the olde school

Gamed'up @ Gately Stadium today - where i actually played in grammer school and across the street from where I used to teach about 10 years ago. Game was really fun, but ultimately frustrating - varsity again tied, and this time so did we. I had two girls back from varsity - not my chpoice as it was the people above me, but deeply welcome as it meant we actually had a bit of skill and some talent and the possibility of offense. However, we still hav enot scored, despite the fact we had chance after chance bounce off the side of the net or dribbled into the other goalies hands after a tepid strike fromone of my girls. Should've won. Scored. But no.

Brite side? Our spirit. The girls love being part of the team. JV is much less.... less issues than the varsity, lets say. Despite my gloomyness about not getting the 3 points, they were cheering and happy. Good thing.

And, hey, across the street from the old school. Taught there about 5m and in the middle of the year mentally collapsed. One weekend during that year I had gotten myself into a position where I actually thought I ws gonna be killed - and my mind just snapped out. Never went back to that school and quit it. Ten years on I can see my mistake now. Was @ several schools since then and haven't been able to stick @ any. NOW so wish do i could have that chance back. Such a rough school - but have been in tuffer.

Ahd an interview @ a grammer school earlier in the week. Englewood neighbourhood, so I bet it'll be tuff as hell if I were to get the job.

Except Im shure I will never get hired again.

The interview went well, and the school library - of the 35 things I'm certified to teach, this position is a librarian spot - has so much potential. great space, windows so i can smother it w. plants, and a decent -but oolde - collection of books. Only four computers, but we can work on getting more.

Well, except i will neve rget the job. Or any job again.

Except soccer coach @ the school I coach @ now. A job I will never lose, actually.

Twice in a 25h span (Monday and Tuesday nites)

Twice in two days @ Vic. Mothers bothtimes. Firsttime wayupstairs - backittybackrow away from the pit area where the heat and closedin gatherdness of the young people awayed us. Second nite - the pit, where it was far more hospitipal w. the above18 crowd being all old and that sorta stuff.

We went out to eat first. Of course we have our favourite places. Monday was the Noodle shop @ the end of her street. Ate the regular goodies - Mongolian beef for me, w. chopstix i so love to use after seventy too many Kurasawa flix - her Pad Thai. Thai Ice cafe allaround. Quickwalk 'cause we were time budgeted. Pregame meal the second nite was that baked chicked place on corner of Broadway and Belmont - we shared the 1/2chix special. Suck great mashed poataoes and bread to go along w. ther chicken that made the place name. We eat @ either maybe once every two weeks. Good, cheap, and these two nites onthe way to walk to the Vic.

Both shows basically identiucal, except for our viewing stations - upupandaway -v- @ their feet. Both shows basically shining. Ive made the remark before that I love this band best when the guitarist strums - he's so pickish and quiet, but when the chords come out, i tend to move. Best exemplified in "Chicken with his head cut off" Most of the show, however, were those quite and slow songs which i enjoyed - but wishing they'd rock more. In truth, "chicken" was one of the very few uptempo sides the whole nite. Dominate did the dour deep sides that to me characterize most of the stuff they have done since ... well, 1992.

And QUIET Laet we feared we were and we walked into such a quiet arena - a place where Ive seen Oasis, for Gods sake! The magnetic Fields are kinda like a chamber group, if i'm correct inwhatever achamber group is - but the acoustic guitar, cello, grandpiano, ukelale and Stephin merrits dour demanear hush the entie crowd always. Nobody talks during the songs. Nobody. well, hushed asides like 'i need to visit the loo' but no banter or yobbo yap. Mothers had no clue what to expect, and I was amused in showing her this sorta rock show.

As always, when you see this band twice in 24h, you want to see them more. verymuch fun to go bothtimes, and'dbeen fun to hang w. Mothers on wednesdaynite w. the magnetic fields as well.

Except they were in Iowa.

The best song of all time

new beginnings

Totally looked fwd to this years soccer season - varsity promised to be good and my team even better (@ the JV level). I was looking @ a team that finished in 4th place in the regular season and promising even more this year. But.

Things aint always werked upout to be what day supposed to be.

Four of my girls were taken up to varsity, and my 'set @ 9 of 11 positions' evapp'ed. Instead of an experienced group of tuffgirls JV has tonnage of new faces. So, as Winters taught us, we improvise. Some of last years girls came back (Tuffgirls @ sweeper, stopper, side defender,and a midfield who switches betwixt defensivemid and side mid, a powerful but slow forward -- plus a talented and fast learning, tho' w.slite confidence in herself because she really should be on varsity mid/forward)) and we mix them with the new girls.

The new girls? That characteristic mix of 'never played before' and 'hey - talented!'. Paramount is a girl who doesn't want to be on varsity (why?) even tho' she more ready than the four girls who left us for varsity . She's a sophomore and we have her in @ midfielder, tho' she'll drop to stopper in some cases. Her freshman sister is also on the team - the other coach believes that she only plays because when young he parents probably made her play - that joy isn't there (yet). We're developing two new goalies - both seem to be good, and are freshman so they will hav elots of time to develop. Several tuffgirls (c'ant tell you how wonderful it is to see teenagegirls not shying away from being physically aggressive - this is so important in soccer)who still have lots to learn in the game but are a joy to be around - one who may be a defensive mid, two side defenders, a girl who came over from softball and is good, and finally another side midfielder.

Above pretty much defines the starting lineup and the girls who will get most of the time on the field. And then there is the rest of the team - bubbly all. Two of the thinnist longlegged girls ever. Several girls so shy I'm so shocked whenever I hear their voices. A sister set, where the younger seems to be better than the older. And lots os silly girls whoknows where thier talent and determination will take them.

Bit dissapointed on not having my set of killer sback fromlast year. Estatic that I have a new set of girls to mold into killers this years. And the small realisaation that I had a part in molding some of those girls from last year and now on varsity into a murderous crew. So, well, that's really what JV is for. It is.

Christmastime is here again!

Basically it's a nitemare to be around children anymore - it's just really really hard. As my frenz are of the age a late age, n'atch - where they're finally having kids, that sorta life seems fades off of any future I may see. Many reasons.

Parents came to this country from a very poor background. Very poor -Appalachian style poor - Mom had that grammar school education and Dad had that .... well, he never set foot in a school and started in the boats when he was 7. They wanted - genetics go calling - a better backdrop for their offspring, and the Promised Land of America was the only place for it. They had as many kids as they could and worked hard - always w. me understanding that they had sacrificed everything for us. Left the country (Dad never saw his parents again, Mom saw Grandmother once more and Grandfather three more times) , overtime and extra jobs, saving always for our schooling. The deep importance of children and th future - well, everything - depended on these two things. Always knew I was wildely loved - but also understood it wasn't me, it was the family and my part in it.

Then came the kids. Nephew.1, Niece.1, Niece.2 etc etc etc... Sisters lived so close, we constantly babysat or visited or were visited. Intoxicating. The kids were so fun, and again to be part of a whole working forward. So much fun them being about - BUT MORE!!! trying to expand them by taking them wherever. Lots of games - easy: Fire, Sox, Bulls, Hawks, etc... Movies, plays, the odd street theatre, a free music in Grant Park. Coaching them year after year in soccer. Wasn't a job, being an Uncle.

And Q. We shared that FirstLove between us, and like all young lovers, we wanted to burst our love all over the whole world - couldn't everyone see how great and wonderful existence @ this time and place is. And of course, we really wanted to help out the world by spreading our love even more with our "VirgilQ's" or "QVirgils", depending on which of us happened to be romantically romanticised our relationship @ that moment. We settled on seven kids we would have, and all were named both first and middle.

It was nice being a Freak amongst my college educated frenz (Many non university trained had kids outta HS or soon after) in the whole kid. I really liked that I'd changed hundreds of diapers by the time I was 25. I liked bringing the kids around frenz who probably had not had much real interaction w/ kids up to that point. I liked being not an expert but The Expert in real terms on children.

And now.

Modern times, ,modern country, modern economics.... Took a long time, but now it's the time for many of my frenz to finally have kids. Again - many non university types already had kids - but the educated ones, nows the time. And it's not me taking munchkins everywhere anymore - it's people who were once young now doing that. And - there's me wasting away in Moms basement, unemployed, and now surrounded by everyone elses kids. Even those that gave me so much joy - the 8 nieces and nephews - have dwindled away as they grow up and are now getting jobs and off to colleges and etc... They have their own lives and are rarely over - and I can see into the future where I probably will see some of them once every two years or whatever.

Where I once was rare in a great way, it seems Ive passed into rarity once again - but in a way I never wanted. Where once I was once surrounded and glorious - now sequestered and dimmed. Rage rage and the dying of the lite and all that, all playing out in my spirit.

In many ways it's like March of 1814 and Napoleon est moi. It's that soccer team and being a coach and it's importance to me. However much I feel that life has totally passed me by, there still are 40 girls and 55 boys each year that look to us three coach's for guidence. It's still me who makes out lineup cards, pulls kids aside to correctly show them how I want whatever done, subs in kids, gives the halftime speech, etc...

Except for these 100odd kids or so, it's next to impossible to be arounbd young people these days. I hate it.

letskillourselves

Naan on Devon

Hadda happen sometime, but finally it did - excited to try anew Devon Indian food pace - Naan on Devon - and came away .... disappointed. A Friday in Lent so I was meatless - and since Gahreeb has so many succulent veggie meals, Mothers and I decided to Devon it - but w. a twist. We had a 1/2 priced coupon for Naan, and decided to cash it in there instead of the more familiar Gahreeb. She - no catholic - got shik kabob beef and I got veggie byrani (rice), plus 4 paratha.

Took it to her crib and ate. Paratha? Dry. Yougert sauce? Waterey. Byrani? Eh. I tried the beef this morning - that was pretty good. So, an underwhelming dining experience - but, there were 'conditions'. I was having a blueday in my head, so that kinda took away my appetite. I'm mainly a carnivore, so stuck w. a pure veggie meal isn't always good for me. based on these conditions, I will try Naan again, except w/ meat meat. I will give it another try.

Now - the atmosphere of Naan - quite kool. Gahreeb has plenty of people who are not Indian chowing there. Loyola students, , random crackers, Africans and African Americans, Hispanics - all are in the house there (plus, overwhelmingly, Indians, Indian young people on the town, Indian families, etc etc - 80% of the faces there are Indian. Given that it is open all nite, well lit from the outside calling the hungry in, the easternmost food place on Devon, and the cheapest pace on the strip make it a draw for all folk.

Naan? In the middle of the strip (across from Chopal, where we ate on St. Valentines Day, near tiffen where we ate Wednesday). Clientele? Bunch of old Indian dudes eating w. their hands. Felt slitely outta place. But best of all was the additions. The Muslim Observer newspaper to read. Mothers spotted a prayer room and I spotted a sink to correctly wash oneself before meals. Want to go back again to give it another shot, and because, well, mainly for the atmosphere.

Just hoping the paratha isn't as dry next time.

Tiffin on Devon

All things Indian food continue. We had such a good time on St. Valentines Day eating @ Chophal kabob on devon that we decided to have a second St. Valentines Day, except this time we ate @ Tiffin - favoured place of the Gallos.

Excellent. We split lamb and chicken plates and got rice and parathas. One was better than the other. My taste in Indian is so conditioned by Gahreeb @ this point - it's always good to have something diferent.

Gahreeb is such a utilitarian place. There's the counter and the seating area that basically looks like a typical hotdog place seating. There are the nods to Indian culture - rite now cricket is always on the telly, plus posters of places like the Taj mahol etc... Basically, however, it would fit in my neighbourhood (clientel'd stick out, tho'). So, these other places we are now going to - more real restuaraunt places - are terrible different.

Um, cluttered. Stuffy, oftentimes. No blanket statement this - well, actually it is - but totally typical of each place we've eaten so far. ndian Garden on Ontario. Those several place sout in the subarbs when we went to see Nephew.3's football games. Everywhere on devon. Whyso??

The thought has passed my mind - this shit is so tasty, would it be a good idea to open a like place in my neighbourhood? Again, the population down here is different than on Devon - we lack, for example, the mass of Haseids who stroll the area - but the foods the food. However, i have no experience in restauraunts or anything like that - plus, you know, the capital and the dismal lifespans of restauraunts - but it has again and again crossed my mind. Trust me - there's no place anywhere on the Southside (exception is on ok place in, of course, Hyde park) that has Indian food - believe me, Ive looked long and hard and dissapointedly on the interenet.

So, an idea, but just.

Tonite? It's a Friday in Lent, so it's veggie for me. Hoping to corral Mothers to gahreeb so we can get, oh, a Veggie mix and Channa Masala and biyrani and 4 parathas.

Who's hungry?