Things I have not been mentioning here: I attended Matthew David Cale and Sarah Rose Edward-Noelle’s wedding on Monday, and, coincidentally, am planning to attend Matthew and Sara Rose’s newlywed picnic next Sunday. I hope for all the best to both couples and idly wonder if I should introduce them. Jim asked Mishka, finally, if she would marry him. She said yes. I am to be their Maid of Honour next summer and in charge of photography. I tapped Lung to do the honours while I’m standing up front, trying not to drop her ring. He and Tony and I went to see Twilight last Saturday, which was even more hilarious than the last movie. I accidentally left my hat there, but recovered it Tuesday. My mother is leaving on Friday to NYC for three weeks, where she’ll meet Van Sise in person before I do, as Lung already did. I am going to be recording her show on Thursday with Paul and T. Crane before she goes. She will be out of a job when she returns, as well as down one local child, as one of my brothers just moved to Montreal to learn Asian languages in french at the Uni of Montreal. A different family member was recently arrested and spent a night in jail, but we’re hoping it will turn out okay. The lawyer seems positive that charges will be dropped. At home, David has been given a raise and I am still looking for work, though not finding any. EI is still threatening to dock my social assistance, which has already dropped by a hundred dollars, no longer covering my rent. In hopes of softening that blow, I have been updating my Etsy shop, as I cannot rely on photography until my wrists have recovered. Also, to complicate matters, I am running out of space to put digital photos, a situation that will only grow more dire the longer I do not have access to my work computer, which continues to blackscreen during boot. On a more positive note, Van Sise sent me a vintage medium format pinhole camera so I will be able to take pictures at Burning Man. (I’m unwilling to risk my camera with playa dust). I have not used one since highschool, when I made a shoddy one from a shoebox, so it should prove to be a very interesting experiment.
Tag: itinerary
No wonder I’ve been perpetually wiped out.
Good news!!
In the past two weeks, I’ve gone to the physiotherapist twice. First for my shoulder, second for my ankle. The first appointment was nothing special. He gave me some isometric exercises to practice at home, to strengthen my muscles and ligaments without moving them around, and hooked me up to a TENS machine that left bruised hickey octopus sucker marks all over my skin. The second appointment, though, which focused on my ankle, was a little bit life changing. Turns out, and why none of the doctors ever figured this out, I don’t know, my ankle was dislocated! The physiotherapist did a few motion tests, prodded conclusively with his fingers, then, incredibly, just pressed the bones back into place. It was a very peculiar feeling, but the relief was immediate. There’s still pain, but it’s a dull ache instead of a chronic, constant sharp pressure, and the brain fuzziness that accompanied it is almost entirely gone.
It seems that when I went rollerblading in broken boots all those years ago, the compression of the ill fit slowly shoved my bones out of place, wrecking some of the connective tissue and setting a precedent in the flesh for it to slip out in future, much like my shoulder, which is why my injury would flare up randomly when I ran or even stepped off a curb the wrong way.
To finally have an ultimate solution, to be able to stand and walk and know what was wrong, has been revolutionary. I have been given exercises to keep it in place – standing on one foot on a balance board, twenty minutes on a stationary bike, pushing with the other foot to give it a ride, and fifty pound leg presses, as gently as possible – and the fellow that sold us my new ankle brace recommended a very good series of stretches, where you trace out the alphabet in the air with your toes. My problems now are only healing and strength. Healing, to get over the tiny soft tissue tears from misplaced bones, and strength, to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
FYI: there is no such thing as karma
Due to a sudden family emergency that I’m at a loss to speak to any one about, but that’s serious and scary and bizarre, I am going to be very, very unavailable for the next while.
I may be slow to reply to messages and not very good at keeping in touch and for that I apologize in advance. Life was already going through a bumpy patch, (unemployed, crippled, on welfare, in severe and crushing debt, a rather lousy handful of adjectives), but my injuries are now very low on my list of problems. Some incredibly bad things have just happened and I have to take care of my family.
Please and thank you for your understanding.
ps. this is unrelated to my dangerous dad. don’t worry that someone’s out to kill us. it’s not quite that bad.
dreaming of one day being free
Glasses: Acquired! Still need to learn how to use contacts.
Taxes: On hold until I speak to an accountant. (T4’s arrived. Completed half the back-filing forms. 2009 needs another double-check.)
Employment: Started JobWave’s unemployment program, missed most of the first week due to illness. Going to make it up next week. Have more minimum wage transcription work. No recent job prospects or call-backs, no upcoming interviews.
School: GED test results arrive in two weeks. Need to research night-school/possible grants. Social Services may pay for a First Aid certificate.
Driving: Plan to sign up for September Young Drivers of Canada classes.
Photography: Updated my Etsy store, A Thread of Grace. Liking the unfinished, rough, new Foxtongue.com. One/two shoot(s) booked for next week.
Cleaning: Room is a post-illness disaster. Laundry is becoming serious as I avoid the required stairs. Boxes of miscellany need to be sorted, tidied, reintegrated into my room. Room need to be sorted, tidied, reintegrated into my room.
Repairs: Computer won’t boot. Coat rack still broken. The antique chest of drawers is missing a handle. Old microwave needs to be recycled. New Craigslist-score countertop dishwasher needs a hose fixed/needs a home in the apartment. Camera card possibly on the fritz.
Health: Still recovering from last week’s super sickness. Also down to only one limb. Right toe still broken, as is, possibly, another bone inside the foot. Right ankle is a useless ruin. Right shoulder still shredded from a car accident. Left arm in a sling, likely strained.
Finances: Currently relying on Social Services, which pays rent +$75. EI claims I owe them $1000+ with a minimum payment of $200. Credit card maxed yesterday on groceries. Other immediate personal debt = $9000. Appox. complete and total debt = $27000.*
tell me the signs of brain damage
What a roller-coaster! I started my week long 9 am – 4 pm employment program on Monday, luckily landing in with a bunch of unusually clever folks, only to fall deathly ill late Tuesday afternoon, (so feverish I deliriously went into convulsions and my mother stayed the night taking care of me), right after booking a wedding shoot for Saturday. All of Wednesday was lost to recovery, and today the fact that I only fell down once while walking around my apartment has been an incredible victory. Tomorrow I’m going back to my program anyway, then calling the groom, who I have never met and do not know, to finalize details, before meeting Tony’s bus from Seattle, and racing as fast as possible on a broken foot over to the Folk Fest to catch Shane on the main stage. On Saturday morning, after what will feel like not half enough sleep, I will finally meet the bride and groom as they pick me up on their way to pick up a sailboat, which we will then sail over to the wedding, where I’m going to do my damnedest to not fall off a dock while trying to stay out of everyone’s line of sight while still getting good pictures, while Tony likely sets off for the Folk Fest market, carrying my extra gear. If all goes well, we’ll meet later at Granville Island for more pictures, the reception, and more pictures, where, who knows, maybe I’ll even sit down. Will I be okay being so busy after being so sick and running around on broken bones? I don’t know, but I can tell you this – I certainly don’t have any plans yet for Sunday. Except to go to an evening movie and, oh yeah, Folk Fest until I drop. Hah!
burning down the house
Glasses: Acquired!
Taxes: T4’s arrived. Completed half the back-filing forms. 2009 needs another double-check.
Employment: Signed up for welfare. Started JobWave. Have more transcription work.
Fri: Employment Services 9 am – 12 pm
School: GED testing is this weekend.
Driving: Need to find out when I’m available for Young Drivers of Canada classes. Likely September.
Photography: Uploaded the rough draft of the new Foxtongue.com. One shoot booked for next week.
Cleaning: Almost all of my things are back in my room. Only boxes of miscellany remain. Currently doing laundry.
Repairs: Microwave replaced. Computer won’t boot. Coat rack still broken. The antique chest of drawers is missing a handle.
Exercise: Difficult with a broken toe, damaged ankle, & wrecked shoulder, but welfare gives me access to Community Center facilities I otherwise could not afford. Suggestions?
A truckload of bricks in the soft morning light
"Like a Dude", a commissioned photo for Brenno Van Sise. Purchase your own from my etsy shop, A Thread of Grace.
Taxes: T4’s arrived, but I mis-answered in the tax booklet. Again. Need replacement paperwork.
Employment: Spoke with Social Services this morning. Have a second interview with a video game company on Friday afternoon. Have more transcription work. Topic, Twitter.
School: Finally finished the arithmetic section of my maths book. Will test myself in three days. Next up, algebra. Tests are soon.
Driving: Need to hash out when I’m available for Young Drivers of Canada classes.
Photography: Updated and polished the Etsy store. One commission shot today. One shoot booked for later this week.
Cleaning: Almost all of my things are back in my room. Only boxes of miscellany remain.
Repairs: One of the cats pulled down our coat rack. The microwave suddenly does not turn on. The antique chest of drawers is missing a handle.
Other than all that, life consists mostly of tidying the apartment, doing laundry, folding things, investigating what might be left to try and sell on Craigslist, sending off endless, repetitive cover letters and resume, and wishing I had slightly more to eat. To shake things up a little, I went to visit Jenn and Steve today, who were darling, and stayed until almost far too late. As a bonus, I finally got a tour of the townhouse that they bought (which was also darling). Spurred on by this feat, I have once again reinstated my desire to see people again. I’ve been significantly more active lately than I have been over the last few months, as if I’m climbing, fumbling, out of winter, drained by gray and tired, into the bright social buzz of spring and summer, but I fear it’s not enough. As a gentle nudge back into the light, tomorrow’s plans are similar, mixing as they do the regular flat responsibilities of life, returning bottles, taking out the recycling, with sweet, social escape in the form of a tasty lunch with Sara. Her wedding is coming up, too. Seems to be the year for it, though I have physical evidence that I cringed away from Lisa’s bouquet.
oh airfare
Taxes: On hiatus while out of country. Should be filed by the end of next week.
Employment: Had a successful phone interview yesterday. A follow-up in person interview is being scheduled for next week.
School: Currently taking preparatory practice tests. Acing everything but math, which is not a surprise.
Driving: Pat has offered to pay for Young Drivers of Canada classes, which I will set up once back in Canada.
Giant Mirror: Julie has kindly agreed to trade it for sewing Kyle’s wedding cravat.
Painting: Out of my hands. Being done while out of the country.
Print Sale: Took and sold a number of pictures yesterday, one a commission.
Total Tally: Not too shabby.
My mother is driving down to meet us in Seattle this weekend. As a joint Mother’s Day and birthday present, Tony snagged Kooza Cirque tickets for the three of us for this Sunday. Spangles, tumblers, feats of incredible beauty? I’m dreadfully excited. Our very first date was to Teatro Tzinzanni, a dinner-theater circus in a spiegeltent, and then for every other Saturday that month we went to see Circus Contraption as they performed their very last shows ever. We went again to Teatro on Hallowe’en for our six month anniversary and won Staff-pick Guest of Honour at their costume contest. To go to the circus for my birthday ties it all together so nicely it makes my chest hurt.
Part of the reason I desperately want my print sale to work is so that I can gift him back with something equally as splendid, if not more. He takes care of me in ways that I never even dreamed of, so though there are a few things I could fundraise for, what I have particularly in mind is a weekend trip to see the Funundrum, the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus show celebrating the 200th anniversary of P.T. Barnum’s birthday, playing Jun 17 – Jun 20 in Vegas, as they’re the apex of American circus culture, elephants and all. The show is coming to Seattle as well, but in August, the same dates we plan to be away at Burning Man. Plus, in Vegas we could stay at the Circus Circus, the most appropriate theme-venue possible.
It’s not the hotel rates that slay me, though, or even the circus tickets themselves. It’s the airfare. As far as I can find, the lowest there and back is more than my rent, more than my credit card limit. It is, however, only 25 – 60 prints sold.
life, stuff, etcetera
My mother came over last weekend and stayed until four in the morning helping me figure out how to fill out my taxes. Turns out the reason I couldn’t make heads nor tails of any of it was that I was missing an essential piece of paperwork. Without this bit of paperwork, the main form can’t be filled out. Problem solved. All that’s left is some adding.
A completed application to sit the test at VCC on July 9th and 10th has been faxed to the Ministry of Education. I’m not sure the next step, if I receive confirmation or not, but I’m sure it will be fine.
I passed my written Learner’s test today. My official Learner’s License will arrive in the mail in the next six weeks. Next step: unearthing patient friends with cars. Also, bizarrely, I was told I have two skytrain tickets, from a time when I did not live in Vancouver.
Next thing to do is tidy all the clutter, push some furniture into the livingroom, and cover everything else in sheets. If I were more together, this would be done by Friday, so the cat-hair could settle while I was away and it would be ready to smoothly paint when I come back to Canada. As is, left to my own devices, the best I will likely manage is to beat down most of the mess.
stress, a subject of some familiarity
The woman at my appointment said not to worry about my back-filing, just to get last year’s paperwork in as soon as I could, but I’m finding it a struggle. Does anyone know how to do this based only on income? I don’t have any T4’s, any proper employment slips, only cheque stubs that list the amount I was paid.
First-Time Writing Fee = $60.00. To take the test, I must submit a completed APPLICATION TO WRITE GED TESTS form and appropriate fees to the GED Testing Service in Victoria. The next tests are on June 4th & 5th, but the paperwork needs to be in a month ahead of time, so July 9 & 10 are more likely. It takes both days to attend all of the exams. (“The five tests take seven hours and twenty-five minutes to complete.”)
I have been taking the ICBC Online Practice Knowledge Test for learner’s licence almost every single day, and consistantly scoring in the 90% range. Once I return to Canada, it’s $15, a vision test, and I’ll officially have a Learner’s Permit. Next step: unearthing patient friends with cars.
The constant search for employment is wearing me down. It’s been fruitless for months, now. Rent is looming, no one’s calling me back. I want to learn some marketable skills, give myself some direction. Does anyone know of any education assistance programs? My income is essentially zero right now, and I’m running out of ideas.