diff --git a/src/compile/attrs.rs b/src/compile/attrs.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59156ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/compile/attrs.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+use crate::{
+    compile::ctx::Ctx,
+    obj::prelude::*,
+};
+
+pub struct AttrsBuilder<'c> {
+    ctx: &'c mut Ctx,
+    attrs: Ss,
+}
+
+impl<'c> AttrsBuilder<'c> {
+    pub fn new(ctx: &'c mut Ctx) -> Self {
+        Self::with_base(ctx, Default::default())
+    }
+
+    pub fn with_base(ctx: &'c mut Ctx, attrs: Ss) -> Self {
+        AttrsBuilder { ctx, attrs, }
+    }
+
+    pub fn attr(self, symbol_name: &str, value: DynRef) -> Self {
+        let sym = self.ctx.syms_mut().add(symbol_name.to_string());
+        self.attr_sym(sym, value)
+    }
+
+    pub fn attr_sym(mut self, sym: Sym, value: DynRef) -> Self {
+        self.attrs.insert(sym, value);
+        self
+    }
+
+    pub fn finish<G: Gc>(self, gc: &mut G) -> ObjRef<Attrs> {
+        let Self { attrs, .. } = self;
+        Attrs::new(gc, attrs)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/compile/block.rs b/src/compile/block.rs
index dcac935..f63807a 100644
--- a/src/compile/block.rs
+++ b/src/compile/block.rs
@@ -6,8 +6,13 @@ use crate::{
 // basic block
 pub enum Block {
     Body(ir::Body),
+    Blocks(Vec<Block>),
 }
 
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+// TranslateAst
+////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+
 pub struct TranslateAst<'c, 't> {
     ctx: &'c mut Ctx,
     text: &'t str,
@@ -18,7 +23,7 @@ impl<'c, 't> TranslateAst<'c, 't> {
         TranslateAst { ctx, text }
     }
 
-    pub fn translate(&mut self, _ast: &Vec<Stmt>) -> Result<ir::Body> {
+    pub fn translate(&mut self, _ast: &Vec<Stmt>) -> Result<Block> {
         todo!()
     }
 
@@ -34,7 +39,7 @@ impl<'c, 't> TranslateAst<'c, 't> {
                 todo!()
                 //Ok(ir::Lhs::Name(
             }
-            _ => todo!(),
+            _ => Err(Error::InvalidLhs { span: expr.span() }),
         }
     }
 }
@@ -50,15 +55,97 @@ impl Visit<Stmt> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
 impl Visit<AssignStmt> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
     type Out = Result<ir::Stmt>;
 
-    fn visit(&mut self, _stmt: &AssignStmt) -> Self::Out {
-        todo!()
+    fn visit(&mut self, stmt: &AssignStmt) -> Self::Out {
+        let lhs = self.visit_lhs_expr(&stmt.lhs)?;
+        let rhs = self.visit(&stmt.rhs)?;
+        Ok(ir::Stmt::Assign(lhs, rhs))
     }
 }
 
-impl Visit<Expr> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
+default_visitor!(Expr for TranslateAst<'_, '_> where Out = Result<ir::Expr>);
+
+impl Visit<BinExpr> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
     type Out = Result<ir::Expr>;
 
-    fn visit(&mut self, _expr: &Expr) -> Self::Out {
+    fn visit(&mut self, _expr: &BinExpr) -> Self::Out {
         todo!()
     }
 }
+
+impl Visit<UnExpr> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
+    type Out = Result<ir::Expr>;
+
+    fn visit(&mut self, _expr: &UnExpr) -> Self::Out {
+        todo!()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Visit<FunCallExpr> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
+    type Out = Result<ir::Expr>;
+
+    fn visit(&mut self, _expr: &FunCallExpr) -> Self::Out {
+        todo!()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Visit<IndexExpr> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
+    type Out = Result<ir::Expr>;
+
+    fn visit(&mut self, _expr: &IndexExpr) -> Self::Out {
+        todo!()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Visit<FunExpr> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
+    type Out = Result<ir::Expr>;
+
+    fn visit(&mut self, _expr: &FunExpr) -> Self::Out {
+        todo!()
+    }
+}
+
+impl Visit<BaseExpr> for TranslateAst<'_, '_> {
+    type Out = Result<ir::Expr>;
+
+    fn visit(&mut self, expr: &BaseExpr) -> Self::Out {
+        let base = match &expr.kind {
+            BaseExprKind::Ident => {
+                let _name = self
+                    .ctx
+                    .name_stack()
+                    .get_scoped(expr.text_at(self.text))
+                    .unwrap();
+                todo!()
+            }
+            BaseExprKind::Num => {
+                let num_text = expr.text_at(self.text);
+                let _num = if num_text.starts_with("0x") || num_text.starts_with("0X") {
+                    i64::from_str_radix(&num_text[2..], 16).unwrap()
+                } else {
+                    num_text.parse().unwrap()
+                };
+                todo!()
+            }
+            BaseExprKind::Str => todo!(),
+            BaseExprKind::Sym => {
+                let _sym = self
+                    .ctx
+                    .syms()
+                    .get(&expr.text_at(self.text)[1..])
+                    .unwrap();
+                todo!()
+            }
+            BaseExprKind::List(_) => todo!(),
+            BaseExprKind::Object(_) => todo!(),
+            BaseExprKind::Tuple(_) => todo!(),
+            BaseExprKind::Block(block) => ir::Expr::Block(
+                block
+                    .iter()
+                    .map(|stmt| self.visit(stmt))
+                    .collect::<Result<Vec<_>>>()?,
+            ),
+        };
+
+        Ok(base)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/compile/ctx.rs b/src/compile/ctx.rs
index bb2bfc6..5df72bc 100644
--- a/src/compile/ctx.rs
+++ b/src/compile/ctx.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
-use crate::{compile::name::NameStack, obj::Sym};
-use std::collections::HashMap;
+use crate::compile::{name::NameStack, sym::SymMap};
 
 pub struct Ctx {
     name_stack: NameStack,
-    syms: HashMap<String, Sym>,
+    syms: SymMap,
 }
 
 impl Ctx {
@@ -22,16 +21,11 @@ impl Ctx {
         &mut self.name_stack
     }
 
-    pub fn syms(&self) -> &HashMap<String, Sym> {
+    pub fn syms(&self) -> &SymMap {
         &self.syms
     }
 
-    pub fn syms_mut(&mut self) -> &mut HashMap<String, Sym> {
+    pub fn syms_mut(&mut self) -> &mut SymMap {
         &mut self.syms
     }
-
-    pub fn add_sym(&mut self, name: String) -> Sym {
-        let next_sym = self.syms().len();
-        *self.syms_mut().entry(name).or_insert(next_sym.into())
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/compile/ir.rs b/src/compile/ir.rs
index 2166878..a9948e0 100644
--- a/src/compile/ir.rs
+++ b/src/compile/ir.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-use crate::{obj::Sym, syn::span::*};
+use crate::obj::{NameId, Sym};
 
 pub type Body = Vec<Stmt>;
 
@@ -17,19 +17,9 @@ pub enum Lhs {
 #[derive(Debug, Clone)]
 pub enum Expr {
     Call(Box<Expr>, Vec<Expr>),
-    Base(BaseExpr),
-}
-
-#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
-pub enum BaseExprKind {
+    Block(Vec<Stmt>),
     Num(i64),
     Str(String),
     Sym(Sym),
-    Ident(Sym),
-}
-
-#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
-pub struct BaseExpr {
-    pub kind: BaseExprKind,
-    pub span: Span,
+    Ident(NameId),
 }
diff --git a/src/compile/mod.rs b/src/compile/mod.rs
index b3a325d..93c4c39 100644
--- a/src/compile/mod.rs
+++ b/src/compile/mod.rs
@@ -1,11 +1,9 @@
 #[macro_use]
 pub mod visit;
+pub mod attrs;
 pub mod block;
 pub mod ctx;
 pub mod error;
 pub mod ir;
 pub mod name;
-
-// * Desugar
-// * Collect names as symbols
-// * Create basic blocks
+pub mod sym;
diff --git a/src/compile/name.rs b/src/compile/name.rs
index 215c6a8..db5b67d 100644
--- a/src/compile/name.rs
+++ b/src/compile/name.rs
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ impl Visit<FunExpr> for CollectSyms<'_, '_> {
 
     fn visit(&mut self, expr: &FunExpr) -> Self::Out {
         expr.params.iter().for_each(|name| {
-            self.ctx.add_sym(name.clone());
+            self.ctx.syms_mut().add(name.clone());
         });
         self.visit(&expr.expr);
     }
@@ -249,11 +249,11 @@ impl Visit<BaseExpr> for CollectSyms<'_, '_> {
         match &expr.kind {
             BaseExprKind::Ident => {
                 let name = expr.text_at(self.text).to_string();
-                self.ctx.add_sym(name);
+                self.ctx.syms_mut().add(name);
             }
             BaseExprKind::Sym => {
                 let name = expr.text_at(self.text).chars().skip(1).collect::<String>();
-                self.ctx.add_sym(name);
+                self.ctx.syms_mut().add(name);
             }
             BaseExprKind::List(l) | BaseExprKind::Tuple(l) => {
                 l.iter().for_each(|expr| self.visit(expr))
diff --git a/src/compile/sym.rs b/src/compile/sym.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5fc58fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/compile/sym.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+use crate::obj::Sym;
+use std::collections::HashMap;
+
+#[derive(Default, Debug, Clone)]
+pub struct SymMap {
+    map: HashMap<String, Sym>,
+}
+
+impl SymMap {
+    pub fn new() -> Self {
+        Default::default()
+    }
+
+    pub fn add(&mut self, name: String) -> Sym {
+        let next_sym = self.map.len();
+        *self.map.entry(name)
+            .or_insert(next_sym.into())
+    }
+
+    pub fn get(&self, name: &str) -> Option<Sym> {
+        self.map.get(name).copied()
+    }
+
+    pub fn len(&self) -> usize {
+        self.map.len()
+    }
+
+    pub fn entry(&mut self, k: String) -> std::collections::hash_map::Entry<String, Sym> {
+        self.map.entry(k)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 39b1847..64c5c3e 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
     //println!("{:#?}", ast);
 
     let mut ctx = compile::ctx::Ctx::new();
-    compile::name::CollectSyms::new(&mut ctx, text.as_str()).collect(&ast);
+    { compile::name::CollectSyms::new(&mut ctx, text.as_str()).collect(&ast); }
     println!("{:#?}", ctx.syms());
 
     ctx.name_stack_mut().push_default();
diff --git a/src/mem/basic.rs b/src/mem/basic.rs
index 9ccef93..1a616de 100644
--- a/src/mem/basic.rs
+++ b/src/mem/basic.rs
@@ -47,26 +47,3 @@ impl Gc for BasicGc {
 //
 // This will probably require a custom `ObjClone` trait to achieve the desired behavior with a ctx
 // object
-
-/*
-#[test]
-fn test_gc_clone() {
-    use crate::{obj::{attrs::AttrsBuilder, ctx::DefaultGc, Attrs, ObjCtx}};
-
-    let mut ctx = ObjCtx::new(DefaultGc::default());
-
-    let empty_attrs = Attrs::new(&mut ctx, Default::default());
-
-    let empty_sym = ctx.gc_mut().add_sym("empty");
-    let attrs_source = AttrsBuilder::new(&mut ctx)
-        .attr_sym(empty_sym, empty_attrs.as_dyn())
-        .finish();
-
-    let attrs_clone = ctx.gc_mut().cloned(attrs_source.borrow());
-
-
-    assert!(!std::ptr::eq(attrs_source.as_ptr(), attrs_clone.as_ptr()));
-
-    let empty1 = attrs_source.borrow().get(empty_sym).unwrap();
-}
-*/
diff --git a/src/mem/mod.rs b/src/mem/mod.rs
index 2630792..430de81 100644
--- a/src/mem/mod.rs
+++ b/src/mem/mod.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ pub mod ptr;
 
 pub use basic::BasicGc;
 
+pub type DefaultGc = BasicGc;
+
 pub mod prelude {
     pub use crate::mem::{
         gc::Gc,
diff --git a/src/obj/attrs.rs b/src/obj/attrs.rs
index ddf17d6..68950b9 100644
--- a/src/obj/attrs.rs
+++ b/src/obj/attrs.rs
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ impl Attrs {
     pub fn new<G: Gc>(gc: &mut G, attrs: Ss) -> ObjRef<Self> {
         let obj: Box<ObjCell<Attrs>> = unsafe {
             let mut obj: Box<MaybeUninit<ObjCell<Attrs>>> = Box::new_uninit();
-            // maybe UB? taking away the uninit right before it's initialized may be bad
             let this = &*obj as *const _ as *const ObjCell<Attrs>;
 
             obj.as_mut_ptr().write(ObjCell::new(Attrs {
@@ -86,36 +85,6 @@ impl Obj for Attrs {
     }
 }
 
-pub struct AttrsBuilder<'i, I: Intern> {
-    intern: &'i mut I,
-    attrs: Ss,
-}
-
-impl<'i, I: Intern> AttrsBuilder<'i, I> {
-    pub fn new(intern: &'i mut I) -> Self {
-        Self::with_base(intern, Default::default())
-    }
-
-    pub fn with_base(intern: &'i mut I, attrs: Ss) -> Self {
-        AttrsBuilder { attrs, intern }
-    }
-
-    pub fn attr(self, symbol_name: &str, value: DynRef) -> Self {
-        let sym = self.intern.intern_sym(symbol_name);
-        self.attr_sym(sym, value)
-    }
-
-    pub fn attr_sym(mut self, sym: Sym, value: DynRef) -> Self {
-        self.attrs.insert(sym, value);
-        self
-    }
-
-    pub fn finish<G: Gc>(self, gc: &mut G) -> ObjRef<Attrs> {
-        let Self { intern: _, attrs } = self;
-        Attrs::new(gc, attrs)
-    }
-}
-
 #[test]
 fn test_attrs_new() {
     use crate::mem::BasicGc;
diff --git a/src/obj/ctx.rs b/src/obj/ctx.rs
index 280ca46..fcd4ebb 100644
--- a/src/obj/ctx.rs
+++ b/src/obj/ctx.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
 use crate::{
-    mem::{gc::Gc, BasicGc},
+    mem::gc::Gc,
     obj::prelude::*,
 };
 
-pub type DefaultGc = BasicGc;
-
 pub struct ObjCtx<'g, 'n, G>
 where
     G: Gc + 'g,
diff --git a/src/obj/mod.rs b/src/obj/mod.rs
index 16ec9af..65b5ca0 100644
--- a/src/obj/mod.rs
+++ b/src/obj/mod.rs
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ pub mod prelude {
 }
 
 pub use self::{
-    attrs::{Attrs, AttrsBuilder, AttrsRef},
+    attrs::{Attrs, AttrsRef},
     ctx::ObjCtx,
     dict::{Dict, DictRef},
     fun::{Fun, NativeFun},
diff --git a/src/vm/mod.rs b/src/vm/mod.rs
index 0325ff1..ab59422 100644
--- a/src/vm/mod.rs
+++ b/src/vm/mod.rs
@@ -8,31 +8,15 @@ use crate::{
 };
 use std::rc::Rc;
 
-/*
-fn root_ns<I: Intern, G: Gc>(intern: &mut I, gc: &mut G) -> Ns {
-    let mut ns: Ns = Default::default();
-    ns.insert(
-        intern.intern_sym("Unit"),
-        Attrs::new(gc, Default::default()),
-    );
-    ns
-}
-*/
-
-pub struct State<I: Intern, G: Gc> {
-    intern: I,
+pub struct State<G: Gc> {
     gc: G,
-    root_ns: Ns,
     frames: Vec<Frame>,
 }
 
-impl<I: Intern, G: Gc> State<I, G> {
-    pub fn new(intern: I, gc: G, root_ns: Ns) -> Self {
-        //let root_ns = root_ns(&mut intern, &mut gc);
+impl<G: Gc> State<G> {
+    pub fn new(gc: G) -> Self {
         State {
-            intern,
             gc,
-            root_ns,
             frames: Default::default(),
         }
     }