Fan Expo Canada 2022: If You Give Someone A Costume ...

One of my favourite events that signified the end of the summer was Fan Expo Canada. It's a convention I've attended on-and-off since 2009 with my daughter. The last time we went was in 2019. The pandemic disrupted this pattern for two years but it returned this year and I went. These are some of my reflections (and photos, of course)!

Cosplay & Purchases

I love to dress up. This year, I wore two different costumes. I reused my Recovery Girl outfit from the manga/anime My Hero Academia and I was Tom Nook from the video game Animal Crossing New Horizons. 

I've written before about the benefits of cosplay. I love the sense of community that it creates. When you "recognize" someone based on their costume, something a bit magical happens. I attended a talk for older cosplayers and I really liked one of the slides they had displayed. (If you can't read it, it says "Next time someone tells you you're too old for superhero dress-up" with photos of some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe actors and their ages.)

I wasn't able to attend all the scheduled cosplay meetups at the convention but I was delighted to see and take photos with a fellow Animal Crossing New Horizons "character" - Isabelle. 

There were so many wonderful things related to costumes that were available to purchase while at Fan Expo. I am proud of myself for resisting the urge to buy a set of fox ears and tails (and cat paws). I liked them but I didn't need them, although that hasn't always stopped me in the past. The craftsmanship on display at Fan Expo Canada is astonishing. This is probably why my own kids spend so much time while there in Artists Alley. This is where local and regional makers come to sell the things they create. My own children in the past have purchased buttons, pins, posters, stickers, stuffed animals, costume accessories, comic books and so much more.

Spending money is a big component of Fan Expo Canada. It's very easy to go overboard. I made a rather large purchase this year, but I think it's going to be worth it. After all, to parody the "if you gave a man a fish, you feed him for a day" saying, if you give someone a costume, you dress them for a day; if you teach someone how to make a costume, you dress them (and get them into the hobby) for a lifetime! I bought an amazing kit from Cosplay Skilltree that will teach me how to make costumes and props out of foam. The kit comes with tutorial videos, almost all the materials needed to make several items, and access to their cosplay creation community. (Thank you Autumn, Clark, and everyone else at the booth!) I can't wait to try things out. 

Scheduling & Technology

My eldest now has a full-time job, so she was unable to attend all four days of the convention like she usually does. My own demophobia is no longer as debilitating as it used to be, but I still avoid the busiest days. Therefore, it was tricky to coordinate. I went with my two kids on Thursday evening and went by myself on Friday. I was super fortunate to be able to meet up with Jennifer Cadavez and her family as well as Beth Lyons and her girls at the convention, so even when I was by myself, I wasn't alone. My eldest girl went Thursday evening with me, worked Friday, attended Saturday and part of Sunday, allowing herself enough time to travel back and fill a Sunday evening shift. Phone texts made a lot of this coordination possible.

Fan Expo Canada now has an app that you can use to browse and select panels and sessions you might be interested in attending while at the con. Even though I didn't want to be indebted to technology (my Quebec City debacle was still fresh in my mind), I did find using the app convenient. You can definitely tell what my interests are based on my bookmarks! 

Technology plays a bigger role now in the convention. Even if you print off your eTickets, volunteers scan your QR code, hand you a badge, and you have to log online to activate the badge to enter. Like the ArriveCan requirements that presume everyone has a cell phone and/or a good data plan (my husband called my attention to this article about a Vermont librarian helping stranded travelers), I'm unsure what alternatives are available for those not "logged in". 

Masking & Media Representation

Fan Expo Canada attracts a lot of people. School is about to start and I can't afford to get sick. I really wanted to go so I wore a mask while I was there. I was in the minority but that was okay. I was not shamed for my choice and I didn't shame anyone else for their choice. Fan Expo Canada made it clear on their website that they were not checking vaccination status or enforcing the use of masks indoors. I hope that it doesn't result in a surge of new cases or any illness for me.

I wanted to end the post with several of my favourite photos taken of some of the most impressive examples of cosplay my eldest and I saw while there. We asked for people's permission to take their photos and all shown here were happy to oblige. I thought I'd contrast it a bit with this CBC clip I found online of Fan Expo Canada - it's interesting how the news clip situates the Fan Expo Canada participants as "different" from the "regular population" (whereas in my own house, I try hard to distance myself from "normies" [what you call non-fans] even though I must confess I've mixed up Star Wars and Star Trek in the past and currently I can't name any characters from Genshin Impact despite watching my son play it [and other games like Monster Hunter] frequently). 

Photo Gallery

Hawkes from My Hero Academia

Raphael and April O'Neil from TMNT

All Might, Bakugo & Todoroki from My Hero Academia

Doc Ock from Spiderman Comics

On a Reading-Writing Roll

 I hope I'm not jinxing it by saying it aloud.

Lately, I've been very productive when it comes to undertaking writing projects and reading books.

I had been in a reading slump for a long time (since COVID hit) and was only able to force myself out of it by participating in the 2022 Forest of Reading program. 

This summer, despite being quite busy with facilitating the York University TL AQs, I've had some time to tackle some other writing projects. They've actually invigorated me and I've been motivated to work consistently on them, even though the deadlines are far in the future. Many of these writing projects are case studies and papers for peer reviewed academic journals. I described this odd phenomenon to Carol and Neil from AML and one of them said that I'm enjoying the discoveries that come with recording and re-conceptualizing these past learning experiences into a cohesive narrative. This might be true because as the TDSB Professional Library folks continue to find helpful, relevant articles related to my topics, I find myself interested in how these previously published works connect, support, or challenge some of my thoughts and ideas. I'm not talking about fiction works, but scholarly books about game based learning and algorithms. (I was so enamored of one of the books - Serious Play - that I bought it for myself - and I must say, those kind of books don't come cheap!)

My writing has flowed even in my blog posts and other tasks, such as abstracts and proposals. I'm trying to figure out what's causing the creativity and the renewed ability to read deeply. Is is the more-leisurely timeline? Is it because it has a concrete purpose? Is it because I like a challenge? 

How does this apply to students in school? They don't have the same degree of time and choice. There are certain things they must read for a course and they must complete it by a prescribed time. How can you get students on a reading-roll or writing-roll? How can I keep myself on this roll?

3 Little Pigs

 I've been preparing for this blog post for weeks! Get ready for plenty of pictures.

On Saturday, July 24, 2022 I adopted three skinny pig babies.

(Simon is on the left, Theodore is in the middle, and Alvin is on the right.)

This was not my original intent. I planned on getting just a pair.

I have owned many, many skinny pigs in my lifetime. This is the complete list.

NAME OF SKINNY PIG(S)	DATES
Roger	2004-2004
Monty	2007-2010
Max	2009-2013
Orville Wilbur	2011-2011 2011-2012
Owen	2013-2017
Kirby	2013-2016
Chocolate Vanilla	2014-2016 2014-2016
Bert Ernie	2016-2018 2016-2020
Cola	2020-2022
Alvin Simon Theodore	2022- 2022- 2022-2022

You will notice that one of them already has a death date. I'm sorry to report that on August 12, the day they were all scheduled to visit the vet for their wellness check, Theodore passed away. I found him in his sleep sack. I'm going to write about all three of them as if they were all still here, and then give an update. 

Cola, my only female skinny pig, died in February 2022. I knew that eventually, I would want another skinny pig pet. Our rabbit, Dolly, died in July 2022. I happened to have some free time, a very dangerous situation for me, and I happened to find an ad on Kijiji for some skinny pig babies. Infants of any type are a special delight to be around - out of all those piggies listed above, I only had Owen, Kirby, Bert, and Ernie as wee little ones. I decided to risk getting two of them and I was considering naming them Lenny and Squiggy, since I had just returned recently from Milwaukee. When I arrived at our designated meeting spot, the breeder told me she was throwing in an extra one for me for free. It's a good thing my husband was present during this exchange, or he might not have believed me!

(In the photo above, Alvin is on the left, Simon in the middle, and Theodore on the right.)

My daughter picked out their names. I really wanted "matching" names for them and thought about Curly, Larry, and Moe, but it didn't fit them. Their approximate birthday is June 24, 2022.

What's in a name? Is it a self-fulfilling prophesy? Ask any teacher who has also been a parent, and they might reveal to you that during the name selection process, there were certain contenders that were eliminated because the educator knew a "naughty" student with that moniker. 

I don't want to pretend like I have great psychic skills, but it's been interesting how the skinny pigs' conduct somewhat fits their names.

Alvin

Even though all three of the pigs are supposed to be brothers, I wonder if Alvin is more of a cousin than a brother.

(Please excuse the poo in the above picture. The "boys" refused to leave their sleep sack so I could clean it so I had to dump them and the contents out !) Alvin is the smallest of the skinny pigs. He is recognizable by the white tuff of fur on his nose.

Alvin might be the smallest but he is probably the loudest and happiest of the pigs. He "popcorns" in the air and makes these loud ear flaps. At first, he was one of the bravest ones, but his bigger brother has taken over that role now. Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks (based on the Munkapedia entry about him) is described as the shortest, most impulsive, and charming.

Simon

Simon, the skinny pig at my house, is the largest of the pigs. I tried to measure them and I think he's 6.5 inches (whereas Alvin is 4.5 inches) but I'm not sure. When I took them to the vet for a wellness check, they said that Simon was 484 grams (compared to Alvin at 344 grams).

You can tell which one is Simon by the vertical brown strip that runs from between his ears to his neck. Simon seems to be the smartest of the pigs, clueing in quickly about what items are good to eat or which hiding spots are ideal.

Simon is probably the most "mature", as I've already seen him attempt to do a bit of a "rumble strut" (which is a thing skinny pig males do to show their dominance). Based on the Simon entry on Munkapedia, Simon the chipmunk is the smartest and has a bit of a rivalry with Alvin.

Theodore

I liked the markings on Theodore before I even met him. He is the most timid of all the skinny pigs, and that's saying something, considering how much the skinny pig babies love to hide together.

Theodore is recognizable by the ring of light brown skin under his neck and across his back. It's hard to get a photo of Theodore by himself, because he's always tagging along with his brothers. This photo below of him getting measured is probably inaccurate. My estimation is that he's 5.5 inches, but squirmy, skittish piggies don't like to stay still for long

Theodore the skinny pig shares many traits in common with his namesake, Theodore the chipmunk. On the Munkapedia, Theodore is described as shy and sensitive.

The Trio

I'm trying not to treat the pigs like a set, but it's hard not to. They squabble a bit vocally but love to huddle together in the sleep sacks and in the pigloo. They learn from each other - when one discovers a tasty treat in the cage, the rest will follow (and usually try to steal the one the leader has, rather than grab the extra stock right nearby).

(This above photo is of their first day at their new home. They are all shiny because the breeder moisturized them with coconut oil.)

My family has been very good about helping me with them. I'm trying to get them used to being handled but they really don't like it much at all. I've caught my husband, who is not much of a pet person, watching them and monitoring them closely to ensure they are safe and contented. 

Update: August 12 was a bit of a shock. I did not expect one of the trio to pass away so suddenly. I know that when skinny pigs die at school, the students always want to know why. Often I will explain that we don't know, adding in that skinny pigs only live about four years on average, in my experience. (This website says guinea pigs last 5-8 years but the oldest pig I had was 4 years old.)  I did not take Theodore's body to the vet but the vet said that it can be hard to determine, even with a necroscopy (like an autopsy), and could have been congenital. We will just have to be content with not knowing. He was fine the night before, eating and socializing with the others. It'll be hard to see just two instead of three.

The other unfortunate news is that the remaining two skinny pigs have a skin infection. According to this website, skin issues are common, but this is the first time I've had to do two different kinds of medicated shampoo baths, PLUS antibiotics, for both pigs. In the past, I've had to deal with antibiotics, ear drops, and major surgery for my pig pets (where we got to keep the x-rays, which were fascinating to the students), but bathing the cavies will be a new experience. Vet bills aren't cheap either, but we are lucky we have a vet nearby that specializes in "exotics" (yes, skinny pigs count as exotic pets) and cost is just part of the responsibility of pet ownership. 

Once the pigs get over their skin condition, I'll bring them to school. I can't wait to see what the students' reaction will be to these two (not three) little pigs.

Remembering Caroline

 Next week will be my photo-laden post about my baby skinny pigs. It was going to be this week but I got some news that significantly altered my blogging plans.

Side tangent: how do you give someone bad news? For the person who first informed me, she cared enough to make a phone call. I was expecting we were going to talk about something else, but instead she shared the heart-breaking revelation that a dear mutual friend of ours, Caroline Freibauer, had died.

This is the Facebook notification her family published: 

https://www.facebook.com/caroline.freibauer/posts/pfbid02t8NZoWW3vPk7eAvd2ue6bXoREpeJd7EQcSRYjbtgXGNzXojZUwN9wcJoW8xgNCHwl

 I enjoy figuring out exactly when I first met people. I think for Caroline and I, it was 2015. We were both part of a panel for Ontario Library Association's SuperConference, called "TLLP @ your LLC". My first impression was that Caroline didn't like me. Turns out that Caroline has a sharp, dry sense of humour, so when she declared "There's no way I want to present after YOU!", it was meant as a compliment, not a dig. Caroline didn't think she was as amazing, but she was.

It was in 2016 that I had the chance to work in depth with Caroline. She applied to be on the editorial board of The Teaching Librarian when I was the editor-in-chief. It was clear that she was tremendously overqualified - she had actual journalism experience - and we very happily welcomed her to the editorial board. She was part of the group with Jennifer Goodhand, Derrick Grose, Allison Hall, Leslie Holdwerda, Sarah Oesch, Brenda Roberts, Angela Thompson, and Leslie Whidden. She debuted in Volume 24 Issue 1 of TingL.

Caroline was an absolute gift to work with at OSLA. If you had the fortune to be on a committee with Caroline, you knew that work would get done. While she was on the editorial board, she edited efficiently, met deadlines, and knew the best way to get the most out of writers, readers, and everyone involved in the process of putting together a magazine. She introduced a new column in Volume 25 called "Crowd Sourced", which involved consulting multiple school library professionals for answers to pressing issues. It was for these reasons, and many more, that I felt confident enough to "retire" from running The Teaching Librarian - because Caroline agreed to take over the responsibilities.  My last issue was Volume 25 Issue 3. In Volume 26 Issue 1, there were already glorious improvements to the magazine - a new cover format, new editorial board members, and vibrant issue themes. Yet, read a few sample sentences from her inaugural editor's column: "There is nothing more anxiety-inducing than trying to cram your feet into someone else's shoes. Consider the ugly stepsisters attempting to jam their clodhopper feet into a glass slipper meant for Cinderella. With their mother looming over them, the stepsisters felt a lot of pressure to snag that prince." Caroline didn't realize how important and crucial she was. She achieved more in her short stint as OSLA editor-in-chief than any other leader. She was the one who helped TingL  pivot to an online version and back again. It was under Caroline that there was better representation from more areas of school librarianship present on the editorial board and increased the number of contributors to each issue of the periodical. Volume 27 Issue 1 is a must-read for anyone wishing to understand the status of school libraries in Ontario, with the quantitative and qualitative data to back it up. This is part of the massive legacy she leaves. I haven't even touched on all the contributions she made to Canadian School Libraries. I'll leave that to others to document.

I searched my photo archives and I don't have a ton of photos of Caroline. This one comes from the 2019 OLA SuperConference. She was presenting with Anita Brooks-Kirkland on "Doing Data: A Fun and Innovative Way to Count What Matters". She made this topic so engaging to their audience and presented it all with her signature dry wit. 

Serendipity is funny sometimes. I was delighted to discover that one of my favourite people working with the TDSB Library and Learning Resources Department was Natalie, Caroline's daughter. She arranged the TDSB Reads Event in 2017 and I have to say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Natalie is just as hard working and wonderful as her mother.

I've been writing this blog post on-and-off since Wednesday. Caroline's funeral was on Saturday, August 6 in Brantford. Beth Lyons, Kate Johnson-McGregor, Alanna King and I attended. It was a testimony to her to see how filled the church was with friends and family gathering to pay tribute to an extraordinary person. One of the final gifts Caroline gave to us, posthumously, was the reason for us to reconnect in-person. COVID and circumstances had separated us, but Caroline got many of us back together again.

Thanks Caroline; we will miss you.

PS These are just some of the heartfelt tweets shared online after news of Caroline's death.

The Ontario school library community has lost an important advocate, wise practitioner - and for many of us, a dear friend. https://t.co/JYlQfq9crM

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) August 2, 2022

Sad news to process today. 😔 I find myself closing my eyes to hear her voice and see her smile. You will be missed Caroline. https://t.co/jJ992WCDQX

— Dawn Telfer (@DawnTelfer) August 3, 2022

I’m still working through processing this news and feeling so sad. Caroline was a tremendous inspiration and mentor to me. Her work sharing the stories of school libraries was just astounding. 💔 https://t.co/rXDSmcN4O4

— MrsLyonsLibrary (@mrslyonslibrary) August 2, 2022

💔 a huge loss for the school library community & her beautiful family. https://t.co/m0b73yzH7D

— Jennifer Brown (@JennMacBrown) August 2, 2022

I was honored to know her https://t.co/3Fk7bWDjh0

— Melissa Jensen🇨🇦 OCT she/her (@mjtlbarrie) August 2, 2022

If you are a human, like me, who is grieving the remarkable Caroline Freibauer, this is her request for memorial donations: https://t.co/H1MfpDRVT8

— Lisa Noble (@nobleknits2) August 2, 2022

The Ontario School Library community lost a wonderful human. Her passion&advocacy for School Libraries was never ending.Fortunate @Freibauer was part of my life and able to advocate together. Caroline you will truly be missed. Condolences to the family. May her memory be eternal. https://t.co/l1So9DasSm

— Kelly Maggirias (@kellymaggirias) August 3, 2022

😭 Such tragic news. Caroline was such a sweet lady, passionate about school libraries and the #TingL. I learned a lot from her in my brief stint working alongside her on the magazine, and as well working on the @oslacouncil bylaw edits. She will be missed. 💔 https://t.co/bxHncdnUqa

— That LibTech 📚 🇺🇦 (she/her) (@libtechninja) August 3, 2022

Truly devastating news to hear of Caroline's death. She was a true bright light in library land. Always came to the table full of enthusiasm and genuine energy. I'll miss her more than I can say, but I know the OLA team will think of her frequently. https://t.co/LtVKihkJrR

— Michelle Arbuckle (@Citybrarian) August 3, 2022

We are devastated at the loss of this kind, intelligent, creative person. Caroline served on the CSL board and was a major contributor to our journal and other projects. We will miss her terribly. https://t.co/DO7kZeIcSN

— Cdn School Libraries (@CdnSchoolLibrar) August 3, 2022

This woman. Smart, kind, and so, so funny. We sat together on OSLA council & I watched her listen, advocate & take action with school library issues. I will miss her insights & above all her incredibly positive attitude. She was a gem. 💕 https://t.co/MEg4XKUzPe

— @NHS_library (@NHS_library1) August 3, 2022

For Caroline... Thank you. A blog post exploring how we can all learn from Caroline on our school library journey. https://t.co/TNtE5rc6mz @Freibauer #SchoolLibraryJoy

— MrsLyonsLibrary (@mrslyonslibrary) August 5, 2022

Miss your spark ⁦@Freibauer⁩ you always took our conversations to the next level ⁦@oslacouncil⁩ ⁦@CdnSchoolLibrar⁩ #onted pic.twitter.com/Fqlfq0lamB

— Alanna King 🍌📚 (@banana29) August 5, 2022

Building TLs Together

Happy August everyone! This is the calm before the storm, as one AQ course ends and another AQ course is about to begin. That means it's a perfect time to reflect on the successes and failures recently experienced.

I had a mix of excitement and trepidation for the start of the July 2022 York University Teacher Librarianship Additional Qualification course. It was the first time anyone would teach the updated course content. I hoped it would be well-received, but I'm biased because I wrote it. My other concern was related to my scheduled absence. As regular readers of this blog know, I went to Quebec to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary. I decided to seriously disconnect during that time (unlike when I ran a course while visiting my sister in Calgary last year). Thankfully, York University was flexible enough to allow two instructional leaders to share the duty.

I removed one of the working titles from this blog (turns out "it takes a village" is not an actual proverb) but the sentiment still remains - the more people involved with educating future teacher-librarians, the better the development of those TLs.

Co-Instructor

Francis Ngo co-taught the old version of the AQ with me in the spring of 2022, when there was an astounding 30+ participants, and he co-taught the new version of the AQ for July 2022, covering for me 100% when I was away. Sharing AQ leadership is highly unusual but I certainly enjoyed the experience. Francis and I were "same but different": we held the same beliefs about school librarianship but we possessed different strengths and approaches that benefited the AQ participants. Francis is a "spreadsheet king", and designed our assessment and tracking tools in a way that increased efficiency ten-fold. It was a treat to have a second set of eyes, so that I could turn to someone when I wondered whether or not a particular task was completed satisfactorily. I loved the way he wrote such detailed feedback for the learners. Francis' knowledge of technology saved the day multiple times; he familiarized himself with the course management system (Moodle) in-depth and solved problems with ease. 

Guest Speakers

Francis wasn't the only one involved in the formation of these new (and/or growing) teacher-librarians. York University's TL AQ courses are the only ones, to my knowledge, that offer optional guest speakers for a fully asynchronous online class. (I'm going to brag for a moment - I pushed for that, and I appreciate that York not only allowed it, but now is actually financing it.) When I ran the blended courses in 2018 and 2019, I made sure I had lots of guest speakers. I want to thank all the volunteers who spoke to various cohorts. Here's a list, just from 2022.

Winter 2022

• Salma Nakhuda
• Jennifer Balido-Cadavez
• Kim Davidson
• Jennifer Brown
• Melissa Jensen and Melanie Mulcaster

Spring 2022

• Wendy Burch-Jones
• Greg Harris
• Jonelle St-Aubyn
• Agnieszka Kopka
• Farah Wadia

July 2022

• Jennifer Brown
• Ray Mercer
• Ruth Gretsinger
• Rabia Khokhar
• Jonelle St-Aubyn

August 2022

• Salma Nakhuda
• Jennifer Balido-Cadavez
• Dawn Legrow
• Peter Bierkmore
• Beth Lyons

It is through the guest speaker system that we can get many different perspectives. I see it as an "in" for people to add to their professional portfolio credits for speaking engagements and for AQ candidates to learn from as many different people as possible.

Experienced Teacher-Librarians as Interviewees

Without revealing too much about the course content - university and AQ providers are very protective about how their courses operate, as it is proprietary data - I want to mention that several tasks in the Teacher Librarianship Part 1 AQ course at York involves speaking to an experienced teacher-librarian. Before readers get agitated about the "extra" work involved in contacting an external source over the summer, let me reassure folks that one of the "services" I provide as the AQ instructor is to offer to locate someone to interview if the AQ participant does not know or cannot find a teacher-librarian. School library professionals are eager to chat with others, even during their off time. Several candidates have mentioned that this was one area where they found they learned the most during the course - in conversation with someone actually involved in the job. There is a sense of appreciation and awareness that the job is more than it seems on the surface. Big thanks to ALL the teacher-librarians that answered questions related to this course. 

Even though it means I don't get a break, I'm looking forward to teaching the August 2022 York University TL AQ cohort. I hope they'll enjoy the course as much as the last group seemed to do.