Today my guest is ME, and the topic is FUNEMPLOYMENT. How to believe deeply in yourself (and your worth and your life) when you don’t have a job or all that much to do. In my own, sort-of-short existence, I have become quite seasoned in the art (and struggle) of facing the blank slate of my day—the freedom, the possibility, and the angst. How to survive spiritually and financially without the built-in affirmation of someone giving me money for my time and my skills. How to create my own structure and wins. How to avoid melting down on the sidewalk as early as 9:07 a.m.

If you’ve fallen off the job market, this episode is for you! But it’s also for anyone looking to examine their relationship with work and time. Part-time employees, freelancers, workaholics, we all have to navigate what our day looks like and the impact of our employment, or lack thereof.

Andrew Khoury is a rising star to look out for on the Montréal comedy scene. He comes to us from the hip and groovy suburbs of Nova Scotia. Since nailing his first stand-up set five going on six years ago, Andrew has channeled his anxiety into making people laugh—very hard. In the summer of 2023, he graced the Discovery Stage at Zoofest to great acclaim. Andrew is known for his fabulous legs and fashion sense, and for tackling taboo queer Arab themes with balls and hilarity. I saw Andrew live on Abby Stonehouse’s podcast and I knew I had to have him on the show. What a treat of an episode.

Maha Abdelhak Calvalcanti discovered autism while falling in love with her unique and effervescent, autistic son, Zane. It was a joy to hear her share about the vast and fascinating world that opened up when she discovered that her child was autistic. We talked about the latest in autism and disability, language and advocacy, technology and augmentative alternative communication, and the voices, gifts and wisdom of autistic people, speaking or otherwise. Maha offers wisdom of her own to our heartbroken listener My Kid Needs a Friend. And we wrap up with a charming and valiant ukulele attempt of This Game Called Life.  

Sherwin Tjia is Montreal’s most original and magnificent artist, writer, poet, graphic novelist, workshop leader, walk-a-holic, and quirky event planner. Since 2001, Sherwin has published nine books including the acclaimed graphic novels The Hipless Boy and Plummet, plus a trilogy of choose-your-own-adventure novels written from the perspective of a cat. Sherwin is the beloved founder of Sherwin’s Quirky Events, in which he hosts life-changing, one-of-a-kind evenings such as Strip Spelling Bee and Queer and Mixed Slow Dance.  He is also famous for his hilarious and entertaining walk reports which you can read on his Joe Catman Facebook Page. And finally, Sherwin is my creative and technical advisor and most cherished friend. I couldn’t wait to have him on the podcast!

Discover the quirky human behind the quirky events in this generous, jam-packed interview.

Daniel Allen Cox is a prolific and beloved Montreal-based author. He has written and published one novella, and four highly acclaimed novels. Daniel’s memoir-in-essays “I Felt the End Before It Came” dives into what it’s like to be raised and manipulated to reject yourself, or reject the only world you’ve ever known. Daniel grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness in the suburbs of Montreal. As he writes, “I spent eighteen years in a group that taught me to hate myself.” You cannot be queer and a Jehovah’s Witness—it’s one or the other.”

Daniel was a stellar guest, with hot and generous takes on Jehovah’s Witnesses, cults, language, ESL, writing, rejection letters, getting published, sobriety, apartment fires, LGBTQIAS+ community, creative routines, and more.

And we’re breaking the hiatus with a riveting all-advice episode, featuring the wildly adored storyteller, Alexia Côté.

“My fiancé agreed to pay for our wedding ring but now he wants out of this month’s rent.”

“I use too many pillows and my husband left the bedroom. Three months, later our marriage has totally imploded.”

“I’m a sad failed artist mom, supporting my family single-handedly. Meanwhile, my husband sits on the couch and commissions art he likes better than mine.”

Alexia and Erica can’t fix it—but we have thoughts!

Welcome back to This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life. May you enjoy this all-listener question episode with Alexia.

Welcome to our final episode of 2023! Today’s guest is me, Erica J. Schmidt. I have a special update about my first date podcast project. I’m going to talk a little bit about gratitude lists. And our listener question comes from “My Guru’s a Drunk” who’s concerned about her motivational speaker mentor’s drinking problem. With the Winter Solstice on the horizon, our half-bad ukulele segment is Let It Go from Frozen. For maximum auspiciousness, be sure to sing along.

Radio and podcast star Simon Barbz hops on the pod to talk sex, love, dating, art, passion, adoption, and so much more.

Simon Barbz is a curious and wildly charismatic journalist, podcaster and producer. He is the host of Cheek to Cheek with Simon Barbz. On this coveted Montreal podcast, Simon talks to artists and public personalities about belonging and all the possibilities before us.  His warm and intimate interviews dive into the most delicious topics from landing your life’s purpose to lining up lovers for all your kinks. You can imagine Erica J. Schmidt adores every minute. She also adores Simon brand-new radio show, “Réalités LGBTQ+.” The program plays on FM 103.3 and it is the first radio show in Quebec ever to be dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. At just 24 years old, Simon Barbz is a name to look out for. It was a thrill to have him on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life.

Mariam Khan is a delightful and invaluable addition to the Montreal comedy scene. She is known for her smooth, deadpan delivery, sassy well-played opinions, and ability to bring laughter to the daily grind of being a person. Her stand-up tells pointed truths about dating, sexism, race, and growing up with immigrant parents. Mariam regularly performs at clubs across the city and has appeared on OffJFL and Gigglefest. She is the co-host of the popular show Better Than Your Therapist and the producer and host of the show, I Don’t Belong Here. But she definitely belonged on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life. What a splendid episode!

For a joyful, low-drama approach to creativity, Jeff Gandell is your person. Jeff Gandell is an icon in the Montréal storytelling and performance community. He has written, directed, produced, and starred in a number of glittering fringe shows including Things Drugs Taught Me (co-created with Nisha Coleman), and The Balding, a coming-of-age-story about the race to lose your virginity before you lose your hair. For six years, Jeff ran the adored storytelling show Yarn at the Cagibi, may it rest in peace. He has offered countless storytelling workshops and has been a pivotal guide and mentor for all kinds of storytellers, including me. These days, he is channelling his creative energy into writing and singing songs. So far, he has produced two albums—Cold Chicken N Rice and this past summer, Only Human, a reappraisal of what it means to be mortal in an age of too many robots. Jeff also has one child with another one coming soon. What a thrill to have Jeff on the show.

Are you all for body positivity, as long as people stay healthy and don’t get too fat? Have you spent the last 3 to 45 years trying to lose 10 to 97 pounds? Welcome to fat liberation with Emma Lanza.

Emma Lanza is another crowd favourite in the Montréal storytelling community. Her stories dive into mental health and hypochondria, obsessions and crushes, body image and fat liberation, and her undying love for musical theatre, especially Stephen Sondheim. Recently, Emma has bestowed herself with the official certification of FAT BABE, and everyone agrees. She is committed to celebrating the beauty and power of fat bodies. And just when you think Emma couldn’t be any cooler, well, guess what? She launched a Fattie Book Club, a fat studies book club that she runs on Instagram. She is also a devoted cat and dog Mom to the adorable Scout and Oscar.

“My crush is drooling all over my hot BFF.” “My boss took advantage of me during my internship.” “I ran into my toxic friend on the sidewalk and didn't say the right thing.” Caroline and Erica can’t fix it. But we have thoughts.

Welcome to our first ever all-listener question episode. Chiming in with her sage advice is the elegant and eloquent Caroline. Caroline is known for her reasonable decisions and excellent sense. She has her YouTube PhD in attachment trauma, toxic relationships, and facial yoga. Every week, Caroline reads a self-help book and shares what she learns with her grateful gal pals at Pizza Night. Caroline is impeccably qualified to solve our poor listeners’ dilemmas. And she prefers to remain relatively anonymous so we have represented her here with this splendid, contemplative flamingo. (Caroline’s on the left and Erica’s on the right.)

Michelle Syba is the first published author and Harvard graduate to appear on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life. This year, 2023, Michelle released a remarkable short story collection called, End Times. Precise yet nuanced and laugh-out-loud funny, the book delves into the minds of people from all walks of life, from fervent evangelical Christians waiting for the Rapture to left woke atheists scheming to prove the Jesus People wrong. If you don’t know what the Rapture is, we go over this in our episode. It is educational, but also very clever and funny just like Michelle Syba.

I’ve gotten so much good dating advice lately, that I decided to invite a stranger on the pod for the inaugural, real live first (and blind) date. The stranger’s name was Amir and it was deeply generous of him to show up. Going into the date, all I knew about Amir was that he worked a bank and that he went camping on Labour Day weekend. He had every opportunity to stalk me online but I don’t think he did. For optimal success, we prepared gripping and mildly invasive questions. You might want to try these out yourself for your next winning first date. Let me know how it goes!

Abby Stonehouse is English Montréal’s wildly popular stand-up comic, writer, podcaster, and producer. Six years into her comedy career, she is known for her honest, autobiographical, storytelling approach. Abby is committed to building up the Montréal comedy community, and creating onstage opportunities for diverse and emerging voices. She is a pioneer in making comedy hearing accessible. Her addictive House of Stone Podcast offers professional captions and ASL interpretation on YouTube. I have devoured every episode and it was a thrill to have this influential comedian on the pod. We bonded over boobs, small town living, food, booze, eating disorders, hearing accessibility, and all things comedy.

Alexia Côté is a beloved Montréal storyteller who brings us hilarious tales about life, love, and dating. Though Alexia is quite young, her fascinating trajectory has included approximately 100 jobs, as well as a stint at Model UN, and appearance as a debutante at the Montréal Austrian Society. If you’re wondering what a debutante is; if you (or your dear ones) are stumbling towards precarious mental health; if you’re worried you’re going to be single forever; if you’re struggling with family pressures; if you’re hoping to kickstart your creative process, you will love this episode.

Taes (Tess) Leavitt is known and loved as the founder of the Big Heart Journey and “Boots” in the wildly popular children’s music duo, “Splashnboots.” She is also my darling and extraordinary big sister. Friends and fans of Taes can rejoice in this VIP, family-friendly episode.

Kristin Govers is the star and creator of the smash-hit Fringe play, The Awkward Ballerina. Her playful, heartfelt and gripping one-woman show tells a true story about growing up with big dreams of becoming a ballet dancer, when you also have cerebral palsy. Although she never made it onto the Nutcracker stage, Kristin is the most beautiful and sincere ballerina that I have ever met. Her message is close to my heart, since many of my favourite peeps have cerebral palsy, including my dearly departed honorary brother Glendon. And the great news is—Kristin’s episode is relatively family-friendly!

John Cotrocois is a Montréal comedian whose captivating stand-up has earned him a spot on Just For Laughs Montréal 2023. John found his way to the stage as a storyteller where he became so popular, he got his own t-shirts. Then he migrated to comedy, endearing the Montréal scene at ZooFest & OffJFL and all kinds of clubs across the city. In 2020, the Comedy Nest named John Comedy’s Rising Star. And now the star has risen. Congratulations, John! Your fans are so proud of you. Within seconds, John had me laughing impossibly hard. For best results, please laugh right along with us.

Bean Nunnerley is an artist, massage therapist, self-taught, builder, mother, swimmer, and long-time singer in the Montréal women’s choir Choeur Maha. I knew Bean would be the perfect guest when, during an unbridled discussion about boundaries, Bean asked me, “What colour are yours?” In this wholehearted episode, we dive into boundaries, mental health, neurodivergence, PMDD, what it’s like to be diagnosed with ADHD at 49, and how to find the healing we all seek.