i want to fly a kite

so i've been mentoring this kid named matt berzeley out at newhall middle school in wyoming. pretty much all he cares about is skateboarding, i had that mentality in early high school, so we can relate. we sit in a library/media center area and do his math homework every tuesday afternoon. it's funny because often times he opens his book and has to give me a quick overview of what he's learning and i brush up on my math skills and surprisingly i remember how to do this stuff and can actually teach him. matt's got a good head on his shoulders, is respectful, and knows he needs to do better in school. the thing is, me teaching him isn't really the point, especially as he pretty much understands everything. i'm there to be his friend over everything else.

this past weekend i went to the home and garden show for free (to witness the insanity of this type of event), thanks to thommy, who got me a badge from another Healthy Homes employee who is pictured on their page. so yeah, i went to the show wearing a nametag that read "Errol Spells" which is a pretty awesome name.

here's thommy and isaiah at their radon testing booth. exciting...!

the japanese garden...which had a pond with koi and a little bridge and it was inside devos place, ridiculous as usual.

i didn't realize that people were waiting for me to take the picture for a little while, and as you can see, that lady is kinda annoyed, oh well.

basically, the home and garden show was a mall that people paid to go to. most booths were for very luxurious appliances or systems you could install to "improve" your home. there was wine tasting, mini cooking shows, leafless gutter displays, teeth whitening stations, fans blowing money around in clear boxes the size of telephone booths, and countless "register to win a free tv/romantic getaway/truck/$20,000/yard stick" offers (thommy signed up for all).

there were a few booths that i respected though. LEED certified home builders, worm bins, bonsais, and a full size RV that would fill with smoke to teach kids about fire safety.

aaron and i rode the tall bike for the first time last week. everyone who rides any kind of bike should experience this. it's just so much fun. honestly, pictures or videos don't really describe it, so there will be none for now.

peter hiskes works at calvin's other greenhouse. on sunday afternoon we were able to go, sit and read and take pictures and sweat. it was a good time.

i'm currently applying for a summer internship in the Adirondacks in upstate NY at a community arts center. apparently the name Adirondacks is an anglicized version of what the Mohawk called the Algonquin or latilontaks meaning "they eat bark," because when food was scarce, that's what they did. but yeah, the Mohawk used it in a derogatory manner...in any case, i'm pretty excited about this opportunity.