Day 603 December
23rd
2015…a year in review
So I was asked to give my top 5 of 2015 by a
fellow geek for his Nerd blog/website and I figured it would be pretty
easy. I grabbed my newest best friend –
my idea journal which has become a constant companion for when ideas hit me and
I don’t want to lose them, and started jotting down, well, ideas!
Before long I had way more ideas than the 5 for
his list so I decided I would do this post up to go along side that one. It would appear that I had a lot to share
about this past year!
2015 was another year of ups and downs good
times and not so great times…but that is how life works and as the year is
tailing away here to be able to look back happily on it all is the greatest
feeling ever! So I am going to ramble
away some of the things that come to my mind about this past year…if you make
it through the list I would love to hear some of your highlights for you of
this past year! And for those of you
that want to bail…I don’t blame you…it’s going to be a weird ride down the
rabbit hole and I do get a bit wanderlost in writing this! Without further ado…
@ 2015 started off on a very strange and down note…not
a way I could have ever imagined it being but that is part of how life can work
sometimes. Starting off more at the
bottom meant that the only way to go was up…which is exactly how the rest of
the year went! Through all it we have
grown stronger as a family as well as individuals and while I wouldn’t wish it
on anyone the changes and perspectives we have from it all have really made us
better people over all.
@ Something that this year has shown me is how
much I truly enjoy being a teacher and even more so how much I love teaching in
a small school. Of course there are
challenges to teaching in a smaller school…certain things are not possible but
really on a whole I don’t find our school lacking for anything at all and the
upsides far outweigh the downsides. In
this setting and environment it is much easier to really get to know not only
your co-workers but also your students.
Being able to know your students well is a big part of being a teacher
and in a small school setting that is far more possible than not. To be able to grow that understanding is
truly something awesome and helps me feel that I can succeed at my career! The same can be said for getting along with
your coworkers…in our school that is easy because we can really work together
as a team much easier. Another huge
aspect of the small school setting is that the parents and community are very
involved and helpful as well. These are
all very important aspects to the health and well-being of not only the
students but everyone on a whole and I can’t imagine a better place to work!
@ This past year also brought about a real change
in my collecting mindset and habits. Regular
followers of this blog will know that for 10 plus years my geek life revolved
around Minimates and collecting them. This
was a passion but one that I found was taking over too much of my spare time
and money…to the point that it was really limiting my ability to do much else…I
was so focused on them it left little room for anything else. 2015 really brought about a change in how I
viewed what I was collecting, what I really wanted to do with my collection and
collecting habits and some very truthful moments to myself. The biggest truthful moment came when I could
admit to myself that I wasn’t enjoying the Minimates to level I used to and it
was time to dial back…and dial back I did!
I still enjoy them for what they are and still pick up the odd one, but
no more buying them all, having to have them all, stalking the release dates so
that I can plan my hauls and no more cluttering up my space with tons of them,
and tons of props for ‘ideas’ that I didn’t have the time or skills to make
happen and this would leave me frustrated all the more. Once I could see that and draw myself out of
it things really shifted and I am now getting to the point where I can enjoy
seeing the pictures of them but also enjoy the fact that I am not chasing them
down all the time. I am slowly thinning
out what I have here and that will continue into 2016 as I reclaim my office
space from being just a Minimates pit.
@ Part of my change in collecting ways was a bit
of focus on my collection of art based on Starman. Anyone who knows me knows my love for the
Jack Knight character and comic book run…I maintain it is still my favourite
comic even after all these years! This
year I added some amazing pieces of art to the collection and am proud of what
I have put together so far. While the
sinking Canadian dollar value has brought this to a much slower pace as the
year went on I will still enjoy adding to the collection as time goes!
@ Something that came back to me this year was
writing, although not in a manner I would have expected. I have been lamenting the fact that I haven’t
written much new poetry for a while now and it kind of bugs me. A co-worker and fellow poet mentioned that
writing, and poetry in particular, can viewed as a voice when you don’t have
one. I love that analogy but it also
tells me that maybe I have found some confidence and a ‘voice’ outside of my
head so the poems are appearing in other, new ways now. I did write a few this year and it felt great
but I have started dabbling in writing in other ways which will hopefully find
itself an avenue to share with everyone in 2016!
@ Star Wars Episode VII. No way around this one, I
was a Star Wars kid growing up, know the original trilogy like the back of my
hand and even my kids love it! To me
this movie was a fantastic piece of the saga, fitting in nicely with the
originals. The nay-sayers can nay all
they want and try to poke holes in it all day long…to me this was an amazing
movie! Top it off with our small city
theatre busting their butts to convince Disney to let them have it for opening
weekend, which also allowed me to arrange a field trip for the grades 7-12
students at my school and then going again the next day with my son and this
really will be a huge highlight of the year for me! There is so much I could say about this movie
but really unless you have experienced it there is not much more I want to give
away beforehand. Huge props to the film
makers for using old school ways of props, sets and costumes instead of modern
crutches of CGI and such…really enhanced my enjoyment of it all!
@ Canadian Comics. I have been a comic book fan
for as long as I have been a Star Wars fan and everyone who knows me can see
this…I wear it proudly! Growing up I had
the major super heroes from the big two publishers which was all fine and well
but I also had a few random issues of a comic called Captain Canuck…totally
random but kinda neat. Then in the 90’s
Canada Post put out a stamp series about Canadian superheroes with Superman and
Captain Canuck as well as some characters I didn’t know namely Nelvana, Johnny
Canuck and Fleur de Lys. I bought a big
collectors pack that had stamps, postcards, a mousepad and an information
sheet. I devoured the info but given
where I lived and the fact that the internet was not really what it is now I
never had much choice to learn anymore.
Last year a surge started in revitalizing the general knowledge of the
history of Canadian comic books and superheroes. It may have started sooner but last year it
really took off and I dug out my Canada Post stuff and decided I was really
going to embrace this more. Reprints of
Nelvana, Johnny Canuck, and Brok Windsor from the Canadian ‘Whites’ (the 1940’s)
were happening as well as a relaunch of the Captain Canuck character and new
takes on classic heroes and new creations as well were all there to greet me in
this mission. I am still learning all
the various histories behind the Canadian comic books and I am loving every
step of it!
@ Canadian Corps. Speaking of Canadian comic books
this is one that hit me last year. An independent
title coming from Winnipeg’s Andrew Lorenz and his September 17 (S17) independent
publishing company, this is a comic about a Canadian team of superheroes from
all parts of the country. Another great
part is that it is set in various parts of Canada as well! I really was looking forward to this books
for several reasons – obviously the fact that it is Canadian had a huge appeal,
next the artist was Justin Shauf, a Saskatchewan based artist who was fast
becoming a good friend and one of my favourite comic book artists. Finally I had picked up Andrews other
releases to date and rather enjoyed his writing so Canadian Corps was a high
entry on anticipated releases for this year.
There was a very successful Kickstarter for the book which I happily
contributed to and spread the word far and wide for and the first issue
launched at this Septembers Saskatoon Comic and Entertainment Expo, which is
basically my home away from home con! I
got to meet Andrew and the colourist Donovan Yaciuk and hang out with them as
well as Justin at the show. Having the
book physically in hand was so cool I ended up buying a bunch of extra copies
and handing them out to other guests at the show…so people like Gail Simone
went home with a copy to check out. I am
eagerly awaiting issue #2 as well as the other parts of the Kickstarter rewards
for this amazing series!
@ Saskatoon Comic and
Entertainment Expo.
Seems this would be the best time to bring this show into the list. As previously mentioned this is my home away
from home con and this year it was fantastic!
Being a relatively new show and a smaller city compared to others I love
seeming how it grows every year. The
media guests this year were great again including William Shatner and Billy
Boyd and on the comic creator end they had the likes of Gail Simone, Ed
Brisson, Cary Nord and Francis Manupaul.
There were tons of amazing sights and people there, it was fantastic! I spent day one dressed as Gandalf and people
loved the costume….many pictures were taken and I was even interviewed and
ended up on tv! After day one back at
the hotel my con crew were in full relax mode which also included some time
hanging with Andrew and Justin from Canadian Corps! I added to my Starman art collection and a few
other things as well as buying some gifts for others…all in all another great
weekend at this show!
@ The support of local organizations/community
members. While
Humboldt may not be a giant metropolis with tons of avenues for geeks to
explore their passions there are aspects of that culture here and like anywhere
else, like-minded people that enjoy it.
There is a growing trend globally in the acceptance of geek culture and
this opened many doors for me in Humboldt this year. My summer job with the City of Humboldt’s
Kids Summer Fun Camp has given me the chance to bring a tiny taste of what
comic cons or maybe more appropriately fan fests are like to the people here. Having kids able to get comics to check out
and to meet and talk with artists is a fantastic experience that has produced a
lot of positive reviews for it, both from parents and community members as well
as from the artists that take part. This
allowed for my shoulder to be tapped to add a similar styled event to the
second annual Streetfest in downtown Humboldt at the end of the summer. Again this was something new and different to
the people organizing the larger event and they thought it had potential to add
something to their event. Another area I
enjoy working in is the cosplaying for good causes aspect and while it hasn’t really
caught on in Humboldt yet there is a growing awareness. My team – the Justice Society of Humboldt,
did get to partner up with our local chapter of Big Brothers/Big Sisters during
their mentor sign up drive which was a lot of fun! All of these piece tie together to work in
giving something that I am good at back to the community so that kids here can
have access and opportunities that were not around when I was a kid. I have been tapped for another event for
Humboldt in 2016 and I am currently working on several projects alongside of it
to really make it something big for the city as a whole next year!
@ Social Media. This might seem like an odd
choice for this list but buckle up as I will do my best to explain it in a way
for it to make sense…maybe. Modern
society is an increasingly global community thanks to technology and social
media. As I am typing this on my laptop
I have my headphones plugged into my iPad listening to music and my iPhone is running
Facebook and Twitter nearby…yes I am a bit of a techno junkie in that way,
always have been, and the upside is that it really allows me to enjoy where I
live a lot more. I love being able to
pick up any of these devices – all of which are so far more advanced than my
first computer and when I bought that I thought it was something amazing! So yeah… I am an oddity in that I love living
in a smaller community in the middle of the prairies…it has some drawbacks for
the geek side of me like a lack of comic shops, not a whole lot of geek related
events happening and the distance to said events can be restrictive. This is where social media kicks in and takes
away a lot of those walls. With social
media not only am I able to keep up with news and other things that relate to
my passions but I am able to talk to friends from all around the world that
share these passions! I can carry on
meaningful conversations about all topics and even get the inside scoop on
stuff that is happening with my favourite creators – both independent as well
as people that have made their mark in the industry. There is nothing quite like being able to
talk to your favourite comic book artist on a first name basis, have his wife
message you personally to share stories, be able to get one of the creators of
your favourite toy line send you artwork he did of your favourite comic book
character done in the style of that toy line, being able to collaborate with like-minded
teachers from various parts of the world to better enhance lessons I am using
in the classroom…these are just some very minor examples of some of the things
that social media has brought into my life.
So while there are drawbacks to social media, as with anything really, I
am all for the use of it as it allows me to find that balance between my
enjoyment of small community living and being connected to the larger
communities of the world outside!
@ Auroraman. Yes I do realize this is a
long list and if your reading this thanks for sticking it out! I couldn’t leave
this list without mentioning this name…it is a name that was brought to me by
one friend and then as the year progressed another friend latched onto the idea
and now in 2016 it is really going to become something so much more and is
taking me on a new adventure that I could have never imagined before!
