Woman Dress Film Click Here To View

SO my film is finally available on the NFB website! You can click the link text just above this image to watch it! I’m super stoked about it. It’s been a lot of work, a lot of thought went into it. I wanted to tell a story that has been passed down through generations in my family. And it’s hard to make a doc about someone who is long gone. But the NFB was really amazing at helping me achieve my vision. And I just have so many people to thank, like my Auntie Beth, who first told me this story when I was looking for an old story about a two spirit person. And my collaborators, Kiley May our amazing actress who embodied this role so perfectly. And Maria Todorov-Topouzov, our incredible editor who went above and beyond to make this piece so amazing. And Gabriela Osio Vanden who was such a great Director of Photography and who worked really well with Maria on the green screen. And of course my producer Justine Pimlott who was willing to let me push what a doc can be. ALSO special thanks to Southern Thunderbird/Humming bird Calling Women’s Drums, a traditional Women’s Big Drum Group, for providing music. AND OH MY GOD also mega thanks to my cousin Sage Paul for creating the dress for us. All of these women were so incredible to work with and so happy to see this film come to life.

I’m also really thankful to my Grandpa, Stan Cuthand, who has passed on but who left us with an amazing legacy of traditional stories from his parents and their parents and so on. I don’t really know when Woman Dress lived on the Plains, but we think it was before contact.

It was really important for me to make this film because there have been Indigenous people who try to say that two spirit people were not really accepted the way we say we were. And I’m sure every tribe is different. But I know from this story at least that there was a two spirit person who traveled around the plains and was welcomed and accepted and honoured by the tribes and communities they traded stories with. I would love to know more about this person, but I’m not sure how much exists. Even my Grandfather was reluctant to tell this story when my Auntie wanted to make a book out of it.

I’m really happy I got to make this film and it’s definitely one of my favourite works I’ve ever done.

It’s the end of a long stretch of nearly constant work. I traveled to four different cities in two countries since the beginning of October. My Mom wanted us to go to Cuba for Christmas but I tapped out. I’m staying here until February.

I did three performances, a few screenings, pitched a feature film project, helped finish a grant application, did all the schmoozy stuff I need to do, tried to keep on top of contracts (and failed). It was just a very overwhelming month and a bit. I also had computer difficulties, and my laptop was out of service for about three weeks. Which was a lot, especially when this was all going on, all this work. I’ve been to five festivals in that time too, one of which I was an organizer for, and that just like, finished me. Tomorrow my film I’ve been making with the NFB gets launched and then it’s like, free time for a while.

Although I still have projects that need working on. I just sent two audio interviews I recorded this last month and a bit to Rev for transcribing. It’s for my doc installation on Saskatchewan racism and I think it might be shown in a big show next fall so I need to get it done in time. I have some more things I need to do first, like two more interviews, and filming some landscapes and scenes right in Saskatchewan. And I have a couple of overdue projects I need to finish. So that’s stressful but I think I’ll be okay. I just need to concentrate.

But today is a holiday. Today all I did was send those audio files to Rev. I also discovered that using migration assistant to move my old files to my newly cleaned fresh OS install macbook was triggering some kind of bad file, I have no idea what, but it was killing my laptop so now I have to manually move files over. I need to get old mp3’s into my iTunes, move photos, and my whole downloads folder is needing manual moving but I’m really nervous about it in case whatever rotten file is killing my macbook is in there somewhere. I’ve been downloading my applications as I remember them, so I’m not moving over old applications. It’s actually really good, I don’t want those old applications I don’t use to just keep getting moved over and over. So far I have managed to reactivate all the expensive apps. And Adobe Creative Cloud was so easy to move back.

ANYWAY I’m probably gonna cave from my No Work rule for today just to move over old files.

OH BUT ALSO I ordered a Nintendo Switch. I haven’t had a gaming console since I had a Playstation in 2006 just to play Katamari Damacy. But this time I ordered two games and I’m also gonna download the Untitled Goose Game just because that’s honestly the main reason I want a switch. So I’m kind of excited about zoning out to play a silly game or two or three. I used to really love gaming as a kid. I played all kinds of games, my friends mostly had to help me win them. But even so it’s still fun.

Plus I am hoping it helps me figure out how to finish my game I was making in Unity. I just downloaded a new version of unity but right now my Mac says it can’t scan it for viruses so it won’t open it. Ahh It’s okay it will figure it out.

I’m excited for staying here this Christmas. I have a visitor coming to see me one day, and some other friends will be around here. And it snowed here today so I had to go dig out my boots and I found my tree and ornaments and christmas lights. So I am gonna put this stuff up probably tonight, to have something nice to look at.

I finally got rid of the mice here, or most of them anyway. There might still be one or two. I had to get snap traps, which is awful. I became a killer! UGH! I did try with the live trap, honestly, I only ever caught one though. I caught eight in the snap traps. And one in an electric trap. Anyway, the massacre is over I think, and now I don’t hear anything being riffled through, or nibbling. There was a lot of nibbling. And I put these rodent repellent noise things up, and hopefully that makes it less inviting for more to show up.

My Invisalign is almost done! I have literally only TWO trays left before I’m just doing retainers. So that’s exciting. I’m still going to have to wear them most of the time like now, for about seven or eight months. Then it’s just night time wearing. They are thicker than the trays though so hopefully they aren’t uncomfortable. I’ll probably be lispy though. Damn lisps! Sometimes a lisp will come back with this treatment, like just comes and goes. But eventually things will be normal!

And my teeth look awesome right now. Which I’m happy about.

Anyway yeah I guess that wasn’t really such a complainy post so much as a long explanation of all the work I have done the last month and a half. Because it was exhausting. I slept in today and it was heavenly!

Now I am waiting for the rush hour to ease up before heading to Loblaws to get a pork tenderloin so I can make stew tonight. I got all the other ingredients, but like, there were NO tenderloins at the store. So sad! So now I have to get on the TTC to get some. And Instacart is having some shitty treatment of employees so I feel weird about using it right now.

I haven’t been updating this blog very much but it’s not because I’m not thinking about it or because I am giving it up. I was genuinely just too busy, I went to like, three cities since the beginning of October including an overseas trip to London UK. Also just before going to London my computer started constantly crashing and just quit in London. So it’s been at the store since the day after I got back, getting looked at. I have no idea if they even started working on it, when I call a crabby lady tells me “it’s in the queue!”
That didn’t really help this last week. I had to get a pitch deck finished for my producer and I to pitch our project. In the end we had to use her computer and do a lot of work in the few days she was in town just before pitch day. Our pitch went well though, we got a lot of interest which was good, and I want to get back to my project. Today I had a handful of micro meetings with people who weren’t as interested and hadn’t seen my pitch. But whatever.
I did have some non-work excitement in my life. I met someone really interesting and cute who I want to know better. And I got to spend time with my Mom. And I saw friends in all the cities I went to.
I dunno what else? I came back here and basically did work all week because of ImagineNATIVE. There was the pitch day, micro meetings, a panel, I did a performance today. Tomorrow I am just going to see films all day though and none of them are mine so there is no stress now. And I’m fairly certain I’m not up for any awards so I’m not going to the awards show this year.
And next week I have a massage booked on Halloween. It will be spooktacular! Ha ha ok lol.
The dogs were at the sitter most of this month, and I feel kind of bad for bringing them home just before the festival started cause they have been so lonely and put out. And I’ve just been getting crabbier and crabbier with so little downtime. But next week will be a nice rest. And I’m not booking myself for any gigs in December. After TQFF my major heavy job stuff is over for a while.
I’m so tired, and every time I write in my handwritten journal (since my computer is in the shop) I just write “I’m tired.” Well, except for all the sexy stuff I wrote in it. I was actually using it this week to take notes during meetings and having nightmares of leaving it somewhere and having some stranger read personal stuff. Like I know people think I get personal here, but I honestly try to keep my love and sex life off the Internet, even just fantasies, but especially if they involve crushes and lovers cause I know people get nervous I’m gonna write about that thing they do that we both like.
There was one funny thing that happened this month tho that I feel okay talking about. I’d been going to this sex club cause they had women and trans nights. And I never had sex there cause honestly I’m too shy. But I liked someone who was there and there always seemed to be too many people around to ask to make out with her (cause it’s like a sex club right?) so anyway long story short she started making out with someone else in front of me and I was like wow I am not that mean to myself that I’m going to stay and watch this. So I left. But I did learn I can’t go to sex clubs so I mean that’s good right? And I mean I know I seem to put everything out there but honestly I’m a shy guy and I can like, quietly flirt in private enough to start things but like asking to kiss and fuck in front of The Community is actually kind of a nightmare I don’t know why I didn’t clue in on that before.
Of course I just got back from doing a performance where I was naked. Public nudity, totally easy. Taking emotional risks in highly charged public sexual spaces? Noooooooooooooooo.

So yeah that was a long break from my blog. BUT I’ve been busy making art because there’s not really a lot of time for me to rest. I have three short videos I am trying to finish this fall, along with about four work related trips between now and the end of October. I’m gonna have to ask for extensions on at least one video for sure. BUT I am almost done with another video, I was just waiting for the sun to go down to do my last shots.

I went to Saskatchewan last month to do a lot of shooting. I wanted to do a smoke bomb shoot with four different colours of smoke. In hindsight I should have ordered more smoke bombs, but I was anxious and didn’t. ANYWAY I did get four different shots with the smoke, and now I am going to finish my last shots tonight of me in the gas masks. I was gonna set up my lights to do it. First time using them and my gels.

It was a productive time in Saskatoon, although I didn’t have as much time to visit as I would have liked. I shot some super 8 which is being developed now. I’m hoping to get it next week at the latest. I also started recording audio for a documentary installation I am doing about racism in Saskatchewan towards Indigenous women. I interviewed two people I know who gave really good stories and comments, personal and structural racism. And I’m going to interview four more people so I am excited about that, although the material can be very heavy.

I am going out tonight but trying to get at least this post down. I’m going to New York in less than two weeks for my screening at the Whitney Biennial. So finally it’s gonna be my time to shine! And then it will all be over. I haven’t really known how this experience is going to affect my career. I know it’s a big deal but for the longest time it didn’t really feel like anyone in Canada particularly cared. I mean it is an American art show. I know people know it’s a big deal, I guess maybe I figured I would get more media attention or something. But the only media interview I got besides Canadian Art was the Saskatoon CBC Morning Radio show when I went back home last month. Which was still cool though. I mean I have no idea how this will play out. I’m so relieved the Kanders stuff is over now though. I think if it was still going on when I had my screening I would have had to do something.

In some ways I am doing something. The film I am trying to finish this weekend is about the experience sort of. But also mixed up with a gas mask fetish I am trying to explore, and also some weird experiences I had in Chemical Valley. Layers! Like an onion!

Tonight my stepmom invited me to Bruce LaBruce’s TIFF party at the Bovine and I have no idea what to expect but honestly it could be some kind of interesting adventure so I think I should go. My horoscope for the month said I was going to be in a good position to meet someone to love, so I need to circulate. Not sure I’ll find a queer lady at Bruce LaBruce’s party BUT I COULD who knows honestly??? I have to get out of my apartment more often. Yesterday I had a few short experiences out of my apartment, like visiting with friends/getting a massage/having interesting conversations. So more of that would be nice.

Anyway I better go veg out before I have to go out. Also probably wearing sexier clothes than this black t-shirt might be a good idea. I could at least put on my leather vest.

I’ve had a rough month. I mean maybe most of it was fine, but the last week and a bit got SO STRESSFUL and I felt like if I came back and wrote something here about what was going on it would get quoted in some Art Mag and then people would pile on me on Twitter and I just honestly didn’t know how to deal. I can see why people hire publicists. I did make one statement to Art News and part of it got quoted, I mean it seemed to be a good quote, the part they picked. But it all felt immense and mostly I was concerned about presenting a unified front with other artists who were reacting in various ways.

ANYWAY yeah, as I had mentioned in a few posts I am in the Whitney Biennial this year. And I was asked to be in it last year, around November. And after I said yes the stories started coming out about Kanders, and WAGE and Decolonize This Place asking artists to withdraw from the Biennial. And it’s a really hard decision to make. I don’t have a lot of high profile shows I have been in. It’s such a huge platform. And also my work was going to be in an Indigenous film program near the end of the exhibition. I would have two screenings and have 12 minutes of video screen in each screening. So out of this exhibition I’m showcased for about 24 minutes altogether. And in many ways I was hoping if I held out I could see how this all plays out on it’s own. And I have mostly screened in Artist Run Centres and in small festivals all over the world. So to be in the Whitney was a big deal.

Anyway obviously the Kanders thing was looming over this. And I don’t think anyone wanted to be associated with a war profiteer. And the places where Safariland teargas has been used are places a lot of the artists including myself felt allied with the protestors it was used on. And then there were people bringing up the point that there are many galleries and museums and universities who are getting funds from all kinds of unethical places. Capitalism is never an innocent force.

So I had been thinking about this for a while and knowing I would probably do something to make my feelings known. There was a letter Verso put out asking Kanders to step down that I and a lot of other Biennial artists signed. And I think there was still potential for other actions to happen. But then more recently this letter came out in Artforum shaming the artists who were still in the Biennial for not pulling out.

It really stressed me out because a lot of what was going on seemed to deflect anger at Kanders into anger at the artists, and artists are generally disenfranchised people anyway. And 8 artists withdrew from the exhibit. Which I was in solidarity with but I wasn’t going to withdraw because I still wanted to figure out another way of protesting. I did come up with something I was going to do which I won’t mention here because now it’s a moot point. But I made the mistake of looking at what people were posting on social media, including Twitter, and a lot of it was really reflecting this idea of a binary of the good artists who withdrew like people have been asking us to since November/December, and the bad artists who were going to be judged by art history and have our reputations ruined. And this whole time I had been worrying that the Kanders controversy was going to destroy my career no matter what decision I made. If I pulled out I’d be like, hard to work with, and lose my big break, and if I stayed in I would have shitty politics even though I still tried to be vocal about my feelings on his participation in the board. I don’t feel like I have a lot of clout, and since my video was gonna screen at the end of the Biennial, if I pulled out no one would have seen my art at all, while other artists had shown for half the exhibition.

So I was trying to keep it from being about myself, but it was starting to feel like my work didn’t matter anyway compared to this massive political art world scandal, and I was being selfish by seeing how complicated this was and not withdrawing. I also didn’t feel like I had a lot of friends to talk to about it. My closest friends mostly aren’t in the art world and didn’t really even know what the Whitney Biennial is. And I was snoozing people on social media who were posting in favour of artists withdrawing because even tho I understand it’s a powerful political statement, it felt like more pressure I didn’t want to see in my facebook feed at that time. I did have a few people to talk to but it was starting to put me in a tailspin and I felt sometimes that people didn’t see the full ramifications of the whole situation, especially for individual artists who all have different situations in their lives. And just the fact that it was a biennial of artists who were mostly BIPOC and half women being sort of demonized for not reacting the way the narrative wanted us to felt shitty. Like taking it out on BIPOC and women artists when the real enemy was this white cis male war profiteer felt like a shitty and convenient deflection.

Anyway I was stressed and if anyone asked me how I was doing there was like, a long sigh. I felt really worried about making the wrong statement, and I was going to write one with a friend who knows media better than I do (I mean press media). And also I just felt really concerned about the artists in the show, both the ones who withdrew and the ones who were staying for now. I felt that I wanted to be supportive of any way that people protested or didn’t protest or spoke out or didn’t speak out. I know people’s careers were at stake no matter how we responded, and it was a really awful situation to be in.

So right, I was waiting to see how this would play out, but I was getting pretty depressed, and my mental health is not tip top anyway, it can really vary according to whatever the hell my brain chemicals are up to. And at the same time I know it was all way bigger than me, I was like a dust mote in this tornado. And I was feeling hopeless, people were telling me he probably wouldn’t resign anyway, that there were other people on the board who also had shady dealings, etc etc.

And then Thursday morning I woke up to news Kanders resigned. I’m still absorbing it. I know it was largely those eight artists withdrawing and the question of if more would withdraw that finally forced his hand. And that’s great, I’m glad it happened, I’m glad those eight artists felt like they could take that risk on and that their gamble paid off. I’m still kind of reeling though at how much infighting happened in the art world, and I’m still wondering if people are going to take it out on the artists who didn’t withdraw. And I’m wondering when this will happen again, because pretty much every major institution is being funded by dirty money.

In some way I am a little bit sad that I never got to do my action. But that’s really just political vanity so I’m not dwelling on it. My friend Maria Hupfield was one of the protestors at the opening who got a lot of art news press when her and her friend did their action, and she got in on my invitation which was pretty sweet but also like yeah that was all her I didn’t talk about it with her besides her giving me a heads up she was gonna do an action. There was a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, and a lot of stuff, like actions, no one will see or know about because finally the situation has been resolved in a positive way.

I think however that my own conflicted feelings are starting to go away, and now I’m really thinking about how rapidly change can happen when you don’t expect it. I know it’s a big deal that he resigned, but it also gives me hope on a larger scale for change to happen overnight. For instance I have been thinking a lot about climate change and the end of the world and how politicians including in Canada are all in the pockets of the dying fossil fuel industry. And at times it feels hopeless, and like our planet really is just gonna die and we have all accepted this. But then I think fuck, maybe something will happen and one day I will wake up to news that capitalism has fallen or something. You never fuckin’ know.

So I guess besides learning change can happen fast, and that direct action like withdrawing work from a show works (even though I didn’t withdraw), I’ve also learned that sometimes you really do just have to hang on and see how things play out. I still don’t feel out of the woods yet personally in terms of how I will be judged by others who weren’t in the Biennial. But I guess I just have to find out.

In the meantime I did get a Canada Council grant to make a documentary installation. So that perked me up. And I do have work offers coming in still. And I don’t know if I will make it in the American art world, but also I’m a Canadian Indigenous Artist, and I’ll be around for a while longer in Canada at least.

Ha ha omg this probably sounds so much more personal than people would like. This is a pretty personal blog. I know it’s a big issue and not all about me. But this was how it affected me this last while, and I didn’t want to come back to my overshare blog and not be honest about what was happening for me. And I hope there is a diversity of viewpoints about how this situation played out for everyone. I still feel nervous breaking away from the group to tell the story the way it happened for me, and all the things I was worried and anxious about. But this is my blog and I was avoiding it for like, a damn month, and I guess now you know.

I wrote a post, but I probably put too much personal information in it, so I shut the tab it was in and anyway now I’ve come back to try again. Just stuff that one down into my drafts, never to see the light of day.

It’s Canada Day weekend which doesn’t mean much to me except that I need to avoid going out on Monday when all the drunk white Canadians are roaming this stolen land. Mostly I have gotten away from being targeted for street based racist violence, but I’m not as cocky as a light skinned NDN now that I’ve got Plains Cree facial markings. I don’t think I was ever really cocky about being able to disappear in public, people could clock me for Indigenous if they cared to look closely. Lots of people asked me “what are you” even before I got tattooed on my face. Anyway, still probably gonna stick close to the neighbourhood on Monday. And the dogs hate fireworks anyway.

I felt kind of sad yesterday and today. It was a whole bunch of personal stuff, I don’t know. I’ve got a lot of insecurity I need to work on with my therapist, about love and career and those sorts of things. I don’t really feel like I’m undeserving of good things or anything, I think I just get bummed out when I consider my social status as someone who is gender non-conforming, Indigenous, Queer, Disabled, Fat. Like it’s a lot of things that are very vocally unvalued in contemporary society for it’s own fucked up reasons, and sometimes it gets to me. I know I have some kind of cultural capital as someone with two degrees, and a mostly successful art practice, and having things like stable long term affordable housing is even some kind of advantage in a place like Toronto. I guess I’m still sort of hurt when I get slighted by people who brush me off because I am a lesser person in their eyes by virtue of the identities I carry. I know intellectually that says more about who they are as people/institutions/society, but it still kind of sucks.

I mean there’s really no fixing it except to stop thinking about it I guess. It’s very frustrating. Sometimes I wish I was born into a better more loving world. Instead of this colonial shit.

But I still have my dogs, and I guess I’m healthy, and there are good things happening. Sometimes I feel like I should be further along in life than I am. Like having a partner and a family and be done my first feature already and not have to worry about my finances after October. On the other hand, I have work until mid October, and I get to travel to some places in the next few months. And next winter I’ll get to go to the East Coast a couple of times for work.

I kind of hate too this pressure not to wallow. It’s like I’m not allowed to feel sad about being marginalized in the mainstream society. Like I’m oppressed but I should be fucking happy about it because at least I’m not on the street or something, or still abusing substances to escape reality. Why do we put that on people? This expectation that people should perform happiness and gratitude to mollify any feelings of guilt more privileged people might feel? Like yeah if you have more privilege than me you should be fucking aware of that. Things don’t come as easily to me, I’ve had to work fucking hard to get where I am. And even then people are like “Why don’t you have a partner?” “Why don’t you have a teaching job?” Ugh. Leave me alone. The fact that I didn’t die in my 30’s is like, a mark of success for me.

Anyway. I guess I could talk about career stuff here but I don’t want to today. I’m still doing things, I have a couple articles coming out, something is gonna be in THIS Magazine about my fertility clinic stuff. I’m finishing post on a film. I have two more films to make. I’m waiting to get turned down for a grant. I’m just sort of doing things as much as I can to keep making money and stay relevant. I can have a pissy day. I earned a pissy day!

Mostly I’m feeling okay, I just had a weird couple of days. I’m still taking my meds, I think it’s honestly just my big fat bipolar feelings. They get messy. And people get irritated. And then I get irritated and more messy. And then I’ll go have a nap and be fucking fine in an hour. I really can’t give any specific guarantees on my mood at any point in the day, or how things will affect me. Sometimes something happens and I am like whatever. And then other times I’ll like suddenly remember someone never gave me my favourite book back after borrowing it and I’ll like just spiral into some weird thing.

I have to think about what I am gonna eat for dinner. That would probably be enough to pull me out of this slump. I mean at least the good thing about being manic depressive is that it never stays just one mood forever. I at least have some diversity of madness.

So last night I went to bed at 9:23. Like, I’ve been working the last three days in a row, it wasn’t horribly long hours but we were editing a film so it was a lot of cerebral work and like super concentrated. Anyway, I left around 6:30pm yesterday while the editor did some VFX stuff. But I was like, exhausted. And I’ve missed ALL of Pride weekend because I was so tired and yeah… no flirting for me. Which I am bad at anyway so whatever.

Anyway, I thought I’d just sleep early. But it took so long to fall asleep. I think I finally had a short period of light sleep between 1 and 4:30am. And then I got up to pee and I was like “OH SHIT” cause I realized I forgot my night meds. And the fact I even slept for three and a half hours WITHOUT night meds is saying something, because honestly I could have not slept at all. Anyway, took my meds, slept in. Got the producer and editor asking about notes and I was like late responding because I was just waking up around 11:30.

I’m still exhausted, but I do feel better.

Saturday night I had a hard time, everyone was posting Pride pics and videos, I was home totally wiped. And it’s not even like Church street is far from me, it’s literally 14 minutes away by streetcar. But I couldn’t go without energy. And I had major FOMO. Which is hilarious because I don’t even really go to Pride, not into it most of the time. Pride is something different in a place like Saskatoon, it’s still very community based there and means something else. But I never got into big city Prides. I don’t like crowds normally.

Anyway, no Pride for me!

But the work we did this weekend is really good. It’s still a rough cut but working with the editor was amazing.

As I’ve grown older I’ve grown to appreciate editors. All kinds of editors. Magazine editors, script editors, film editors. I’ve felt for so long when I’ve created things I’ve shown it to the wrong people in the process stage. Like friends who just want to say “yeah it’s great!” and I don’t know if they want to keep from hurting my feelings (tbh I am guilty of this too with friends looking for crits) but it’s not very helpful. Like I want to know if something confuses someone, or if something sticks out that doesn’t fit, or things like that. I want to know so I can make my things more awesome. Like I know there’s technical issues with my writing that don’t stand out to me but an editor will catch them. I know if I have been writing a script for too long it stops making sense to me and someone else needs to look at it and be like “I don’t think this character doing this thing makes sense for who she is” or “this scene is coming in at the wrong spot.” And working with a video editor is awesome too because the two editors I’ve worked with the last couple of years are really good at leaving space for beats and breaths, and they spot things that don’t work that I don’t see at all until they fix it and I’m like “ooooh yes better!” Anyway…

It probably sounds weird to be getting older and finally find editors useful. I mean I’m sure they always could have been useful. I’m just doing projects now where I get to work with them more, and it’s really making me hit a higher level, which is nice.

And the editors aren’t close friends, which probably also helps. Cause they don’t worry about my crappy ego and not hurting it even if that means the project suffers. Like I did do film school, I am used to crits. And some crits in film school were really mean, but not many and MOSTLY people just want to help each other out. Like it’s just a mindset thing I think, you need to hear what needs help to make it better.

Anyway, YAY for editors! I wish I had funds to always work with them!

Ha ha this a ridiculous post, I just haven’t written in a while.

I have been spending time with an editor for a project and we were having this interesting conversation about romances in our lives, and she said something like “oh you must have broken hearts.” And I was like “No, not really.” But then I’m like geez, maybe I am just SUPER UNAWARE of doing shady heartbreaking shit. I mean breaking hearts is not always shady, sometimes it just happens and you can’t avoid it. Like if you just aren’t interested in someone and they really like you.

It sort of reminds me of this one time I body slammed a white man.

I didn’t mean to. I was walking in a crowd on Robson Street, and I saw him coming, and he was half turned talking to his friend, just walking without looking. I had too many people around me to get out of the way. So I just kept walking and braced myself and totally body slammed him. Like I guess I could have shouted something like “look out!” or “beep beep!” but I am a shy person so honestly body slamming him felt easier than opening my mouth to warn him. He was fine, he bounced off me and kept going. I don’t think he even said “HEY!” he was so surprised I didn’t automatically get out of his way.

Anyway, sometimes breaking hearts is like that, I think. Like you just sigh and have to keep it in motion even though you know you’re gonna hurt someone by not being into them too. And it’s not like people can get their emotions out of the way, so you can’t go like “Look out!” or “beep beep!” and save them. They just have to go home and do the same thing I do when my heart is breaking, write in their diaries and cry a lot. Ugh no one likes that, even if it is some kind of tragic romantic thing to process your feelings. Even if you can be relieved that at least you have the potential to love someone that much.

OR WORSE sometimes you are TOTALLY NUTSO into someone and things just get miscommunicated, or they don’t put enough effort in, and the moment slips through your fingers even if they are also down for it. I feel like that happens with me sometimes. Like I try to be really clear when I am into people, but at a certain point I honestly have to give up for my own dignity. Like it just feels suckass to chase people all the time. I like being met halfway. But honestly if they let it get to that point, they probably aren’t as into me as they would need to be to have a healthy relationship anyway. And I don’t really want to date people who could do without me. Lacklustre feelings are not the ones I want someone to have for me.

ANYWAY point being, I guess I probably have broken hearts, just because life goes that way. It’s funny though cause I really do want to have a long term relationship with someone I can live with and have a family. So like, having people be into me and not feeling it back must look like a waste or something. But I would hate to be with someone who isn’t excited to be with me, and so I don’t want to be with people I’m not excited about either. That’s not fair. And there are so many bad long term relationships where people hang on even when they aren’t in love or being treated well anymore, and I’m just like, not gonna have one of those.

Ha ha Thirza’s theories on love.

BUT I did realize something recently from our conversation today. There’s a weird dynamic that happens if you are a successful person in your career and you date someone who is not also successful at the same level in their career. Not like you need to be in the same line of work, but I’ve been in relationships where I was more successful than my partner, and it breeds resentment, and sort of an unpleasant competitiveness. It can be bad. I am sure not every relationship with differences in success have those problems. But I have had those problems, and it’s depressing when you realize your lover feels threatened because of your career. Like it’s just, ugh. Be happy for me! I want a relationship where someone can tell me some cool thing they are doing and I can be happy for them, and they can be happy for me because I did some other cool thing. I think maybe this is where power couples come from. It just makes sense.

I have been going on dates the last while, but I am still looking for the other half of a grounded power couple I can be in to raise babies with. Who will be interested enough to watch rough cuts of my films, and come with me to premieres, and do whatever interesting exciting thing they love for work. I dunno, maybe they are a lawyer and can bring me to their office Christmas party. Who knows! Ha ha I was gonna write “maybe they are a musician” and then I thought about how much those people tour for their work and I was like NOOOO maybe not. Aww ha ha so of course now it would be hilarious if my future partner is like, taking a break from recording her breakout single, reading this and being all “AWwwww dammit.”

I’m trying to be open to life! I don’t know what’s gonna happen! Maybe my future partner is a nerd with a PhD who teaches string theory, I honestly don’t know! Or maybe she’s a cool PhD who wrote a dissertation on 70’s lesbian communes! I don’t know! Life is always full of surprises.

Hopefully I don’t get body slammed by more heartbreak, but yeah it’s probably coming soon anyway. By accident.

Look out! Beep beep!

I am doing my last push of spring cleaning today. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been doing all kinds of things to make my home better. I did all that cleaning in my bedroom this winter, and most of that is still clean but it could use some going over again in the future. It still looks way better than before, I have a long string of white lights on the wall, some ridiculous Warhol dachshund print, I cleaned off the bedside table and originally it had a plant and crystals, and now it’s got crystals and dicks and play needles and a sharps container and a mini projector. So like, yeah a bit different. The plant got ants which is why it had to go, sad.

I need to tidy my books but MOSTLY they got tidied in the winter and the bookshelves are a bit better.

I have clutter on the entertainment unit and coffee table and bench to clean.

I washed the cushion covers on my couch and my bench, which makes them look almost new except I didn’t wash the GIANT cover on the couch cause it’s so unwieldy. So the arms are still a bit grubby. But overall the couch is great. And the bench was so gross before too cause I eat on it all the time. And yeah, I’m happy about that.

I set up the air conditioner, but honestly it’s not even hot enough to turn it on. I did have it on a couple times but it was just not useful yet.

I cleaned out the sun porch last weekend. I took out recycling, swept, threw out old shit I didn’t need. It’s looking way better, but I almost killed a plant so now there are dead leaves that need sweeping.

Over the winter I upgraded my bathroom so that I have a bidet and a handheld shower head. I haven’t showered much, but the bidet is like so amazing omg. I’m so glad I got it.

I washed the floor today, which I do almost every weekend anyway, but I also put away some stuff so I could wash the floor in the kitchen and by the fridge where the dog bowls are. And I washed under the garbage can. So it’s pretty good in here right now.

I really just have these cluttered spots to deal with, and to take out some more recycling, put away dishes, and clean the bathroom, and then I’m done. I’m so glad. And I’ll probably do deep cleaning a bit more in the future. But this is way way better.

I really like cleaning actually. I think because it’s a visually satisfying thing to do. Like when it’s done you see so many changes, and you feel like you’ve made a difference, and you want people to come over. It’s a really nice feeling.

There’s some fruit flies in here though which makes me think there’s something they are coming from. MYSTERY!

I dunno, what else? I’m mostly stoked about having a clean home again, for a while. I feel like I can have cuties over and not have them be distracted by like, I dunno, a bunch of plastic bags stuck to the floor or something.

ANYWAY I should go push on and finish up here. I’m FINALLY so close to the end of this! Exciting! ALSO I was kind of bummed out because The Distillers was my last concert ticket I’d been anticipating, and now the show is over. BUT now Sleater-Kinney are coming in November so I got a couple tickets and a friend and I are going! So that’s something to look forward to. I really love live music, especially now that I am in Toronto and bands I really like come here on a regular basis.

I think I’m ready for more magical things to happen in my life. I feel like I’ve concentrated on my career for so long. I mean I am still going to keep working hard and stuff. But I think I’m ready to feel things like love and desire and so on in a more concrete way. But it’s not even that, it’s more like wanting to feel more connected to nature, and plant life, and that sort of thing. And being open to the mysteries of life.

I quit doing spells this last year because I kind of fucked myself over with a couple of spells that brought in a confusing relationship and then ended it suddenly which I intended but not in a great way. And I just didn’t think I did it right, and I hadn’t intended it to be that person, I didn’t know who it was gonna be but it picked the wrong person, I don’t know. I guess it wasn’t meant to be. I’m trying to be more open to trusting that the universe has something better in mind for me. Like maybe I don’t need to do those sorts of spells that end up hurting everyone involved by accident. Like maybe there is something wiser and older and more experienced that I can trust to be helping me somehow.

I don’t think I need to do love spells anymore. And I haven’t. They always backfired in some spectacular way. I think I’m curious now about who is going to show up for me. My friend has a theory that weird shit happens because of these white women doing witchy spells without knowing what they are conjuring up and in a sense I understand that and think it’s a main reason I’ve been trying to bring my spiritual practices closer to Plains Cree beliefs than Euro-Pagan ones. I’ve got some white sage. But I’ve been reading about how harvesting is endangering it, and how it’s specific to the Indigenous people around that area anyway. So I’m going to be growing some prairie sage plants, and hopefully some sweetgrass too. And I’ve been trying to use sweetgrass more in my smudging. It’s part of my tribe’s medicines so I feel comfortable with it. It doesn’t smell as nice as the white sage but I think that’s just because I got used to white sage and have forgotten my connection with sweetgrass.

I grew up going to sweatlodges a lot as a kid. I was doctored by my Uncle and Auntie when I first started getting depressions. I am not in my territory though, so I’m not sure how to connect with my ceremonies beyond maybe attending some when I go home this summer. I’ve never been great at praying, like I just think good thoughts when I do it but I don’t have like, specific words I say or anything. I dunno, my connection to spirituality is wibbly I guess you could say. I believe in the Plains Cree spirits and beings that I know of. But besides getting messages in dreams, I don’t do a lot of stuff. I suppose I put out offerings though.

I don’t really know what it would look like to be more spiritual in a Cree way without seeing an actual medicine person. I’ve just been smudging and putting tobacco down sometimes. Maybe I should ask my Uncle. It’s not like I don’t know Cree medicine people, they are just far away from me. I’m sure there’s someone in town though, Toronto is huge and there’s Crees everywhere.

I feel like someone is going to love me for the rest of my life. And there is even someone who loves me right now. I’m just trying to figure out my relationship with magic and destiny, and how the Plains Cree worldview ties into all of that. I know who my spirit animal is, I’ve spoken with ancestors in dreams twice in the last few months. I feel like I am safe to explore this. I think Indigenous magic is something we don’t talk about a lot outside of our communities because settlers ridicule us when we do because they are colonizers. OR they try to take it and recreate it without us. It’s very strange.

Anyway, I remember when I was in some really dark periods I felt supported by Plains Cree spiritual beliefs and practices. I just want to get in touch with it again. And not to do some crazy love medicine shit. More to feel aligned with my soul’s purpose.