Social (studies) Isolation

So most of my vinyl, it turns out, is comprised of bands I have seen at Folk Fest. This means that I have had a hard time putting anything on in the morning because anything that transports me to an island in the city in the sunshine just makes me sad. But I've decided the way to move beyond the canceling of my FAVOURITE PART OF THE ENITRE YEAR is to maybe listen to some of that music again and enjoy it in other ways. So this morning is The Cat Empire. An upbeat jazzy, latin horn-ish, contemporary band out of Australia. They are so good. I've seen them a couple of times at the festival and they never fail to get the whole crowd up dancing. I'm obviously still struggling to cope with the many disappointments that pile up. I did have a very big breakthrough in my understandings of myself this weekend though - on that end. I realized that I live in the future. I plan and imagine and plan some more. I build things up in a way that makes it hard for the actual event to meet ...

I just really enjoy drag queens, ok?  I binge watched all of RuPaul’s Drag Race during my maternity leave and then became fascinated by drag culture. So, as one does, I did a deep dive into the history of the ball scene in New York and did everything I could to learn about the authentic experiences of trans women of colour and their community and allies - especially in the 80s and 90s during the AIDS crisis. I watched Pose, Paris is Burning, The Queen, WIG, all of it. And now I listen to the country music album of a Barbie inspired drag queen. I think about this history a lot right now, the AIDS part of it especially. I grew up in the AIDS crisis. It was very much something I was aware of as a child but not something I truly understood until I looked into it as an adult. The fear and loss is immeasurable. The parts that I have the hardest time even thinking about are the endless funerals and all the people (but especially gay men and trans women) dying alone in hospitals because of...

No time for vinyl this morning. I put on Trixie Mattel’s Barbara album for the short commute to drop the baby off with my parents for the day. I don’t usually listen to the albums made by the Drag Queen’s from RuPaul’s Drag Race - but Trixie’s music is actually very good.  Wednesday is always a good day for getting work done. Full day childcare makes everything easier. We know that she is taken care of and having fun and also have the space and time to focus on work solely. Almost. Today went really well until the meal kit delivery arrived and the door bell rang in the middle of class. The dog started barking and my husband had to come down to deal with all of the chaos while I tried to explain the most interesting takeaways from Germany’s response to the pandemic. Just a reminder that even the easiest days working from home are still a challenge.  The Minister of Education announced today that in person classes will officially be cancelled for the remainder of this school yea...

Frank Turner speaks to my soul. His music has been with me since I first discovered him (obviously) on a side stage at Folk Fest. He's been all over Europe with me, to University in Lethbridge, countless road trips all over western Canada and the North Western States, long commutes to work, painting a new house - everywhere. I needed a few days away from this. I think the blog was reinforcing monotony in a dangerous way. Just a really clear reminder that I'm not doing much as I struggled to think of something to write about at the end of each work day. Things have changed though! I'm still working from home, we are still social distancing and isolating to various degrees. The province is starting the initial phases of a re-opening though. As I write this, people who just last week were working from home are commuting back at the end of the day. I haven't decided how I feel about this yet. Re-opening is full of hope that we can return to a not yet normal, but mor...

I've discovered a new podcast called Solve so that's what I listened to as I got my day started today. It's a murder mystery podcast that you solve while listening to the story. I'm hooked. I'm also usually wrong about who the killer is, surprising given my affinity for true crime usually. I was right, some sunshine and fresh air was exactly what I needed. I'm in a better frame of mind right now. Busy with checklists for work and project dreams for improving our home. We also got a new vacuum, I am uncomfortable with how exciting this is for me. Teaching has also been good this week, which has helped me to be a bit more positive. I had a class this morning where kids unmuted themselves to share what they have been learning and have some discourse. It was SO GOOD. It felt like real teaching actually having them engage with me and with each other. My other classes haven't been so keen on this but I'm hopeful that they'll also participate in a b...

AWOLNATION has this way of being simultaneously angst ridden and uplifting. Perfect for the coming of spring and a global pandemic. I'm feeling a lot of ways right now. Part of me is still really happy with this extra time at home. I feel like I know my husband again, we have time to talk about things that aren't related to work and we get to spend entire days together. Albeit, on different floors of the house, but still that's much better than different parts of the city. I have more time to exercise, get fresh air and walk the dog, play in the backyard. The best part is still having more time with my daughter. Part of me is lonely and bored. I miss seeing friends and family in person. I miss having busy weekends where we can't possibly fit all of the plans in. I miss going to the mall, hockey and lacrosse games, my work(!!!). I miss playing soccer. This isn't to say I'm not busy. I am. Incredibly. I work all day and then there is no break, no commute, no...