Filed under: Uncategorized
This is a good one: today while my dedicated gangster was flying through a final exam (while listening to Eye of the Tiger, cranked and on repeat), (I’m not shitting you), one of the kids who’s really trying to turn things around came in for a sit-down. They often do this mid-class; get up and walk around. Then they can refocus after 5 or so minutes. Anyways, he’s wearing his hat and I ask him to take it off. He worries that I’ll stomp it or something and I tell him that I’m just wondering what the cool way is to wear hats these days. He gives me the hat and I pull it on. He tells me not to put it all the way on, but to rest it on my hair. I do so, turning the beak backwards and checking to see if I was cool yet. He tells me that it’s “ice” or “fresh” (I can’t remember which), and I inquire; “but what would happen if it got windy all of a sudden?”. After all, there is a very high potential for a breeze to lift the cap right off your head when it’s worn in such a way. He reassures me that if it gets windy, you turn the beak around so it’s just covering your eyes. Then it will stay on your head and act as eye protection at the same time. Just as I start contemplating this, his regular teacher walks in and requests his presence back in his homeroom. He tells her to get off his back and leave him be. She sweetens the pot and jokingly says “if you come back to class, you can torture the new student teacher”. He instantly lights up replying, “yeah! Let’s go fuck that guy up!” and heads back.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Most of the high school kids went snowboarding today. I opted out so I could get a bunch of marking done and get things rolling with a student I’m currently building a specialized program for. The principal says she’s really liking my work and wants me to get a presentation ready by the end of the year. Admittedly, it is pretty cool. The student is brain damaged and has been booted out of every other school in the district. They put him in my class as a last resort thinking there was nothing that could be done to educate him. What I’ve been working on this year is synching activites he can do out of school with different parts of the curriculum that are both educational and will give him some opportunities to develop social skills. He will not graduate and likely won’t do much after he’s out, but I’d like to think that he’s learning enough to keep his life interesting once all is said and done. He’s a amiable kid and I enjoy working with him.
Another student also stayed behind. It was the one who’s determined to get his shit together so he can go to University next year. The one who’s pile of completed assignments I returned to my first day back from Cuba. He wants to go to business school but I keep telling him he should be a motivational speaker. He’s been through some serious shit, but is realizing how much control he has over his life. In the meantime, he offers up hilarious bits of unsolicited advice to my other, less-driven, students. Today he was telling one of my students to “quit fucking around, and come to school everyday”. (Something I often wish I could say to them). When the other student asked why he told him, “because you grow your brain man. Then (as he points to the newspaper) you understand what the fuckin’ white guy on there is saying”. He handed in another completed class today, his second in two weeks. I said “man, that’s dedication”. He told me, “it’s called being gangster”.
Another student of mine has been drawing me these interesting pictures of serial killer clowns. Each one (and I have one for every day of last week) has a scary clown on it with a melting ice cream cone beside the character. Today he drew me a picture of Chucky, the psychopathic doll from the movie Child’s Play. After Dedicated Student told him to cut the shit before he becomes one, then how he’ll beat his ass if he ever does, I told him I was tired of the creepy drawings. Then I instructed him to draw me an animal next time he feels inclined to draw. He returned to his desk and went to work. He came back to me with a picture of a bear. I said good, and that I wanted a giraffe to put beside the animal calendar I have on my wall. He produced one in less than five minutes. Then he followed it up with a picture of a tiger whose smile bore a rack of shiny teeth. I put that next to the February moose.
Filed under: Thoughts?
I went for a walk around my ‘hood this morning. It was cold and I bummed out a bit. Not because it was cold, but because everything still seems surreal. What we did, who we met, the tragedy, our return. I think I did the right thing by going back to work the day I came back because when I have free time, I start thinking about how useless my existence is when I’m sessile. I know I’m doing important work at the school. We’re seeing a lot of really positive things as a result, and the administration is very happy with my presence. But I think about the root cause for the kids being there and start bumming out. I think about how this turbo-capitalist, individualist, consumer-based lifestyle is not good for anyone. Relationships formed on the basis of business. Kids getting fucked over because their parents are addicts and can’t pay rent. People being expected to pull up their bootstraps when they were never even given boots. I think about the stark contrast between this and the places I’ve seen where the emphasis is put on humanity instead of the dollar. Sometimes it’s hard to deal with. I catch myself in the beginning stages of anxiety, then I calm myself by just accepting my surroundings and material conditions. Get a coffee, listen to some music and escape the facade.
Sometimes I think about moving off the continent. Maybe it would suit me better to live on a farm somewhere warm and raise a family without the aid of cell phones or ipods. Not think about mortgages, mutual funds or the propaganda. Then I think, is it possible to have these things where I am? What use are ideas if they’re not passed on to those you are in closest contact with? Maybe it has less to do with the state of Canadian society than it does my state of mind. Then I go home, sit on my bed and look at my collection of things.
What does my collection of records and low art mean to me? Am I desperately dredging my mind for lost emotions? What does my bike represent and why is it in my room? How about the non-existent high E string on my guitar? Then there are the cats and my love for them: is it reciprocal? This is how you over-analyze your life. We’re taught how to do this very well when we study philosophy and creative writing. Is it beneficial? Or does it just add to the frantic solopsism.
To disconnect. Unplug. Not from life, but the hectic pace of it. I don’t think I know anyone who doesn’t desire this and I know there is a reason: to return to a more natural, organic state of being. There are no meds for this. Simply a treatment program of inner exploration as a result of being able to remove yourself from yourself as often as possible.
Today was rough. You have the right kind of wrong kids in the school at the same time and things just go to pot. My new students are still setting in and I had a couple really hot-wired ones who kept coming into my class and causing a major disruption. It was a headache and they were moments away from being kicked out all day. I should recognize sooner as it’s happening and immediately give ‘em the boot when I can see that they’re not going to have a productive day. Maybe I’m too lenient with the benefit of the doubt.
We also got some news this weekend that the singer for one of the bands we played with in Cuba (William Fabian of Eskoria, Cuba’s longest running punk rock band) was stabbed and killed after a show in Havana the other night. It hit all of us pretty hard as he became a huge inspiration throughout our journey. Eskoria was one of the first bands to be flagged by the Cuban cops as anti-social and had a history of getting tons of flak for playing music not sanctioned by the state. I have many stories about him just from two weeks, I wish I could tell them all. Here’s the one that has resonated in me the most:
In the mid-nineties about 100 rockers were involved with a protest movement against the Cuban governments treatment of AIDS patients, which was essentially to separating them from their families and placing them in sanatorium (or jail if they were homosexual). During the time (and I believe it continues), one of the governments imposed mottos on the people is Socialism or Death. In an attempt to draw international attention to this, these artists chose death and injected themselves with the virus. William was one of them.
In Canada, popular forms of protest include signing online petitions and joining Facebook groups. What William and the others did took more balls than anything I can think of off-hand. That was one of his many commitments to the people in his community and the movement. I remain humbled and am incredibly thankful for having met him. Not to mention his band totally ripped.
Cuba (and global punk-rock) lost a good one and it’s a total shame.
(Maldita Sea Tu Nombre, Libertad by Vladimir Ceballos is the original 1994 documentary about the whole protest. I’ve yet to find a copy of it anywhere. )
Filed under: Funny
“Yo Mr. T, are you coming to gym or what?”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll be there in a few minutes”.
“Hurry up, and don’t forget those sideburns!”
Filed under: Band?
Good lord, I returned back to school on Friday to a gigantic stack of marking and lesson planning that I have to prepare today. I wasn’t really expecting it so I’ve been thrown off for the last couple days. Retuning from the tour back to working life has been a bit shocking. Interaction and conversation are hard and I just kind of feel like holding up in my room so I can continue teasing things apart in my brain.
When I say it was the most incredible two weeks of my life, I mean it whole-heartedly. We we shown around the country by a handful of friends who looked out for us, helped load up and take down, found us (if not cooked us) food, translated and gave to us experiences we could never have imagined. The punks in Cuba were awesome. To put it simply, the Cuban government does not really approve of punk rock. In fact, they manufacture and sanction rock bands to make sure lyrics to not criticize the state (we played with one of these bands in Havana, they were HORRIBLE). Even casual conversation, if about politics, must be carried out carefully because you can be taken away for speaking out against what is very clearly, a military dictatorship. So, when you’re from a country where playing punk music is fairly safe and acceptable (nowadays at least), and you play a show that ends with 200 kids singing Anarchy in the UK in spanish, you have your world turned around a bit.
Punk rock means a lot to me. It has always motivated and educated me and it has done the same for all the people I met in Cuba. With the government controlling the media, finding a song with new ideas is huge. It’s not that I take free speech or freedom of the press for granted, but now I know what it’s like to be a musician and not have those luxuries. Also, I want to make clear that I’m not criticizing the country. It’s very beautiful and people are well taken care of. Everyone owns a home, has health care, dental (kids all have braces), access to medicine etc, but there is this trade off.
As a band, we grew tremendously. We came off of a two week tour tired, but still really enjoying each other. We played on rooftops, we played gigantic theatres, we played an acoustic set for our hosts during breakfast… experiences I’ve never had on the road and I’ve got nearly 200 North American shows under my belt. We also learned the importance of going with the flow and making the best out of a weird situation.
Something that was huge for me was the idea of being able to communicate through music. At times I would be trying to talk to people at the shows who spoke very little english and my lack of spanish skills were of no help. But when you are part of a small group all singing Christie Road or some Rancid song, the music transcends the language barriers. At one point we closed a set with our cover of the Ramones classic I Just Wanna Have Something to Do and the crowd wouldn’t let s leave the stage. Instead, they start chanting “Hey Ho, Let’s Go!”. Time for an impromptu and unrehearsed cover of Blitzkreig Bop and the place explodes. Not being able to play the song that well means nothing when everyone is unified by the power of Joey, Johnny, Deedee and Marky.
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I put together a video of some photos I took on the tour. Unfortunately youtube decided that the music I had as a soundtrack wasn’t legit, even though the bands are friends of mine. I’ll put it up anyways. I suggest throwing on a little reggae music while you watch this thing. The rest I’ll put up soon.
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I thought I would be able to write more while we were away. I was mistaken. Back at home, sitting on my bed with 2 weeks worth of the most moving experiences I’ve ever had. All documented. Expect an analog version in the near future. The project was more successful than any of us could have imagined. Pictures and things will seep into here shortly, but I’ve barely been home for a few hours and it’s already time to DJ tonight. Then work a 14 hour day tomorrow. I am the most happy when my life is revving full-tilt. Accumulating miles, building relationships, moving forward… these things keep the passion resonating. Now to begin the countdown for the next one, whatever it will be.
Lastly, RIP Howard Zinn. 1922-2010. If you haven’t done so already, I highly recommend checking out A People’s History of the United States.
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Everything is a-ok. Straight up, this has been the most increduible tour I’ve ever been apart of. Internet connection is sparse at best but I’ll briefly summarize. Have played 7 shows so far ranging from small all ager ragers to metal extravaganzas with 900 people hoisting horns into the air. Spirits up. Our enterage is amazing. Very good people. So many experiences of this country thatahasve been aqbsolutly priceless, would never haqppen if you were limited to an Americanized resort. The hearts and minds are something else. I have no time left on this thing and the connection I’m sure is 56K. I’ve been writing pages aND PAGES ANALOG STYLE THOUGH. WIll have a lot to share. NMuch love. See you soon./
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Finished up my pile of marking tonight. The kids weren’t that stoked when I told them I’d booked a sub for tomorrow but it’ll be ok. They’ve only got one day then it’s review week. One of the kids I’ve been working with is having an interesting affect on other kids. He keeps calling them out for screwing around and not getting things done while there at school and since he’s a senior, they kind of listen to him. I tell him that he should be a motivational speaker for the jr. high wing then he’ll tell me about a crazy fight he got in and I remember why he’s with us. Regardless, it was a productive week!
The band got together last night to test out the gear we’re leaving and dial in some tones to make sure we can get the equipment sounding hot for the shows. It was sounding good, though one of the amps was cutting in and out so we took it in for a quick last minute-servicing today. After practice we had to get our finances straight as there’s been a bit of tension about a couple of things. It’s all good though and everything is lining up. As an interesting aside, a guy in our film crew was at a benefit for this thing in LA not too long ago and apparently Ry Cooder has heard of the project and given up props. Kinda neat. Well, I have an hour before I have to leave so I guess I’d better pack. We’re getting to the airport super early with hopes of being able to ensure our gear makes our Calgary connection. If there’s any chance it won’t, it’s going to be driven down to the Calgary airport tonight.
I’ll update this while I’m away if I can find some internets. Until then…
Filed under: Uncategorized
Got back into town this morning. We were going to drive back up from the Calgary show after it ended, but Mudhoney did two encores and we shot the breeze with those dudes a little longer than we intended. Great guys. They had a lot of interesting things to say about some of the musicians from Seattle I’ve always held in high regard. It was also weird sharing the stage with the dudes who used to play in Green River as well as a former drummer for Nirvana. Whenever this happens I can’t help but think about what these guys have seen. The movement out of the pacific northwest in the early 90’s was so instrumental in my development as an “artist” (barf). But I do remember the first riff I ever learned: Come As You Are. At a friend’s place when I was in grade 9 I think. I later borrowed his mother’s guitar and taught myself a few jams on that thing before eventually acquiring my own. Then punk rock came along and grunge jams were replaced by Epitaph jams, but who knows where I’d be if it wasn’t for those Seattle bands acting as a gateway. Anyways, really good dudes. Mark Arm is a heck of a performer and Steve Turner is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.
The actual show was really good, better than the hometown one. We were sure to make it to the venue for soundcheck and the sound on stage while we were playing was great as a result. The crowd seemed into it, even through a few cheeky comments made to keep that Edmonton-Calgary feud alive. We brought down LP’s and some burned CDs. We sold no LPs but almost all of the CDs we burned, which is weird. Or maybe not, I donno. I feel so out of touch with what people are buying now anyway, what do I know?
So now there’s preparing for the trip. I’ve got two weeks worth of Larabars squirreled away, bought a new pair of Vans slip-ons, pulled out all of the travel gear I got for the Ghana trip and am spending the day tying up loose ends like laundry and mail outs. I’ve also got to get a quick nap in there somewhere as I’m running on some pretty crazy sleep as a result of this weekend. We’re going to measure up all the gear we’re bringing down to make sure it’ll fit on the small plane that’s taking us to the transfer to Santa Clara. I think it will all fit. If not, we’ve got a couple days to figure it out.
School update: First week back and it was ok. It’s kind of a drag I’m leaving next week because everyone is starting to get back into the swing of things but no matter. I’m leaving during exam week anyways so kids won’t be around much while I’m gone. I did a lot of great work with one kid who’s not even in my class. This guy is in some pretty big trouble and he hasn’t really bonded with any of the teachers at the school. You could say he’s a bit of a loner amongst his classmates as well. Anyways, he took to coming into my class and working on Science. I told him it’s not a problem and I’m more than willing to help as long as I don’t have a full class. He was in there almost every day. I think my class is kind of a safe zone for him.
Another student has started challenging me to daily badminton games. Kid’s really good too. He hasn’t beat me yet, but he’s the only kid who can play by the rules with focus and make me break a sweat. My knees are kind of in rough shape as a result. It’s cool though, I hope he gets back into a “regular” school so he can compete because he’s a heck of an athlete.
Exciting news on the teaching front: I’ve made contact with some teachers in Cuba. If all goes well, I might even be able to check out some classrooms while I’m there! I’m not quite sure what’s going to go down, the schedule is very loose, but I think there’s going to be some pretty cool opportunities coming our way. I will make sure to document all of them.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Got the gear squared away for the Cuba trip. We’re taking down two Fender Telecasters, an Ibanez Iceman, some other guitar, some bass, two Crate amplifiers and some bass rig. I’ve got all the drums sorted out as well. Huge help from the musician community and local drum shop to make this happen. Everyone really rallying behind us. Now hopefully we can get it all on the plane. At practice the other day we decided to learn a bunch of well known covers for the shows in Cuba. Some Ramones, Misfits, Clash and Rancid have creeped into the setlist as a result. It’s really fun and we’re all in good spirits. We’re also playing a couple shows with Mudhoney this weekend. I’m stoked because some of those dudes used to play in Green River with a Stone and Jeff from Pearl Jam. Of course I’m going to nerd out backstage. I’ve always had fun being a fanboy.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Well here we go eh? I’ve been writing a lot, though it hasn’t been making it on here. I think I’ve decided to change how I use this thing. Since I’m looking towards the next book, I’ve been thinking about how lame it is to take things off here and just transfer them to paper. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a blog. That is, why make something available to everyone more limited? So I’ve decided to use this webspace as a place to clear the air once a week, at least when it comes to school stuff. That way I’ll be able to tease apart ideas for the next analog addition more efficiently, (something I hope to have ready by the summertime).
So here’s what’s been going on with me:
I flew back to the city the other day. A flight that usually takes 2.5 hrs saw me in transit for 8.5 hrs. I would advise anyone against this type of travel unless you have a stash of fresh fruit and a high tolerance for airport dum-dums. A young woman and her baby sat behind me for the duration of the longest flight. The woman had incredibly poor parenting skills and exhibited them every five seconds by employing one of the following six phrases at high volume: “Stop!”, “Listen to me!”, “No you can’t!”, “You have to listen!”, “SHHHHH!”, “Quiet!”. Beyond this, I got to know more about her everytime someone walked by and made conversation about her young hellion. She was from Ontario. Her boyfriend was up north. She was going to visit her grandparents. They are conservative catholic folk. She can’t wait until they see the mohawk she shaved into her 1.5 year old. The whole scenario would’ve made a fantastic episode for Birth Control: the Future of Humanity.
Anyways, new years eve was a riot. The band set ‘em up and knocked ‘em down. One of the top 3 shows I’ve ever played, which coincidentally have all involved a great band called the City Streets. To sum it up as concisely as possible; it took me an hour and a half to clean dried up beer off my drums yesterday.
The evening also ushered in a list of revolutions
1. Write more – music and hand script. Don’t get preoccupied in things that will impact this.
2. Drink less. – ugh. See #1 for explanation.
3. Exercise more! – I’ve got to make something of these winter days, my slothfulness is killing me.
4. Eat less. – a personal commitment to be less excessive in what I consume, while eating more things like fresh vegetables and fruits.
5. Read more – I have 5 books on deck.
6. Practice more – gotta work on rudiments or I’m going to flatline.
What else, ah yes. Cuba! So, we’re outta here like Vladamir in about 10 days. The equipment we’re taking down is rolling in, as is grant money and tour dates. We’ve got a church bus lined up that’s going to take us around the island and some really cool venues booked to play down there. But honestly, I don’t anticipate anything but our flights to be set in stone. We’re going down there with some ideas, but we’re really going to be cutting a trail than anything else. I will have so much more information on this auspicious opportunity after it’s gone down.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Top 10 2009
Propagandhi – Supporting Caste & Edmonton night two (the Funeral Procession and Showdown!)
Road trip to Dawson City – A shot of whiskey with a human toe in it.
First full-time teaching job – Wiping visa clean.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Prairie box tour with the Falklands – Creole, fireworks and underpants.
AC/DC encore – For Those About to Rock
SLATES lp – Jesse Gander at the helm, d.b.s. touring stories over dinner.
Stooping – veggie corndogs, the Toilet making beer runs and some Tragically Hip.
3 dum dums in Portland for MFNW- Developing tinnitus, the Dirty Three, vegan meatball subs and parking lot poutine
Scallop Wallop and Redemption Q.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Last day of classes for ‘09! My student finished writing his socials final and was stoked to be 5 credits closer to his goal. (A really funny thing happened during the writing too, but I’ll have to save it for the next book). I was really happy for him and for a minute, it was almost as though I had a “normal” student. Actually, it was a really good day for that. I was playing badminton with another student who’s usually super sedated (if you know what I’m saying), but proved himself to be really good at the sport. I’d never seen him perform that that before and he actually ended up beating me by two points. On his way out, he was just about to mouth me off (which I’ve discerned as his way of saying goodbye) when I stopped him and gave him an xmas gift. I couldn’t tell if he really cared, but he must’ve a little because instead of cussing me out he said “see ya”. Don’t worry, another boy came in and cussed me out which made me feel like it was a regular day on the job.
The kids got a pair of socks with some goodies stuffed into them. They were stoked on that. Each of ‘em also got a pair of gloves which I hope they use for crying out loud. Kids still think it’s cool to not dress for the winter, well at least those who can afford to. Anyways, back to my story about the exam. Since it was a final, I couldn’t help him with the answers, but I could translate the phrases he thought were confusing (of which there were many). I couldn’t believe he got 83% on the multiple choice section on his own. Some of these kids are so freaking smart. When they apply their street smarts to tests, they’re able to see right through the distracting questions. It’s quite the thing and rather impressive. They put things together I know I wouldn’t have been able to at their age.
So I was watching him write and feeling really proud of him as he searched his textbook for information (it was an open book exam). Believe it or not, a lot of these kids don’t know how to research things in their texts. Maybe it just seems like common knowledge to me, but I’ve had to spend a lot of time with them teaching them how to use the glossary and things. At one point I was helping him with a question about nationalism and it’s affect on foreign policy. I can’t remember what the phrasing of the question was, but he called me over because he didn’t know what pluralism meant. I admitted I wasn’t really sure, but we could figure it out by piecing together info from his text. This is going to sound SUPER corny, but after that I got my first ever “you know, you’re a good teacher” which honestly brought a tear to my eye.
Complements are nice, but I don’t think much of them. If someone tells me they think I’m a good drummer, I usually tell them they must not have seen many people play drums. Same goes with writing, I do what I do and I don’t think I’m particularly good at it. I certainly don’t do things for complements. I do them because it’s all I know. I write because I have to. I play music because if I didn’t, I would probably just sit around being depressed. But the context of that kid’s complement rocked me. This kid has an intense history and when it comes down to it, I think the reason it hit so hard is because it was the admission of the first positive step he’s taken in years. He’s learning and he’s willing to let me teach him.
So how about this: maybe the next time you see a kid causing a ruckus on the street, do me a favor don’t judge. Especially don’t say he’s better off in jail, because he’s better off in a classroom. That is all.
In other news, I’m happy to be going home for Xmas. I’m excited and can’t wait to walk the streets I grew up on. I don’t ever think about moving back, but I always think about visiting. It’s one of my favorite things to do.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Pretty good one today. I started off teaching math to a girl in the Jr. High wing who insisted that I call her Female Bones. We had a huge xmas feast for lunch (I went to town on the stove top stuffing and peas) and one kid started grilling me on my eating habits. For some reason he gets very defensive when I tell him simply that I don’t eat animals. He was chiming in with some classics like “your Dad must’ve cooked a pretty shitty steak when you were young”. I didn’t mind. It was entertaining as I am long past getting into arguments with people about that type of thing.
After lunch we played some more Monopoly which ended up being really funny. Half way through the kids decided that the game was going to be called Hustle-opoly and they started going to town on side deals. “Yo, I’ll sell Boardwalk for 10 g’s, but because I know you give me 9 and we’re square”. By the end, these two had had an apartment on every property and all of the money in the bank. The last move was the sale of all the properties to one kid, with the kid who got paid enthusiastically stating “Homie, I got all the f—in’ money. The board’s mine now and it’s not called Monopoly anymore, it’s called (his name)!”
Lastly, I thought this was really cool.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Super cold out today. In fact, last night was the first time I’d ever plugged in my car’s block heater.
Today was interesting. I’m working on new ways of keeping the kids engaged until xmas break. They’re on edge and, while still coming to school, can get super distracted easily. All the teachers agree this is one of the most challenging times of the year. This afternoon for example one of my more difficult student decided to build a house out of popsicle sticks instead of doing any work. Was it a big deal? Not really. Did he cause any problems? Nope! This kept him busy while I did some one-on-one stuff with the student who resolved to come to school more often, (who is also writing his first final exam of the year tomorrow!).
During gym class I worked closely with a super volatile student on his badminton skills. He didn’t want to hear anything I said at the beginning of class, but by the end he was all “I see what you mean by keeping the other guy running around”. This was the door to training, my badmonton prodigee. I want to get him up to a skill level where he’ll be able to compete against the best player in class. He’s got the potential and today was the first time he stayed for the whole class. (He usually gets sent home for mouthing off a teacher).
Plane tickets for Cuba purchased.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Here’s a draft itinerary for the Cuba tour.
Jan 13 – Arrival in Santa Clara
Jan 14 – Sancti Spiritus
Jan 16 – Camaguey
Jan 17 – Ciego De Avila
Jan 19 – Tinidad
Jan 21 – Cienfeugos
Jan 22 – Santa Clara
Jan 23 – Matanzas
Jan 25 – Havana
Jan 27 – Home.
Filed under: Uncategorized
As I was talking with a student at my desk about the Canadian coat of arms and the war of 1812, another student was busy writing on the whiteboard. Later, I looked up to see:
“Mr. T was in war & took over 20 peoples lives”
“Quitting weed on Dec. 10″
“Canadian Code of War!!!”
Filed under: Uncategorized
The kids have been ramping up like crazy. I’ve seen more suspensions this week than in the past month! I’m really happy with the one student I have who has been coming on a regular basis though. We’re getting through a ton of work and he’s shown himself to be bright and dedicated. This kind of thing keeps me stoked when I’m leaving my warm house in the morning.
But onto some news from the Holy Shit Department: We got the full grant for the Cuba trip in January. It’s cutting things pretty close since we have to arrange flights, visas and gear transportation post-haste but I’m used to this kind of thing by now. The whole thing has been on the back burner of my mind for a while now, and I told myself I wouldn’t even think about it until the grant came through. Now I’m kind of speechless. I’ve been playing in bands for half my life now and I’ve never been awarded this kind of opportunity; none of us have. This is going to be a heck of an experience and I’ll make with more details in the coming days for sure.
Lastly, it pays to troll craigslist for bikes in the winter. I just picked up the sweetest late 60’s Raleigh cruiser for dirt cheap!
