Weekly Report: October 28th - November 3rd 2024
The Week in Summary:
- This week has been immensely challenging for my physical and mental health. Over the course of the week, I have been experiencing a lot of muscle and nerve pain in my legs and feet, which has resulted in a dreadful cycle of health anxiety and panic attacks, which then pushes me to look online and get more worried about my wellness. As a piece of advice, do not look your symptoms up online - knowledge isn't always power.
- Recently, we have been making an effort to include more plant-based whole-foods for our diets. We've been using an app called Pick Up Limes to do some meal-planning and it has been working really well. I am hoping that it will help with preventing the heart disease and inflammation that runs in my dad's family. As you might be able to tell, with my 30th birthday coming up in a few weeks, I am starting to become a bit more attentive to my health.
- For work, my team and I dressed up as Alan, one of our cherished coworkers, for Halloween. For the children in the building, this must have looked utterly absurd, but we won best group costume - so go team Alan! At home that night, we spent the evening with Krystal preparing an excellent dinner of tuna steak, rice, and roasted vegetables (and sake), whilst watching Annihilation.
- On Friday, I went for a good walk after a dentist appointment to Kensington to get herbal tea from Oolong Tea House, a new book on South Asian history, and a lavender latte from Higher Ground. For the evening, Katelyn and Angela hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner Party at their beautiful home. It was themed around a fantasy tavern with Taylor playing an elf bard and myself playing as a human necromancer. We had a really good time and we are grateful to spend time with some wonderful folks!
- The United Conservative government tabled several legislative changes that will "prohibit minors from receiving certain types of gender-affirming care, require parents be notified when a child wants to use a different name or pronoun in the classroom, and also require that parents opt-in before their children are taught about sex in class". An additional bill, called Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, will limit the inclusion of trans women in participating in women's sporting associations and events. In any case, this legislative assault on our community is a challenge to the individual rights and freedoms that so many Albertans are blessed with. On a chilly Saturday late afternoon, we went down to City Hall to join a protest against the UCP and ensured our voices were heard. We listened to speakers like Naheed Nenshi (Alberta NDP leader), Amelia Newbert (Skipping Stones founder), and Rory Gill (CUPE Alberta President). This vile attack on our people will not go unanswered. We need to take these fuckers to court!
- Sunday was a day for puttering around doing household chores, listening to records, having a hot bath, working on an upcoming blog post, and watching Juno. I always love a relaxing Sunday!
- While I have been a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party since the late winter this year, I decided to extend that membership into the federal level and joined the New Democratic Party of Canada. My grandmother was an adamant partisan for the New Democrats and it is time that I carry that progressive torch.
The Week in Images:
The Week in Links:
Donate — Skipping Stone
With your support, Skipping Stone leads the way in providing affirming care to trans and gender diverse youth, adults, and families.
How Britain tried to ‘erase’ India’s third gender
New research reveals how the British rulers targeted and tried to eliminate eunuchs in colonial India.
