Merry Christmas and Happy 2015!

Hello friends and family,
Merry Christmas and year-end greetings!  The year 2014 has flown by and for me, it has been a busy 12 months as I round down to the last phases of my Doctor of Ministry studies at ABSW (American Baptist Seminary of the West). I spent a good chunk of the year researching and writing the 220 pages of text for my project on the Franciscan Lectio of Creation as an eco-spiritual practice which connects us with the Creator through creation. Pictured below are the books that I referenced and listed in my bibliography.

The first draft of my dissertation was given to my committee just before Thanksgiving, which gave me lots of reasons to be thankful this holiday. I'll receive feedback in January, turn in the final draft to the seminary in February, defend my dissertation in March, and if I pass, I'll graduate on Saturday, May 16th and you can call me "Dr. Jay."  Fingers are crossed that all goes smooth.

To be honest, there's not much more to this year than school and my work at Redwood Glen. On my days off, I was either in the library or behind a computer, but it always featured some good drinking chocolate. Unfortunately, one of my favorite haunts, Bittersweet in Berkeley (just down the street from the GTU (Graduate Theological Union) library, closed down in September, forcing me to head to Bittersweet in Rockridge for my "usual" -- granola with almond milk, a bittersweet drinking chocolate, and vegan chocolate zucchini bread.

When I didn't travel to Berkeley, I became a regular at Downtown Local in Pescadero, just 12 minutes from camp.  In November, to finish up the dissertation, I took a week off from work and spent every day at this local coffee house, enjoying first a kambucha (not pictured), followed by a "thick chocolate" (on their secret menu), and banana bread (my favorite, though their persimmon bread and ginger pear bread are both also yummy).  I am thankful that they didn't kick me out after 5 hours (but then again, I would leave a nice tip for Cassie and the other staff)!

In terms of work, the drought hit hard at Redwood Glen which created a challenging summer. In June, Pescadero Creek (our only water source) was too low for the camp to continue receiving water from Memorial Park and we were cut off.  To remain open, we began trucking water and continue to do so. However, problems in the system and a break-down of the water truck created E.Coli and low levels in the tanks which forced us to shut down. For two weeks in early August, we cancelled groups.  It was rough. Though the tanks are now cleaned, a new process in place, and groups again coming, Redwood Glen still needs to truck in water until we can drill new wells and establish our own water filtration system. All this has created a major financial need.  If you can help reduce our $40,000 deficit for 2014 and support the estimated $100,000 needed in 2015, please click here.  Thanks.

Now back to more personal news...
here are some highlights of 2014:

* My grandmother's 90th birthday. On Saturday, January 11th my PoPo (maternal grandmother), Muriel Chan, celebrated her 90th birthday with family and close friends during a Chinese banquet lunch. My cousins and I were able to honor her life by sharing her story with pictures from her many photo albums, which have now been distributed among the family.  My PoPo is doing well as she continues to live at Lincoln Villa in Fremont.  I try to get out to see her once a quarter.

* The Hot Chocolate Run. I was actually sick during my PoPo's birthday, but the next day I ran the inaugural Hot Chocolate Run in San Francisco through Golden Gate Park. I was congested, probably had a fever, did not sleep well the night before, and discovered I forgot my running pants so I ran in thermals and cotton sweats.  But in spite, I got up on Sunday, January 12th and ran 5K in 25.20 minutes at 8 min 10 sec pace, all with the intent of claiming a Hot Chocolate Finishers Cup. The things I do for chocolate!  I injured myself during a run back in October and I am still nursing my leg pain. The jury is still out whether I'll run on January 11, 2015.

* My goddaughter's graduation. It's hard to believe but Kayla graduated with honors from Castro Valley High School in June.  She is now a mechanical engineering major at UC Irvine. While I haven't spent much time with her since those early years when she was in elementary school, Uncle Larry is very proud of the young woman that she has become. I still remember taking her to Starbucks after school and treating her to a snack as she did her homework. Now, I send her monthly care packages with a card and chocolate, of course.

* My parents 50th anniversary.  On Saturday, June 28, 1964, my parents were married at St. John's Presbyterian Church in San Francisco.  Exactly 50 years later, on Saturday, June 28, 2014, we celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Rockefeller Lodge in San Pablo.  It was a wonderful gathering of family and friends.  As you can see from the picture above the "n-kids" are getting big. Tyus (14) is nearly as tall as me, with Natalie (12) and Teresa (10) catching up. I still head to L.A. to celebrate their birthdays, and see them during the holidays.

* Rhythms of the Spirit at Redwood Glen. American Baptist Churches USA partnered with Redwood Glen to bring the Rhythms of the Spirit Conference to California from November 3-7. Not only did I handle the logistics as part of the Redwood Glen staff, I also facilitated two sessions as part of the West Coast Rhythms of the Spirit staff (pictured above).  It was a wonderful opportunity to share my doctoral project -- a Franciscan Lectio of Creation -- with my colleagues and get their feedback.  The keynote speaker, Jennifer Davidson (pictured above with the black Redwood Glen sweatshirt), blogged about her experience with the Lectio.  You can read it here.     

Unfortunately, there are no "12 Delights of Chocolate" this year but here are some 2014 chocolate discoveries:

* Cafe Venetia in Palo Alto.  Looking for a place to study with drinking chocolate, I found Cafe Venetia in Palo Alto and their 3 different chocolates, each progressively thicker: Cioccolata en Taza (thick Italian drinking chocolate a la machine, like I've had in Italy, very nice), Cioccolata Fondente (pictured above, milk - almond in this case, combined with their secret blend for a pudding consistency, a little too thick to really "drink"), and Mousse al Cioccolata (which I'll try on my next visit, but I'm told it is literally a mousse).

* Chocolate the Restaurant in Santa Cruz. I've always wanted to try Chocolate the Restaurant in Santa Cruz, so when a friend who lives in Santa Cruz wanted to meet for lunch, I knew where I wanted to go.  Cafe Venetia may have 3 chocolate "drinks" on their menu, but Chocolate the Restaurant has 10!  I've only tried two. After I finished writing the first draft of my dissertation, I decided to indulge with a Victoria Drinking Chocolate and their Deep Chocolate Indulgence (chocolate ecstasy cake, bittersweet truffle, and a mini Sophia Drinking Chocolate). The Victoria is Venezuelan dark chocolate with milk -- liquidy and nice but a bit too fruity for my tastes. The Sophia is a thick Italian-style drinking chocolate, which was good but I could taste the tapioca texture they used to thicken it.

Although I enjoyed these two new chocolate locations, I found myself comparing them to my "usuals" at Bittersweet and Downtown Local. I may simply be biased towards my regular haunts, but that won't keep me from still looking and trying different chocolate locations.  Unfortunately, two places from 2013 (Serendipity in San Carlos and Backyard Coffee in Redwood City) discontinued their drinking chocolates. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Joy-filled 2015! 
May the new year be filled with God's richest blessings
(and lots of good chocolate).