2021
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 3, 2021, 8:23 AM subject 33 – 256
Dear Justin,
I had a pretty good session with Yaël on Monday after a full day at
the studio. The big painting is close to finished, and I feel I am
making progress in dealing with my anxiety around my Ex, slowly moving past anger towards indifference. I’m having super-weird dreams lately,
but not sure sharing with my therapist will help.
I had an afternoon with Sol yesterday while Rose was at the dentist – she has a canine coming in at a weird angle, blocked by a baby tooth, and will need minor surgery. I have her this morning as it is Sol’s turn. My Ex has a health plan now.
Speaking of health, a couple nights ago a mole fell off my chest –
well, Jess scraped it off, she said if crumbled away like a scab, so I have been trying to make an appointment to see someone – anyone – but my family doctor is on maternity leave, and you know how hard it is to get an appointment at a walk-in. Tomorrow is a full day of skiing and Friday is my tattoo appointment, for the flash raffle win and Sol’s dragon/serpent.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 4, 2021, 9:57 PM subject 34 – 319
Dear Justin,
Had a great day skiing with the kids at Owl’s Head – although it was a tad pricey for what was essentially just under 3 hours of skiing. $170 for the passes and my ski rental; $30 in gas, and $36 at A&W on the way home. I had packed a lunch, so saved some money there. It is also close to 2 hours drive each way. A big expense, but it was my one ski trip this season, and it was great to see how the kids are improving. They had a really good time, too.
Listened to Sandy and Nora the other day, WTF is going on with you and your party voting against the NDP’s pharmacare motion? It was
basically a Liberal motion. Are you seriously playing politics with
health care, hoping to introduce your own plan for the next election?
Also, now Plan C dam going ahead, can y’all just fuck off with the trampling of Indigenous rights, just stop expanding, listen to hereditary chiefs (true nation-to-nation), it gets so tiring to have
to call you out all. the. time.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 5, 2021, 9:58 PM subject 35 -345 – 0503
Dear Justin,
Happy birthday, Christopher Lloyd! You know the song, I play it every year on my birthday. Today I got the serpent dragon Sol drew tattooed on my left forearm, extending onto my hand, and the raffle winning flash of a hand holding a flaming rose on my right shoulder. It is my first colour tattoo: the flames around the pink rose are purple, and
the rose has green stems.
I’m a bit worried and confused about money. My EI hasn’t come in yet, and according the payment schedule on the My Canada website, neither the amounts not the dates issued seem to line up with what actually happens in my bank account. I might need to transfer some cash from my TFSA to cover groceries and bills.
I picked the kids up for 4pm today, made bols for supper tonight, and baked brownies. The kids were a bit agitated, we played a game of UNO before bed, I think they were overtired and overstimulated from a day
of videos and video games.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 7, 2021, 9:03 PM subject 36 – 329 – 0703
Dear Justin,
I’m such a noob. Yesterday after getting into a communauto to take the kids to a park to go skating we were cut off quite dramatically by
some young male on the Rosemont overpass, and I went into road rage mode, followed the car until a red light and got out to yell at the
driver, who ignored me and so I started punching his window. Hard. So hard that I think I might have broken my hand, or at best, badly bruised or sprained it. Can you sprain knuckles, or the ligaments in your hand? Certainly not very responsible behaviour, and I will undoubtedly spend most of my next session with Yaël discussing it. That, and Sol’s recent meltdown tonight over not being able to finish
a particularly difficult quest in SDV – completing the game-within-a-game, the Junimo Carts. It set him into the “I want to die” tailspin, which was a tough way to end what had been a couple really fun days. We did some skating outdoors, and watched Howl’s Moving Castle. Overall, quite fun.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 7, 2021, 9:03 PM subject 36 – 329 – 0703
Dear Justin,
I’m such a noob. Yesterday after getting into a communauto to take the kids to a park to go skating we were cut off quite dramatically by
some young male on the Rosemont overpass, and I went into road rage mode, followed the car until a red light and got out to yell at the
driver, who ignored me and so I started punching his window. Hard. So hard that I think I might have broken my hand, or at best, badly bruised or sprained it. Can you sprain knuckles, or the ligaments in your hand? Certainly not very responsible behaviour, and I will undoubtedly spend most of my next session with Yaël discussing it. That, and Sol’s recent meltdown tonight over not being able to finish
a particularly difficult quest in SDV – completing the game-within-a-game, the Junimo Carts. It set him into the “I want to die” tailspin, which was a tough way to end what had been a couple really fun days. We did some skating outdoors, and watched Howl’s Moving Castle. Overall, quite fun.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 8, 2021, 10:16 PM subject 37 – 276 – 0803
Dear Justin,
Happy International Women’s Day. The kids and I spent the afternoon outside, skating and sliding. Seems like we might lose the bulk of the snow and ice this week, the mercury going to rise and turn everything to a shitty sludge, so it was nice to take advantage of a journée pédagogique. They are both much better skaters even though they haven’t skated much this season. It helps that Rose’s skates are a bit sharper. I had helped Pascal and Sarah move their gear from Tangente back to our studio in the morning; it wasn’t the best thing for my
hand, but that hand accident was my own damn fault. I also slipped and fell once while skating and damn did it hurt again. I don’t think it broken, just a real bad bruise. Is my brain broken? Why did I get so carried away? Am I just mad about owning a stupid pipeline that will hopefully never be built? Maybe I just can’t handle all the racism everywhere.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 9, 2021, 8:50 PM subject 38 – 291 – 0903
Dear Justin,
Had an admin day at home, and did some Vox work, even though I had hoped to get into the studio. Had a consultation over the phone about my moles, and even though the doctor did not seem worried by my description or the photos I sent, they booked me for an in-person consult this coming Thursday – there was a cancellation. My hand is improving so no need for X-rays. Jessica got a call back about the the cervical biopsy she had last month, she has an appointment to discuss the results on Friday. She told me twice before she got the call that
she felt something bad was going to happen. Is this a witch’s premonition? It may not be all bad news, who knows. We’ll find out. It
is a weird time for health. It is a weird time for everything. I found
out why my EI payments were not going through: they were using my old direct deposit info, cash going into my defunct – presumably closed
and inaccessible – overdrawn TD account. Should have the money by next week sometime. Good thing I have savings I can dip into to cover food etc. Not everyone does. Most people don’t.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 11, 2021, 10:07 AM subject 39 – 368 – 1003
Had another mostly home admin day – went to the Bulk store for our monthly stock-up on dried goods. The store is called Mega-Vrac, it is a zero déchets, so we bring all our own jars and containers. Feels
good to not be consuming so much new, single-serving plastics. We still clean and keep all the plastic that does come into the house, as Jessica is collecting them for a future weaving project. I had my long-awaited haircut yesterday with Miwa, which I was almost late for because Communauto froze my account as they had not yet received payment – it was sent on Friday, big surprise it hadn’ yet arrived as
the banks need to collect their interest as the bits n bytes travel
around in cycberspace/purgatory. We fogot Sol’s lunchbox in the car so now I am trying to locate the car to go see if it is still in the car.
Someone is driving around in it now. I’m off to the studio and then
have my appointment with a dermatologist to check out my moles, before getting the kids and then it is Sol’s turn for a haircut with Miwa. It
is a busy day for him as he of course wants to play some SDV but he
also has a breakdancing class tonight.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 13, 2021, 7:37 PM subject 40 – 354 – 1303
Dear Justin,
Ooooh, had a wee too much whiskey last night during “reverse karaoke” on Jess’s Twitch channel last night. It was a fun time, we probably should have stopped after the first hour, but we got a little too
drunk and carried away. Nursed a hangover this morning, didn’t go to the studio – I did on Friday, worked on the big painting a bit, it is
either almost finished or I am going to have to completely re-paint
it. Will decide tomorrow. We watched the Queen’s Gambit during the day, which was a great series for the clothes and 60s fashion, and Anya Taylor-Joy, the actress who plays Beth, is amazing to watch. Jess and I both fawned over her a little, and we both found the ending to
be far too saccarine. It’s a good hangover binge-watch.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 16, 2021, 9:16 PM subject 41 – 245 – 1603
Dear Justin,
Just made it home for curfew, was at SRoberts for supper and to hang a blackout blind. Spent the afternoon at the studio, made some progress on a couple new ones, still haven’t made hard decisions on the big
one, but I think it needs a radical overhaul. In the morning I did
some Vox work from home, need to get some purchases in before the end of the month because, you know, fiscal end-of-year bullshit.
Had to dig my winter jacket back out from storage; I was too
optimistic with the taste of spring last week. The cold is affecting
my busted hand, I fear maybe some nerve damage, probably early onset arthritis.
Finished reading a novel today! Woman at the edge of time, by Marge Piercy. It was like a feminist version of One flew over the cuckoos nest, with some time travel thrown in, and a scathing criticism of modernity and the advancement of technology, and really imagines a future that could indeed be peaceful.
Went to the 25th annual march against police brutality, but it was too damn cold so I only stayed an hour. Had a good session with Yaël beforehand. We spoke a lot about my road rage, and how a lot of times in my marriage my feelings were not validated.
Alongside the rooftop paintings I am working on some Defund the Police paintings. Today I started one that says:
ABOLISH PRISONS, POLICE ,BILLIONAIRES and the QUEEN
Off to play some SDV before bed. —
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 17, 2021, 10:46 PM subject 42 – 316 – 1703
Dear Justin,
Do you think it significant that our Premier decided that today the curfew could be lifted to 9:30pm? Would it have anything to do with St. Patrick’s Day? I was actually out a bit later than usual tonight, Sarah and Pascal had a small screening of the video work they made during their Tangente residency, then I took a Flex to Concordia to pick Jessica up with all the pages she had printed for a recent book order, and dropped those off to the author C, who lives quite close to us. I had prepped potatoes earlier this afternoon so we had bangers n mash for supper. I had a Vox call with a gallery in BC that is showing the Skawennati exhibition in May. In the short time I was at the studio I think I finished another painting, a 24″x24″. Have a couple others on the go. Supposed to go into Vox tomorrow for packing a projector, fixing a lock. Not getting my framing wood until next Monday, it would be nice to postpone, do it all next week.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 19, 2021, 10:01 PM subject 43 – 317 – 1903
Dear Justin,
Are you going to adopt a motion endorsing a universal basic income? I’m pissed that the biggest piece of health care reform in a decade was making medically assisted suicide easier for those with mental illnesses – instead of strengthening the social safety net, providing better care, now death becomes a part of care?
I gave an art lesson to Gloria in my studio today, before picking the kids up after school. Gloria was very excited to be in a “real”
artists studio. I’m not sure what I could really teach her, some
colour theory and different brushes, we did some dry pastels and then mostly some abstract work.
Sol showed us some more of his breakdancing moves tonight, he’s pretty good! He tried to teach me some basics but I have zero capacity for
that kind of movement. Rose is becoming more and more an ado, staying cozy in her bed, headphones on watching her shows.
This weekend we be celebrating the equinox, will be outside cleaning the yard of snow and inside baking with seeds.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 22, 2021, 10:53 PM subject 44 – 320 – 2203
Dear Justin,
Finally, it seems like springtime, and warmer weather, is here. We all have placed bets on when the snow will finally disappear from our shaded back yard. The most optimistic is Sol, at 2 weeks. I was out there on the weekend gathering up all the cat shit that had been buried in the snow, that was fun. Now, what to do with the melting bucketful? On Sunday we celebrated Ostara, with great sunny weather, a walk and me thoughtlessly locking Rose and Jess out of the apartment while Sol played in a nearby park, and I updated my library card. I didn’t realize that Jess did not have her phone or keys with her. It was not my finest moment of responsibility, but I learned from it. Good communication is always key, and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Speaking of, I had better tell Jess that the kids have a journée pédagogique tomorrow, so she isn’t shocked to find hustle and bustle in the house when she gets up. Today I picked up my birch planks from Langevin et Foret, picked up the IKEA armoire for VOX from a Penguin pickup and dropped them off at VOX, and started packing a projector to send to BC for Skawennati’s show at Evergreen. I’m expecting some projectors to get delivered to VOX this week for testing, it will be complicated if they come tomorrow, especially since Sol has a dentist appointment in the afternoon. He needs to have that sealant put on, his teeth have had a fair bit of plaque built up, poor guy. The kids have been brushing great since their visit to the dentist a few weeks ago. I suppose I should book myself a checkup. I’m not washing all the dishes tonight, I’m tired, we stayed up too late last night, I made cookies, washed a ton of dishes – because the dishwasher had no power, our landlord sent an electrician over to fix a couple outlets that just stopped working.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 24, 2021, 10:03 PM subject 45 – 307 – 2403
Dear Justin,
Had a full day at Vox, finished packing up the projector we are sending to the Evergreen cultural centre in BC for Skawennati’s show, and then assembled and hung the IKEA armoire in the office for paper supplies. Picked up a few groceries on the way home – walked to Segal’s, then found a Flex, then the kids, then after dropping the Flex off at the house we walked to the skate park. So here’s the thing. Yesterday was a journée pédagogique, and the weather was so nice – we all had breakfast on our front steps, then the kids and I went for a long walk up the Plaza looking unsuccessfully for sneakers for Rose. Sol was planning to meet some of his friends in the alley behind his Mom’s house but they didn’t show. However, Rose saw some of her friends so she stayed while sol and I went to Jarry Park. Sol got a nice scooter for his birthday and is just now starting to go on the ramps; he would have stayed longer but he had a dentist appointment to put some sealant on four molars. We did go the skate park near us after getting Rose and dropping her off at home – but this skate park was bursting with teens and preteens and kids, and Sol was very wary about getting into the mix – but then he did, and I really felt proud of him for just overcoming his uncertainty. He did a few rounds but then complained later how he didn’t like it because there were so many people – he said he preferred being alone to learn. Well, today after school it was drizzling so we went to the skate park and it was empty, so Sol tried out a few ramps, but as we suspected it was very slippery, and his scooter slide out a few times. It was all ok, he only got wet, and already is more confident now that he was able to do the course alone. The more practice he gets the better.
In other news, Rose has had a couple workshops on puberty – basically a crash course in sex ed. Luckily Jessica speaks so calmly, confidently and compassionately about it all that I think it helps removes the embarrassment that kids her age may feel about the subject. We can have good talks at supper about it. Jess was able to tell the kids about the pre-cancerous cervical cells she will have removed in a couple weeks. When I was Rose’s age I didn’t even know what a cervix is.
My latest obsession: Stream Raiders, on Twitch. —
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 27, 2021, 1:26 PM subject 46 – 367 – 2703
Dear Justin,
Jess and I hosted – performed – another night of reverse karaoke on her Twitch channel last night, this time raising money for the Toronto Tiny Shelters – I’m sure you are aware of Khaleel Seivwright, the homeless shelters he has built, and the stupid City of Toronto issuing eviction notices and threatening to remove them – and the reserve community of Pikangikum, where ISC have pulled overnight nurses due to “lack of security” – even though the band have officers to replace the OPP, whom they kicked out after allegations of sexual misconduct against the community. Big surprise there, cops that abuse their power? anyway, we drank and sang and went to bed late, slightly tipsy, and slept in this morning. It was so warm and sunny this week, Thursday I think I had to buy sunscreen. Sol is such a great little trooper, after his solo practicing at the skate park in the rain he was ready to tackle it crowded, and he is making such good progress. As Judith says, in gratefulness, my heart is full.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 28, 2021, 5:09 PM subject 47 – 280 – 2803
Dear Justin,
We’re having a relax day at home, supposedly puttering and cleaning, but mostly playing video games and now, watching Hank on Twitch. Have you ever spent any time on Twitch? Fromighty1 was asking, he says you’re young enough and should at least know about it.
Jess had a night of D&D last night so I watched a couple bad sci-fi movies: Oblivion, and V for Vendetta. V was clearly the better film, especially with Nathalie Portman. And nice to see John Hurt playing the chancellor, or Big Brother. Nice role reversal!
Our movie night planned for this evening is to watch Get Out. “Just because you are invited doesn’t mean you are welcome” LOL
-chris —
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Mar 29, 2021, 9:54 PM subject 48 – 269 – 2903
Dear Justin,
Went to Vox for the morning, to finish sanding and varnishing a painting frame prototype, and set up the 2 big projectors for the shootout on Thursday. Am picking up another one tomorrow, to make it a threesome.
Didn’t sleep so well last night. Stressed a bit about upcoming Vox-related work and meeting, also the meeting with anne last week, about the custom bookshelves and painting and garden boxes for François and possible reno work for Caro’s sister, my own paintings, the frames, and always money – even on EI, even with savings and no debt, always worried about money. At least it’s not such a weight or stress as before.
Did have a good session with Yaël today, and am looking forward t some one-on-one time with Sol after school tomorrow, and then with Rose on Wednesday. I miss the Hustle n Bustle!
Have been playing lots of Stream Raiders on my phone, watching some Twitch, and polished off another movie last night, Twelve Monkeys. I must have a thing for dystopian sci-fi. It’s less depressing than the news lol.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° chris lloyd projects
DEAR PM 