2023
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 4, 2023, 8:53 PM subject 081 – 0407
Dear Justin,
Am I forgetting about this as an almost-daily art project? Do I not care anymore? Is it the summer heat? Is it the sudden summer thunderstorms? Is it a deeper malaise about the state of the world? Happy belated Colonialism Day, and to our neighbours to the south, sorry your governments and courts are tipping even further to the right. Anyway it was nice to have some time off this weekend, worked on the yard, in the garden, cleaned the house, went shopping with Rose seeking items for her ComicCon Cosplay. Back to work today, hard at work hardly working.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° Dear PM
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 11, 2023, 10:23 PM subject 082 – 1107
Dear Justin,
Sorry, I keep forgetting. Jess and I had a few date nights or afternoons last weekend, watched some movies, made some cocktails and food, ordered food, went for lots of driving practices, and yesterday Myles and I loaded up a 16-foot truck and drove to Quebec City and back, dropping off the artwork from the last show. And now, just continuing on. Feeling a bit blah, summertime blues maybe? Maybe I miss my kids, but I get them this Thursday and it is ComicCon on the weekend, so some nerdy things to look forward to.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° Dear PM
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 13, 2023, 10:28 PM subject 083 – 1307
Dear Justin,
I’m reading My Year of Rest and Relaxation, and since I am feeling underlying currents of stress and anxiety over the upcoming Vienna project, as well as the Vox project, and now having the kids, and an almost-tornado today in Montreal, almost makes the idea of hiding away and hibernating for a year attractive. But if I was to do something like that – like run away – I think I would go back to BC. Work for an Indigenous-led project somewhere, just doing the work. I’ve been hanging out with an Inuit stone-carver named Saila, I’m going to take him to the stone shop tomorrow to buy some black serpentine. He has orders coming in, but owes money to unsavoury types. Gotta spend money to make money, but also, capitalism does this. Thanks capitalism! Maybe the best way to beat it is to just do nothing.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° Dear PM
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 16, 2023, 10:26 PM subject 084 – 1607
Dear Justin,
ComicCon was fun but I didn’t get even close to being in costume. Jessica and Rose both looked great! Sol was not interested in dressing up and he spent most of his time watching a live playthrough of an old Zelda game, Ocarina of Time. We all stayed for the Masquerade, Jess and Sol left a bit early as they were getting tired and restless. Today was mostly homey things, cooking and cleaning, also went driving with Jess and ran errands, she is getting really comfortable and very at-ease while driving. Her test is this week. I dropped off tools and sandpaper for Saila in his toolshed. We picked up groceries and kitty litter. Picked up Rose’s guitar and amp form her mom’s. The kids took the metro to their mom’s and got theit bikes and then came back here and then walked to the Laurier pool and Sol swam for over 2 hours, much to Rose’s chagrin. She was bored, and at an age where she does not want to swim, at least not at a public pool. I already had a shower today but I think I need another, it has been such a sticky day. I’m stressed about the Vox things to do this week and the Vienna things to do this week. I don’t want to be on computers. Oh, and I got into a car accident on Friday and need to take Ericka into the shop for repairs. She needs a new tire, fog lamp, left bumper, left headlamp, some body work, who knows what else. I was with Rose at the time but neither of us were hurt, another car had pulled in front of us as we were going through an intersection but no-one was hurt. I don’t have collision insurance so it will just be expensive. It’s only money. It’s ironic because Jess and I were talking earlier that day about selling Ericka to get a car with automatic transmission, maybe an electric or hybrid SUV, something that can tow Ramsay, or maybe a camper van. Anyway, probably makes sense to at least get Ericka repaired so she can run legally on the road before selling. Have you ever been in a car accident?
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° Dear PM
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 17, 2023, 9:43 PM subject 085 – 1707
Dear Justin,
I dropped Ericka off at my garage this morning and after inspecting the damage the mechanics figured it would be a good $3000 to fix everything. I asked to just get her legal and roadworthy, that was more like $1000. Imagine my surprise at work today to get a call from Desjardins and that they will send an inspector to view the damage and that they will cover the repair costs. I honestly thought I would have had to pay out of pocket. This is great! Now I can focus on getting things ready for Vienna. I have LED lights and components arriving tomorrow to test some things. And I still need to get some supplies for the screens to make for the install, it would be nice to get the materials this week. I can worry more about selling Ericka in August. Went to the pool for a bit with Sol after work tonight. Made simple ramen for supper and we watched most of Iron Man. We’re reading a BD of Adventure Time in French for bedtime. I hear the sounds of street cleaners constantly. The house is hot, we have fans going 24/7 which helps, but barely.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° Dear PM
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 18, 2023, 9:43 PM subject 086 – 1807
Do you ever find yourself constantly thinking about money? The constant mental tally of how much money you’re spending just to stay alive, keep a roof over your head, indulge in take-out or a movie now and then? Buying supplies, checking the credit limit, making sure there is enough for the hold. And do you ever find yourself at the end of the day, after some work, after emails, after taking your son to the pool, after supper and bedtime reading and having to plan an Intrigue Fatigue for the most recent fallen tooth, just drop-dead exhausted?
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° Dear PM
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 21, 2023, 10:22 PM subject 085 – 2107
Dear Justin,
What a day. I had a Montreal Dance production video meeting in the morning, then Jess and I booked a Communauto so she could drive us to Longueuil for her driving test, which she passed but not after being really, really stressed about it despite her being a really, really good driver. Then her dad called with the sad news that her grandmother has passed away. Also, she didn’t get the writer in residence job in Regina. She wasn’t feeling like joining us at the Barbie movie tonight but after the kids and I bought tickets we were kicked out of the theatre because we had bought wheelchair seats and they wouldn’t let us sit on the floor so we didn’t see it anyway. We’ll go tomorrow. We walked to Chinatown instead and ate at Sumo Ramen before coming home on the metro. Everyone is in bed now, exhausted.
—
- ° Chris Lloyd
- ° 514 295-3048
- ° Dear PM
from chris lloyd to pm@pm.gc.ca
date Jul 27, 2023, 11:56 PM subject 086 – 2807
Dear Justin,
Hello from Vienna, the number one city to live in the world, according to some report or study. I think I have the opposite of jetlag, a kind of insomnia. I fell asleep early enough my first day here, which was only yesterday, and awoke in the middle of the night but was able to eventually get back to sleep, and then even slept in until almost 10. So maybe I’ve simply had too much sleep? But I hardly slept on the plane, so shouldn’t I still be short? I suppose sleep is like most Canadian data plans, and the unused data doesn’t carry over but expires, vanishes at the end of the month. Unused sleep wouldn’t last that long so I suppose that is a useless analogy. Anyway, the crates are to be delivered this morning and this is, in my view, one of the more stressful moments of the whole project. Setting up the wood structures will be time-consuming but mostly fun, at least I hope. Dealing with these heavy crates, the potential smashed castors, the elevator which is too small, all these thoughts probably contribute to my insomnia. That and the apartment electricity keeps going out. Luckily I found the main breaker switch, which I guessed was the problem as it was the only one that was in the « off » position. The power was already off when I was dropped off at the apartment, and it went out again sometime in the night, and again tonight when Miguel was fussing with the voltage converter. He’s the sound artist in the first performance, and was testing his gear but plugged it into the 220 outlet instead of the 110. The power went out again at 4:33 this morning while I was reading Death in Her Hands, trying to fall asleep. I had woken up to pee but it seems Miguel has locked my bathroom door. We share a bathroom with two doors, and I didn’t want to wake him so I peed out the window. We’re on the third floor but quite high up and there are no balconies on this side. Maybe it was peeing from the window that contributed to the insomnia. Anyway I saw Sarah yesterday, she has been here three weeks doing workshops as part of the dance festival, and we met her friend Yuki, and then Krishna and his partner Sandra arrived from Zurich, and we had drinks until the bar in the Museum Quarter closed and they drive me home in an Uber. Now it is too bright outside to try sleeping again, even with the mask I borrowed from Jess to use on the plane. I’ll read a bit more and then just get an early start on the day. Crates arrive in 3 hours, but I’m only a 15-minute walk from the venue. I’ll look at some churches or statues or something.
Sent with positive vibes from my super-duper hand-held computing device.
DEAR PM 