Saturday I took the kids to see The Clock at the MAC after music class. It was a yoga weekend for Clo so I had the kids all to myself, which is great fun and also tiring as heck. The Clock is still awesome, I hope to see a few more bits before the expo finishes in a few weeks.
Today we had a meeting at la caisse pop desjardins to discuss our next steps in making an offer on our building. It certainly is a tad more complicated attempting this without an agent but we are all learning a lot as we go and feel almost ready to make a semi-formal offer to Tarik. Of course, we did decide on Sunday that our first offer will be much lower than the municipal evaluation as the comparative results of the independent assessor pegged the value at $600, not $750. We’re thinking to offer $660 and could go to 710-720 but anything after that I feel is too high a liability for us. We were pre-approved again for about $300 which is great but with indivise we need 20% down so if our share of the building at 40% comes to around $270 we need like $55 down, which is a major stretch but if we cobble together some gifts and loans we could do it. Still, for much less we could get a house in the country with some land… but then there would still be rent here. The whole thing, combined with the size and scale of the Chapman show, is giving me mild anxiety attacks all the time. And my insomnia is back 1 night out of 3. And my back is stiff and hurts despite 2 massages in the past 2 weeks. Blah blah blah complain complain complain. Talk about First World Problems!
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 11:55 PM
subject Joe Oliver pourrait remplacer Flaherty aux Finances; ‘Deficit Jim’ Flaherty, credited as steady finance minister, resigns
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another crazy bout of insomnia last night. Woke up at 1:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep. Read SKOL board documents in the night, meantime Rose came into our bed and then peed, Clo went to sleep with her in her bed, I tried the couch and then our bed (the dry side) with a sleeping bag but I think it was 5-5:30 before I nodded off again. It is the pressure of the impending apartment-triplex-co-proprieté plus work, those damn crates, that is keeping me wired.
Also tonight I survived a 3-hour board meeting at SKOL. Lots of exciting topics were covered, but it was still a long night. And I dropped off and picked up both kids today as Clo was sick sick sick with a gastro or some crazy virus. Not fun.
I think I should try to sleep.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 12:06 AM
subject Joe Oliver remplace Flaherty aux Finances; Alberta’s premier quits
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived getting Kontamination and Free Willy up the stairs. This may not sound like such a big deal but each of those vitrines is the same width as the stairs, 7 feet high and weigh over 500kg. Claude Bernard is truly a magician of heavy lifting techniques. Nothing broke and it all worked like a charm. Maybe this is a charmed exhibition, despite the KKK and McDonalds and Death.
We had Kim and Thomas over tonight for supper and a playdate. It was fun. I made spaghetti with homemade meatsauce. It was good. The kids played up a storm. Now I’m tired but I can’t sleep. Fun with insomnia! Tomorrow we attempt to load in the 4 bigass cases containing The Sum Of All Evil. Should be fun.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 10:42 PM
subject Harper amorce un voyage centré sur la crise en Ukraine; New twist in Twitter harassment case
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived The Sum Of All Evil. The four crates arrived today and due to the weather we couldn’t open them in the street so Plan B was bring them in and up the stairs in the cases, which gave us millimetres to spare and involved needing to shear off the skids at 45-degree angles to get up the first couple steps. I posted a bunch of photos on Instagram, Facebook and my Tumblr if you want to see how crazy it all was with the boom truck crane arm going through the window and hoisting those fuckers up the stairs. I left just before the 4th was unpacked as I had to get the kids, Clo was working late to catch up on her gastro sick day earlier this week. The kids were good and lots of fun tonight, Sol had a splash party in his tub. He’s learning to kick to make bigger splashes and also spins around and around. Also he is eating better with his hands, he has better coordination and spills less. He wolfed down spaghetti and meat sauce and scrambled eggs and cucumbers. What an appetite!
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 8:52 PM
subject Lac Meech: Mulroney a attribué l’échec de l’accord à Trudeau; Budget bill expected as parliamentarians return from break
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived the weekend. I survived another snowstorm Saturday morning that totally came out of nowhere but I missed the morning Pacart delivery as Judith and Fred and I were meeting with Tariq to make an informal first offer. He didn’t take it, so now I guess he puts the building up for sale? He didn’t seem rushed or worried, just confident he’ll get the municipal assessed value or more. For the record, we offered $675, or $72 below the municipal assessment. Now Clo and I are looking at duplexes, but we’ll need to go back to the bank and get pre-approved based on a building with rental income. Today was mostly hellish, a family outing to the market devolved into bad moods, everyone was in a bad mood today, until Sol started walking and wouldn’t stop. He must have made three dozen practice runs up and down the living room. He’s practically a walking champion now!
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Tue, Mar 25, 2014 at 11:05 PM
subject Un comité demande à Ottawa d’intervenir dans l’élection québécoise; Conservative senator says travel claims were appropriate
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another day with the kids and another day of work. Things moving ahead slowly but surely at work. Received another Pacart delivery, the smoothest yet. Of course, all the cases were much smaller than last week. There are 2-3 more large cases coming tomorrow and then the bulk of the KKK mannequins next Monday, but now we are in full install mode. Free Willy and Kontamination are all closed up today.
Sol is still walking, he was up late (for him) showing off for Stacy, who came over for a visit. But the kids went down well, Rose was tired and fell asleep in our bed instantly (at 9:45, so late for her as well). Now I’m checking FBook and cleaning up a bit and heading to bed myself. Exciting!
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 10:31 PM
subject Réforme électorale: les conservateurs bloquent une motion du NPD; Supreme Court ruling on Judge Marc Nadon exposes flaws in system
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another Monday. Big crew in today: 2 conservators, the registrar from White Cube, 2 techs from White Cube, all our techs, and in the end Pacart couldn’t get the containers unloaded until after 7pm. Apparently working with the port is a nightmare. One of two remaining containers was on its way from 1pm, then got stuck in a lineup and didn’t budge for hours, and then near 4pm had was fourth in line, and since the port processes one container at a time, it was 7 before Pacart got to it. Must be frustrating for them, it was certainly frustrating for James. We should have everything by Wednesday, and I still thinkthat’ll be good enough. Studio techs arrive tomorrow to fix up Sum Of All Evil and we’ll all probably be polishing glass for the next four days, yippee. I’m solo with the kids as Clo is up in Quebec City, so far so good. We had chili for supper, it was quick and easy as I had cooked it yesterday in the slow-cooker. Sol ate two helpings. He is still practicing his walking. Rose is in bed with me already tonight, but at least she is asleep. I’ll give myself a bit of time on F-Book before lights out for me.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 10:42 PM
subject Pas d’intervention d’Ottawa dans les élections, insistent des députés fédéraux; Tory MP bucks party with private member’s bills on assisted dying
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived 3 days alone with the kids. Claudine arrived home tonight at suppertime (frozen dumplings, fresh bok choy) and we divided and conquered, sending kids to bath and bed more or less on time so that we could have sex. Hard to find time for that when one or both kids find ways of either coming into our room at all hours throughout the night or morning. I miss morning sex.
-chris
from chris lloyd
to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mon, Mar 31, 2014 at 10:26 PM
subject Le caucus et la base conservatrice ont forcé le départ de Soudas; Three found dead after fire ravages a vacant building on Prince Edward Island
Dear Stephen,
I am still alive. I survived another Monday, another weekend and a night out with the Chapman Brothers. Saturday I worked and went out with them and the team, first to Le Cheval Blanc and then Nil Bleu. Originally I had reserved a table at Chez Ma Grosse Truie Cherie but then realized that both brothers as well as Anika the studio manager are vegetarian. Ended the night at some random sports bar down the street and was home by 3am. Claudine left me in charge of the kids all day Sunday which was fun but long and difficult as I was so tired. And a tad hung-over. Those guys seem quite used to multiple evenings out on the town. Going to bed now as the next three days + nights will be long and hard. Booked a Limo Bus for the After Party, for example.
-chris
DEAR PM 