7 Quick Takes Friday

This is blog carnival week. This is hosted by http://www.conversiondiary.com/ which is an AWESOME blog.

1. Spotify (http://www.spotify.com/en/) is the best thing in music. Like the radio, in that it's free, but unlike the radio, in that there is a lot less chat and you can choose what songs you listen to. It's opened up the world of music recommendations to me. It's free!

2. An friend from my class in Indonesia - Jon 'The' Hans - have stayed in sporadic touch over the last seven years. I have got a lot of time for him, his thoughts and his faith, and I love hearing about the adventures that he gets up to. He has also managed to be disciplined and, after years of hard work, has finally released some of his singles. Now for the first time in your life you can buy Jon Hans Music! Visit: www.myspace.com/jonhansmusic

3. Home. My sister has just been to visit America, because one of the friends that she went to primary school with just got married. Almost (but not quite) all of her primary school class were there (all five of them!) and when she got back we had a loooong chat on the phone about friendships old and new. In particular, we grew up with one family, the Japanese family who lived over the road, who became our best friends. We haven't seen them for years, and only hope and pray that they will come to visit us someday, or vice versa...but their son was there and Cia and he got some time to hang out. Even though she has never been to LA before it was like going home to see him and the others. I completely know what she means and I'm sad for her that they don't live closer. I'm sad for me too.

4. On a related note, a couple of my closest friends live in America too, and Aaron and I had been/are hoping to go and visit them before Christmas...ideally this August. But it's SO DARN EXPENSIVE. It's not fair when you have to pay £500 for your boyfriend to meet your best friend. It's not fair when you have to choose.

5. I'm an adventure girl. I don't know very many adventure girls. My idea of fun - of refreshment - is adrenaline and challenge and being outdoors and exploring somewhere new/unfamiliar and physical engagement with my body. With friends. With Whom???
I find this so hard.

6. I'm still working away on my Masters Dissertation...exploring the links between education, development, and anthropology. Papua or PNG? Papua or PNG?? So goes my mind....

7. Community. What does it mean, what does it mean for me, what is it, how is it connected to faith, what difference does it make, how does it connect with English culture? How do I invest? What do I need to give up in order to gain? These are the questions my subconscious is always rolling around. Meg and I have been praying about it, and feel we still need to chill out and wait. One day I'll write a full post about it.