sythoth!!

and now for something completely different...sythoth!

i have spent the last few weeks really immersed in conversations about education--support, placement, district policies, and always, in the back of my head--are my students, and is my child getting what he needs at his school. at work, at home, email conversations. pretty much all about getting kids what they seem to need. i have to say, these questions don't come up at the private preschool.

friday was great because i went to work on a day i usually don't. only two of my students were in our pre-k class, with a few little visitors to be peer models. since it was not a chaotic zoo of trying to get 9 kids with very little comprehension or experience to follow a class routine for three hours, i actually felt like i got some good work done. there is nothing like making meaningful, joyful contact with a little three year old guy seemingly cut off in his own world.

and last night i went out to walzwerk and ate east german style food with some old friends to celebrate andy's bday. we headed over to a bar in the dogpatch to see carlton melton with sythoth. a few delawareans were there, and we reminisced about all the basement bands we were so lucky to get to be with during our college days. the bands played downstairs in a pretty grungy basement with airplane seats and part of an airplane on the wall. the first band was a very out there guy who looked a hecka' lot like darth sidious reading some ancient scroll in another language while his bandmates crouched on the floor playing eerie spooky creepy synthesizer and guitar. it would have been easy to just laugh at it, and i did laugh, but it actually sounded pretty good and was entertaining. i don't think it was a joke to them! sythoth!!

after sythoth everyone went upstairs to the bar and it was just me and evan while rich and andy set things up. i was feeling nostalgic enough about all the time spent listening to and playing music in basements that i sat down at the drum set and then rich and andy and i started a little jam--suddenly there was a room full of people and i played drums for about ten minutes and--it felt pretty awesome. i miss that a lot.