Donut Tourism: San Diego



Before we left San Diego, Curtis and I were able to check out the newly opened Donut Bar downtown.

The previous week, they had gotten a ton of media buzz, resulting in a ton of business, and so there were already all these reviews on Yelp about how they kept running out of donuts and should have known better and were creating scarcity to create hype blah blah blah.

Regardless of the drama, this place is good. The owner was there, and he was so nice and excited to be there and apologetic (because they were about to run out of donuts again), and I just love seeing people happy and living their dreams. It's so inspiring.

Anyway, we got the Saigon Cinnamon and Sugar, Old Fashioned Glazed, and... I think that other one is Vanilla Bean?
 I don't really remember, but what I do remember is that THEY WERE AMAZING. The Saigon cinnamon is something else. It's made with Vietnamese cinnamon, which does taste different. More spice-y I think. And the old fashioned was hot and fresh and just-glazed.

We had to take our donuts and coffee ($1, btw) to go because there's no seating in there (yet) and no parking to speak of (it's downtown, after all). And their menu changes every day, so now I wish we could have gone a few more times to try their different donuts.

Definitely check this place out if you are in San Diego.
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Book Review: A People's History of Christianity

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Last week I started riding the bus to and from work, and it has given me so much time to read! My first bus book was A People's History of Christianity by Diana Butler Bass. It was pretty good, but perhaps not what I was expecting.

Given the obvious rip-off of Howard Zinn's title, I thought the book would be more about the "losers" of church history who haven't gotten their story told--the heretics, the faithful poor, the obscure upholders of Christianity. But it seemed like much of the same mainstream, rich, well-educated dudes that everyone knows about. Mother Julian, St. Francis, Martin Luther, George Fox etc. Perhaps it's more a credit to my professors that few of the stories were new to me.

The book did remind me of some forgotten favorites (who I plan to feature on upcoming Theologian Thursdays), and it did leave me feeling hopeful for the church in its floundering entrance into postmodernity--a testament to the positive tone of the book, which I appreciate, even if it did gloss over some of the sticky, more painful aspects of church history. She focuses on the idea of "generative Christianity" rather than militant Christianity.

Butler Bass weaved together the stories of the church with stories of her academic journey, and how the context of her life affected her reception of the history she was learning--something I can surely relate to. The personal narrative alongside the historical one gave a unique context to what could have been a rote history.

I'd recommend this book to people who are interested in church history but have not studied it much before. It's an accessible read about a not-always-so-accessible topic.
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TTLA + Finding my Place

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Today I got to hang out at the Disciples of Christ Historical Society for the meeting of the Tennessee Theological Library Association. It was so, so much fun being surrounded by people who have, more or less, my same professional interests.

Theological librarianship is a pretty narrow field, so it's always been kind of a novelty to find people who were part of it. But since working in the Divinity Library it's become an everyday thing! I am so thrilled to be working here with such interesting and intelligent people who geek out over the same things I do. I keep saying how wonderful it's been to feel like I'm among "my people."

So as much as I miss San Diego (although I still don't think it's really sunk in yet), I am really overjoyed to be here learning and experiencing this new and exciting environment. It's so certainly where I belong.

We made it!


I know it's been super quiet and sad around here the last few weeks. But we finally made it!

Curtis and I are safe and sound in Nashville. Today marks ONE FULL WEEK of being Nashvillians, and the end of my first full work week. Needless to say I am exhausted. But the best kind of exhausted.

I'm actually almost feeling like a fully-functioning human being for the most part (getting caught up on school work, not having to use a map to drive to and from work), so I expect I'll be back to blogging soon. I didn't realize how much I've missed it!

If you want to check out some photos (like the one above, which I took on the road in Arkansas), you should check out our Nashville Diaries blog.

For now though, I wonder if you all have any MUST-SEE Nashville places we need to check out.

So far we've been to the Pharmacy (I had a FALAFEL BURGER!) and Nashville Biscuit House, plus I've driven through Bicentennial Park a couple times, and I could see the Parthenon at Centennial Park from my HR training room (though I haven't actually been there yet).

Where do we still need to go? Let me know in the comments!
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Subverting the Norm: Eucharist as Deconstruction

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I know, I am SO BEHIND on everything in life right now.

I am still meaning to do a write-up about the Subverting the Norm conference, which was so SO awesome.

For now, though, I did want to make available the paper I presented there. I meant to post it beforehand, but I didn't want to give it all away before my session! I think it was pretty well received, and got some good conversation going--like, if Eucharist breaks down hierarchies, what are we to say about ordination, or the fact that (in many traditions) only certain people may administer the elements?

Anyway, give it a read and let me know what you think!

Abstract:The liturgy of Eucharist is a deconstructive act within the Church in that it calls into question and breaks down hierarchical social structures and individualized faith in order to create a true and unified body within Christ’s broken body at his table. In this essay, I will briefly attempt to elucidate deconstruction, I will make a few points regarding the Eucharist’s sacramental and unifying nature, and then I will show how the Eucharist deconstructs, but also re-constructs, the Church. This deconstruction and re-construction means  recognizing and remembering that we Christians are one, at one table with the Lord, and that for this to be so, we must submit to the breaking down of the structures in which we often find comfort, but which inhibit true communion with each other and with Christ. In order to be re-constructed into the real, present body of Christ, we must allow and embrace the Eucharist as deconstruction.

Paper: CLICK HERE for PDF.
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Donut Tourism: Seattle

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If you know me, you know I love donuts (also doughnuts, but I prefer the simplified spelling). In fact, for my birthday last year, my coworkers built me a donut cake.


So I absolutely love trying new donuts and new donut shops when I'm traveling. I call it Donut Tourism, and I'm going to make it a recurring feature on the blog--especially since we'll be moving and I'll be sampling donuts all over the country! In fact, I also plan to do a couple retroactive posts now that I think of it (i.e. Voodoo Donuts from when Curtis and I went to Portland in 2011).

ANYWAY.

When we were in Seattle last week (which went quite well, and I should probably post about that, but FIRST THINGS FIRST) we did the normal touristy Pike's Place Market, and Curtis's college friend and old roommate who was our tour guide insisted that we try the cinnamon mini donuts from this little stall/booth.

 



As you can see from the photo above, we plowed through the first six donuts before I was like "OMG I NEED TO TAKE A PHOTO OF THESE. THESE ARE THE MOST AMAZING DONUTS I'VE EVER EATEN."

So warm. So cinnamon-y. So fluffy and airy and sweet.

Fried, dough-y perfection.

I told my mom she had to try these when she visited the next day, and I extend the commandment to ANYONE READING THIS. If you find yourself in downtown Seattle, nay, anywhere near the Pacific Northwest. You absolutely must make the pilgrimage to this donut place--Daily Dozen.