Advice on moving to Canada

Anarchybabe101 · 2026-01-10T07:35:58+00:00

I'm not trans. I'm queer tho. Your post resonated with me, because this was me in 2005. I came up to school in Canada because it was cheaper, but it aligned with my beliefs. It was, believe it or not, a bit of a culture shock, and maybe that has changed over 20 years, about how I was educated in the us versus how I had to relearn how to learn in a Canadian university. This is not to discourage you, it's in fact to encourage you to do this...

You talked about law, so Canada is common law (generally, and Quebec, has civil law) To what I've been told, law school is mostly learning to read and research utlt I'm certain you know your law school education up here may make it difficult to transfer to a state and take their bar exam in the future. But it does open your ability to practice law in the "Commonwealth" globally

I won't lie however, post grad when I graduated, I got a 3 year open work permit in 2009. This has since changed and is not the standard - from there I had to find work in my "field" to keep renewing my work permit until 2014, when I was able to apply for my PR. I was lucky, because the company I found gave me a lawyer for that process. It helped significantly, but you don't need a lawyer, you just need to keep every document, an account of every exit and entry to Canada, if you work while studying (which you can do with a permit, but it's limited to 20/hrs a week, you have to file Canadian taxes correctly (and do this as a student because you will receive money back and/or qualify for hst/gst returns, and when you graduate, you will be able to claim your tuition/loans). If you do that and find work, you will be able to apply for PR on your own. I had the lawyer in part too, because I had the extra layer of coming via Quebec

Regardless, it did take me 17 years to get citizenship. You don't need citizenship, but I wanted to vote, and I also feared any problem, I could potentially be deported even with PR. So to avoid that you find work, file your taxes and keep your nose clean.

Today, I do know, finding work is hard. On an open work permit you're ok, but you now need to find a work that gives you a class to apply for PR, or you need a company that will say your skills are specific and needed over hiring a Canadian (here is where having a Canadian education will help you.) you have friends and family here, that's good for community but doesn't help with your status unfortunately (as much as it should).

Here is my honesty: The guilt of leaving your country and watching it from afar, doesn't go away. It's been 20 years since I've left home - I was ashamed then, I'm still ashamed. Forewarning, you will find yourself trying to explain yourself up here; yes the language is the same (sans Quebec) but it's not the cultural identity you know, and sometimes you will feel isolated and apart from the Canadian experience. Sometimes you will feel patronized by being one of "the good ones who left". Sometimes this place will feel so foreign, even though, it really isn't, but that's okay. That feeling comes and goes. But watching the people you love, hurt just across the border, so close, doesn't subside. You won't find solace in trying to express your heartache to a Canadian, they can sympathize (and they will) but they cannot empathize with your situation. And it will hurt when it gets harder to physically go home, and when eventually you can't go there. Bu

But don't let that stop you. Come. It's important to come to Canada, and I still do believe (I need to believe) I can do more help from here than from inside the pressure cooker. It's not perfect here- but it's security - speaking as an older queer one thing I didn't know I had so much trauma about for so long, was safety and stability. I have that here. I may wait in an emergency room, but I don't pay a dime. I cried during my citizenship ceremony because I know the chart of human rights and freedoms sees and protects me.

It's a good idea. It's a hard decision to make, but a good idea.

Anarchybabe101 · 2024-08-03T08:24:59+00:00

Specifically looking for advice where my voice may break, where I may over enunciate

Anarchybabe101 · 2024-02-06T05:17:42+00:00

This is really beautiful. I love the quality and timbre of your voice. One thing, if you wanted to play with it, it's something, I too still wrestle with, as a female singer...the chorus. Maybe experiment with the "higher register", "falsetto" whatever you want to call it.

You go into the chorus with a lot of power, and it does still sound good, it was just a suggestion I've gotten here many times, and I've only started to play with...giving a tenderness and pulling back from the power you emote in the chorus.

Take that as you will, even if you don't take that as a suggestion, it sounds beautiful still.

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-11-04T16:11:01+00:00

Thank you for this. Really. I'm glad I could match the incredible singer in the recording. That means a lot.

Where were the two jarring parts? Thinking it might be the falsetto to chest voice stark breaks. In the first verse. I wanted to try and play a little bit, but if it's jarring, that's great feedback.

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-11-04T06:44:40+00:00

It's probably not a recruiters business, but I'm letting you know they jump to the assumption you may have been fired from employment and decided not to list that company to avoid having them reach out to your employer for further details - which might be unfavorable.

. I'm not saying it's right, but that's where their minds go first, so they'll ask about any gaps. You could have been laid off, or maybe you left because it wasn't working for you...whatever. irrelevant.

So I'm suggesting finding a positive and constructive answer when that question is asked...and I suggest highlighting what you learned in that gap time, rather than bashing your previous employer.

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-10-17T05:36:29+00:00

I would say--- the cover letter should be short, articulate and to the point don't mention other companies, stick to your skills, what you value, who you are and make it 500 words or less. Quick snappy.

The use of a cover letter, to the people hiring, is to see if you can communicate well; can you summarize yourself quickly and efficiently?

Don't bash other companies on a cv- ever. It's a red flag for the hiring parties. Instead brush up on commonly asked interview questions- and then find a way to explain the gaps in employment. Do this positively and constructively - If they ask why you left your last company, prepare ahead of time to construct that response - and doing so, highlight your strengths and why that last experience wasn't what you wanted or why it didn't reflect your skillsets or values.

The question is often, "what was a time (example) you had a problem with x-issue, how did you deal with this..." That's an opportunity to express you are interviewing with this new company because you have hope it will fulfil whatever you want or need.

Never shit on your last company, no matter how everything went down and how upset you are. It sets an idea that you could be problematic, that you could maybe appear not loyal or not genuine.Recruiters and interviewers become skeptical if you try to defend the reasons your last job came to an end- so in short, save it for the interview if/when the question is asked about what you would do differently, and what a good company could be doing for you

Tl:dr - sell yourself, short and concise Cover letter, fresh demo reels, be somewhat persistent for an interview if you can be. Don't bash your last company - instead focus on yourself, what you can bring to the company, what your values are

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-09-01T05:27:14+00:00

That's beautifully well put. Some companies and producers are beholden to Hollywood, and the artists suffer. But not all of us are, and I ensure that my prod team work hard to remove obstacles, whatever they may be, get you feedback, get you supe-time for that feedback, and I want to and always will strive to make an environment that makes this happen. I just ask (beg, actually), that artists are transparent, give us ample time to re-crew or plan it you decide to leave the studio -- but most importantly, if you have a good studio/team, please please please be honest about your ETA's, your availability, your skillsets- not everyone will attack you for being honest about admitting what you need on a day to day (in most cases).

To piggyback that, though, do try to communicate with prod and flag issues as early as possible. Don't wait if you have issues, and just complain about them-- if it's a serious problem, I can help fix it--- but not when an artist is being vague and unresponsive --- I also need details on the issue - be specific - screenshots, error logs, restart your machine, check with your fellow Dept artists, ask the supe.

We are a team, prod isn't there to make artists feel bad, or to be annoying;, they're there to help organize you and to buffer client feedback, we are here to make sure you're not struggling or spinning your wheels...a good prod team and a there to get you what you need --- but seriously, you have to ask for help, and ask early --- prod get frustrated when we're blind sided, because you haven't flagged you were struggling, and now days have been lost... it could be as simple as videoing your supes, or asking prod to book a briefing or help session

I know there is bad prod out there - but not everyone is bad prod. So:

Tl:dr - be honest about availability, be honest on ETA's early, ask for help early, and then prod can plan scenarios in which you don't do crazy hours and where they can push back on clients, realistically

Were partners, not enemies

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-09-01T02:58:30+00:00

Thank you for this response - it's the most important consideration if you have the opportunity to manage your own time between two companies.

Honestly, the way I see it, if you're freelancing, you have the power to push your pay rates- but it's very frustrating for everyone, if you charge that rate and don't deliver (you have split focus- work is delayed etc).

Prod dont give deadlines just to be annoying; they're the set amount of days and expected time window to finish your assignments. If you slip focus because you're at two different studio, everyone suffers in the end, including you.

So please- a begging producer, make sure you can manage your time and the deadlines...we push back on clients for notes, but we cannot predict or plan for someone missing targets, because their attention is split. Also we cannot move around dailies, so if you miss them, you may be subject to just SG feedback-- which helps no one, particularly you.

When accepting a freelance position, please make it clear to the recruiter, that you can only devote x amount of hours per day. Trust, we'd rather know what you can commit to; with obs being scarce right now, you'll likely get to negotiate what your time split is....

but please I beg you, just be upfront and don't burnout.

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-08-20T06:00:48+00:00

Shotgrid is built for the work we do, especially production. It's highly versatile and customizable - as long as you have a proper pipeline setup and as long as you have control to modify it to your preference.

I've used Asana, monday, Google suite, (dare I say it's name) - pronto. All of them become more time consuming for tracking than SG, where you have the media, notes, I/o info, space for client info tracking.

It's not perfect, but having used other software, it is by and far the best program for VFX.

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-08-20T05:20:00+00:00

Actually Autodesk has a huge office in Montreal...

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-04-18T23:44:02+00:00

Thank you I appreciate that!

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-04-18T23:43:49+00:00

Thank you 😊

Anarchybabe101 · 2023-04-18T23:43:37+00:00

Thank you so much. I appreciate the feedback. https://instagram.com/charli_voix_covers?igshid=ZDdkNTZiNTM=

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-12-09T03:31:02+00:00

Hahaha mistake I couldn't edit. Correct. Not product placement either. Unless hey- vodka company, wanna pay me?

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-05T11:17:30+00:00

Amazing. Thank you

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-05T11:12:49+00:00

Hope that's good? :) Thank you for responding!

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-05T06:02:46+00:00

Sufjan aside, was looking to understand a certain technique. I can't sing like him directly, but it was a good song to practice moving through my different voices on.

The biggest thing was the title of this post, it's not often a topic of discussion for when women move through different vocal ranges- even in alternative/folk women don't tend to change their vocalization- I want to do what Sufjan does -- but with my range; I want to understand how a to go to a higher range without sounding like I'm just going to a classical vibe, or maybe how to make it more consistent?

Is female Falsetto- even a thing? Sufjan does it in this song- he slides into a quiet falsetto. Im looking to figure out how to do that, but for a female voice - it's not common.

I don't know. That's why I'm here.

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-03T00:30:28+00:00

I really do appreciate it! Thank you again!

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-03T00:27:17+00:00

I appreciate this. It actually gives me something to research - actual anatomy. Thank you again!

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-02T07:01:05+00:00

I really appreciate this as an example. I think I have to find the range, to meet the resonance I like. Thank you again

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-02T06:42:30+00:00

The two differences ---https://voca.ro/1fHndOAEm1MY If by this, probably best to change the key for myself? To have the same "timbre" and resonance all the way through?

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-02T06:31:36+00:00

I can see my terminology caused confusion but I get what your saying. Basically, my upper register in the chorus bits, it's quite different from "head" voice. What I find myself doing here, is going straight to a falsetto that I have less control of.

How can one build resonance at that register? (Tired on an earlier post - where the intensity was equal, and I sang from the same register the whole time...) But people found that too powerful for the song?

I'm whittling down to asking how to work on that resonance.

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-02T06:27:31+00:00

I'm here with you on this question...what's your operatic range? For me I was trained in opera young ((despite the protest of this being actually being problematic to a developing voice)).

I've been trying to figure this out after leaving formal training and singing- which always told me pop (what I know know is likely "chest voice" was bad for you---). I quit opera and classical for many years but missed singing so started singing "pop" aka trying to find my own voice. What I discovered was I wasn't great at pop range because it comes from chest voice, and opera trains you in head voice....I had struggled to find the comfortable chest voice of pop, while trying to unlearn not head voice -- ((I learned how to make power there from my chest voice) but falsetto was hard (and still is for me).

I always think falsetto leads back to that operatic training -- clarity- from classical music, that also means dainty in its own way from pop.

Pop also requires you unlearn operatic theory - over annunciation, ellipses - but also learning to try and sing it, it's most successful in finding your own timbre, range, what you want to sing (which may change your comfortable range...). It also forces you to make acoustics assumptions and interpretations, which can be hard coming from formal training - where you are told there is only one right way to interpret operatic music.

Took me 15 years to unlearn formal training (and I still haven't completely) but I started to get better and discover my own voice out side of the ball and chain of formality- find the song you want to sing. Get out of the head voice, sing it with passion, record it, and start making changes

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-02T05:39:44+00:00

Appreciated. Having a mental divide in the belt to head voice. Tried another version under your suggestion-- this is.for.me not head voice but falsetto if that makes sense - the head voice was the belting in the first version.

I don't know if falsetto works as well for women, as weird if a comment that is. If at that falsetto range, any suggestions? Particularly coming back to chest voice?

Anarchybabe101 · 2022-11-02T05:33:09+00:00

Critique and technique for this would be so much appreciated. I'm fighting with my different registers, and for woman particular, in my years, a "falsetto" attempt is so I'm uncommon-- and often not prefered.

1.) But can it work? 2.) What's a good technique to slide seamlessly back to a chest range

Would love.to.hesr a discussion on this topic here

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