Head Tale

1. What did you do this year that you’d never done before?
Toured a bee farm.  Made a possibly life and death decision on behalf of my mother not once but twice prior to surgery and then after a serious fall led to a potential brain bleed (luckily, this was not the case.)

2.   Did anyone close to you give birth?
Two married coworkers had their second child, Emily.

3. Did anyone close to you die?
Buckle in – this is going to be a long one (and I’m sure it’s not an exhaustive list – only the ones I know about/remembered to record!)

Former coworker at RPL Bea Anderson 

Uncle Neil Buechler – “At retirement, he was appointed to the Advisory Board of the firm, whose membership included a former Prime Minister of Canada, four Provincial Premiers and a number of Canada’s corporate elite. In addition, he served on the Board of Directors for numerous Corporate and Not-for-Profit organizations.”

Cathy Hindle – longtime across the street neighbour whose two boys I played with regularly growing up, got diagnosed with brain cancer, was given a year to live, but died within a few months.  

Shauna Fay – I didn’t know her but she had played music for the residents of my mom’s care home and died in a mass murder at a nearby First Nation about a month later!

Dave Miller – another well-known local who played with our senior hockey team, worked as a caretaker at the high school, was married to the nurse who admitted my mom to the hospital.

Roger Caughlin – high school chemistry and computer science teacher, school vice-principal.  In a time when we had literally no “out” gay people in our small town, Roger was widely suspected as being gay.  For many, this was a cause for gossip or fear.  I partook in that too I am sad to admit.  But it also didn’t stop my friends and I from going to his house for his homemade desserts, to work on his very unique and cool AppleII or to seek his advice in tough situations.  Reading that back sounds like something that could’ve been very risky or gone poorly.  But in all honesty, it may have also been one of the earliest ways that I saw that a closeted gay man was also highly intelligent, creative but also simply, lonely.

Wayne Horsman – another long-time local businessman and community pillar who was in the nursing home at the same time as my mom but elected to die from MAID which gave him the strange full circle situation of dying on the same day as he was born – July 18 – which happens to me my birthday too! 

Gloria Karpa – another neighbour on our street, mother of the only kid from our hometown to make it to the NHL.

Mike Hammond (white jersey in this photo) – a cousin of mine, only a couple years older and basically could pass for my brother if I was a bit a bit heavier, had a heart attack while walking his postal route in Edmonton.  He was taken to the hospital and was actually *dead on the operating table* for two minutes but was luckily revived!  Surgeon said it might’ve been his walking as a postal worker as a reason he made it.  Extremely scary.  

Charlie Kirk – this was probably the most impactful celebrity death of the year – right-wing agitator shot dead during a speaking gig at a University after saying things like “having the second amendment is worth a few deaths.” 

4. What places did you visit?

After multiple day trips from Cancun over the years where we ended up saying “That was the best part of our trip – why don’t we stay there?” about Isla Mujeres, we stayed a week there with Sasha at the top-rated hotel on one of the top rated beaches in the world.

Did a quick solo overnight run to Winnipeg to check out their library, visit the Human Rights Museum, take in a Jets hockey game (ended up on TV and in the background of one jumbotron shot!) and even did a FB Marketplace pickup!

Lots of time at Nickle Lake camping over the summer plus another trip to Winnipeg, this time with Shea and Sasha as we always try to do a getaway during our August camping break – previously that included Calgary, Kelowna, and South Dakota among other destinations.

5. What would you like to have in the next year that you lacked this year?
Honestly, I’m not lacking for much these days.  But if I won the lottery and could retire, that’d be okay too! 😉

6. What date from this year will remain etched upon your memory?
June 24 – Pace’s Grade 12 Graduation Ceremony and Prom

Oct 23 – M&D 54th Anniversary – I surprise them by leaving a cake for the residents of mom’s care home during a morning visit, knowing that dad usually comes in the afternoon for a visit during their coffee time.



7. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Taking the lead organizing and coordinating the first big fundraiser of Pace’s prom planning committee, a steak night at the Turvey Centre which is also going to be the venue for their prom a few months later.

After a couple years developing a template and community connections, everything “clicked” for  an incredibly successful third annual “Driven To Read” community event that had over a thousand people coming to look at various “big rigs” and do vehicle-themed activities and other fun (right down to giving out Wagon Wheels treats after a community partner cleared out two different grocery stores!)

But easily the single biggest accomplishment was inspired by something I saw online years ago when Pace was little.  Then, when he started kindergarten, I bought a copy of Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” then snuck it into the school every May and had each of his teachers (plus other staaff – principals, librarians, etc.) sign it and write a little message to Pace as well.  I can’t believe I managed to not misplace the book (and none of the teachers did either!), remember to take it every year, and then was able to give it to him on his graduation day as an incredibly memorable, meaningful gift!

8. What was your biggest failure of the year?
I gave a longshot speech that didn’t accomplish its goal.  

9. What was your biggest surprise?
Pace was in a car accident when he slid into another vehicle on ice.  This wasn’t a huge surprise as he’s a new driver and that’s unfortunately, not uncommon.  What was surprising was getting almost the value of what I paid for the car originally a decade ago from SGI when they wrote it off!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Younger colleagues jokingly call me “Old Man Hammond” but this year, I think it was more than a reference to my age gap with most of them and an actual description of how I felt on a regular basis with various injuries and ailments related to that – sore back, ingrown toenail requiring a minor procedures to fix, upstairs and downstairs Tylenol, a hairdresser trimming my eyebrows without even asking if I wanted that done, a new med prescribed, a pill minder to keep track of the increasing amount of pills & vitamins & supplements I take daily, launching myself out of bed multiple times throughout the year (possibly related to some meds I’m on so not necessarily “old age” related) but literally buying a bed rail to help protect myself after one particularly vivid and violent fall which does make me feel like an old man.  Regular buzzing in my ears.  Increased forgetfulness.  Audiology appointment where the examiner says “Some clients with worse hearing don’t have hearing aids and some clients with better hearing than you have do.” A coworker gleefully telling me about her husband (a bit older than me) going through Andropause which I’d never heard of before but is the male form of menopause and suggesting that maybe I have that too?   There’s lots of non-health signs too – one of my favourites is making library cards for someone who’s a full-grown adult human and when I enter their birthdate, it’s *after* the year I graduated high school!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Finally upgraded my iPhone 11 Pro to an iPhone 16 Pro after years of doing everything I could to make my phone last longer than the 2-3 years you usually get – replacing the battery, cleaning out files regularly to free up space (I have so many photos and downloaded music that took up almost the full 256GB of space my phone had) and just generally resisting the marketing genius of Apple.  Love the side “Magic Button” and also the dedicated quick access button for the camera among other major improvements.  Plus I now have 512GB of space to fill!  (Of course, the worst thing was putting it on the counter the day after I bought it and watching it drop to the floor as I didn’t account for the bulges of the cameras being so much more than the phone I had before – enough that my phone slid off the counter after I accidentally bumped it!  No damage luckily.)

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
I ordered a variety of non-alcoholic drinks from Upside Drinks during their Black Friday sale (this was actually fall 2023) but they arrived frozen and/or exploded.  Almost every single can was wrecked but I contacted them and after some back and forth, they issued a full refund in the new year which was amazing experience.  They said they were going to improve their winter shipping protocols so I vowed to try them again – and though not nearly as bad as last year, a few items still arrived frozen and/or exploded.  So I think I’ll just write to suggest they do a “Black Friday in July” promotion and I will order at that time for camping!

13. Whose behaviour left you underwhelmed or disappointed?
Trump.  Trump Voters.  All Americans in many ways. Canadians who support Trump. I was part of our union’s bargaining team this year and I’ll have a few stories about that – from both sides of the table – in my memoirs but not for public consumption yet! 😉

14. Where did most of your money go?
Within a year, Shea, myself and Pace all ended up buying new (used) cars.  It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been – we sold our minivan which helped cover a chunk of the cost of Shea’s vehicle, I was in a fortunate position to be able to pay cash for mine, and Pace got a new car due to some contributions from both grandparents plus, as mentioned, SGI being way more generous than expected with my 2006 Ford Fusion when it was written off.  On a (slightly) smaller scale, I might have had a bit of an addiction to Temu, regularly buying all sorts of cheap junk I probably don’t need.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Blue Jays’ run to the World Series got me back to following baseball in a way I hadn’t since I was young (and ending roughly after they won their first two World Series in 1992 & 1993.) The Roughriders also won the Grey Cup and the Oilers lost their second straight Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers so a really good sporting year!

16. What song/album will always remind you of this year?
“Foxes in the Snow” – Jason Isbell  
Winnetka Bowling League
Snipe Hunt – Tyler Childers

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
A) Happier or sadder?  Hard to say – I think I’m happier in my personal life and sadder in my professional life if that makes sense?

B) Thinner or fatter?  We have a Wyze “smart scale” that tracks my weight every time I step on it. Christmas season has paused progress somewhat but I recently got an alert saying I’ve had a downward trend in my weight for the past three months – largely attributable to all but stopping drinking booze at the end of the camping season plus consciously trying to simply eat less in general.

C) Richer or poorer?  Richer.  Money can’t buy happiness but it sure helps!  After years (decades!) of fairly frugal living, earning more and more in our respective careers, investing, some expected and some unexpected windfalls, Shea and I hit very significant financial milestone this year in terms of net worth.  It’s not our money but the RESP we invested in since Pace was a baby got cashed in so that also added a lot of money to our overall family balance.  Even Sasha got an unexpected windfall near the end of the year!  We also got about a year’s worth of backpay when we settled our contract near the end of the year though that wasn’t as much as I hoped it would be.

18 What do you wish you’d done more of?
Eating healthier, exercising.  

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Maybe less mindlessly watching TV/scrolling social media and more reading/productive activities?

20 How did you spend Christmas?
I’ve had basically the same rotation at work for eleven years but I think this is the first time it’s ever worked out that I got a week off right at Christmas without having to take an actual vacation day!  I worked the weekend before Christmas which meant I had Mon/Tue off as always.  Then I used a clause in our contract where, you have to either work 4 hours on Christmas and New Years’ Eve or, you can request to work a full day on one or the other.  So I got Christmas Eve off too after agreeing to work all day on New Years Eve.  Then obviously Christmas and Boxing Day were days off too.  Week was relaxing but I coined a new term – “stresslaxing” to describe Christmas which is usually mix of relaxing and stressful – usually building as the big day gets closer.  But this year wasn’t too bad – we hosted guests from both sides of the family (12 this year) as we like to do but my inlaws made most of the meal ahead of time, others contributed in various ways, my son was splitting time between our house and his girlfriends so it wasn’t as hectic as it can be.  We even embraced the ultimate stereotype and ordered Chinese food on Christmas Eve (I guess the stereotype is more Christmas Day but work with me here) and were shocked to be told it was a two hour wait for food that is normally ready in twenty minutes!  Went out to Indian Head and had a wonderful visit with my mom (had taken the full family earlier in the week as we were all off on Monday) – this time with my inlaws and Sasha but the big kids stayed home – then went out again with my inlaws on Boxing Day.

21. Who did you spend the most time communicating with?
Easily our bargaining committee which began meeting last fall then had something like a dozen full day bargaining sessions over the course of the year plus lots and lots of side conversations.  I also spent a lot of very enjoyable time exchanging messages with the Community Librarian group which was one of the tightest, most supportive, kindest cohorts I’ve ever had the pleasure to be part of in my 17 years at RPL (unfortunately, I think that “lightning in a bottle” era is over as three of the seven of us moved up to management within the course of the year while another has left the organization.)

22. What was your favourite TV program?
Shea and I watch TV shows way more than we watch movies anymore and this year was no exception.  Shameless.  Adolescence.  Severance.  Katrina.  The Pitt.  The Landman.  Yellowstone.  Dash & Lily.  1883.  1923.  Those are just a few of our faves.

23. Do you hate anything that you didn’t hate at this time last year?
I hated it last year.  I hated it a lot more this year.  Hypocrisy (even as I know I’m also hypocritical about many things in my life too!) 

24. What was the best book(s) you read?
Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet – forget Stephen King, this is possibly the scariest book I’ve ever read.

These Strange New Minds. The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride – does an amazing job of transporting you back to the mid-1880s then describes people in one of the worst situations possible, stranded in a massive mountain pass snow storm with no other sources of food.

Good reading year – lots of books as I made a conscious effort to read more – and actually followed through!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Took Sasha and a friend to their first big concert – Mother Mother, Cavetown – but I was especially blown away by the openers – Winnetka Bowling League

Jesse Welles

The Garrys

Laura Marling

26. What did you want and get?
The unexpected Liberal victory with “Adult in the Room” Mark Carney appearing at the perfect moment in time as Trump was threatening Canada in various ways (tariffs to outright threats of absorption) and the Conservatives, who appeared headed for a landslide victory against a tired Justin Trudeau, crashed hard.  After years of having some struggles with Sasha, a variety of things came together to not only confirm where the struggles were coming from but also put us on a path to maximizing her chances of success going forward.  And a fun one – I had an idea to paint the sidewalk leading to one of the libraries I worked at and a manager I had (three this year is unusual) was there at the right time and the right place made it happen as we painted a “river” scene with stenciled fish “swimming” in it.  Now I get to enjoy watching kids – and some parents – skipping along the river and interacting with it in various ways.

27. What did you want and not get?
A better wage increase than we ended up settling for.

28. What were your favourite films of this year?
“Woman of the Hour” on NYD.
“Sinners” at IMAX.
Happy Gilmore 2.
“Deliver Me From Nowhere” – IMAX.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Pretty low key – we’re often camping for my birthday but this year, I went to work.  I got a call from a family member who wished me a Happy Birthday but forgot how old I was turning (to be fair, I had to think twice when he asked!). 

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I really thought the Blue Jays would win the World Series and they definitely had it in their grasp multiple times which made the loss more heartbreaking (but isn’t that a big part of why we watch sports?)

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?
I had fairly long hair early in the year but got a very nice cut before Pace’s grad (Shea may have threatened divorce if I didn’t make myself presentable for at least one day.). Continuing the “Old Man” theme, I’ve begun wearing bamboo underwear to bed *and* snuggy socks!  Next up?  Sleep cap! 😉

How It Started:

How it’s going:

32. What kept you sane?

My dog’s unconditional love is a literal love bomb.  My family made me insane but kept me sane.  A coworker said they didn’t apply to go into management when a few positions opened in short order, saying “I’m married to my family, not my job” from one coworker.  “Kids were always part of our plans” says another who also decided not to apply.  (It’s an interesting coincidence that in our Branch Manager middle-manager ranks, not a single one has kids – definitely shows how having a family can have an impact on a career.)

33. What political issue stirred you the most?
The whole “Elbows Up” response to Trump’s provocations with Mark Carney working to diversify our trade relationships and do a “conscious” uncoupling from an economy and a culture very dependent on and integrated with the US.  I know Shea and I have no desire to to go to the US and even turned down a free trip to Vegas we got when she bought her car in favour of using the coupon towards a (second!) trip to Mexico next spring.

34. Who did you miss?
After a couple serious falls, my mom has basically become non-verbal and non-mobile, being completely wheelchair bound.  So I miss her quite a bit, even when I’m with her.  And this year, it was also “*What* did you miss?” as my dad finalized the sale of the last quarter of our family farm that’s been in our family since 1883.  (He did hold back a few acres so that will stay in the family going forward.)

35. Who was the best new person you met?
I think I wanted to pay “tribute” to my mom (and my dad) and also model the same approach I grew up seeing by consciously trying to do a lot more volunteering this year – on the Thom Prom planning committee, for the kids, with our union (technically not volunteer as we get a small honourarium for bargaining) but I did become the Chair of a provincewide Library Sector steering committee for CUPE Sask.  I did more with the Regina and District Labour Council including helping to prep meals for marginalized citizens a few times (ever cooked 200 hot dogs in a single morning?  Good times!) I’m also on the Executive of my local constituency association.  Oh, and volunteering for various election campaigns.  It’s not really “volunteering” but I’m also in a position to become a monthly donor (as opposed to one-off donations in the past) to a few different causes I believe in.

Related to that, I’ve always been civicly engaged but I made a conscious effort to be even more active this year as there are many political issues I care deeply about and think the best influence you can have is by talking to the people who make those decisions.

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned this year.
“You’re a plodder but I’m a plunker.”   In Mexico, Shea captures the essence of our differences – I’m always about the journey/exploring/trying new things.  She’s always about the destination/relaxing/staying with the familiar.

Speak truth to power, even if all are opposed.  “Sometimes simply telling the truth is the biggest act of rebellion you can do.”

I said mom is non-verbal and that’s mostly true.  But during one visit, I was telling her about bargaining (she was on the Board of SUN for many many years) and I said I wish she could give me some advice.  And I swear, as clear as day, she said: “Well, first off, you need people who know what they’re doing!”

It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.

As you get older, you worry less about what other people think of you and more about what you think about yourself.

Anxiety is worrying about the future, depression is worrying about the past.  If you remember time is meaningless, you won’t worry about either (as hard as that may be.)

37. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
“There’s room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill”
“Working Class Hero” – John Lennon

38. Link to a photo that sums up your year

39. Best App of the Year
ChatGPT is both amazing and amazingly scary.

SaskTel offered the relaxation app, “Calm” free to all its customers so I signed up and now I get to listen to babbling brooks or waves on a beach as I read my book before bed every night! 😉

40. What single moment defined your year? 

It’s not a single moment but there is nothing better than making my mom laugh – that’s probably the closest I see to the “Old Janet” these days when she’s pulling a face or giving a look or even dropping an unexpected “F-bomb!”

41. Best Meal
Our first meal on Isla Mujeres: