You say it's your birthday!!!

Du na na na NA na na na! I'm 21!!! Here's how I celebrated:

WEDNESDAY

My actual birthday got off to kind of a rocky start. I went into work for a few hours, though I told my boss ahead of time that I was leaving early to get ready to go out. Those few hours were very frusturating. Long story short, the office administrator was supposed to be back from vacation that week, but decided to stay in Mexico for a THIRD week. I was extremely stressed, but then my boss pulled everyone who was around into the dance studio and they sang happy birthday to me, which was embarassing but really nice! Then they gave me a chocolate cake, signed card, perfume and gummies. After we ate the cake, my boss made me leave.

So that night, Sean, Emily and I met in a pub in Ealing Broadway called Parkview. It's not the most exciting pub but they have a lot of good mixed drinks. Emily bought us all a shot and then I got a Long Island ice tea, which I had never had before! It was okay. Donnie met us as well, which was extremely nice of him, because from where he lives Ealing Broadway might as well be China. Donnie left after an hour and a half or so to start his trek home, and Sean, Emily and I went to this place called Finnegan's Wake. I love it because they always have live music. That night was open mic acoustic guitar night, so we saw some really good musicians along with a few bad ones.

FRIDAY

Donnie made reservations at this cute Indian tapas place in Leicester Square. Unfortunately I still don't know the name of it! Sean and I were talking to Donnie on the phone while trying to find it and I kept asking Donnie the name, but he wouldn't tell me... he just kept saying "I, M, P, D" or some letters like that. All I know is that the restaraunt name started with an "I." Anyway, when we sat down Donnie gave me the first present from him and Max (his roommate who I've been hanging out with a fair amount)... a book! Donnie said he'd been reading it lately and thought it was good. I asked him what it was about and he wouldn't tell me, so I still don't even know what genre it is (he was being mysterious that night!). Anyway, Sean and I ordered two different types of chicken curry and shared them, and that was quite good. After the meal was over, the waiters brought out a raspberry chocolate cake with candles! Donnie and Max had ordered it from their favorite bakery, and I must say it was really good. Finally, Donnie and Max gave me their third present! It was a dress I had tried on when I was shopping at TopShop with Donnie!! We'd both liked the dress, but I didn't have enough money to buy it.

After dinner, Donnie and Max left to get ready for an early flight the next morning. Sean and I wandered around looking for an affordable club, and we finally found one! It was only 5 pounds to get in with a coupon, and it was probably my favorite club we've found since I've been in London. It was a medium-size venue with fairly cheap drinks and LOTS of people our age (which is strangely hard to find sometimes... often clubbers are in their late 30's which is a bit too old for us...). They also played really good music like the Beatles and Passion Pit, which was a very welcome change of pace from the usual Lady Gaga/"Riverside"/etc.

SATURDAY

Birthday celebrations were over by Saturday, but I thought I'd put it on here anyway, as I had a fun day/night. The weather in the daytime was absolutely beautiful, so I went to Portobello Road Market, which I've been meaning to do. I was planning on just window shopping, but I found a really cool ring for 2 pounds! All in all though, I like Camden market better. Portobello has a lot of antiques and knicknacks, and I'm not into either one.

I wasn't planning on going out that night at all, but had dinner with my two new Austrian housemates. They were going to Ealing Broadway and asked if I wanted to come show them around, so I said why not. They are 17 and 18. They're funny because they when one gets the giggles, so does the other one, and they can't stop. Also, I never understand why the things they laugh at are funny...

Anyway, we met their two friends at the tube station and started to wander around. It didn't take long before I realized I had no idea how to get to any of our usual pubs without Sean, since I usually just follow him, haha! So I called him up and he joined us. We were going to go to O'Neill's, which was packed because of a big football game against Spain's two biggest and best teams, but there were very strict bouncers at the door, and since one of the girls isn't 18 yet we couldn't go in. So we went to Parkview, which doesn't card, and to the Red Lion, our staple and a personal favorite of mine. The girls wanted to go somewhere with lots of people our age, and dancing and music, which unfortunately we couldn't do, but they said they still had fun.


Today I HAVE to clean my room, which is even more of a mess than usual, and start writing papers. Boring, but necessary.

Cheers,
Rebecca