Movies, good food, and relevance

Josh and I enjoyed some Red Robin and went to see "21" Friday night. I really enjoyed the movie, but we went to the late showing and I was so tired, so perhaps it wasn't as good as I thought. Kevin Spacey plays conniving roles very well. Most of the movies I've seen in him are very disturbing (except for Pay it Forward in which he was a burn victim), so I haven't yet decided if he's one of my favorite actors. I'm more of a Tom Hanks fan, and I love movies like You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. I even enjoyed Cast Away, and I cried when Wilson got "lost" and when he "reunites" with his past girlfriend.

Saturday after work Josh and I went to Ted's Montana Grill with Jonathan and Joy, Jonathan's brother, and Josh's parents. Just after we received our food I saw my second parents Michael and Laurie! It was SO great to see them. (I used to work at Ted's and saw them at least once a week when they'd come in to eat. All the servers just loved them, and they always asked us how we were and really listened to us.) I miss seeing them.

On Sunday, Josh and I tried out a nearby church with our friends. We then all came to our house and made brunch together and spent the day watching movies. What a relaxing what to spend Sunday!

I've successfully finished the third week at the new job. I work four days and have three days off, which is nice because I have time to work around the house, complete schoolwork, and enjoy a little downtime in between. I can't believe I will be done with school by the end of this year. I'm ready to be done, and sometimes the senioritis is so bad (I think there needs to be a prescription for it), but I know when I finish I'll feel different and I may miss it! I've thought of grad school, but it seems that, in my case, higher education may be proportional to a lessened ability to function in the "real world," whatever that may be. :) My "street smarts" aren't quite up to par, so it may be in my best interest to stop with undergrad. We'll see, though. There are specific individuals who'd like to see me take a break from all these dusty theories and examine more applicable questions like, "Which is hotter--mild or medium salsa?" (You know who you are...Mom!)

Saturday morning at work I had a good discussion with one of our real estate agents at the office. He mentioned that I seem like the type of girl who attends church three times a week and has it all together.

That last sentence deserved a pause (English/poetry obsessoids: I utilitized white space!). I asked him whether that makes me unapproachable, and he said "no." Whew. This initial exchange sparked an interesting conversation. We talked about the fine line between those individuals who "have it all together" and are uncomfortable to be around (because those who don't "have it all together" don't feel like they can be REAL) and those who "have it all together" and are genuine. Some say genuinity comes naturally; that's true to a point. Genuinity does take effort. It takes effort to ask a person about their day and be truly interested in the answer. Genuinity also means taking a break from being everyone's best friend, saying yes and no when you mean it/want to, and being willing to have a bad day. We see so many people smiling through their pain, because that's what they think God/the world expects of them. Yes, smile through your pain, and smile through tragedy. But, don't lie. What the world needs is genuinity--not surfacy...ness.

So, back to the conversation. He said that he believes in God but does not attend church and "feels bad" because he knows he should. A few specific experiences he had in the past with certain church-goers influences the way he thinks about church in general. Overall, his experiences illustrate the idea that some Christians may easily be the worst representations of Christ--which, importantly, is a true (and useful) but dangerous perspective depending on how it's used. At the end of the day, Christians are humans and therefore imperfect.

It was a great discussion. So many discussions I've had lately with others seem to boil down to relevance. Relevance! I have a good story about that which I will have to write later.