Weeknotes: October 19th - October 25th 2026

Disclaimer: It should be mentioned that Weeknotes are always a snapshot of the week itself and lack the fullness of life - as is the case with any personal blogging.

✨ Chance's Happenings

• The primary happening of this week was provincial in nature. The referendum vote on Albertan separation occurred with around 75% of Albertan voters (thankfully) standing with Canada. That being said, the majority of Albertans decided to take the UCP bait and supported a collection of idiotic anti-immigrant policies. Here's hoping we can put this bullshit behind us during the next provincial election.
• The work week was fairly standard, though I did have families visit my classroom for the Meet The Teacher night (which went well). Outside of the work week, I went to Bailey Nelson to order new glasses, went to therapy to make my mind more flexible, listened to more CDs, and played video games.
• On Friday, after a snow-filled school day and finishing my first session of first-aid training, Katelyn and I went to the theatre to watch Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's You Can See Everything. Though I am not an avid cinephile in any regard, I was absolutely floor by this movie. It stands among Everything, Everywhere All At Once as one of my favourite films. I would highly suggest than you watch it in theatres if possible. By the time the credits rolled, my jaw was fully agape.
• For much of the weekend, Taylor and I stayed at home to relax. I finished playing Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, listened to music, and did some homework for therapy. We did, however, spend Saturday night going to Rocky Horror Picture Show with Alexis and it was a lot more fun than I anticipated!
• For reading, I continued reading Anand Gopal's Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Ordinary People Forging a Revolution. As for video games, I finally finished Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl (as well as its recent Cost of Hope DLC). It was an exceptional experience and I am working on sharing a separate post on it in the near future.

📷 Photos

👣 Taylor's Footnotes

• This first full week off from work started less like a vacation and more like work. On a whim I applied to work the referendum two days before - just because! I did not expect to be called in to work it out of the blue at 12:30pm the day of the vote without any prior notice! I was asked to come in immediately, and was sworn in once I arrived. Consequently, my work day was shorter than my fellow poll workers - by a HUGE margin. After the truck to collect the votes from our station was late, we were stuck until almost midnight to ensure the ballots went on their way to the BMO Centre for counting. But that 10 hour shift for me, was much less than the folks who had then worked from 7:30am until midnight! A few of the folks at my station were in their 80's - I can't imagine what their day had been like given that there were no officially scheduled breaks, and that the voting site was down three people (the only reason I was called in). What a day they had!
• As such, Tuesday to Friday was spent starting to truly unwind. There were a few work tasks that I needed to close out, but for the most part, the start of my three weeks off was very restorative. I am grateful to have been able to have the space and time to start trying to catch back up with folks in earnest. I was able to spend most of the day at my family's house as well - and did my best to try and help out a bit where I could too. I look forward to going over at least once a week during my time off to see everyone. <3
• Sunday, I was able to hang out with Vicki and Myki! We spent the late afternoon into the evening playing the board game Villainous (thank you Vicki!) and watching Mulan (which I was greatly chastised for having never seen). It was wonderful being able to spend time together outside of work, and also Mulan was 10/10 would watch again. I am kicking myself for not taking photos of us, something Chance is always great for remembering. Another day!
• I am looking forward to another week of catching up on life, starting to lightly apply for jobs, and just generally exist at a much, much slower pace. I can feel something unknotting slowly but surely in my body and spirit. These last three years I have pushed myself continuously at my limit. Unlearning that has been painful but needed. I look forward to the journey of it, and am endlessly grateful to have the space to take for it.