happy belated, to me
In case you were all wondering what the heck I did with the whole birthday thing so many kilometeres from home, I shall recap. ^_^
10:30/11ish, woke up. There was a weird rustling from the hall, I ignored it. Katie2 (my roommate, as opposed to Katie1, from next door) comes in, I'm checking email and reading all these wonderful e-cards and livejournal posts and forum threads and MSN messages from everyone, wishing me a distant but happy birthday, grinning like mad and loving the world already... and I ask her what's going on in the hallway. She insists I go look.
The door is covered in wrapping paper (with giraffes and orange kitties on it, among other things!) and balloons and birthday banners! Katie1 and Seth masterminded a door decorating! And yet no one answered door knockings, so I came back into the room and opened birthday cards from Mum & Dad and the McPhees (thanks for the €s!) and then Katie1 comes in and I thank her for the door and she runs out and comes back with flowers! Pink and white ones! And Seth is here too by that time, and Katie1 then gives me a "birthday girl" badge and I promise to wear it all day. We all quit being lazy and eventually everyone is dressed and we go down to lunch because the kitchenette was a trench-like warzone about to be condemmned due to someone's drunken messy carelessness.
Get downstairs, Patrick's card is in my mailbox. Perfect timing! There are now confetti stars EVERYWHERE. I'm pretty sure the cleaning staff isn't impressed, but I loved it. :D
12:30ish. Lunch is unremarkable. Then Seth gets up on a chair and yells to the cafeteria that not only is it Red Nose Day (a charity thing they have in England... don't ask), it's also my birthday, and that soon there would be singing and clapping involved. Most people stare at him blankly, and others just stare at me. I'm a little embarassed but mostly giddy with attention! Then he and Katie1 dissapear AGAIN and come out with a cake! With 21 candles! And everyone starts singing and clapping and it's not normal "Happy Birthday to you" singing but some sort of Flintstone's variation that they changed the words to to suit me. The cake was a cheeky monkey and hilarious and chocolate and yummy. I missed having a DQ cake but I'm sure I'll get one when I get home, right, Family?
2ish. Back in residence. The Katies and Morgan (who has been ill and thus missed most of the celebration!) decide that it's time for my present and they give me a Eiffel-Tower-shaped giraffe ... something I saw in Paris and almost bought myself, but Katie wouldn't let me, mostly because while he's so so sweet, it was also kinda pricey. Heh. I reluctantly walked away from what is honestly the cutest thing ever... and they had bought it when I was off on my literary walking tour! Sneaky sneaks!
I spend the afternoon in total lethargy, watching movies and old Simpsons episodes on my computer. I can afford the day of rest.
Suppertimeish, we decide we want to make some KD instead of going out and paying for a fancy supper (which we may just postpone til we go to Brighton tomorrow), but no one really wants to go get milk or butter from the cafeteria. We enlist someone who IS going to the castle for dinner to get us some, but by time they come back, it was already time to call the taxi to go to the UGC Cinema at Eastbourne. If you know me at ALL, you know what a crime it is for me not to have been to a movie in a theatre in so very long a time.
8:30pm. Popcorn (salted not sweet), Sprite and Skittles (the purple ones are weird) remedy the lack of KD in my tummy. We end up seeing Million Dollar Baby which was really very good, but I maintain that Finding Neverland should have gotten Best Picture. Hilary Swank and Eastwood and Morgan Freeman can keep their Oscars, though. The massive plot holes weren't their fault, they did what they could!
11ish. Seth decides I can have my present now (they all decided that they would spread the day out as long as possible!), and it involved a Wizard of Oz stk, a Snowy (from Tintin) pin, and a verymuch excellent Doctor Who set of collectibles. Also one other thing, which I shall not name due to it being a matching something to a surprise gift for someone reading this at home. ;)
All in all... wow. I was worried that I wouldn't have a good birthday, being so far from home. But, Katie1 and Seth got together and planned this since the midterm trip, with help from Morgan and Katie2! I miss everyone at home, A LOT, but it's so comforting to know that I have amazing friends here, and I adore them all to a dizzying degree.
PS: Halifriends, I definitely missed bowling and boardgames, but there's always next year!
Here are les photos. There aren't many, but the basics are covered. :)
10:30/11ish, woke up. There was a weird rustling from the hall, I ignored it. Katie2 (my roommate, as opposed to Katie1, from next door) comes in, I'm checking email and reading all these wonderful e-cards and livejournal posts and forum threads and MSN messages from everyone, wishing me a distant but happy birthday, grinning like mad and loving the world already... and I ask her what's going on in the hallway. She insists I go look.
The door is covered in wrapping paper (with giraffes and orange kitties on it, among other things!) and balloons and birthday banners! Katie1 and Seth masterminded a door decorating! And yet no one answered door knockings, so I came back into the room and opened birthday cards from Mum & Dad and the McPhees (thanks for the €s!) and then Katie1 comes in and I thank her for the door and she runs out and comes back with flowers! Pink and white ones! And Seth is here too by that time, and Katie1 then gives me a "birthday girl" badge and I promise to wear it all day. We all quit being lazy and eventually everyone is dressed and we go down to lunch because the kitchenette was a trench-like warzone about to be condemmned due to someone's drunken messy carelessness.
Get downstairs, Patrick's card is in my mailbox. Perfect timing! There are now confetti stars EVERYWHERE. I'm pretty sure the cleaning staff isn't impressed, but I loved it. :D
12:30ish. Lunch is unremarkable. Then Seth gets up on a chair and yells to the cafeteria that not only is it Red Nose Day (a charity thing they have in England... don't ask), it's also my birthday, and that soon there would be singing and clapping involved. Most people stare at him blankly, and others just stare at me. I'm a little embarassed but mostly giddy with attention! Then he and Katie1 dissapear AGAIN and come out with a cake! With 21 candles! And everyone starts singing and clapping and it's not normal "Happy Birthday to you" singing but some sort of Flintstone's variation that they changed the words to to suit me. The cake was a cheeky monkey and hilarious and chocolate and yummy. I missed having a DQ cake but I'm sure I'll get one when I get home, right, Family?
2ish. Back in residence. The Katies and Morgan (who has been ill and thus missed most of the celebration!) decide that it's time for my present and they give me a Eiffel-Tower-shaped giraffe ... something I saw in Paris and almost bought myself, but Katie wouldn't let me, mostly because while he's so so sweet, it was also kinda pricey. Heh. I reluctantly walked away from what is honestly the cutest thing ever... and they had bought it when I was off on my literary walking tour! Sneaky sneaks!
I spend the afternoon in total lethargy, watching movies and old Simpsons episodes on my computer. I can afford the day of rest.
Suppertimeish, we decide we want to make some KD instead of going out and paying for a fancy supper (which we may just postpone til we go to Brighton tomorrow), but no one really wants to go get milk or butter from the cafeteria. We enlist someone who IS going to the castle for dinner to get us some, but by time they come back, it was already time to call the taxi to go to the UGC Cinema at Eastbourne. If you know me at ALL, you know what a crime it is for me not to have been to a movie in a theatre in so very long a time.
8:30pm. Popcorn (salted not sweet), Sprite and Skittles (the purple ones are weird) remedy the lack of KD in my tummy. We end up seeing Million Dollar Baby which was really very good, but I maintain that Finding Neverland should have gotten Best Picture. Hilary Swank and Eastwood and Morgan Freeman can keep their Oscars, though. The massive plot holes weren't their fault, they did what they could!
11ish. Seth decides I can have my present now (they all decided that they would spread the day out as long as possible!), and it involved a Wizard of Oz stk, a Snowy (from Tintin) pin, and a verymuch excellent Doctor Who set of collectibles. Also one other thing, which I shall not name due to it being a matching something to a surprise gift for someone reading this at home. ;)
All in all... wow. I was worried that I wouldn't have a good birthday, being so far from home. But, Katie1 and Seth got together and planned this since the midterm trip, with help from Morgan and Katie2! I miss everyone at home, A LOT, but it's so comforting to know that I have amazing friends here, and I adore them all to a dizzying degree.
PS: Halifriends, I definitely missed bowling and boardgames, but there's always next year!
Here are les photos. There aren't many, but the basics are covered. :)