Tag: retirement

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 3-27-24)

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Bruce

So If you read my last post about Indiana Comic Con you know about that. I wouldn’t say “Worst Con Ever” because I’ve been to worse Cons, but I would have to say it wasn’t what was advertised, or at least if this is the direction Comic Cons are going- I don’t see the need to attend them, unless I want photos and autographs (which I don’t). Heroes Con in Charlotte and Baltimore Comic Con seem to be the hold outs when it comes to die-hard comic cons, I’m sure there are others, but those are the ones that jump out.

I have said in the past that I’m torn between a bunch of different things I like- with retirement I’m trying to decide what I really want to focus on. Yes, I know I don’t have to focus on one thing, but with limited resources I need to decide what I really want to invest in. First there’s comic books- something I have been interested in since I was probably six or seven years old. Something I keep returning to when I need to escape. I returned to comics the last time when I was in grad school and needed to escape the pressure of classes. Tied closely to that is drawing. Again something I return to over and over again. I don’t see this going away anytime soon.

After Billund I have renewed my interest in building with LEGO Bricks, but mostly sets and not full on MOCs (My Own Creation). The thing keeping me from diving in again is the community. While there are some amazing people, the local LUG seems to be a a bunch of people who are into being in power and not willing to change or adapt. One of the reasons I retired was that I felt the robotics program could not evolve as long as I was in charge. It needed new ideas and other people to be responsible. Same goes for our local LUG. “We’ve always done this way” seems to be their mantra, and they will argue until you just give up.

I have met some of my best friends through MINI Coopers. I’m not a car guy, but I do love the MINI Community and the people in it. Like LEGO, the local group seems stuck in doing the same things over and over again with the same people in charge. There is another group in Fort Wayne which I’ve attended a number of events, then there are the national events like MINI Takes The States which are awesome. If only MINI would go back to making smaller cars, but as long as the Roadster is running (and when I get the classic back to working) things are fine. Unfortunately when people start talking to me about cars, I realize just how much I don’t know.

Geocaching is Sue’s thing. I have made a lot of friends while hunting down Tupperware in the woods, but I’m definitely not as competitive or completist enough to geocache more than when I’m traveling (see comments on Caching in my posts about Denmark).

I’ve been into games since I was in middle school playing the Marquis de Iblis in D&D. The problem with gaming is having to rely on other people and in this day and age it is impossible to coordinate calendars. I’m tired of thinking I’m going to play only to have it cancelled at the last minute. This is the thing on the chopping block, I’ve invested a lot into games, but if they aren’t being played, it’s kind of silly. I’m torn between attending Gen Con this year because I could use the resources in other interests… and I don’t really need anything more. Although it is an amazing Con and I highly recommend it if you are into games.

This Weeks Comics:

Primer #1 (of 4) – Primer is an all ages comic introducing Ashley, a foster kid who can just be trouble. She get’s placed with a couple who are polar opposites and tries to escape, only to discover one of their secrets… Since it’s a first issue there is a lot of character background going on, which is good. Sadly it looks like this will only be 4 issues, hopefully it will continue, The premise is interesting.

The Flash # 7 – What happened to Max Mercury and Impulse?!? In this issue we find out. Something weird is also going on with everyone else, but I’m sure Barry will figure that out while Wally is in the garden looking at statues and finding out about the Arc Angles… no that isn’t a typo. Angle not Angel.

Detective Comics #1083 – This version of Batman is hopefully going to get out of the desert and return to Gotham to save it from the Orthams who have made Gotham a better place (on the surface, but under that chocolate coating is it still an ooey gooey mess of corruption and bad stuff?) The Question finds evidence, but is it too late? A then Dr. Hate’s story comes to a conclusion… or does it? So many question marks…

Black Hammer The End #6 – So, this is the end… Will Lucy save the world from the Anti-God? What about the extremely large cast of characters gathered throughout the previous 5 issues? DC took 12 issues to do what Dark Horse and Lemire are doing in six…

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 (Legacy #300) – Big issue in which Miles goes up against the Cape Killers who have more impressive powers even if they don’t want to use them! Will Miles finally confront Rabble and save Brooklyn? Who lives? Who dies? Only the next issue will tell.

Amazing Spider-Man #46 – The Sinister Six return and try to help a reluctant Sandman escape Ravencroft (no relation to Ravenloft in Barovia). Spider-Man and Jackpot (MJ) try to thwart the attempt made by Electro… and succeed?

Star Trek Defiant #13 – OK- if you read the last issue there are no spoilers, if you didn’t- shame on you. IN the last issue we find out what happened to those weird bug creatures that had infiltrated the Federation way, way back in ST:TNG’s first season (Episode 25- Conspiracy). The alien enemy I think we all thought would be the new big bad, but they never showed up again, instead the Borg took their place. They have taken over a Starbase (for Lower Deck fans , not Starbase 80) and Worf and the crew of the Defiant have been sent there (probably by someone taken over by the alien bugs). Now they need to escape but seeing as this is only part 2, we’ve got a long way to go in this arc. I’m OK with that.

Ultimate Spider-Man #3 – Wow. Just like the original Ultimate universe we are starting to get into some interesting stuff! Spider-Man gets help with his costume (with amusing options). He also meets and teams up with an old friend (who is a new friend in this universe).

Alan Scott Green Lantern #5 – The penultimate issue in which Red Lantern reveals more about his origin and we finally meet the real bad guys and (redacted) show up to make the next issue awesome.

Nacelleverse #0- This was recommended to me at Indiana Comic Con (but I won’t hold that against it). Basically take some of your 1980-90’s toy lines and create a comic book encompassing all of them. Robo Force, Biker Mice from Mars, Sectaurs, Power Lords, and The Great Garloo are brought back in a story featuring Garloo. If you don’t recognize any of these brands… you (like me) won’t have the nostalgia button pressed, but it still was a good story setting up a series and the return of these toys to market. Toy marketing has always been a part of cartoons and comics, so this just updates it a bit to tug at the heartstrings of people who now have more deposable income and don’t need their parents permission to buy stuff. Unless they are still living in their parent’s basement.

Time2 Omnibus – I had the chance to meet Howard Chaykin at Galaxy Con. I went to a panel and then paid for a workshop. He’s done a lot in his career but the one I got caught up with was “American Flagg” a take on the future in which a lot of the things going on in the comic seem logical if things continue the way they have been (Have you ever seen “Idiocracy”?). Time2 started off connected to American Flagg- kind of in the multiverse alternate timeline crossover kind of way. It then branched off on its own. A future based on the 1930’s style with gangsters and robots and jazz and… It reminds me somewhat of the Will Eisner’s Contract with God, with a cool American Flagg science fiction twist. This omnibus actually was released a while ago, but I finally picked up a copy.

Retirement Update: July

Posted on July 10, 2023 by Bruce

Since I retired from teaching at the end of May I have been keeping busy, but also trying to be cautious. I have not gone out and bought a bunch of stuff, or even traveled to far off places. I am trying to be conservative until I can figure out what the norm will be. I’ve tried to be aware that my “stop and think point” when it comes to buying stuff has shifted since I no longer have a paycheck and and won’t until the State of Indiana untangles their red tape to get my pension out to me. I have been told that August is most likely when that should happen.
I’m starting off each week by making myself a pitcher of iced tea. It seems like a good habit to get into. I’ve also tried to walk a few times a week, but due to health advisories (Blame Canada) and this being summer in the Midwest, that has not happened as much as I would like. The cats having lost one of my earbuds doesn’t help… but I still love my cats and I know the darn earbud is around here somewhere. I have gone out with some friends- something I really never did over the summer when I was teaching. These have been helpful in just understanding who I now am… I’m no longer a teacher, and I am really trying to figure out how that change impacts my sense of self. One thing I have tried to avoid is being an ever-present entity on social media. While I think I have increased my time, I’ve also consciously made sure I am not commenting on everyone’s posts, or posting meme after meme just to make sure people know I’m around.
So far I have spent a great deal of time in the “Pit of Despair” aka the basement, trying to organize 20+ years of junk that has accumulated there. Mostly, it seems that I have a lot of comic books that needed to be sorted and organized and then decisions needed to be made. It seems that I have around 8,000 comics from collecting since I was a child. I’ve gone through them once before, but not in earnest. I’m taking my comics to my favorite local shop, Comic Carnival, and giving them first go at buying what they would like. I know some people might not agree with this, but I am all for simplicity and for helping out a local small business that I want to keep going long into the future. My plan is to take the store credit I get and buy a few key “collector’s” issues to actually invest with. I know I won’t sell them unless I absolutely have to, but if something were to happen to me, I want it to be easy for someone to get the best value for the collectibles I have.

The Pit of Despair… I have moved a few things to make it less “Hoarders” like and easier to navigate around. I’m still going through things, but trying to be thoughtful as I decide what stays, what goes, and what is what.

The Pit has been on my mind for years so getting to that has been important, though slow going. Which leaves me to other projects and trying to figure out exactly what retirement will look like. I have a number of things I geek out about, so what will I focus on? Many people think about all the crazy things I did as a teacher with robots and that is one thing I’m avoiding. I’m going back to drawing, and well, just being creative. While I still think robotics is important I think I need a break, from that and school related stuff. I started by snoozing pretty much my social media feeds from any group related to STEM, Robotics, or School. As they resurface after 30 days, I’ve snoozed them again… someday I may want to go back, but not right now.
What has been on my mind (and the mind of a lot of people new to retirement I guess) is serious adult stuff like income, health insurance, and how am I going to afford this? Fortunately, Sue is still happily working, but I’m still waiting for my pension, to determine health insurance options, and to get all the various other retirement accounts in order and humming along. These all require me working with people who calmly tell me to be patient and don’t worry. While they have the experience… I have watched people burn through a lot more money than I will ever see which is why I’m not doing a lot of things, besides cleaning out the Pit of Despair and mowing the lawn.
I have gone on a few day trips- the Geocaching and Pizza Trail in Seneca County Ohio was a wonderful day trip as was starting the Aviation Trail in and around Dayton, OH. These are getting me out of the house, but also giving me a chance to do small things while I wait. I have a few plans that I’m looking forward to which will help me to understand the direction I want to take- Gen Con, Going Caching, & New York Comic Con and chance to try out a few tribes and see where I fit in.
I have always enjoyed gaming, but being anti-social and an Introvert can make it hard. Gen Con will give me a chance to play and for the first time I will be able to attend the entire four days. I’ve signed up for a few things, but am taking an entire day to play around with puppetry. They have a writing workshop and a puppetry workshop as part of the Con and I’m going to try my hand at puppets- because I’ve always enjoyed the medium. I’ll also be trying out some games, but I have found that I’m always anxious when playing a game, that I will make a mistake… which I tend to do.
I started Geocaching in 2006 after the ISTE conference and while I still enjoy it, Sue is the real cacher in the family. Going Caching is a one day (not really, but the event happens on one day) puzzle based event with a different theme each year. This year it’s based on Vikings so “Uff Da?” We are teaming up with some friends (yes, I do actually have a few of those) and we are trying to decipher the clues to figure out what we need to do. It should be a blast, but only time will tell.
I last went to New York Comic Con when I first started this strip. I went to Web Comics Boot Camp and was given some advice that I wasn’t ready for and a harsh critique of my work which I needed. This time I’m going with my brother and it will be “fascinating” since according to him, he has never attended a comic book convention ever. I was hoping to make this an annual thing with my niece and nephew, but “dad” needs to check it out first. I’m looking forward to being the tour guide fro him and hopefully get him to understand my tribe… if this is my tribe.
So what have I done to celebrate the end of a 35 year career besides clean the basement? I had plans, but until I can feel secure, I’m not doing much. I have commissioned graphics for my Roadster. They will be put on in the next few weeks and I’ll go into details with pictures sometime after that project is done. That is probably the celebration of my new found or yet to be really discovered freedom. In preparation I removed the LEGO bricks from the car, making it less noticeable to former students. In that same thought I shaved my beard. I’ve finished some drawing projects, and started more. I fixed Cecil’s chainmail for Going Caching and have attended a few more geocaching events since I took a hiatus for the hobby. I’m really taking time to discover who might have been hiding behind the guy who devoted 35 years to teaching & his classroom above everything else. Am I a geocacher? Am I a cartoonist? Am I a gamer? Am I a LEGO enthusiast? Am I comic book geek? Am I something else or an amalgam of everything? Only time will tell.

The “R Word”

Posted on May 10, 2023 by Bruce

For those unaware in a few weeks I will bring a close to my teaching career after serving for 35 years in a variety of roles.  I will retire at the end of the month.  Since I suffer from being an introvert, and having low self-esteem. This being the result of a confusing childhood as the second child- retained in third grade (I was “immature”) but later put in the gifted and talented program.  Later on being the black sheep of the family… lots and lots of baggage, most of it just needs to be put back in the attic.  I joked with my parents about the painful mess of being “held back” (something my peers at the time referred to as “flunking”) by reminding them that at over 50- I carry around a stuffed monkey, read comic books and play with LEGO bricks.  Maturity and I don’t get along.  That said, I decided it might help me to go through some of my highlights.  I’m sharing those here because… why not?

I started working with kids when I was in elementary school and hung out with the kindergartner next door doing my homework and teaching him what I was learning.  Then came my little brothers and formally when I turned 18- I became “Mr. Bruce.” I worked in a preschool in Southern California my senior year and during breaks throughout college.  I was that person who would get off the plane from college then get dropped off at school and work until close.  I loved what I was doing and really found joy in working with some amazing teachers who influenced my later teaching- where else would I have learned to say the alphabet backwards?

When I came back to Indiana (against the wishes of my parents) I wasn’t hired until after the start of school.  I had been working for a week as a substitute and had been offered an assistant position, then offered my own classroom.  I felt that I may not have deserved the opportunity, so as with all of my future jobs I felt I needed to prove that my principal had not made a mistake in taking a chance on me.

At my first school I (1988-1994):

  • Started the school’s Young Astronauts program
  • Initiated Movie Nights – watched old 1950’s Science Fiction movies to raise money for the Young Astronauts.
  • Arranged an annual Huntsville US Space & Rocket Center Trip which later became the highlight of fifth grade.
  • Did multiple Graphic Design projects including Brochures & Shirts
  • Was Math Pentathlon coach for Division 1
  • Instituted a Video Portfolio grade 1 of highlights from the year.
  • Weekly poetry recitations with first graders (My favorite was Shel Silverstein’s “It’s Dark in Here” recited while wearing a bag with a lion’s head drawn on it.
  • Help create the School Wide Aerospace Theme
  • Was invited to be a part of the NASA Educational Workshop for Elementary School Teachers
  • Attended the Space Orientation for Professional Educators through the University of Huntsville
  • Presented at a few conferences
  • Worked on a planning team at the Children’s Museum on their redesign of their Science Gallery.
  • Trained teachers in using the StarLab portable planetarium

I left when a new school opened up… I applied as a way to get a friend of mine to apply (she was really into International Education and thought it would be a great fit) I was asked to join the staff, she wasn’t.  There is part of me that still wishes I had stayed at my first school, but I did what I thought was expected.  Time to make sure my new principal thinks they made the right decision, especially since I think they were told to take me by central office administration.  

At my second school I (1994-2005):

  • Enrolled at Butler University’s EPPSP (Group XIV was in the top five of my school law class)
  • Started a short lived Young Astronauts program and took those kids to Huntsville
  • Started a classroom theme: “World Wide Studios” in which the class created video portfolios of their year.  Running around with a VHS camcorder on field trips, editing tape
  • One year my 3rd grade class created a Film Adaptation of the opera Turnadot (no singing- although Nessun Dorma by a children’s choir might have been interesting)
  • Set up the format for daily video morning announcements that the students were in charge of everything-  I only served as Executive Producer
  • Assumed the role of Technology Coordinator for the building which morphed into computer lab teacher and building technology support and professional development
  • Coordinated a curriculum highlighting the works of Alexander Calder
  • Received a Calderfest Creativity Award
  • Helped create the initial District Website and served as the webmaster for multiple schools doing web design and graphic design
  • Started a Comic book club
  • Received my first Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship where I studied animation at Disney and brought back what I had learned to incorporate it in my classroom
  • Started a Heroclix Club
  • Helped develop an astronomy curriculum for third grade culminating in Starry Story Night and overnight filled with activities for students and parents
  • Worked with a group of students to create a short film: The Great Brain Robbery for the National Children’s Film Festival that took second place and was later aired on HBO 
  • Served in a variety of roles for the Indiana Computer Educators on the board and conference committee
  • Received a District Above & Beyond Award

After years of being told I should go to the district’s Science & Technology Magnet school and multiple failed attempts, I fell into a teaching position there.  Once again, especially in this case after so many failed attempts & the reason for moving schools, I felt the need to prove that I deserved to be at this school.

So at my most recent school I 2005-2023:

  • Using my certification from NEWEST brought Moon Rocks for fifth graders to examine 
  • Even though I had been nominated a couple times and never received the award I served as an IPL Golden Apple Judge
  • Served as Magnet integration Specialist at two schools- developing the vision for the STEM program and creating an online hub of resources an and lessons for each grade
  • Created the Social Media presence for the elementary schools and provided professional development to the other Magnet Specialists on all things technology
  • Served as a Technology Integration Specialist for a year providing PD and just in time troubleshooting
  • As Magnet Specialist, I created a VEX robotics team through a grant from Bloomington Robotics Club-  One team won the Rookie Team award – since there was no elementary school program, they competed with High School teams
  • Started a VEX IQ team funded by a grant from TechPoint Foundation for Youth and served as coach – in my time six teams went to State, one to the World Championship 
  • Served as a REC Foundation Event Partner 
  • Served on the inaugural REC Foundation Coach Advisory Board 
  • Was named a LEGO Education US LEGO Master Educator 
  • Was named a LEGO Education Ambassador
  • Served as a FIRST LEGO League tournament director
  • Helped create and coordinate the District VEX IQ League serving over 11 schools and 33ish teams.
  • Received a second Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship this time to visit the UK and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mini Cooper through a webcomic
  • Curated a graphic novel/comic book library in my classroom
  • School Teacher of the Year
  • District Teacher of the Year
  • Article: Technology & Learning on the importance of failure in learning & teaching
  • Served as a VEX IQ Worlds Judge
  • Served as a VEX IQ Worlds Scorekeeper
  • Received an Above & Beyond Award from the district 

For the most part the stuff I have listed are outside of just teaching… You see to me kids (and teachers) are different after school and sometimes the best way to get to know a student is to not be in the role of teacher. Here’s the thing… it looks like I did a lot.  Maybe I did, but I have to ask myself… was it enough?  Every time I received recognition I wondered if it’s because I did something, I was in the right place at the right time, or if there was more I should have done.  My identity has always revolved around my career.  Many people know that if it has to do with school, it is my priority & has been pretty much since I was 18. My kids and their needs have always been the most important thing.  I don’t have my own kids- I borrow some for 180 days and try to do my best for them.

I’m asked – do I have a favorite class? I have memories from every year. I wish I could remember every student- I do. I actually can, if you give me enough time, but pouncing on me with a “Do you remember me?” in the middle of a store will make me run away in terror and then remembering the highlights of your antics while driving home, depressed that I couldn’t pull it all up that instant.

So why stop now?  Lots of reasons- a story for another day when I decide to unpack some of the more recent baggage. Now I head into that “Undiscovered Country” I wonder what will happen.  Part of me feels like David Tennant at the end of his run as the Doctor*… “I don’t want to go.”  Then I think… He regenerated into Matt Smith… and bow ties ARE cool.  Here’s to my regeneration at the end of the month- GERONIMO!

*Yes, I know he’s coming back for a brief time but still – he did regenerate.