another fun-filled crazy and blessed weekend has come and gone! what a delight it was to have good friends come back. it was so awesome to see how excited everyone was to see them return.. the community that we share is truly a testament of God's love :)

walking downtown with just and erns, @ eastsides with dren and dor!

oldies dinner @ thaifoon

downtown picture-taking fun with the boys :)

group shot @ kev & jess'

cranium fun!

baristas unite!

coffeehouse was once again an amazing night. can't wait to see the fruits that will come as a result of it! also had some unexpected conversations over the weekend that were quite enjoyable :) yay for God's surprising little nuggets of blessing :)

lack of sleep and excitement from the weekend has left me a bit scatter-minded tho. probably a lot scatter-minded actually. can't seem to focus. i've realized i'm really good at blanking out during conversations with ppl and during lectures and sermons.. eek. it's like i'm there (mentally) one minute.. then a few minutes later i snap back and realize i have no clue what was just said or what has just happened. it happens when i drive too. not good.....

it's a lot closer to Christmas then i choose to believe. the crazy early playing of Christmas songs and Christmas decorations and Christmas merchandise in stores hasn't affected me at all yet. ppl say how it makes them feel happy and warm. i just can't get into that spirit right now. but time IS closing in! aahh gotta get moving.. but i'm stuck in slow motion.

Language ideology among dominant white social groups in the US sees directness as a virtue, indirectness as at best a waste of time and often as an impediment to effective communication. -- Eckert & McConnell-Ginet

i read this in my language and gender textbook and i think it is sooooo true. altho it goes on to say that women are the ones who practice indirectness more than men.. "why doesn't she just say what she means?" says the flabbergasted boy. i don't know! but i could say the same thing about some guys.

i guess i've been guilty of being indirect. after all.. i am a woman. i guess. haha. but i consider myself a pretty direct person. i know how to say what i wanna say. in the occasion that i don't.. it probably means i want to be polite. which is the reason for a lot of indirectness according to my textbook. or it could mean i really don't want to answer your question or talk about the topic at hand. in which case i would probably say let's drop it. but that is a way of being direct :P

but i absolutely despise indirectness.. especially when it's dished out to me. it's hard for me to sit there while someone beats around the bush. it says there right in the book - indirectness is an impediment to effective communication. it is a waste of time. the world would be a much more efficient and honest place if we just said what was on our minds. i love efficiency. honesty isn't so bad either :P so why don't we try being more direct when we talk to ppl hm?