Peterborough and Winter (arrgh)

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I had a blast at Trent University this past week. I facilitated a writing workshop and a self-care workshop for marginalized communities for the Trent Queer Collective on Wednesday and then did a public reading there. Trent has a reputation for attracting smart, creative and activist-oriented people and my brief interaction with students held up that reputation.

And Peterborough seemed to be a friendly place too. On the way out of the parking lot, I got stuck in some deep snow (oh! how tired I am of this winter!) and within 5 minutes, during which I skidded myself even deeper into the parking lot, half a dozen strangers, all men, showed up and started pushing, shoveling and salting  me out (I must have been sweating out some powerful damsel in distress pheromones). 

Speaking of pheromones, this week was Valentine’s Day. I headed to Body Blitz with my girlfriend and another couple for some pampering in the “water circuit”, a real treat on a cold winter day. We went from the salt bath to the steam room to the cold pool (apparently good for the thyroid, otherwise I would have skipped that part) and then to the green tea hot pool. Very nice…

Like lots of Torontonians who are suffering through the two metre high snowdrifts and lack of sunshine, I look for ways to get through the season without falling too deeply into SAD. I am very appreciative for our upcoming “Family Day” (hey, I’ll take an extra statutory holiday whatever its called and whoever created it just so he will get re-elected).

Another upcoming highlight in February: my reading with Pat Capponi and Debra Anderson at Queer Within These Walls on Feb 21st (see the posting below for details). We’re reading on themes of living and working within mental health institutions.

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