Mariner's Cove, La Mesa, & 1000 Refugees

MARINER’S COVE

And we’ve officially moved out of our first apartment that we lived in after moving to San Diego. To be honest, the past six months or so haven’t really been my fave and I think some change in scenery will be really, really good. But this was a great spot for us to live the past two years, and the fact that we found it so quickly was a sign that moving to town was the right call, even if it wasn’t an easy one.

Some stuff I’ll miss about this place:

• The parrots that lived in our trees. I loved watching their red heads and green bodies, even though most neighbors found them a nuisance.

• The truly diverse mix of neighbors we had. Military members, East African mothers, high schoolers on skateboards, surfers, OB hippies, retired couples, etc.

• My extremely easy commute to work and church driving along the coast.

• Being 10 min from Dog Beach. Not that we’ll be going any less. • How easy it was to pick out where we lived from an airplane window when flying out of town.

THE NEW DIGS

Here’s a little peek at our new digs and me lecturing Beignet on not getting too spoiled by the front yard.

We’re now in this little three part unit and I’m actually loving it. It feels like a little vacation site.

#lifeofbeignet

LA MESA

We are La Mesans now! At least for a moment. Here’s a quick digital drawing of a local coyote to celebrate.

Here’s our competition if we want to be the most famous La Mesans of all time:

🏈 Reggie Bush
⚾️ Aaron Boone
🏀 Bill Walton
🎤 Eddie Vedder
🗣 Dave from Megadeth/Metallica

1000 REFUGEES

Easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever done was spend four months in 2012 living in a van and touring the Midwest to raise awareness and funds to help rescue North Korean refugees.

Eight years later it’s still a cause close to my heart. I’m so thrilled to hear that @libertyinnorthkorea has now officially helped rescue 1,000 refugees- and I’m thrilled that I got to play the smallest little part in that.

WHAT JESUS NEVER SAID

“What Jesus never said: ‘Feed the hungry only if they have papers. Clothe the naked only if they’re from our country. Welcome the stranger only if there’s zero risk. Help the poor only if it’s convenient. Love your neighbor only if they look like you.’”

–Fr. James Martin, SJ

WORTHWHILE THINGS TAKE TIME

Worthwhile things take time.

Sometimes everything seems to happen all at once and other times everything feels painfully slow.

Behind every historical breakthrough are years of things moving beneath the surface. The same could be said about any personal breakthrough.

If whatever you’re doing is taking longer than expected, feel free to make adjustments and try new things. But don’t forget that sometimes there’s no substitute for patience and continuing to show up, even when progress is slower.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

One reality I find more and more important is how central of a role women play in big issues like poverty alleviation and environmental protection.

Thinking globally, much of the agricultural work and regular income generating activity being done in rural parts of Africa or Latin America is being done by women. Efforts like microfinance or sustainable agriculture are typically most effective when they have women’s concerns as a central part of their design.

My takeaway? There is no empowerment without women’s empowerment, and the women I’ve met around the world are village heroes.

#internationalwomensday

BEIGNET TURNS 4

Happy birthday to our Beignet. How are you already approximately four??

From grinning literally ear to ear for the weirdest of reasons, to being the best four legged road tripper, I’m so glad we get to have you as our doggy/doughnut. Fur real.

#lifeofbeignet

MARCH 2019

#60 Beignet’s Yard

01 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

Beignet’s getting pretty spoiled with the yard we’ve got in our temporary rental. To be fair, it’s a pretty great yard.

#61 Villainous Nephews

02 March 2019 // Bakersfield, California

We were put in charge of the nephews for the afternoon, so we turned them into Disney villains.

#62 The Pink Church

03 March 2019 // Bakersfield, California

Easily the pinkest church I have ever been to.

#63 Beignet’s New Digs

04 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

Here’s a little peek at our new digs and me lecturing Beignet on not getting too spoiled by the front yard.

We’re now in this little three part unit and I’m actually loving it. It feels like a little vacation site.

#lifeofbeignet

#64 Die Empty

05 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

“Die empty. You can’t take your ideas with you.”

– Todd Henry

This book puts into words some things I try to live by. I don’t want to end this life having left important words unsaid, encouraging things unwritten, creative works unmade, relationships unpursued, curiosities unexplored, or adventures unlived.

#65 Ash Wednesday

06 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

Taking a moment to memento mori during a week so full of changes and surprises is a little bit jarring, but perhaps all the more necessary. Thankful for Lent.

#66 Idaho + The Lucky Ones

07 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

Grabbed these two as the library was closing since I didn’t want to leave empty-handed. Both turned out to be solid choices.

#67 Michael & Jaime Visit

08 March 2019 // San Diego, California

So fun hanging out with these two at the bakery.

#68 Beignet Turns 4

09 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

Happy birthday to our Beignet. How are you already approximately four??

From grinning literally ear to ear for the weirdest of reasons, to being the best four legged road tripper, I’m so glad we get to have you as our doggy/doughnut. Fur real.

#lifeofbeignet

#69 CITRUS WALKWAY

10 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

Livin’ La Mesa loca.

#70 PAVARGA

11 March 2019 // Bonita, California

While driving Deanna to an errand, I tried looking for a simple coffee shop to get some work done. I ended up finding this spot in Bonita of all places that’s ran by a James Beard winning chef who worked for the White House kitchen of Clinton, Bush, and Obama.

I asked for their most basic coffee and got a cold brew that cost $6, but man was that cup really good. And it was sweetened with hapia which is my new favorite sweetener the few times I can manage to find it.

#71 life at the citrus house

12 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

In the end, we’ll remember this place as a spot where we didn’t live very long, but man did we have some big memories here.

#72 two years at plant with purpose

13 March 2019 // San Diego, California

Well, well. This week marks two years since I joined the Plant With Purpose team and started partnering with the coolest people like Dieula.

In some ways it feels like I’ve been around much longer, with how much of a connection I’ve built to our work. In other ways it feels like I’m just getting started. I do think I’m just getting started.

I could list endless things I’ve learned over those two years but here are three quick ones that resonate a lot right now:

🌿 Remember that the world is almost entirely made up of people just wanting the best for their families and neighbors. For every act of horror in the world there are a thousand unreported acts of good.

🌿 Urgency and patience. Patience and urgency. They seem like opposites but the real difference makers know how to act with both.

🌿 Everybody can bring something to the table. Different skill sets and work styles are a strength. Build a diverse team. Don’t hold back your perspective and respect the takes of others. Captain Planet ain’t gonna show up if your powers don’t combine.

#73 heart

14 March 2019 // San Diego, California

Today was an all time great. I’ll explain why later. And I’ll also have to replace the pic above!

#74 viva la mesa

15 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

La Mesa’s been an interesting spot to live, at least for the short little time we’ve been here. I do have a few favorites in the neighborhood, in case you were wondering:

Farmer’s Table is one of my favorite restaurants in San Diego, period. It isn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for since they source the best ingredients. I ordered a grilled octopus dish there last week that made me crave octopus for like a week straight afterwards.

Fourpenny House is the coolest little Scottish Alehouse in town. You’re lucky if your city has a single Scottish joint, and that makes La Mesa one of the lucky ones. Their lamb stew and fish & chips are fantastic, and I’m a huge fan of the Scottish ale they brew in house.

Maxwell’s House of Books is always a good spot to go on a treasure hunt for your next read. There’s something so fun about a used bookstore.

I associate Bo + Beau with Ocean Beach and City Tacos with North Park. But they are two of my favorite San Diego restaurants and they both have locations out in La Mesa. So that’s good news!

Also, all these things are like a five minute walk from each other. So even more bonus points for that.

#75 beach day for beignet

16 March 2019 // Coronado, California

Beignet spent a week depressed and slow after we moved, which is so not like her that it got scary.

But the sun was in full force this weekend and we took her to the beach. We can all safely confirm that she is back in puppy mode!

#76 catapult books

17 March 2019 // San Diego, California

While I still think San Diego really needs to step up its bookstore game, Catapult is one of the bright spots. Love coming in here to have a good look around.

#77 office globe

18 March 2019 // San Diego, California

Low key afternoons in the office make me happy.

#78 how neighborhoods make us sick

19 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

The life expectancy for poorer neighborhoods in Philadelphia is twenty years shorter than it is in the city’s more affluent areas. There’s a similar trend in Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, and just about every major American city.

I’ve seen the strong correlation between GDP and life expectancy when looking at a chart of different countries. It shouldn’t be a big surprise when the same trend holds true for urban US neighborhoods.

Good hospitals, doctors, and insurance are important, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Access to good food, safe housing, reliable transportation, employment, and other factors all contribute to a community’s health.

I really appreciated this read. Such an important and really insightful way to connect the dots between poverty and health.

#79 severance

20 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

This book, unfortunately, had a little bit of an unsatisfying ending. The concept was still pretty interesting, though.

#80 liberty club

21 March 2019 // San Diego, California

These days seem packed lately, but they’re also full of light.

#81 drive to the bay

22 March 2019 // Los Banos, California

On our way to the bay.

On our way to a boat on the bay.

#82 thirty, flying, & crying

23 March 2019 // San Francisco, California

We made it everybody! Thirty, flirting, and dying.

Good birthday @dannyyumyum, may the worst case scenarios you’re always ready for never come true.

#83 caytlin at philz

24 March 2019 // San Francisco, California

We need more weekends like these.

#84 soggy donut

25 March 2019 // San Diego, California

Look who got a blueberry facial today.

#85 sea prayer

26 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

Khaled Hosseni’s not-just-for-children’s book is amazing, heartbreaking and tender. 

#86 interview with geoff hsu

27 March 2019 // San Diego, California

When I met Geoff Hsu at Cultivate Gathering, I knew I had to get him to appear on a podcast episode. His ability to talk about the Theology of Work always leads to some amazing discussions.

#87 the female persuasion + the sympathizer

28 March 2019 // La Mesa, California

The Female Persuasion - I liked this read much more than I anticipated. The characters were easy to root for. (4/5)

The Sympathizer - I really wanted to like this more than I actually did. Reminds me of The Orphan Masters Son in that regard. (2/5)

#88 interview with abdul

29 March 2019 // San Diego, California

1) Make a friend from Mozambique

2) Learn a lot about the country, its beauty, the islands, and how its recovering after the cyclone over Chipotle.

3) Record a podcast together.

I don’t know what step four is, but hopefully its a visit to Mozambique.

#89 MARLBOROUGH MOVE-IN

30 March 2019 // San Diego, California

Wow. The past few months have been eventful, unpredictable, and so full of change. Today we moved into the condo we bought- our first.

#90 YELLOW SHIRTS

31 March 2019 // San Diego, California

We swear our church isn’t a cult with yellow uniforms.

Cultivate, Haiti Now, & Bryce Harper

CULTIVATE GATHERING

Lead us to the end of us versus them.

I spent the past weekend at #cultivategathering getting to hear from a wide range of folks who have been helpful voices in helping me turn my faith into action over the years... plus a few new friends.

““If the place where you’ve been placed in doesn’t prosper, you don’t prosper.””

— Leroy Barber

““The more we break bread together, the harder it is for us to see things as us versus them.””

— Jonathan Brooks

Challenged to lament over the things that harm them, since lament isn’t exactly an easy practice for me. Reenergized to keep trying to build proximity to our neighbors, especially the ones who are hurting.

HAITI NOW

Haiti is not an easy place to live. And it’s had a pretty rough 2019 thus far.

Tumultuous demonstrations have put the country on lockdown, after a few people were killed. Prices of food took a huge spike. A portion of rice for two went from 35 gourdes to 60. And that doesn’t include veggies, protein, or cooking oil. It’s common for Haitians to earn 200 gourdes a day. If you’re not one of the 40% who are underemployed/unemployed.

I’ve heard most rhythms of life have gone back to normalcy now but the underlying issues haven’t been addressed.

I’m all about stories of hope- especially from places like Haiti. But the Haitian people I met last year really helped me learn that hope isn’t about feeling good. It’s about owning the difficulty around you and persisting anyways.

What is there to do? Believe in the Haitian people, believe they deserve better, and listen to their voices.

Here’s a schoolgirl named Shara:

“I am angry because I can’t go to school. The situation in the country makes me afraid and sometimes I cry. The protests make it impossible for my mom or us to go anywhere. The situation is very bad for us. And we can’t find money.”

As a resource I highly recommend checking out Nadia Todres’ twitter account. Especially from about a week ago. The quote and info above just scratch the surface of her girl-centered portraiture and human-centered reporting.

SPILLER PARK

The design lover and baseball fan in me loves the way Spiller Park in Atlanta commits to their hardballin’ with some golden era baseball cards for their team members.

Speaking of, I’m getting restless for MLB games to start. Spring Training is nice and all, but I’m also really ready for Bryce Harper to land somewhere so I can figure out how I feel about this whole season.

you’re doing great

PSA: You’re doing a great job.

We don’t say this to each other nearly enough, and I’ve become more aware of that lately. Trying to get better at saying it too.

At any given moment, the person next to you is rising up to meet all kinds of challenges, doing difficult things for the people they love. Or hey, maybe that’s you.

It feeds back so much strength when our challenges are seen and our response is recognized. If we all knew the challenges each other were taking on, there would be much more high fiving going around.

FEBRUARY’S OVER!

February 2019 is officially over and it’s hard for me to overstate how good it feels to be DONE with that month.

Two weeks ago, we had no idea where we’d be living by today. Our lease ended yesterday, and after Plan A-F fell apart, it was crunch time to figure that out. Oh, and we’d also have to orchestrate a move with Deanna on crutches and me being the only driver for a while.

There were some other bits of chaos too, but now I can say, it was rough, we figured it out, and it’s all over. I won’t miss it that much.

bryce harper

WAIT IS OVER.

Yesterday was a long one. It was the only day of overlap between our old apartment and our new spot, meaning I had about eight hours to clean up and move.

So, in the middle of all that, imagine how much of a thrill it was to get this update on my phone.

For you baseball fans, that’s a starting lineup that now reads McCutchen, Segura, Harper, Hoskins, Realmuto, Odubel, etc. Being a Phillies fan hasn’t been the easiest thing over the past six seasons, but things are looking way up.

(Here’s hoping this patience testing but ultimately rewarding saga is a metaphor for how my life turns out after last month.)

MARINER’S COVE

And we’ve officially moved out of our first apartment that we lived in after moving to San Diego. To be honest, the past six months or so haven’t really been my fave and I think some change in scenery will be really, really good. But this was a great spot for us to live the past two years, and the fact that we found it so quickly was a sign that moving to town was the right call, even if it wasn’t an easy one.

Some stuff I’ll miss about this place:

• The parrots that lived in our trees. I loved watching their red heads and green bodies, even though most neighbors found them a nuisance.

• The truly diverse mix of neighbors we had. Military members, East African mothers, high schoolers on skateboards, surfers, OB hippies, retired couples, etc.

• My extremely easy commute to work and church driving along the coast.

• Being 10 min from Dog Beach. Not that we’ll be going any less. • How easy it was to pick out where we lived from an airplane window when flying out of town.

Scrimshaw Coffee, DIY Oscars, & Known Supply

DRAWING CONNECTIONS

One of the best podcast episodes I heard in the past month was a little back and forth conversation between @davidchang and @shadkmusic on how the food scene reflects the personality of different cities in a way that runs parallel to how hip hop evolves geographically.

I get really excited when I notice parallel lines between two things that previously seemed disconnected. Baseball and racial justice. Movies and Ignatian spirituality. Beer and linguistics.

I used to think having a mix of such different interests was a challenge, because its typically a tough sell. But then you have something like Hamilton: hip hop and Broadway and American history. An odd combination of wildly different curiosities creates some of the strongest creative DNA.

I think it’s probably because I believe deep down everything is connected and meaningful, and because I don’t mind spending large chunks of my life pulling at different threads.

THIS IS ALSO LIFE

Behold, a gallery of what life looks like these days:

Falling behind on my reading list, but liking the stuff I’ve been reading.
Trying to get work done despite having a lot less time in office than usual.
Eating copious amounts of pho.
Loving the rain in San Diego and wanting it to last.
Escape rooms, open houses, and packing, while Deanna only gets to use one leg.
Strategic planning at work, strategic planning at church, and at home too.
The Umbrella Academy on Netflix.

This month has been absurd. And I don’t think I’ll miss it that much once all the dust has settled. In spite of all that, a lot of good things have been happening that I’ll be thankful for in the long run.

plant with purpose x known supply

A heathered gray tee with a clean, unaltered @plantwpurpose logo on it seems like a simple thing to make. But you’d be surprised.

I went through several manufacturers to try and get it just right. One printed them on stiff, unappealing tees, with the ink feeling like a thick layer of paint on top. Many had trouble getting the heathered, soft look down, and that makes all the difference.

I have a few simple black-on-gray tees and the ones made from the right stuff have been wardrobe staples for close to a decade. I keep wearing them and they kind of get better with age.

Then I figured, why not reach out to somebody I really like to produce these tees? Enter @knownsupply. You may have been acquainted with with them when they were @krochetkids. They’ve gone from making beanies to trying to take anonymity out of clothing production.

Every shirt is handsigned by the woman who made it. And you can go online to look up her story. Mine was made by Rocio in Peru. 🇵🇪 Ethical manufacturing gives her an opportunity.

Want to cop a shirt? Check out the link in my bio. So glad to make a brand partnership between Plant With Purpose and Known Supply a reality.

YOUR IMPACT

Many of us live like we were just born into a time and culture and now we’ve got to play by its rules. If it’s a culture of fear we live in, well then, that’s the hand we’re dealt. If it’s a divisive and polarized time we live in, then we’ll just try to avoid the scary conversations and carry on.

Except that’s not the whole story.

Every single person is affected by their time and culture. But every single person affects their time and culture as well.

Even if you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except the most average, typical, predictable things that the majority of other people around you are doing, you will have contributed to the status quo. And often the status quo isn’t a great one.

Thinking about things this way reminds me that there’s really no such thing as neutral. It encourages me to challenge harmful ideas, even if that comes at a cost. It encourages me to sacrifice comforts for other people’s freedom.

If you’re silent about things that matter, then you help ensure things won’t change. If you’re inactive to the needs of others, then you keep an object at rest resting.

Don’t think that if you don’t start a revolution of some sort you won’t have an impact on the world. All of us will. The question is what kind of impact.

fight ignorance

When there are scary things happening, uncertain times, or an atmosphere of conflict, whose voices do you catch yourself listening to?

Do you listen to those in power? Good leadership matters, but many know that few things can rally votes as well as fear.

Do you listen to the headlines? Good information matters, but many know few things can grab attention as well as shock.

Or do you listen to the people who are directly affected? The ones who feel the effects of the stuff you read about. The people on the ground, on the frontlines.

When people are hurting, we have the chance to rush in and ask how we can help. And when we do this, there is far more to be gained than there is to fear.

scrimshaw coffee

While life’s been on the crazy side lately I’ve been working out of the office and away from home quite a bit. San Diego’s got a lot of cool coffee spots so I could think of a lot worse solutions.

Here are my tips to being a good coffee shop worker:

• Please buy something. As businesses, a specialty roaster is tough to run. Don’t just leech off of curated space.

• If you bring a power strip, you will be everybody’s hero.

• If you bring a friendly dog to a dog friendly joint, you will also be everybody’s hero.

• You don’t need to be a full blown coffee snob in order to appreciate the ethical and environmental concerns that go into a mug. Honestly, I can only taste the difference between brews if one is reallllly good or reallllly bad, so I let things like shade grown or single source make more decisions for me.

• Going to the same spots means recognizing more familiar faces. That may or may not make it harder to get work done eventually.

• Lots of coffee shops have cool branding and merch, but unless you work there, it is a bit like wearing a band’s swag at their show.

diy oscars

If you wanna watch a bunch of movies from last year that are, in my opinion, much better than Green Book, Vice, Bohemian Rhapsody, and A Star is Born put together, might I suggest the short list below:

🇲🇽 Roma
🙅🏿‍♂️ Black Panther
🛤 Won’t You Be My Neighbor
🀄️ Crazy Rich Asians
🕸 Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse
🏤 If Beale Street Could Talk
🌾 Happy as Lazzaro
🧗🏻‍♂️ Free Solo
🔥 Burning
👨🏽‍💻 Searching

And since I pretty regularly disagree with the Academy, I made my own awards. Best Villain and Best Trailer should definitely get awards. So should the movie that most makes me want to be a better person. I want to also make an award for the most mouthwatering scene but I’m having trouble thinking of competition for the food cart scene in Crazy Rich Asians.

Hunting for Home, Showing Some Love, & Nael

TAHOE PATCH

One man’s work is another man’s play. Pulling up an Adobe product and jamming on it for a little bit is actually how I wind down. Here’s a travel patch I made for Lake Tahoe just for fun. Would be a blast to get these made for everywhere I go.

HUNTING FOR HOME

A little update: this month is something else.

Our lease is up on the 28th and we still don’t have a real solid idea of where we’ll end up then. We’ve been shopping around for a home, but it’s looking like that whole process hit a few snags and won’t happen right away. (And it’s definitely not gonna be the house in this picture, though it would make for a great fixer.)

We also haven’t started the packing up process I’m not looking forward to. Especially because...

Deanna injured her leg and can’t put weight on it for another month or so. I’ve been driving her to and from work, sometimes taking an hour and a half each way because of the traffic in between our offices. When it comes to house and dog chores, it’s like we’re playing with ten guys on the field and the missing one is Messi.

So that’s life right now. Everything that isn’t on fire is on pause. It’s a lot, but I like to think of it like a high intensity workout for the spirit. Thankful that I have the ability to step up to help out more these days. Thankful that we can even think about housing in a city as tough to afford as San Diego. Thankful that bones heal (cause how much would it suck if they didn’t?)

All that to say, when February is over, I think I’ll treat myself to a poke bowl.

SHOW SOME LOVE

Good day to show some love.

Made this little reminder for two good reasons.

First, it’s Valentine’s Day and no matter what you’ve got going on in that department, you’re worthy of some Love.

Second, I was listening to @perspectivepodcast and @prspctv_cllctvgave us the challenge to go show some love with shoutouts to three of our favorite creatives.

Most podcasts I listen to don’t assign homework. But I like this assignment. And it’ll be tough to keep it at 3. But here we go!

1️⃣ @bradmontague - constantly making things that are so full of heart. And Brad is just as fantastic offline too.

2️⃣ I’ve been really digging @toddhenry’s Daily Creative Podcast. It’s a quick 3 minute listen full of really good insight on doing creative and meaningful work.

3️⃣ I also wanted to shoutout somebody I knew IRL who I think does work more folks should be familiar with, @garyware - his mission to remind us to play more is as fun as it sounds.

There are also so many others. I should do these lists more often. Maybe I will!

VALENTINE’S 2019

Life has been all kinds of chaos lately but tonight we had pie.

Aussie meat pie and guava hand pie and guava cider and mango sticky rice ice cream and heavy rains and roses.

Thankful that even when life is mostly chaos, I’ve got the best teammate to steady the ship with.

BEHOLD THE DREAMERS

“It's the fear that kills us. Sometimes it happens and it's not even as bad as the fear. That is what I have learned in this life. It is the fear.”

This was a good read and I needed a good novel.

Immigrant fiction isn’t new. The Joy Luck Club and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent have been around awhile. But the past decade has been such a boom for this subgenre. It could have its own canon.

I’d start with Americanah, We Need New Names, Everything I Never Told You, The Leavers, American Born Chinese, and this book. And probably so many more.

These more recent ones are less about feeling cut off from home and are more about being a person with two places that wear that name, each with their good and bad. That’s a fascinating reflection about how the immigrant experience keeps evolving.

NAEL

Allow me to introduce, Nael-

“Before, a lot of people here earned money by rushing sugar over the Dominican border. This was too dangerous,” he told me.

Nael decided the better way to earn a living was through farming, but it wasn’t necessarily easier. He told me he would work from 7 in the morning to 7 in the evening and earn 20 Haitian gourdes.

I had to do the conversion in my head. He was working 12 hour days for the equivalent of 34 cents.

He and his wife have eight kids. Some live over in Port Au Prince. Nael lived there too for a short while, but went back to his home village because things improved. As he learned sustainable agriculture techniques and as reforestation improved his village’s soil, he increased his earnings bit by bit.

Now he employs 14 people.

Sending love out to the people of Haiti as things have gotten intense there this month. Several people have been killed during demonstrations. It’s a complex scenario, but the Haitians who keep moving forward in spite of everything are some of the most resilient people I’ve ever met.

THE PARADOX OF DESIRE

An idea I’m recently obsessed with lately is called the paradox of desire. Esther Perel explains that the desire for intimacy is experienced when there’s a little bit of space for attraction to take hold.

“It needs a bridge to cross and someone on the other side. It needs me to want to be curious about the other person,” she puts it.

This mostly refers to sexual intimacy, but I think it also applies to the relationship we have with life.

On a day to day basis, the routines of living obscure the sense of wonder that life really is. But the moments where we get to zoom out are the best reminders. They help us realize that all the other parts, the little things, the chores and the lazy Sundays, they’re also notes in the middle part of a symphony.

This Dog Loves Snow, Best Tacos in Town, & Appertivo Hour

MEEMAW LIVES

This miracle of a little animal somehow survived the weekend.

THIS DOG LOVES SNOW

I freaking love how much this dog loves the snow. Opted to drive the distance to Tahoe instead of flying there largely so we could watch her rub her face in it while lobbing snowballs at her.

APERTIVO HOUR

These days, I eat dinner at around 6:30, but I used to eat much later than that, as a lot of Southern Europeans do. That feels more natural to me, and allows for more socializing in the early evening.

Aperitivo hour is the Italian tradition of grabbing a light drink and maybe some small bites or charcuterie in the earlier evening to bridge the gap and to socialize with people.

Apertivo refers to both the event and the drink, which can really be anything. Lighter drinks are more ideal; vermouths, spritzes, saisons, and crodino with bitters are my faves, but to me, the most important piece is the social aspect and being around good people.

ILHAN OMAR

Going from feeling helpless to feeling hopeful and empowered is one of the most important shifts a person can make.

MEANINGFUL WORK

What makes for meaningful work? I read a business article that said the three things it came down to were freedom, being challenged, and having a direct link between effort and payoff.

Those are great things, though I would have chosen three other things:

Making a sufficient living.

Making work that feels true to you.

Making a lasting impact on the world.

My upcoming project focuses on how to put these three things together and do your best work. Sign up via the link in my profile to get the heads up when it’s released.

MEANINGFUL WORK

No leg injury is gonna slow us down from living in the moment and eating some tacos.

Deanna messed her knee up rock climbing a few weeks ago, but we remain committed to figuring out who has the best tacos in town by way of a 32 seed bracket.

Check my stories for the latest matchups this weekend between a couple PB faves and a couple North Park faves. Taco Madness marches onward.

URGENCY AND PATIENCE

Live with urgency. Live with patience.

If you can figure out how to make room for these two seemingly contradictory things, you’ll do good.

Live with the awareness that life is short. Love like there’s no tomorrow. Embrace the urgency of human suffering, injustice, poverty, and environmental threats.

But be patient. Know that small steps can complete a journey. Know that lasting change doesn’t happen overnight, and that making an impact takes commitment.

Urgency and patience. Make good friends with them both.

FEBRUARY 2019

#32 Wheelin’ Thru Target

01 February 2019 // San Diego, California

We had some Target errands to run, so Deanna surprised me with how well she could Tokyo Drift around the store on one of their shopper wheelchairs. (She injured her knee rock climbing and can’t put any weight on it for several weeks.)

#33 Mentone Street

02 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Didn’t let the rain stop us for getting out to a couple open houses over the weekend.

#34 Live in the Moment

03 February 2019 // San Diego, California

No leg injury is gonna slow us down from living in the moment and eating some tacos.

Deanna messed her knee up rock climbing a few weeks ago, but we remain committed to figuring out who has the best tacos in town by way of a 32 seed bracket.

Check my stories for the latest matchups this weekend between a couple PB faves and a couple North Park faves. Taco Madness marches onward.

#35 Desk View

04 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Trying to make a messy desk brighter.

#36 Scrimshaw

05 February 2019 // San Diego, California

I’ve been at an increasing amount of offsite workspaces lately, AKA coffee shops. It’s been a good month for trying to discover a bunch of new ones. Here’s a new discovery I enjoyed: Scrimshaw Coffee.

#37 Streets of Lemon Grove

06 February 2019 // Lemon Grove, California

My temporary daily commute is a long one, but it’s kinda pretty too.

#38 Work At Brew

07 February 2019 // La Mesa, California

Back at it working at coffee shops once again. This time: Brew Coffee.

#39 Hector & Kaitlin

08 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Pho with friends, plus the spontaneous purchase of some Vampire Weekend tickets.

#40 Recycling Redemption

09 February 2019 // National City, California

Just took over an entire porch’s worth of bottles and cans to redeem for cash… basically everything Deanna and I drank over the span of a year.

The prize? $16.88

We’ve been saving this cash to treat ourselves to a nice dinner paid for by bottles since we got married. I think we’re pretty close!

#41 Beware of Dog

10 February 2019 // San Diego, California

I’m gonna be real happy when this whole housing ordeal is over with.

#42 Behold the Dreamers

11 February 2019 // San Diego, California

“It's the fear that kills us. Sometimes it happens and it's not even as bad as the fear. That is what I have learned in this life. It is the fear.”

This was a good read and I needed a good novel.

Immigrant fiction isn’t new. The Joy Luck Club and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent have been around awhile. But the past decade has been such a boom for this subgenre. It could have its own canon.

I’d start with Americanah, We Need New Names, Everything I Never Told You, The Leavers, American Born Chinese, and this book. And probably so many more.

These more recent ones are less about feeling cut off from home and are more about being a person with two places that wear that name, each with their good and bad. That’s a fascinating reflection about how the immigrant experience keeps evolving.

#43 Sorting Books

12 February 2019 // San Diego, California

How does one prepare to move?

If you’re me, you start by organizing all your books with some system only you understand.

#44 Show Some Love

13 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Good day to show some love.

Made this little reminder for two good reasons.

First, it’s almost Valentine’s Day and no matter what you’ve got going on in that department, you’re worthy of some Love.

Second, I was listening to @perspectivepodcast and @prspctv_cllctv gave us the challenge to go show some love with shoutouts to three of our favorite creatives.

Most podcasts I listen to don’t assign homework. But I like this assignment. And it’ll be tough to keep it at 3. But here we go!

1️⃣ @bradmontague - constantly making things that are so full of heart. And Brad is just as fantastic offline too.

2️⃣ I’ve been really digging @toddhenry’s Daily Creative Podcast. It’s a quick 3 minute listen full of really good insight on doing creative and meaningful work.

3️⃣ I also wanted to shoutout somebody I knew IRL who I think does work more folks should be familiar with, @garyware - his mission to remind us to play more is as fun as it sounds.

There are also so many others. I should do these lists more often. Maybe I will!

#45 Valentines Day 2019

14 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Life has been all kinds of chaos lately but tonight we had pie.

Aussie meat pie and guava hand pie and guava cider and mango sticky rice ice cream and heavy rains and roses.

Thankful that even when life is mostly chaos, I’ve got the best teammate to steady the ship with.

#46 Stray Dog

15 February 2019 // San Diego, California

I decided to work the last part of my day from a coffee shop. Walking back to my car, I crossed paths with this sweet girl. No owner, just a dog taking a stroll. I thought it was just a bit odd and she looked like she could use a hand, so I let her in the backseat and went to pick up Deanna.

We turned her in to the humane society. But we’ve got a finder’s hold on her. So this story has a happy ending either way. Either she’s reunited with her owners or Beignet gets a new sister.

#47 Friend to Strays

16 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Earning this badge this week. Patch by: @frogandtoadpress

#48 Red Truck on Marlborough

17 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Went to a couple of open houses in this neighborhood and man, found some at a real good price!

#49 Charcuterie 21

18 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Tried not to eat this entire spread until my parents showed up at the restaurant. Failed.

#50 Harborview

19 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Taking this in as a quiet moment that breaks up a ridiculous week.

#51 Moniker Workday

20 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Thankful to have a squad of volunteers making my work life way better this month.

#52 Ready to Move

21 February 2019 // San Diego, California

I don’t know too many fans of moving.

#53 Cultivate Gathering

22 February 2019 // San Diego, California

“If the place where you’ve been placed in doesn’t prosper, you don’t prosper.”
–@leroybarber

Challenged to lament over the things that harm them, since lament isn’t exactly an easy practice for me. Reenergized to keep trying to build proximity to our neighbors, especially the ones who are hurting.

#54 Jonathan Brooks

23 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Lead us to the end of us versus them.
I spent the past weekend at #cultivategathering getting to hear from a wide range of folks who have been helpful voices in helping me turn my faith into action over the years... plus a few new friends.

“The more we break bread together, the harder it is for us to see things as us versus them.”
–@pastahj

#55 Dog Runs

24 February 2019 // San Diego, California

A dog park on a Sunday is tough to compete with.

#56 Storage Units

25 February 2019 // San Diego, California

I used to hold it as a source of pride that I didn’t need a storage unit… if you have so much stuff that your place can’t hold it all, you probably have too much stuff!

But now, I’m moving twice in two months and this unit is saving me a whole bunch of trouble. My new point of pride is how well I Tetris’ed this whole closet.

#57 10 Years of Corbyn

26 February 2019 // San Diego, California

Got to celebrate ten years of a great coworker raising the bar at Plant With Purpose.

#58 Yay, February’s Ending!

27 February 2019 // San Diego, California

February 2019 is officially over and it’s hard for me to overstate how good it feels to be DONE with that month.

Two weeks ago, we had no idea where we’d be living by today. Our lease ended yesterday, and after Plan A-F fell apart, it was crunch time to figure that out. Oh, and we’d also have to orchestrate a move with Deanna on crutches and me being the only driver for a while.

There were some other bits of chaos too, but now I can say, it was rough, we figured it out, and it’s all over. I won’t miss it that much.

#59 Mariners Cove

28 February 2019 // San Diego, California

And we’ve officially moved out of our first apartment that we lived in after moving to San Diego. To be honest, the past six months or so haven’t really been my fave and I think some change in scenery will be really, really good. But this was a great spot for us to live the past two years, and the fact that we found it so quickly was a sign that moving to town was the right call, even if it wasn’t an easy one.

Some stuff I’ll miss about this place:

• The parrots that lived in our trees. I loved watching their red heads and green bodies, even though most neighbors found them a nuisance.

• The truly diverse mix of neighbors we had. Military members, East African mothers, high schoolers on skateboards, surfers, OB hippies, retired couples, etc.

• My extremely easy commute to work and church driving along the coast.

• Being 10 min from Dog Beach. Not that we’ll be going any less.

• How easy it was to pick out where we lived from an airplane window when flying out of town.

Tahoe, Maggie Rogers, & Female Farmer Pins

TAHOE

I love all kinds of trips. Backpacking trips. Work trips. Romantic trips. Sitting around a beach with a book kinds of trips. These days, though, my favorite kind of trip looks a lot more like getting a whole bunch of good people under one cozy roof with food, drinks, games, and stories and letting the weekend write itself.

Getting more than three people’s schedules to all line up almost always feels like some sort of wizardry, but I’m okay thinking of last weekend on those terms.

When all your really good friends live hundreds of miles apart, destination weekends really are pretty magical.

WRITING AGAIN

I'll be honest, I've had a challenging time over the past few years putting into words exactly how it is that I want to help people.

Here's what I knew: For years, I wanted a career in international development. I loved to travel and to interact across cultures, and I wanted to do something that confronted the messed-up things going on around the world I kept hearing about. I also knew I wanted a career and a life that integrated well, one that allowed me to apply creativity and storytelling. And now, that's exactly what I get to do every day.

Here's what I've discovered: I'm ready to share everything I've learned in the process of getting there. Everything that I wish I knew earlier.

I used to write a lot. About my travels, about things I learned about justice, and about how they applied to current events. Then I stopped. I ran out of things to say that felt necessary. At least for a while.

But things have shifted again. I'm writing again. And I can't wait to share.

I've been brainstorming more, writing more, and planning a whole bunch. Specifically, I've got two projects coming out later in the year that I've been planning for months. I'll be launching materials designed to help you find ways to work with purpose, to make a sustainable impact, and to travel and share stories ethically and responsibly.

I'll share some bits here on the 'gram, but not everything. I need to save room for puppy photos of Beignet and those great taquerias I keep discovering. If you share my interest in the nonprofit world, in social startups, in travel, in creative work, in advocacy, or most of all, some combination of those things, I'd love to have you sign up to get updates as soon as they roll out. Follow this link, and let's do this!

WEEKEND IN TAHOE

Still feeling pretty good with the help of last weekend.

MAGGIE ROGERS

Based on the one month sample size of January, I’m guessing 2019’s gonna be a year full of fun music. And I’m guessing Maggie Rogers is a good representation of what I’ve been into lately- uncomplicated and sincere fun. That’s kind of what I’m craving from life in general right now

BONJOUR!

Bonjour friends!

It’s been a minute, so here’s a little intro by way of a few odd things about yours truly:

🗂

At different points as a student, I wanted to be a graphic designer, a filmmaker, a speaker, a geneticist, a leader of a nonprofit, a journalist, and a constant traveler who still managed to somehow have an income. That and probably a few other things I’m forgetting.

 
I ended up being Creative Director at an international nonprofit and I end up doing a little bit of all these different activities. Except for the geneticist stuff, but 26 out of 27 ish things isn’t bad.

📰

I’ve ran a newsletter for a couple years that’s currently on a bit of a hiatus, while I revamp it int something even bigger. My aim is to help people like myself who are trying to put together a bunch of different interests into a life that also serves other people. There’s a link in my bio to sign up to get it once it goes live.

🐕

One of the traits that I most admire in other people is resilience a straight up refusal to give up. Coupled with the willingness to adapt and try other means of getting to the same goal, of course.

I try and practice that in my own life and while that usually looks like stubbornly insisting I can squeeze into an unlikely parking space than anything heroic, I try to approach everything from a resolve not to give up.

FREELY GIVE, FREELY RECEIVE

Freely give, freely receive.

Whether it comes to finances, knowledge, opportunities, connections, resources, or anything else, I feel like it’s a good idea to keep a hand open and to hold things loosely.

It’s tempting to hold on to things tightly- to be convinced in the scarcity of things and to not want to let go. It’s also sometimes hard to receive things, even good things, whenever they don’t match our expectations.

I’m trying to live more open handed. I want to be more resilient to when things don’t go exactly to plan and more open to what can happen instead. I want to be wildly generous when it comes to giving away knowledge and resources I know can help other people.

It’s not easy but I try and live my life by a rhythm of freely giving and receiving as much as possible.

FEMALE FARMER PINS

Something I’ve always wanted to make? Enamel pins! I love the way a good pin collection looks coming together and I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making one.

Last month, I started the process of revamping @plantwpurpose’s merch and had a chance to put this piece into production. 

Female farmers are the backbone of the developing world. When they rise, poverty drops like no other. Two thirds of the participants in our African programs are women, and when you invest in women, entire communities are lifted as a result.

Check out this link if you want to order one. The proceeds from each pin go towards women’s empowerment via sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship training.

Alaska Invitations, The Wonder, & That Minivan Life

HOME IS HOME

Home is home.

A bunch of trees in our neighborhood fell over last night and did some serious damage. All it took was 25 MPH winds, and the pines in the area were tall and heavy, but ultimately had shallow roots. ⠀ If that’s not the perfect metaphor…

I could happily live as a nomad forever, always changing scenery, trading one hub for the next. I did that for years. But I know my best work comes with a home base.

I know what home feels like. To come home from an epic journey abroad or out of state, happy to be greeted by the buildings that line the road from the airport, the street signs in their quirky font and color.

I remember feeling that way about Santa Barbara after stints abroad. After a long adventure, it felt like coming back to my people, my place, my story that had some plot lines to get back to.

It’s been years since I’ve felt that about anywhere and if I’m honest, I’m just not there yet with San Diego. One of my big goals this year is to try and get there. ⠀ Every now and then I catch glimpses of that feeling. Increasingly familiar faces at church. Afternoon hikes. Spots where you can see the skyline from a distance.

MLK

Happy MLK Day everybody. Keep chasing Justice.

I’m LOVING the thoughts below, Clint Smith III shared earlier today:

If you’re doing an MLK day service project, consider bringing a King-level analysis to it. For example, don’t just serve lunch at a soup kitchen, interrogate why we allow millions of ppl to live in poverty in the first place. ⠀ King’s legacy isn’t about charity, it’s about justice.

The Wonder

Completely tore through this book in pretty much two sittings. This one follows a nurse assigned to observe a young Irish girl who allegedly no longer needs food. At first I wondered if this book would just be repeated scenes of the nurse expressing her skepticism and checking her vitals, but then things really, really pick up.

“Your body- every body is a marvel. A wonder of creation... the day you first opened your eyes, Anna, God asked just one thing. That you live.”

Ethiopia Launch

I’ve been falling in love with Ethiopia at a distance for a good while now. @plantwpurpose is launching its newest program there this year, and I’ve been making lots of stuff lately to commemorate- like this graphic goodie.

I do hope I get to explore over there soon. I got one little teaser peek at Addis Ababa on a layover flight to Tanzania and that only further wet my appetite. The more I learn about food, coffee, topography, religious traditions- among many other things- the more I appreciate how deep they go. Bump this one up towards the top of my travel list.

Alaska Invitations

I do so much digital design work, but it’s always extra special when I get to see some of the stuff I make come out in print.

I’m loving the way these square postcard prints turned out!

Fancy & Authentic

One of my favorite ideas to push back on is the notion that good and authentic Mexican, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, etc. food can only come from hole-in-the-wall type places.

When you start to unwittingly think that the best French or Spanish food comes from Michelin starred uptown bistros but that a fancier, more expensive setting renders Turkish and Cuban food inauthentic- there’s a good bit of bias in there.

130 years ago, Italian food in the US was mostly considered cheap, foreign street food. The concept of authenticity is flawed but it should leave room for different cuisines to evolve and take both cheap and fancy forms. Great Vietnamese food can come from Pho No. 243 on the corner or from The Slanted Door in SF. Cultures evolve, as should our perceptions.

That Minivan Life

I’ve spent most of my time on the road this weekend but its been completely worth it. Tahoe is bliss.

#thatminivanlife

Learning to Wait, Mary Oliver, & Zara Rose

LIVING DENSELY

“I want to live so densely. lush. and slow in the next few years, that a year becomes ten years, and my past becomes only a page in the book of my life.”

–Nayyirah Waheed

LEARNING TO WAIT

Waiting can be just fine.

I’m learning that slowly.

I’m a pretty efficient person. When I have a goal in mind, I don’t see the point in delaying things, and I make a plan to go after it. Whenever some plans get cancelled I always have a backup thing to do to make sure my time is well used.

When those parts of life that aren’t in my control make me wait a little longer for things I’ve been looking forward to, that really starts to challenge me.

I’m waking up to the fact that God doesn’t waste time, even when things feel stuck in place. Everything is made beautiful in its own time. Things happen during times of waiting that need to happen, even if we can barely figure out what they might be.

RAISING THE BUSH

The gym in January is pretty terrible, so you gotta get creative.

MARY OLIVER

“The question, and that is just the point, how the world, moist and beautiful, calls to each of us to make a new and serious response. That is the big question. The one the world throws at you every morning. ‘Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?’”

–Mary Oliver

Also a big fan of her instructions for life: “Be astonished. Tell others.”

I don’t read much poetry. I kinda wish I did, and perhaps someday I’ll take a deeper dive into that world and give it more of the attention from me it deserves.

In the meantime, I’m glad that so many of Mary Oliver’s words ended up in front of me enough times for me to know a lot of them by heart. Sorry to hear of her passing today but so thankful that she spent so much of her life reminding us all of how beautiful, wild, and precious of a gift it is to be alive.

ZARA ROSE

So happy I got to meet Baby Zara over the weekend. 💕

2018’S MOST MEMORABLE MEALS

For some reason it’s a yearly tradition for me to keep a short list of my most memorable meals of each year. Meals can be memorable because they were just plain fantastic, or because the experience was something otherworldly, like being invited in and fed by a local stranger when traveling.

I racked up a bunch of miles last year to some pretty tasty places. Check below to see my list and the link in my bio to see why exactly they’re so memorable:

💮 Bao Bei (Vancouver, British Columbia)

🍦 Rye Bread Ice Cream at Café Loki (Reykjavik, Iceland)

🍕 Bresola e Arugula Pizza from Pizzeria Magnifica (Rome, Italy)

🍗 Hattie B’s & Prince’s Hot Chicken (Nashville, Tennessee)

🥘 Madame Paulette’s Cornmeal Jambalaya (Fonds Verrettes, Haiti)

🍲 Szechuan Lamb Noodles at Kettner Exchange (San Diego, California)

🌮 Guisados (Los Angeles, California)

🍦 Basil Gelato from Stalin Gelateria (Vernazza, Italy)

🍳 Breakfast at Monell’s (Nashville, Tennessee)

🍝 Pici at Enoteca Bacchus (Montalcino, Italy)

SAN DIEGO’S WILD

One other San Diego thing that’s growing on me: it’s earthiness.

One of my earlier impressions of town was that it was a big tangle of freeways and impossibly expensive land. I’m not quiet about missing the richer greens, waterfalls, and forest cover of the Northwest. But I’m starting to better appreciate San Diego’s own outdoor charm. It’s still a better place for getting outside than most of the rest of the country. What’s started to win me over?

🥗 The food: San Diego county still has more small farms than any other county in the country and that makes it pretty easy to eat naturally.

🏃🏾‍♂️The hikes: There’s a wide enough variety of interesting trails around to keep mixing it up. There are some really underrated spots right around the border and even more close to the PCT that I really want to get acquainted with this year.

🦎 The wildlife: I never would’ve guessed San Diego to have more biodiversity than any other county in the US, but it apparently holds that distinction. A good chunk of that is marine life and there are some impressive bird species too.

I still wish San Diego’s urban core wasn’t so insulated from so much of this, but I’m glad it’s around. Knowing an area’s natural state makes it so much easier to feel at home in it.

America's Finest City, Roma, and The Most Ethical Girl

ROMA

Roma was such a good one. Everything about that movie- the slower pacing, the stunningly composed shots, the black and white filming, and the Spanish dialogue all demanded that I pay closer attention to this one, and that attention was rewarded. It’s one of those stories that pulls you into the world it creates. Reminded me a lot of the foreign films from the 40s-70s on library-borrowed VHS tapes I grew up with.

If you like this one, you should also look up Happy As Lazzaro. An Italian movie that’s a bit of a puzzle film, a bit of a fairly tale, and a bit of social justice commentary. Plus that one is shot on some glorious grainy 16mm and so much of it feels like a dream.

AMERICA’S FINEST CITY

To be honest, San Diego claiming the title of America’s Finest City always bugged me a little.

For starters- I have NEVER heard anyone call it that outside of San Diego. That would be like me giving myself a nickname. Not only that, but a pretty straightforward and self-sure nickname like “The Best Guy.”

For whatever reason, I ended up being hesitant to say too many good things about San Diego. We get it, you get lots of sunlight, but so does Denver and for about half the price. I also thought that living in a paradise led to a dampened sense of creative hustle, compared to what I’d find in other, more energetic cities.

To me, San Diego was a pretty girl who knew she was pretty and heard it all the time. She didn’t need one more admirer.

But as it turns out, we ended up in a serious relationship. I live here. And now I’m learning how to love this town. Not for the obvious stuff like good weather and beaches and breweries, but because it’s home. I don’t want it to be America’s Finest City, but I’d like it to be My Finest City.

This will take a bit of work, but I’m opening up myself to it more this year. I’ll likely be away less. I’ll try to dig in more. And I look forward to seeing where that leads.

SURPRISED BY SAN DIEGO

It really amuses me that I ended up living in San Diego. Five years ago, it’s one of the last places I would’ve wanted to end up.

That’s isn’t this city’s fault. It’s because I grew up here. And at seventeen, so much of my mental energy went towards dreaming of setting out on my own adventure and making a completely new city my own. I collected info on Boston, Chicago, Ohio. I was (and in many ways I still am) willing to go anywhere. That includes a bunch of places that people often think of as scary or boring.

I have a HUGE independent streak, and so returning to familiar confines might’ve been the only thing I knew I didn’t want to do.

But that makes it charmingly ironic that this is where I ended up. The journey is always about leaving behind something comfortable in order to go after something that matters. And what’s comfortable to me is what’s uncomfortable for most people, and vice versa.

I’ve been back for almost two years now, but I still feel like there’s a lot of room for roots to grow. One thing I’m trying to focus on right now is on receiving this place as home. It’s a process that I’m just now being more open to.

THE MOST ETHICAL GIRL

THE MOST ETHICAL GIRL IN THE WORLD RIGHT HERE.

Okay, let me tell you something about ethics. They’re good. But ethics as defined by the State of California as they pertain to Clinical Social Work? They’re weird and confusing. And to become a social worker, you need to take a test about them. I tried a few sample questions from the test and so many of the answers are completely counterintuitive.

Now lemme tell you something about My Favorite Person ™. If there’s something she finds worth doing in this world, she gets it done. And it doesn’t matter how hard it is or how many setbacks there are on the way.

Today she passed that California Law & Ethics exam and is one MASSIVE step closer to being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

(She already pretty much saves a couple of lives every week, but ones she gets that license she’ll be able to do so more easily)

CULTURES OF SD

A lot of the things that people love about San Diego just don’t excite me the same way. The fact that every day is 70º? Yeah, that makes me feel like I’m trapped living the same week over and over again and would trade it for cheaper housing. BUT- I’m trying to myself much more at home here, so I’m focusing on the things I love.

Number one on that list is probably the diversity of the area. It’s one of the most international cities in the country, and most San Diegans don’t even realize that. We were one of the leading cities of refugee resettlement (you know, back when the country actually did that) and have some large Middle Eastern, East African, Mexican, Central American, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Korean communities, among others.

I think diversity makes places great. I really missed that while living in Oregon. This city can be a little bit self-segregated by neighborhood geography and economics, but I like that even after years of living here there are completely unfamiliar parts of town and communities where I can find myself. Oh, and this makes it fairly easy for me to access just about any food item.

The proximity to Mexico has been another sweet thing. I’ve loved being able to participate in solidarity and service events at the border, and the opportunity to cross over into TJ or Tecate for a day visit is always fun.

SWEATER/THIRST

Just showing off one of my favorite presents from this Christmas– my mother in law is a master knitter. And this is now my best sweater that I never really want to take off these days. She caught wind that I’m a fan of the knit pullovers in Iceland, and perfectly captured that style. Now to book a return flight to Reykjavik.

Oh and, bonus gift- Scott Harrison’s book showed up in the mail a couple weeks ago from Plywood People and I’ve blitzed through. Such a fun surprise!

THE PARENTS

Here’s an odd little thing I’m trying to get better at: hanging out with my parents at the house.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and they’re great! But growing up, I always felt like I needed to be out of the house. It felt like on those quiet days when it was just all of us at home, I wasn’t really fully living. I’ll blame it on being an extroverted only child, perhaps, but the internal message I got was that life happens outside the four walls I grew up in.

That’s probably pretty unfair to them. They got one kid and he ended up as flighty as they come. And to no fault of their own, really. But hey, I’m at least more aware of it now and sometimes the path of growth leads you to the spot where you started. Deanna and I spent New Years Day with them, playing Tokkaido and watching movies and eating nonstop. And it was a good one- especially cause that meant we got my mom’s full play-by-play commentary on Crazy Rich Asians.

JANUARY 2019

#1 The Parents

01 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Can you believe we’re now less than a year away from the roaring twenties? And just about a year left in my own twenties.

This past decade has been such a wild one for me. It’s taken me to some unexpected places, towards incredible people, and to do things that legitimately seemed impossible.

Right now, at a moment that feels both like a beginning and an ending, I’m letting go of more expectations. But I’m holding on to the truth that even when things seem stuck, empty, or fixed, you never really know what good lies right around the next corner.

#2 Office Fiddle Leaf

02 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Back to work! But coming back to a three-day work week makes it pretty easy, as does coming back to a job I enjoy.

Still, next week will be my first five-day work week in a while and that’ll be the real test.

#3 The Living Bread

03 January 2019 // San Diego, California

I’ve started the past few years by reading some Thomas Merton really early in the year and I’d say I’m better off for it. This book is more centered on the sacrament of communion and Merton comes from a different perspective than what I’m used to. I love it, though, and I’ve learned to appreciate quite a bit.

#4 Good Gifts

04 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Just showing off one of my favorite presents from this Christmas– my mother in law is a master knitter. And this is now my best sweater that I never really want to take off these days. She caught wind that I’m a fan of the knit pullovers in Iceland, and perfectly captured that style. Now to book a return flight to Reykjavik.

And a bonus gift- Scott Harrison’s book showed up in the mail a couple weeks ago as a rad gift from Plywood People and I’ve been enjoying it thus far. Such an awesome and completely unexpected surprise!

#5 The Hunt for Home

05 January 2019 // San Diego, California

We are on the hunt for a house! Note- the one we’re taking a tour of here is a bit out of our price range. If it wasn’t though, it’s a great one, and a few relatively easy fixes could easily add $100-$150K to the value.

It’s been a bit of an adventure, first feeling like a sweet house with our dream yard is right within reach, and then feeling like we’ll be forever renting the next minute. But right now the prospects for something right in between seem reasonable, and that makes for an early piece of excitement for 2019.

#6 Running Uphill

06 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Tecolote Park is a pretty underrated spot to get outside. The trails aren’t bad for running either.

#7 Lovely Point Loma

07 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Started this morning by meeting for coffee with a bunch of guys I go to church with. And that was just the beginning of what turned out to be a really, really good day.

#8 Cortez

08 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Took the quick trip downtown to visit some patch manufacturers. Too quick to even stop at The Donut Bar.

#9 University Heights Walk

09 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Did some work at Lestat’s and got some errands done at the bank. Then took a quick little walk to explore the neighborhood.

#10 Most Ethical

10 January 2019 // San Diego, California

We’re still so pumped Deanna passed her Law & Ethics exam. Even the dog was pretty ethical tonight.

#11 Liberty Tree

11 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Got to grab a coffee with Tyson Motsenbocker at Liberty Station to close out my work week.

#12 Barrio Art Crawl

12 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Went on a date night around Barrio Logan’s art crawl and discovered a great new coffee shop. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite neighborhoods.

#13 Baby Zara

13 January 2019 // Escondido, California

So happy I got to meet Baby Zara over the weekend. 💕

#14 Plant With Purpose Stickers

14 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Designed a whole lineup of new stickers for Plant With Purpose. Excited to reboot our Merch.

#15 The ER

15 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Well, this wasn’t expected. Deanna fractured her knee while rock climbing, so our day ended up in the Emergency Room for hours on end.

#16 Mission Valley Trolley

16 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Since it’s the week of everything going haywire, my car also managed to get a flat while at the ER.

#17 This Pin Empowers a Female Farmer

17 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Just got a package of something fun I designed… these pins! Each one will support women’s empowerment programs with Plant With Purpose. Can’t wait to put these up for sale.

#18 Harbor Island Mornings

18 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Home is home.

A bunch of trees in our neighborhood fell over last night and did some serious damage. All it took was 25 MPH winds, and the pines in the area were tall and heavy, but ultimately had shallow roots.

If that’s not the perfect metaphor...

I could happily live as a nomad forever, always changing scenery, trading one hub for the next. I did that for years. But I know my best work comes with a home base.

I know what home feels like. To come home from an epic journey abroad or out of state, happy to be greeted by the buildings that line the road from the airport, the street signs in their quirky font and color.

I remember feeling that way about Santa Barbara after stints abroad. After a long adventure, it felt like coming back to my people, my place, my story that had some plot lines to get back to.

It’s been years since I’ve felt that about anywhere and if I’m honest, I’m just not there yet with San Diego. One of my big goals this year is to try and get there.

Every now and then I catch glimpses of that feeling. Increasingly familiar faces at church. Afternoon hikes. Spots where you can see the skyline from a distance.

#19 Botanical Building

19 January 2019 // San Diego, California

The in-laws are in town, which meant we spent most of the weekend hanging with them around Balboa Park.

#20 Mission Beach Walk

20 January 2019 // San Diego, California

The in-laws rented a spot a block away from the ocean. Makes for sights like these.

#21 Escape the Nat

21 January 2019 // San Diego, California

The Museum of Natural History has an escape room- and it’s actually one of the best escape rooms I’ve ever done. Plus you get a day of admission with a booking. I loved the botany theme. Some of the clues were hid real cleverly.

#22 Protect Yo He(art)

22 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Unexpected things are inevitable, but staying hopeful makes a huge difference. You never know what good waits right around the corner.

#23 Alaska Postcards

23 January 2019 // San Diego, California

The Museum of Natural History has an escape room- and it’s actually one of the best escape rooms I’ve ever done. Plus you get a day of admission with a booking. I loved the botany theme. Some of the clues were hid real cleverly.

#24 Crossing Fairfax

24 January 2019 // Los Angeles,, California

Spent just about the entire day driving. First, San Diego up into Downtown LA. Then onwards to San Jose, with more road to be covered tomorrow.

#25 Tahoe

25 January 2019 // Lake Tahoe, California

I needed to get to this kind of scenery more than I even realized. Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous right now.

#26 Meemaw’s Last Hurrah

26 January 2019 // Lake Tahoe, California

My ideal trip these days looks more and more like splitting up a big house with a bunch of friends- especially when they’re ones I don’t get to see often enough.

Getting to explore Tahoe with my extended college family was a real treat. And I’m glad Meemaw the dog managed to somehow make it through the weekend.

#27 The House Turns 30

27 January 2019 // Lake Tahoe, California

We’re kicking off a yearlong pact to spend all our 30th birthdays with each other and to be in bed by 10:30.

#28 Maggie Rogers

28 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Based on the one month sample size of January, I’m guessing 2019’s gonna be a year full of fun music. And I’m guessing Maggie Rogers is a good representation of what I’ve been into lately- uncomplicated and sincere fun. That’s kind of what I’m craving from life in general right now.

#29 Plant With Purpose x Known Supply

29 January 2019 // San Diego, California

I’ve been in the process of revamping Plant With Purpose’s merch, and I had a blast partnering with Known Supply to come up with new shirts.

I think a simple grey shirt with the main logo on it- when executed well- can go a long way. I have a few like that, including some I’ve worn for almost a decade. When the shirt is a soft, heathered texture, and the black logo on grey comes across with subtlety, it can easily turn into a wardrobe staple.

#30 The Logo Shirt

30 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Getting to partner with Known Supply for this project was a real treat, though. Some of you may be familiar with them as Krochet Kids. Like Plant With Purpose, they believe products should be made ethically, and that we should spend more time thinking about those who produce and make the items we use every day.

Each shirt is hand-signed by the artist who made it. These are women entrepreneurs in Peru, Uganda, and India. The shirts allow them to have an income in a dignified way, and I love being able to celebrate that.

#31 Wet Roads

31 January 2019 // San Diego, California

Shoutout to San Diego for throwing a few days of my favorite weather on to this week’s playlist.

A Year of Hope, Beginnings and Endings, & The Taco Bracket

A ROUGH YEAR

What a year. I’ll be honest with you, 2018 wasn’t very nice to me.

There were some major letdowns. Those dreams that didn’t work out, the late nights of feeling stuck in the same place while everyone else’s life moved forward. There were some lonely places, wondering where that rich sense of community I used to feel went off to. Then there were the anxious times, feeling like wave after wave of bad news just kept crashing.

I mean, the year wasn’t without its good moments. Great travels. Some fantastic meals. Encounters with fascinating people. My dog doing weird stuff. And that’s what usually populates my feed. But here’s some lip-service to the other side of all that. The struggle.

If you know me, I’m pretty much the person in the world who most needed to learn from the movie Inside Out. I’m not a fan of giving sadness or anxiety more stage time than necessary. But at its worst, the past year tempted me into thinking that my best days and best stories might just be behind me.

If nothing else, my biggest win from this year might just be being here, having made the decision to reject that idea as a lie. There are unbelievable adventures ahead, but getting to them means taking a walk through these low points. Sometimes it’s harder to feel thankful for them, but the journey wouldn’t be complete without them.

This Psalm (126.6) became my jam–
Though one goes out weeping,
Carrying a bag of seeds
He will surely come back with shouts of joy
Carrying the harvest

Happy to put this year behind me and to put the next one into God’s hands. Seeds into good eats. Anxiety into wonder. Emptiness into openness.

A YEAR OF HOPE

This year might not’ve been my best year, but it still put out a few gems:

Atlanta caught me by surprise with how much I liked it. Meeting some new friends and learning from leaders in the present (at Plywood Presents) and the past (at the Civil Rights Center).

Nashville. Getting to hang at the Wonder Workshop and then STORY. I took a big step forward at my job and in my creative life.

Good times with old friends; like camping in these quirky hipster huts in Cuyama.

Vancouver made me fall in love with it. Whenever the wonder of nature wraps itself around the energy and culture of a city, I feel right at home. Also, I discovered Kim’s Convenience on this trip and that is important.

Haiti. I felt unusually able to connect with our Haitian participants and they taught me a ton about hope on this trip.

Iceland. Talk about a dream come true. Deanna and I spent just a few days around Reykjavik, I was still so happy to go on glacier walks, to try and convince her to keep walking in search of a hot spring, and to save money eating pylsas and skyr.

Returning to Siena eight years after I spent one of the most fun summers of my life there as an exchange student was blissful. Getting to continue on to Cinque Terre was great too.

I ran my second half marathon and I’m thankful to have a body that can do stuff like that. I hit fitness goals I never knew I could this year.

Finally, I got to participate in group activities that helped me learn how to love and serve my neighbors. Things like Fiesta de Reyes in Tecate, the Women’s March, and La Posada Sin Fronteras at the Border were all meaningful ways that helped me respond to a crazy world.

INTO 2019

Oh hey 2019. You look good as a big, wide-open trail.

After everything last year taught me, I believe more strongly than ever that hope isn’t optimism. They’re both good things, but if you’ve got to choose one, choose hope. It has little to do with the way you feel and everything to do with the decision to keep going. To keep trusting.

Compared to previous years, I have very few set plans for the next 52 weeks. I’m relearning how to be open, how to hold things loosely and how to receive the unexpected. Thanks for hangin’! 

BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS

First of all, these hats are flattering on nobody.

Also, can you believe we’re now less than a year away from the roaring twenties? And just about a year left in my own twenties.

This past decade has been such a wild one for me. It’s taken me to some unexpected places, towards incredible people, and to do things that legitimately seemed impossible.

Right now, at a moment that feels both like a beginning and an ending, I’m letting go of more expectations. But I’m holding on to the truth that even when things seem stuck, empty, or fixed, you never really know what good lies right around the next corner.

THE TACO BRACKET

Every year I pick an extremely attainable resolution that makes my life better. A few years ago, I resolved to stop saying the word ‘manatee’ when they also go by ‘sea cow.’ Another year, I planned on putting pictures in a frame I owned for six months that still had the generic sample photos in there. Nailed it.

Admittedly, my plan for 2019 is a little more ambitious- to use a 32 seed bracket to determine my favorite taco shop in San Diego.

I believe I’m living in the country’s best city for tacos. And there are about eight places I call “the best in town.” Clearly that’s a crowded number one spot and a March Madness style bracket is the only way to solve that.

I’ve got six more slots I’m looking to fill before we start with round one between a couple of North Park faves: Carnitas La Michocanas and El Zarape. Any suggestions? Should I just institute a wild card? Wanna guest judge?

LOOKING FORWARD

This week has been restful. It might be a bit tough to go back to those five day work weeks, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

I like this time when the year is in its infancy. I like hearing people’s hopes and goals and projects. I also like the mystery and the anything-can-happen vibes. Compared to this point in previous years, I know very little about what to expect and I like that.

The small handful of things I do anticipate excite me. Lake Tahoe at the end of this month. The High Water Festival in the Spring. Wyoming. New projects helping people pursue purpose and embrace sustainability. More camping and tacos. And that’s about all I know at this point. The best parts are most likely still unknown.

DR CONGO FLASH SHEET

A quick little flash sheet I drew to rep the DRC. Catch some of the references? Working on a few more pieces like this.

While I’ve got you here, keep the Congo in your prayers, will ya? They held an election last week to determine their next president, but unfortunately it’s never really that easy. The risk of unrest goes way up. The election results are still in a state of ambiguity. Here’s hoping for peace and fairness.

Paid Off, Christmas Party Week, & Project 365 Turns 10

The Best of 2018

An incomplete list of faves from 2018:

📚: Factfulness by Hans Rosling
📚: How To Stop Time by Matt Haig
📚: America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
📚: I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
📚: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
📀: The War and Treaty, Healing Tide
💿: Anderson.Paak, Oxnard
📀: Leon Bridges, A Good Thing
🎞: Roma
🎞: Won’t You Be My Neighbor
🎞: Black Panther
🎞: Happy As Lazzaro
🎙: We Came to Win
🖥: Ugly Delicious

For a fuller version of this list, check out this post.

Christmas Party Week

This whole month has been a pretty steady stream of Christmas parties and mixers and ridiculousness. They’ve been fun, but I also feel like I’ve just been coasting- letting myself be picked up by the ride and dropped off at January’s doorstep. Every now and then, though, I’ve been surprised by small moments that help me feel a bit more grounded. A good talk at work. La Posada Sin Fronteras. And tonight.

I was so cozy snacking away at my family’s nochebuena that I almost forgot about our church’s Christmas Eve stuff. We were driving home when I remembered it was starting right now. We made it only five minutes behind the start. A team of so many people got creative with candles and projectors and stage lights to craft a beautiful homily on hope, and we ended it outside the church, singing on the street corners.

Tonight I’m reminded of two things:

If you and your spouse/significant other are working together, you two will have a clear advantage over singles in a white elephant exchange.

With time, simpler things get more and more beautiful.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our filthy animal to you & yours. Merry Christmas!

NEW INTENTIONS

Speak and open up your mind
It's something you should do all the time
Keep exploring, seek and find
You know you might surprise yourself
⠀ –Jack Garratt // Surprise Yourself

The times when my life feels the fullest are those times when I give myself room to be amazed by what’s in front of me. It’s a big part of the reason I love to travel so much. Letting new smells and sounds take over. Turning a corner to yet another new discovery.

You know what robs you of that experience? Excessive planning. A bit of research is helpful, but too much of it and you’re staring at a map more than you’re gazing at the Wonders.

This applies to so much more than travel. Life is enhanced by mystery. Good stories aren’t predictable.

I’m ready to head into next year with open hands. Not holding on to my own plans as tightly. Ready to freely give, freely receive. Hands, heart, eyes open.

It helps me to surprise myself.

PLANT WITH PURPOSE DESIGNS

Find something you enjoy, get better at it, use it to help people. When you do, you gotta celebrate those wins, right?

This year, especially over the summer, I really wanted to focus on getting better at Illustrator. After using Photoshop for 15 years I’m so heavily reliant on it and use it on things I know Illustrator is meant for.

I still have a lot to learn, but I’m at the point now where I can confidently make things I know I’ll be happy with. Case in point, this shirt/poster concept for Plant With Purpose.

PROJECT 365 TURNS 10

Nine years ago, I had this little idea to take a picture every day in the new year. It wasn’t an original idea, I saw a few other people on Tumblr (remember, we’re talking about 2009 here) do the same thing.

What was a little different for me was the fact that I didn’t stop. I still haven’t stopped. Looking at my years of photo timelines usually makes me so grateful for life. Thinking of my photo for each day helps me make sure I don’t let a single day pass forgettably.

It’s crazy to me that I’m now entering YEAR TEN of this project. This project would be a junior in Wizarding College. In five months, I’ll have the entirety of my twenties photographed, from single to married, student to working, SB to Oregon to San Diego. Here’s a few random pics from year one.

I want year ten to have my best photos in this project yet. If anyone wants to help with that by flying me out to Patagonia, Peru, and New Zealand, hit me up!

I dunno what happens after year ten. I can’t imagine life without this little project anymore. If I did want to stop on a nice round number, the opportunity won’t be as good until 2030. I’ll just try and take it day to day, like I did during year one and we’ll see where that takes us.

PAID OFF!

This month two years ago, I finished up grad school at Oregon.

This week I got to finish paying for that experience. 🙌🏾

One of our big goals was to get our student loans paid off as quickly as possible, and for some months that meant throwing almost a third of a paycheck at it. That strategy paid off- we paid very little interest and are now free to save for other dreams.

Of all the things I’m leaving behind in 2018, I’m glad student debt can be one of them.

Posada Sin Fronteras, Imperfect Produce, & Building an Audience

RECEIVING V. MANAGING

I was reading something by Richard Rohr about the difference between receiving and managing life. Receivers take it as a gift, holding things loosely and being grateful. Managers try to map it all out and to make sure life goes according to plan.

The idea challenged me a little. I think living intentionally is a good thing and that being strategic is a strength. It took me a little while to realize that these strengths have similar looking weaknesses. Once you start worrying endlessly over things out of your control, life no longer seems like much of a gift. Worry can dull your sense of wonder and gratitude.

That’s something I’ve struggled with a bit lately. Whenever my plans don’t work out, I tend to think of the day, maybe even the week or month, as a total loss. But that just isn’t true. Even in times where things didn’t go as planned, I’ve met incredible people. I’ve collected new experiences, discovered new favorite music.

I still think plans and strategy and goals are all good things. But when they don’t work out, try not to let that make you miss out on all the other good things that come your way.

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE

My life’s to do list: Help people. Make it fun. Invite others.

That last part is pretty important. I’m working on a training for my team right now on building an audience. I’m no expert, but I have learned a lot over the past year through practice.

If you want to help people, make art, or create change, you can’t do that all by yourself. Rallying people is a valuable necessity.

I’m convinced that the idea of “if you build it they will come,” has flipped. In the past decade it’s morphed into “if they come, you can build it.” Gathering an audience has led to new books, launched nonprofits, put out records, and so much more.

Building an audience isn’t easy. It takes patience and persistence. You also have to let go of the fear of the crowd.

Popularity contests are unhealthy and destructive, but audience building doesn’t have to be that. At its heart, it’s about consistency, community, and generosity- those are all good things. It isn’t an easy process, though. It takes patience and persistence. But one of the first steps is to lose the fear of going for it and to embrace the fact that you’re trying to bring people together.

I’m still writing the rest of this training, but here’s step one: let go of the fear and embrace the process.

THOMAS A KEMPIS

Making it known that I’m in agreement with Thomas à Kempis over here when he said the full version of this wisdom nugget:

“...it is vanity to wish for a long life and to care little about a well-lived life.

It is vanity to be concerned with the present only and not to make provision for things to come.

It is vanity to love what passes quickly and not to look ahead where eternal joy abides.

VANITY IS WACK!

Try, moreover, to turn your heart from the love of things visible and bring yourself to things invisible- not losing sight of the grace of God.”

I may have added that “vanity is wack” line, but nonetheless, keep going for that well-lived life and invest in those unseen things that last.

POSADA SIN FRONTERAS

The Posada is an advent reflection on the journey that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem, and the rejection they received from innkeepers and homeowners. For 25 years, different faith communities have gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border to worship from both sides.

Worshipping across a border is a reminder that our identity as people of God is much bigger than our national identity. It’s also a visual reminder that many people today are in a similar position to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph– forced to flee their homes to find safety and security. It’s a reminder of the duty of Christians to care for immigrants as if they were our own family.

I got to join a number of clergy members and worshippers at Friendship Park. A larger group gathered on the Mexico side. We sung, worshipped, and exchanged blessings in English and Spanish. We stopped to listen to the names of migrants killed during their journey this year being read.

We also performed the Posada song- a call-and-response song where one part sings the lines of Joseph seeking for shelter, and another sings the part of the innkeeper. The gathering in Mexico did the former, while the U.S.’ side responded as the innkeeper. Singing lines like “I cannot open, you may be bad people” while facing south was bitter, and a reminder that when we deny the most vulnerable, we are denying Christ.

The day ended on a lighter note- bubbles being blown across the border. (Usually there would be candy and tamales passed across, but they were a little stricter this year.) I’m so thankful I got to be part of this ceremony, hopefully for the first of many times.

Check out the new stories in my highlight for some video clips and other replays.

IMPERFECT PRODUCE

This food isn’t imperfect! It’s very name says- I’m Perfect!

One of the best decisions we made recently was signing up for @imperfectproduce 

I hate seeing food go to waste. I do everything I can to keep the food at home that doesn’t get used to a bare minimum. I get excited about being able to also reduce the food waste of supermarkets.

A box like this is less than $20, and lasts two weeks, so it can totally replace the cost of buying veggies that the market. Also you can select what fruits or veggies you want which is cool- until now I’d been thinking it was like playing Chopped through the mail. (Side note, there’s totally gotta be a market for that. @ me if you want in on this startup side hustle.)

Just off a couple deliveries, we’ve been able to make a roast, some gumbo, curried cauliflower, mashed potatoes- and we’ve been feasting on pears and pomegranates for dessert. I’m a fan.

ROBERT FROST

“Before I’d built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out.
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
That wants it down.”

—Robert Frost

THE NEWSLETTER

There’s a couple of things I like putting together at the end of the year:

2️⃣ is picking my word for the year. Most people I know that do this do it at the beginning of the year- but I prefer to do mine looking back. Seeing what I’ll be taking from this year into the next.

1️⃣ is a list of all my favorite books, movies, albums, and podcasts of the year. I love seeing other people’s lists of these things and usually discover some of my new favorites thanks to these lists. I’m a lover of well told stories and don’t want to stop discovering new ones.

I’ve been slowly growing and building a newsletter to share the things I make and the things I love with people. I’ll be sending an email out this week with those two things in it. If you haven’t subscribed yet, check out this link: philippelazaro.com/join

An American Marriage, Von Schweetz, & Jury Service

VON SCHWEETZ

WE MET VON SCHWEETZ.

WAT MAHATHAT

I started looking over a few old photos from past adventures... it’s not something I do super often, but maybe I should given how many pictures I take.

For starters, doing this fills me up with gratitude- I’ve been able to go on years of adventures to some incredible places. It also reminded me of how much my soul gets fed from exploring.

I feel most like myself when I’m in an unfamiliar environment, somewhere that the colors pop and the smells are totally unfamiliar, meeting people who will later star in stories I’ll end up retelling for years. Getting from point A to B suddenly turns into a livelier quest.

I’ve got a long list of places I look forward to going to someday, but right now I’m feeling endlessly grateful for all the places I’ve already been taken.

NASHVILLE: A PLAYLIST

“Nashville” – a playlist for neon reflections on rainy days and believing that things can get better.

It’s been a long time since I’ve put together a playlist, but I’m especially proud of the one I just curated. Not only does it feature a lot of music I haven’t been able to stop listening to, but it also kind of matches the way life has been lately. Weathering storms, keeping the light, and hope even when you aren’t feeling it.

Featuring The War And Treaty, Cautious Clay, the 1975, Gregory Alan Isakov, and many others.

I name my seasonal playlists after the places I go around that time, and the image of walking around Broadway St. in Downtown Nashville on a warm but rainy night, with the rain soaked street bouncing back all the neon seems to be especially relevant.

Visit the link in my bio to get some Spotify access.

AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE

“But home isn't where you land; home is where you launch. You can't pick your home any more than you can choose your family. In poker, you get five cards. Three of them you can swap out, but two are yours to keep: family and native land.”

–Tayari Jones

What a read. I can see why An American Marriage is popping up on so many Best of 2018 lists. There were quite a few moments where I just had to stop and admire the way a paragraph was written or how a sentence was phrased.

This novel itself had a straightforward story- one that’s pretty hard to take in, even with good prose. A wrongful conviction, years in prison, and a marriage that gets interrupted all lead you to feel for each character, even when they’re in conflict.

Thankful for good writing and all it adds to our world.

JURY SERVICE

I spent almost all of last week serving on a jury. I think people typically think of jury duty as a big bummer- and having to be away from work for a week or more is inconvenient more often than not- but in all honesty I had a lot of fun!

I learned a TON. Here are a few things I’m more aware of now than I was a week ago:

• San Diego is so much prettier when it rains.

• The extent that people will go to get themselves excused during jury selection is oftentimes hilarious.

• Being able to use public transport as my daily commute really is a dream.

• Our justice system has a TON of room for improvement and some glaring areas of inequality. But the most direct way to making things better is with everybody playing their role as courageously and compassionately as possible: public defenders and jurors and witnesses and judges and prosecutors and errybody.

Back to the day job this week. It’ll probably be a little while but I’ll actually be kind of excited the next time a jury summons shows up in the mail.

THE TRIFECTA

I like a LOT of things. It doesn’t take much to spark my curiosity or to make something seem fun to me. Last week, I was on jury duty and kept on imagining my life in a parallel universe where I pursued a career as a lawyer.

Early on I realized there were at least three things I knew I really wanted to have play big roles in my life: I wanted to spend lots of time traveling and learning from other cultures. I wanted to do work that helped people, confronted injustice, and looked for solutions. I also wanted to put my creativity and storytelling to good use. Most of what I post comes from the crossroads of these three things.

Thankfully, two years ago I found a spot on the Plant With Purpose team as Creative Director. The role was perfectly in the center of these three big passions. Plus it allowed me further opportunities to explore them in different ways. I think I’ve done so much learning recently as a designer, storyteller, nonprofit practitioner, and conscious traveler.

If you have a bunch of interests but connecting the dots seems hard, don’t give up on them. The things you put your heart into keep coming back around.

GET BACK OUTSIDE

Just a couple years ago, I was going outside and sleeping in tents every 2-3 weeks. I don’t think I spent a single night truly camping this past year. What happened?

I legitimately miss being outside, spending time away from man-made structures, and letting time slow way down. I don’t know if I just got occupied with a busier work/travel schedule this year, if I let SoCal’s geography become a barrier, or what. All I know is that I miss it!

Goal for 2019 and years beyond that: get outside more. A lot more. Outside is good for me.

Nashville: a playlist

It’s been a little too long since I’ve last put together a playlist to share. Here are a few of the sounds that have been getting some love from me over the past few months, when the wet, late summer turned into the past few weeks of darkness coming way too early.

Cat Power – Wanderer

Son Little – O Me, O My (Gavin Moss Remix)

The War and Treaty – Love Like There’s No Tomorrow

Shad – All I Need (feat. Yukon Blonde)

Durand Jones & the Indicators – Make a Change

Broods – Everything Goes (Wow)

Gallant – TOOGOODTOBETRUE (feat. Sufjan Stevens & Rebecca Sugar)

Cautious Clay – Stolen Moments

Los Unidades – E-Lo (feat. Jozzy & Pharrell Williams)

The 1975 – Give Yourself a Try

Kamasi Washington – Street Fighter Mas

Ben Howard & Sylvan Esso – Hot, Heavy Summer

Gregory Alan Isakov – San Luis

Donavon Woods – Portland, Maine

Vivienne Chi – Junk

Mike Mains & the Branches – Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

James Vincent McMorrow – Me and My Friends

Dua Lipa & Gallant – Tears Dry On Their Own

Leon Bridges – Mrs.

Mumford & Sons – Beloved

Sleeping At Last – Atlas: Seven

FRIENSHIP – GOODMORNING, Goodbye

The Lone Bellow – Pink Rabbits

William Fitzsimmons – Distant Lovers

John Mark McMillan – Body in Motion

The California Honeydrops – Those Days

R.LUM.R – With My Words

Justin Kauflin – Country Fried

I’m With Her – Game to Lose

The Sacred Wait, The MLS Cup, & California Adventures

THE SACRED WAIT

A few years ago, I started paying much more attention to Advent. Christmas celebrates arrival and the “thrill of hope,” while Advent focuses on anticipation and the way hope persists, even when things are dark and quiet.

I think that speaks to what I’ve been experiencing and what I’ve seen around the world.

There have been some weeks this year that have really made me feel like life just hit a dead end. And I have a much easier life than many others. There are so many people who live in a constant state of not having enough. I’ve made friends who have had to flee their homes due to violence. Every day I hear of people being mistreated because of their skin color, tribe, or gender.

I think Advent holds something special for people who suffer. People who deal with racism, poverty, sickness, etc. Justice will come. Healing will come. But for now we wait, anticipating that it won’t be this way forever. And there’s something pretty sacred about that anticipation.

623 FAMILIES

Excited to step into another week of work.

Last week, I got to help roll out my second Giving Tuesday campaign with @plantwpurpose. Last year’s was a pleasant surprise; we had a goal of raising $20,000 and finished the day with $30,000. I figured I would set our starting goal higher this year, at $30,000. I should’ve remembered how generous our community is. We hit that before noon and ended the day at $81,000. (Also, you bet I’m gonna nudge us to set that bar higher next year.)

In places like Tanzania, $81 dollars goes a really long way, let alone $81,000. When you invest that in the right things, in local leaders, in women, in education, in healthy soil and sustainability, you can take leaps towards extremely ambitious goals like ending poverty and climate change.

CALIFORNIA ADVENTURES

Went on a California Adventure this weekend. As a kid I loved drawing maps of the theme park I’m gonna build someday. Superland. That place is great. I mapped it out on graph paper. It was such a great park that the wall going around the park was thick enough to hold rooms full of video games, ballpits, food, and Ripley’s type stuff. I drew characters like Strange Girl to walk around the park. I don’t even know if I got much further than drawing the park entrance. There was too much good stuff in the foyer already. I wonder if my mom hung on to those blueprints. Let’s bring this to life. HMU on Kickstarter.

MY LAST FRONTIER

Every year, I try to scratch an item off my bucket list. A big one. I’m thankful to have already lived out a number of dreams, and I’m excited about the ones ahead.

This upcoming year, I’ve got my eyes on Alaska. I’d love to explore Denali and Kenai and to make friends with a musk ox. Even bigger than that, it’ll be my 50th state, pending visits to Wyoming and West Virginia earlier in the year.

When I got close to the end of this goal, I deliberately wanted to save Alaska for the end. I wanted state 50 to be a bit of a celebration with friends. Out of all the states that remained, Alaska was easily the most fun. Plus it’s the Last Frontier!

Life is beautiful, it goes by fast, and you never know what might happen next. Mine has been full of reminders to not put off meaningful dreams and quests and missions to some future time when it’s “more convenient.” Who knows if that’ll even come?

BARRIO LOGAN MURALS

True story, I never really get tired of exploring the murals of Barrio Logan/Chicano Park. I could spend an entire day mural hunting and only make it a few blocks.

A SERIES OF SMALL THINGS

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

–Vincent Van Gogh

Today’s agenda: small things like a morning run, family time, and whatever else might come.

THE 2018 MLS CUP

This weekend is truly a fantastic one for my inner futbol fanatic. My Timbers in the MLS Cup right this minute and my Boca Juniors in the rescheduled, relocated Madrid Superclasico tomorrow.

Honestly, Atlanta Utd. is a really good and exciting team and I’m impressed with how great of a fan base that city has turned out to be in only a few short years.

Having said that, when I root, I root for the Timbers. Let’s get this MLS Cup. Should be a good one.

POSTGAME: Bummer. Never want to lose, but ATL was a worthy opponent to lose to. Great soccer city. Congrats! Now come on Boca and help me finish this weekend 1-1 as a fan.

DECEMBER 2018

#335 California Adventure

01 December 2018 // Anaheim, California

First time at California Adventures this weekend. It was like Chill Disneyland, and with some surprisingly pretty good food.

#336 The Pool House

02 December 2018 // Villa Park, California

I’m Philippe and I like a LOT of things. It doesn’t take much to spark my curiosity or to make something seem fun to me. Last week, I did jury duty and kept on imagining my life if I pursued a career as a lawyer.

Early on, though, I realized there were three things I knew I really wanted to have play big roles in my life: I wanted to go international pretty frequently and to learn from different cultures. I wanted to do work that helped people, confronted injustice, and looked for solutions. I also wanted to put my creativity and storytelling to good use. Most of what I post comes from the crossroads of these three things. 

I wanted to find a way to dive deep into these interests every day. A career that merged these things was my dream, but I was always willing to do something else to pay the bills if it enabled me to pursue these things in some other way. Thankfully, two years ago I found a spot on the @plantwpurpose team as Creative Director. The role was perfectly in the center of these three big passions. Plus it allowed me further opportunities to explore them in different ways. I think I’ve done so much learning recently as a designer, storyteller, nonprofit practitioner, and conscious traveler.

If you have a bunch of interests but connecting the dots seems hard, don’t give up on them. The things you put your heart into keep coming back around.

#337 Waiting for Tacos

03 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Next year, I’m making a mega bracket to see who has the best tacos in San Diego, and doing all the taste tests myself.

#338 Downtown Trolleys

04 December 2018 // San Diego, California

I get to take the trolley downtown every day this week. It’s everything I’ve always dreamed of for my daily commute. Please expand this service, San Diego!

#339 Jury Service

05 December 2018 // San Diego, California

I spent almost all of last week serving on a jury. I think people typically think of jury duty as a big bummer- and having to be away from work for a week or more is inconvenient more often than not- but in all honesty I had a lot of fun!

I learned a TON. Here are a few things I’m more aware of now than I was a week ago:

• San Diego is so much prettier when it rains.

• The extent that people will go to get themselves excused during jury selection is oftentimes hilarious.

• Being able to use public transport as my daily commute really is a dream.

• Our justice system has a TON of room for improvement and some glaring areas of inequality. But the most direct way to making things better is with everybody playing their role as best as possible public defenders and jurors and witnesses and judges and prosecutors.

Back to the day job this week. It’ll probably be a little while but I’ll actually be kind of excited the next time a jury summons shows up in the mail.

#340 Finest City

06 December 2018 // San Diego, California

This block of downtown has all the good food. I’m into it.

#341 This is a Sanctuary

07 December 2018 // San Diego, California

So much admiration for people working to make life better for those who have been forced to leave their homes.

#342 RCTID

08 December 2018 // San Diego, California

This weekend is truly a fantastic one for my inner futbol fanatic. My Timbers in the MLS Cup right this minute and my Boca Juniors in the rescheduled, relocated Madrid Superclasico tomorrow.

Honestly, Atlanta Utd. is a really good and exciting team and I’m impressed with how great of a fan base that city has turned out to be in only a few short years.

Having said that, when I root, I root for the Timbers. Let’s get this MLS Cup. Should be a good one.

POSTGAME: Bummer. Never want to lose, but ATL was a worthy opponent to lose to. Great soccer city. Congrats! Now come on Boca and help me finish this weekend 1-1 as a fan.

#343 Christmas Party week

09 December 2018 // San Diego, California

I think we just might have a party of some sort lined up for every night of this week. Gotta love Christmastime.

#344 An American Marriage

10 December 2018 // San Diego, California

“But home isn't where you land; home is where you launch. You can't pick your home any more than you can choose your family. In poker, you get five cards. Three of them you can swap out, but two are yours to keep: family and native land.”

–Tayari Jones

What a read. I can see why An American Marriage is popping up on so many Best of 2018 lists. There were quite a few moments where I just had to stop and admire the way a paragraph was written or how a sentence was phrased.

This novel itself had a straightforward story- one that’s pretty hard to take in, even with good prose. A wrongful conviction, years in prison, and a marriage that gets interrupted all lead you to feel for each character, even when they’re in conflict.

Thankful for good writing and all it adds to our world.

#345 Imperfect Produce

11 December 2018 // San Diego, California

One of the best decisions we made this year was signing up for Imperfect Produce. One thing that always pains me is food waste. I do everything I can to keep the food at home that doesn’t get used to a bare minimum. Still, lots of supermarkets toss out plenty of good food just because it won’t look “attractive” on a shelf.

Imperfect Produce buys those rejects and we get a delivery of them every two weeks. We can choose desired fruits and veggies, and our shipment gives us just about all the produce we need. It’s only about $17 for two weeks, which ends up being less than what we’d pay for veggies over two weeks.

Just off two deliveries, we’ve been able to make a roast, some gumbo, mashed potatoes- and we’ve been feasting on pears and pomegranates for dessert. I’m a fan.

#346 Fast Food

12 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Some nights things in the kitchen don’t go as planned. For those nights, there’s always In N Out.

#347 Dino’s Taverna

13 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Staff Christmas party tonight. Love this team.

#348 Wine Table

14 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Really impressed by this wine table at the church’s deacon party.

#349 Posada Sin Fronteras

15 December 2018 // San Diego, California

The Posada is an advent reflection on the journey that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem, and the rejection they received from innkeepers and homeowners. For 25 years, different faith communities have gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border to worship from both sides.

Worshipping across a border is a reminder that our identity as people of God is much bigger than our national identity. It’s also a visual reminder that many people today are in a similar position to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph– forced to flee their homes to find safety and security. It’s a reminder of the duty of Christians to care for immigrants as if they were our own family.

I got to join a number of clergy members and worshippers at Friendship Park. A larger group gathered on the Mexico side. We sung, worshipped, and exchanged blessings in English and Spanish. We stopped to listen to the names of migrants killed during their journey this year being read.

We also performed the Posada song- a call-and-response song where one part sings the lines of Joseph seeking for shelter, and another sings the part of the innkeeper. The gathering in Mexico did the former, while the U.S.’ side responded as the innkeeper. Singing lines like “I cannot open, you may be bad people” while facing south was bitter, and a reminder that when we deny the most vulnerable, we are denying Christ.

The day ended on a lighter note- bubbles being blown across the border. (Usually there would be candy and tamales passed across, but they were a little stricter this year.) I’m so thankful I got to be part of this ceremony, hopefully for the first of many times.

#350 National Parks Checklist

16 December 2018 // San Diego, California

One of my key goals for next year is to get outside more often. Here’s to some things that keep me dreaming.

#351 Dream Dinners

17 December 2018 // Encinitas, California

Got the chance to try a free sample of Dream Dinners. That was different.

#352 Pizza Port Meetup

18 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Started our new group with a Pizza Port hangout.

#353 Lit Dog

19 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Merry Christmas, from our filthy animal to yours.

#354 Cookie Boss

20 December 2018 // San Diego, California

My boss in cookie form.

#355 The Wonder

21 December 2018 // San Diego, California

“Your body - every body is a marvel. A wonder of creation. [...] The day you first opened your eyes, Anna, God asked just one thing: that you live.” 

–Emma Donoghue

I absolutely devoured this book. I think I read right through it in just two or three sittings. And it was quite the read.

For about the whole first half of the book- I was pretty confused by where the plot was going. The story centered on a young Irish girl who claimed to no longer need food in order to live because she was being sustained by God. Hoping to claim the event as a miracle, her parents hire a nurse to observe her round the clock to make sure she isn’t eating. The nurse is initially baffled by how the girl really is holding together without food, but then a bunch of plot twists kick in all at once, setting up the dramatic second half.

Emma Donoghue is probably best known for writing Room, and this book is set in quite a different place and time, but there are still a lot of similarities in how the story is told. I really liked it.

#356 Downtown La Mesa

22 December 2018 // La Mesa, California

Trying to spend some more time in neighborhoods where we don’t hang out often enough. Here’s to La Mesa.

#357 Legit Giraffe

23 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Last year’s Christmas gift just keeps on giving. Lovely little date night at the zoo.

#358 Christmas Eve at PLCPC

24 December 2018 // San Diego, California

This whole month has been a pretty steady stream of Christmas parties and mixers and ridiculousness. They’ve been fun, but I also feel like I’ve just been coasting- letting myself be picked up by the ride and dropped off at January’s doorstep. Every now and then, though, I’ve been surprised by small moments that help me feel a bit more grounded. A good talk at work. La Posada Sin Fronteras. And tonight.

I was so cozy snacking away at my family’s nochebuena that I almost forgot about our church’s Christmas Eve stuff. We were driving home when I remembered it was starting right now. We made it only five minutes behind the start. A team of so many people got creative with candles and projectors and stage lights to craft a beautiful homily on hope, and we ended it outside the church, singing on the street corners.

Tonight I’m reminded of two things:

If you and your spouse/significant other are working together, you two will have a clear advantage over singles in a white elephant exchange.

With time, simpler things get more and more beautiful.

#359 Christmas 18

25 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Sweet, simple Christmas.

#360 An’s Gelato

26 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Awesome ramen double date with Miguel & Priscilla ends in the perfect spot.

#361 Pond Break

27 December 2018 // San Diego, California

I love that weird week in between Christmas and New Year when nobody seems to know what to do.

#362 Paid Off

28 December 2018 // San Diego, California

This month two years ago, I finished up grad school at Oregon.

This week I got to finish paying for that experience. 🙌🏾

One of our big goals was to get our student loans paid off as quickly as possible, and for some months that meant throwing almost a third of a paycheck at it. That strategy paid off- we paid very little interest and are now free to save for other dreams.

Of all the things I’m leaving behind in 2018, I’m glad student debt can be one of them.

#363 Coffee on Adams

29 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Coffee shops while she studies and I get a head start on all those books I want to read next year.

#364 Trails With Beignet

30 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Oh hey 2019. You look good as a big, wide-open trail.

After everything last year taught me, I believe more strongly than ever that hope isn’t optimism. They’re both good things, but if you’ve got to choose one, choose hope. It has little to do with the way you feel and everything to do with the decision to keep going. To keep trusting.

Compared to previous years, I have very few set plans for the next 52 weeks. I’m relearning how to be open, how to hold things loosely and how to receive the unexpected. Thanks for hangin’!

#365 Mt. Soledad Workout

31 December 2018 // San Diego, California

Ended my year by getting up for a 6:30 AM workout with The November Project over at the Mount Soledad Memorial.

High School Reunions, Giving Tuesday, & 100 Miles With Cam

NEW WEBSITE

My website’s has the same look for a few years now, so I made a pretty spontaneous decision to remix it.

I figured it was time to make it be less of a free flowing blog (since we have Insta for that, now). Instead it’s part portfolio to show the sort of work I do, and part deep dive into my soul.

HIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS

Everyone knows the high school reunion episode of any show is a good one. Would anyone show up trying to revive decade old drama? Would any dormant crushes awaken as our twenties disappear?

If so, it would’ve gone right over my head. I didn’t even go to this school! At this point, I have far more friends in Deanna’s graduating class than my own. Both our ten year reunions were happening at the same time, so I decided to be a Golden Hawk.

A few observations:

With very few exceptions, the pop music of the era was trash. Nostalgic trash I still know all the lyrics to and can jam along with in an instant, but trash nonetheless.

The shows that make it seem like your reunion will happen in your old high school gym, decorated with school color streamers and stuff like it was homecoming for adults? Those are false. At least they were for me. You’ll get a brewery or club that offers a good price and is hip enough for late bloomers and young parents alike.

Ten years go by fast and slow all at the same time. Part of me has such a distinct memory of moving into my dorm, meeting my new college friends, that it feels like that just happened. But when I think of all the places the past ten years have taken me... that feels like my entire life fits into that window.

Be wise with time. Soon we’ll be celebrating the ten year anniversary of me writing this. (There won’t actually be a party.)

GIVING TUESDAY 2018

I legitimately LOVE that #GivingTuesday is a thing. Over the past few months, I’ve had a blast working on @plantwpurpose’s campaign for this year’s event.

Rampant consumerism can be quite destructive, so giving in a way that simultaneously helps people and the environment is such a good move. This year, @plantwpurpose is aiming to help 250 families overcome poverty by healing their land.

Poverty and environmental problems can seem like such large issues that are out of our hands. I’ve had the treat of meeting a few Haitian families this year who have turned barren hillsides into mini-forests, all while growing more food to eat and sell.

I believe that a little bit of help goes a really long way when you have locals in leadership, good soil, and a generosity of spirit.

100 MILES WITH CAM

Congrats to my buddy @cam8schmidt for completing his quest of a 100 mike run earlier this week, and on your birthday week to boot!

I love cheering for friends who pursue the big goals they’ve got in them. Glad I got to join for a single percent of it.

ITALIAN CRAVINGS

Current craving: Pici. The signature dish of Siena. We had so many plates (and fancy halved wine bottles full of this stuff the last time I was in Italy)

Like most good things in Italian cuisine, the noodles are extremely simple but extremely well executed. Most people make it with just flour, water, and egg- and many don’t even include the egg.

The most common versions of pici are cacio e pepe and ragu. The meat will often be wild game- commonly boar or rabbit.

Unfortunately this item is really tough to find in restaurants outside of Tuscany. If you do luck out and find it in an Italian restaurant, go for it. You’ve struck gold.

SURPRISED BY HOPE & THE WAR OF ART

I’ve fallen really far behind on my reading goals this year. Nonetheless, here are some recent reads:

SURPRISED BY HOPE

“What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether. They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.” 

–N.T. Wright

Book No. 21 of 2018

I forgot how rich and dense N.T. Wright’s writing can be so it took me a good while to get through this, but I’m glad I did.

Many mentors I’ve had passed on helpful wisdom to me that came from this book. It’s amazing it took me as long to start reading it as it did. The big idea it instilled in me is that my faith isn’t an escapist one, where this world is disposable and Heaven is all that matters. Instead, the great hope for the future is one where the current, created world is revived and transformed.

The ideas in the book resonated with me greatly. The one thing I wish was a little different was that I wish it was a little more accessible. The ideas in it are just that important.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE WAR OF ART

“The opposite of love isn't hate; it's indifference” 

–Stephen Pressfield

Book No. 22 of 2018

So many creatives I look up to really, really admire this book. I see it quoted all the time. And based on those quotes, I thought it was going to be a really good book. But then I read it, and it might as well have been a collection of quotes. The chapters, most of which are just a couple paragraphs long, start to make me think the book would’ve been better as a series of tweets.

I also didn’t find a whole lot of substance in the book. Just pump-up pages telling you to push through the resistance, rewritten a bunch of different ways. I also had problems with one chapter that seemed to be a bit dismissive of mental health.

That said, the book did have a bunch of good quotes to pull from.

⭐️⭐️

FOCUS/EXPAND

There are those times when the best thing to do is to expand your frontiers, try out new things, and discover. These moments come when you’re trying to figure yourself out, or when the old way of doing things won’t work anymore.

Then there are other times when you need to focus on one thing, refine one skill, and to persist down the same path. These happen when you’re trying to establish something, get really good at something, build something or invite more people to join.

My theory is that people go back and forth between these two realms every few years. Focus and expansion. Think of Donald Glover trying to establish himself as a comedian in 2008 (focus) versus swapping out rapper, singer, writer, actor, and Simba hats in 2018. (Expansion.) My other theory is that most people are much more comfortable with one than the other.

In my professional, personal, and creative life, I know I’m supposed to focus on core priorities right now. That takes me out of my comfort zone. Saying yes to one thing often feels like saying no to everything else, and I like having a diverse set of interests and pursuits. But the way to get to that Childish Gambimo sweet spot is to do so one thing at a time.

Anyone else ever think about this stuff?