Idle No More is making me feel amazing! I attended the flash mob round dance in Midtown Plaza last night, me and 2000+ other people! Taking over a public space and making it our own was so moving, it gave me a great sense of pride in what our community can accomplish together! And then today I went to the rally/round dance by the Bessborough. That was exciting too, there were a lot of people, it didn’t give me the same thrill as the flash mob, but it did feel good to stand there with people praying and talking and drumming. I saw a lot of people I know, which made me happy.
I’ve been on a high for a while now, since I found out about possibly getting a job at X Corporation and then also with this hype for Idle No More! I feel like we can turn Canada around, like we can wrest control of our country away from the conservatives and make it our home again! And I also feel like just maybe I can get out of my own personal poverty.
I’ve been really frustrated recently with feeling like I am in a rut. Not having a stable job was really bumming me out, and being on social assistance, as nice as it is to have a safety net, is a little bit depressing. I think that’s only because there is stigma about people on social assistance, especially if you are a POC and ESPECIALLY if you are First Nations. There is this idea that you are lazy and useless if you need government assistance. And then people bitch about being taxpayers and how you’re using their money and blah blah blah. It really inflames some people.
BUT even beyond the whole job/no job/social assistance thing, I also feel like I am in a rut just based on living with my mom and cousin who does disruptive things when he is drunk, and not having a girlfriend, and having not gotten a grant from Canada Council for the last three times I have applied. I feel in a rut emotionally and with my film career. I feel like I am really needing to grow out of this awkward phase I am in. I don’t want children, so that’s not hanging over me. Whew! But being single is really getting to me. I miss sex with someone else. And if I get this job maybe I can move out of my dysfunctional home. I really hate living with an alcoholic. If he was working on himself that might be easier, but he is not, and at the same time he is acting like he quit drinking already. He’s all proud of himself, even though he keeps getting drunk these days. It’s bizarre. Talk about living in denial.
Quitting my addictions this year has been really positive for me though. Maybe the rut I am talking about is my growth plateauing. I had so many good things happen for me when I quit drugging and drinking. Like my driver’s license. And going to Germany.
But I do need to get ahead. Since this is the solstice and the beginning of the next Mayan age, I may as well start on what I want to achieve this next year:
Get a job.
Save money.
Pay off debts.
Do my taxes.
Get into Grad School.
Move to Toronto.
Live in Grad Residences.
Get a girlfriend.
That’s all I want to have happen. I would be happy if my next year worked out like that. I’ll hear in April if I get into Grad school, if not I will apply in the fall for my feature film funding, again. In the regular section. I’ve never gotten a grant in the Aboriginal Section. I think it’s cursed.
I’m worried Steven will pick one of my work nights to get really drunk and disruptive in the middle of the night, and I will be fucked for sleep and have to work the next day and be really bad at it. I don’t know. That’s one of the reasons I might move out if I get my job. I would save more money if I stayed here, but I really hate Steven. So maybe having the opportunity to get the hell out of here would be a good thing. It would suck for Mum though, because then she couldn’t afford to keep her house. She would have to get another roommate. And I don’t know if anyone could stand living with Steven. But I guess that isn’t my problem.