blackboard.

here is a bibliography ( in no particular order) to my written education of the past year, i recommend each of these books in one way or another because they influenced this season in some way.



the emboldened titles were especially influential or resonant:



Celebration of Discipline- Richard J. Foster

Beyond Charity- Dr. John M. Perkins

Teaching Community: A Pedagogy Of Hope- bell hooks

Cat's Cradle- Kurt Vonnegut

Jesus & The Disinherited- Howard Thurman

Freedom, Sex, Economy, Community- Wendell Berry

Out Of Solitude- Henri Nouwen

Why Are All The Black Kids All Sitting Together In The Lunch Room?... And Other Conversations On Race- Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum

On The Road- Jack Keruac

The Four Canonized Gospels-

Nickel & Dimed- Barbara Erhenreich

Irresistible Revolution- Shane Claiborne

Wild Years: The Myth & Music Of Tom Waits- Jay S. Jacobs

Living More With Less- Doris Janzen Longacre

Telling Secrets- Frederik Buechner

Saint Francis- G. K. Chesterton

Burt Me Standing- Isabel Fonseca

Freedom Of Simplicity- Richard J. Foster

The Masnavi, Book One - Jalal al-Din Rumi ( translated by Jawid Mojaddedi )

Faces Of Latin America- Duncan Green

The Corner: A Year In The Life Of An Inner-City Neighborhood- David Simon, Edward Burns

Ragamuffin Gospel- Brennan Manning

( What's Currently Known As...) The Old Testament-

Orpheus Emerges- Jack Keruac

Velvet Elvis- Rob Bell

I, Rigoberta Menchu- Rigoberta Menchu ( translated by Ann Wright)

Leaves Of Grass- Walt Whitman

Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance- Robert M. Pirsig

Death Of A Salesman- Arthur Miller

Various Essays On Community- Jean Vanier, M. Scott Peck, John Alexander

More Than Serving Tea- Nikki A. Toyama, Tracy Gee, Kathy Khang, Christie Heller De Leon, Asifa Dean

Conscience & Obedience- William Stringfellow

Naked Lunch- William S. Burroughs

Many Articles In These Periodicals: ADbusters, Geez, The Defenestrator, Sojourners, Relevant, The Catholic Worker


so, turns out i read a lot more with no TV/movies, no consistent inter-web access, and roughly 12 CDs/tapes. I highly recommend it!

change and spare change.

in 5 hours i will hop on a bus and travel to new mexico, then meet up with some friends and travel to the western coast of california. i think it is fitting that i end this year with a trip from the east coast to the west coast. even if it is long, full of new people and different situations and grueling at times because all of these have described this year.

i can scarce wrap my head around how many incredible friends i have found here. so many that i said bye to that mean so much to me. To finally know a city and then to leave is pretty drastic of a change. to finally know some great and true friends in the said city and then to leave is pretty devastating. There have been alot of long and tough goodbyes, but cheerful in hopes of seeing one another again, whether here or somewhere else along the way.

so here i am left much like the beginning of this adventure, leaving many great friends and family to meet some new ones and to learn more about Truth and Love and what that has to do with how i am to treat others.

I am honored to be here and to have shared life with so much great family.


Pan de Vida, cuerpo del Señor,
cup of blessing, blood of Christ the Lord.
At this table the last shall be first.
Poder es servir, porque Dios es amor.