• Archive of "coffee" Category

    Catching Up

    September 16, 2008 // 6 Comments »

    I don’t really like it when a full week goes by and I don’t have a chance to blog – it’s like I get creatively constipated and then I don’t know where to begin.

    Aside from just getting back into the swing of things and playing catch up since returning from Afghanistan, I have been busy doing a variety of things – getting the new house settled, wrapping up the online course I have been teaching, and training for a 1/2 marathon, along with other life-randomness.  So, where to start?  How about the 1/2 marathon.

    My New Year’s resolution was to get a 1/2 marathon under the belt before the year’s end.  I found out that there is one in Akron on Sept. 27, and since I had 2 friends doing the race (one doing the full marathon and another the 1/2), I decided to give it a go.  Afghanistan came at a bad time in terms of training, so I hit it hard as soon as I made it back.  Well, the left knee, as it has been doing for years, continued to give me trouble and I had to go see an orthopedist.  He read through a previous MRI and did an x-ray.  You should have seen his face when I told him I was training for a 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks?!  He actually said, “You’re running on this?”  I just started rehab this morning and we’ll see how much that helps.  Next stage is a fluid injection to make up for the cartlidge that is damaged and/or missing, and then surgery will be a last resort.  So, sadly, no race for me, at least not this month.  There is another one here in Memphis in December, so perhaps then.

    Semi-related, as a part of training and moving to midtown, I have been frequenting the downtown YMCA, which is a great facility.  There is a trolly that goes back and forth, though it ends a mile from my house.  The other day, I ran down to the Y, worked out some there, and took the trolly back, and ran the last mile.  It’s a cool part of downtown Memphis that I was excited to experience for the first time.

    My friend Joey stumbled on a newspaper article last week about a gathering in a local establishment called Beer and Bible, facilitated by Phyllis, Tickle, someone I have been wanting to meet ever since moving to Memphis.  I had the opportunity to go and participate in the discussion last week and just loved it.  It was about the most eclectic group of folks you can imagine who used the 7 deadly sins as a jumping off point for discussion.

    I also had the chance to accompany my friend Jon and a few other guys who do some work with FCA at Carver HS to a football game.  Carver is a school in urban Memphis with few resources and about 30 guys on the team.  The team they played is an over-resourced suburban school with about 30 guys/position.  Needless to say, Carver got crushed, but it was fun to be back on the sidelines of a HS football game.

    What else?  With the help of some friends, lots of painting at my new place has gotten accomplished and I also added a few pieces of furniture as I seek to create an inviting and hospitable sort of place.  Pictures forthcoming.

    The class.  I am in the final stages of grading final papers for the first go-around of an online class for Fuller – The Emerging Church in the 21st Century.  The class was filled with great discussion and insights.  The majority of students feel as though they have a lot more clarity on what the EC discussion/movement is all about and I have reall enjoyed helping them to explore their questions, misgivings, and thoughts in general.

    Lastly, while the website leaves a little to be desired, the atmosphere at Republic Coffee doesn’t.  I am writing this from their location – one I very quickly become a huge fan of.  If you’re around midtown, check it out.

    Posted in bible, coffee, emerging church, friends, Fuller Seminary, memphis, midtown

    More Memphis

    April 4, 2008 // 17 Comments »

    Well, after 2 weeks, I finally broke down and did some grocery shopping.  Much to my chagrin, Memphis is without a Trader Joes :(  Come on TJ, get with it, bring the goodness to the Mid-South!  Instead, there seem to be 2 main options for the average grocery shopper: Kroger and Schnucks.  I decided to try Shnucks first. It’s a nice store with a good selection of stuff and let’s face it, a pretty fun name!  Maybe a bit pricier than Kroger from what I hear, but they seemed to have decent sales on the sort of stuff that I end up buying.  Also, they give you 5 cents off of every gallon of gas for every 25 bucks you spend, a nice perk.  But, the best part of the shopping trip was coming across Ugly Mug coffee.

    This was big for 2 main reasons.  First, I have never really been a coffee drinker.  I’m one of those guys who needs plenty of milk and sugar to make coffee palatable.  But, a few weeks ago I had my first cup of coffee with nothing but a bit of flavored creamer and really enjoyed it.  I reasoned that this would be my gateway to being a real grown up coffee drinker and was excited to finally have the opportunity to buy some of my very own coffee and give it a shot. Second, Ugly Mug is a local Memphis coffee company.  Not only do I like to buy locally whenever I can, but this is a company that is looking beyond the trendy fair trade fad to even deeper issues of sustainability and economic development.

    Here’s me enjoying it –

    Side note – this was also the first time I have ever used a personal coffee maker.  I bought the wrong filters, but made it work and had no idea how much/many(?) grounds to use to make 2 cups of coffee.  How do you figure that out – guess and check?

    In other news, I was traveling down the road the other day and drove by this…

    Yeah, I just don’t really know what to do with that.  The statue sits outside the facility for this church, which, aside from my assumptions about the presence of the statue and the cost involved, I know nothing about.

    Ah, life in Memphis!

    Posted in coffee