A Green Jacket...

Today started as any Saturday, a late wake with brunch to follow, hoping the fried food did something towards absorbing the joys of the previous night. 

But, at 1:00pm Sean picked up, Lenka, Will and I, and we drove out to DC for some clothes shopping towards Birthday Ball. After much browsing we finally found Will most of his attire. I myself picked up the blue tie I was looking for to go with my Ravenclaw themed colour co-ordination, and I also bought somewhat of a luxury piece for myself. It isn't often that I just buy clothes for myself and the past two times have been with Sean and included green clothing - I think he might be a bad influence, although I did encourage him to buy something for himself. So, the new addition to my wardrobe is a green jacket that will go perfectly for smart casual events and a summer jacket. 

After eating we went to Maggiano's, Sean having made a reservation earlier in the day. Following our classy clothes, we at classy Italian, which reminded me a lot of Carmine's, where we went for Thanksgiving. We decided that watching a film as well would push us getting back too late, so we made a briefish trip into the city centre to give Will a taste of the capital's monuments. 

Arriving back at campus, Sean dropped the three of us off at B, where we watched 'Warm Bodies'. I'm not a zombie person at all, but I thought that it was an interesting twist on what I see to be a somewhat overused apocalyptic template. Anyway, back in Worcester now I've hung up the new clothing and I'm psyching myself up for actually doing some work tomorrow. 

Sam's, JR's, O'Connor's...

I won't bore with the regular routine of a Friday, as everyone struggles into the weekend and a much needed rest. Although, after some persuasion from several people, I finally watched the first couple of episodes of 'House of Cards' and I'm instantly hooked. Most importantly, yesterday was the first 'First Friday' of the semester, so we went down into town after dinner. We managed to squeeze into a table at Sam's where \ country band played some feet stomping tunes. From Sam's we went down the road to JR's, where we had some drinks and met up with others down in the piano bar. From the bar we caught safe ride up to O'Connors and spent the rest of the night there, after a pretty successful tour of the town's watering holes. 

Trainspotting...

Today I followed Tuesday's routine of taking my work up to the dining hall. I left briefly to check-in at the GEO for the Spring semester, and then returned start pointing some initial ideas down for an essay. 

After class, I came back to Worcester to do laundry, so I have a fresh bed tonight, which is always a bonus! Lenka came by to have a nap, as is her custom, and then we headed up to dinner. Fish and proper chips was a nice surprise tonight. 

This evening, we went to B and flicked on some of the winter Olympics whilst we decided what film we were going to watch. After much debating and false starts, we settled on Trainspotting, which admittedly wasn't the upbeat addition to our watching schedule that we had planned. But, in my opinion it was a very good film - I did have to strain to hear some of it at times over the groans and squeals of the others. Either way, it's another classic ticked off the list.  

David & Deirdre's...

Today was the usual Wednesday routine, finishing off with 'Enchanted' as our final Screwball Comedy of the semester. I also spent some time at the piano where I'm working on a couple of new tunes. 

Outside of classes, which ran as usual, the major highlight of today was going to David and Deirdre's this evening. I took Sean, Ellie and Danny with me, but Marcela and Tony from Enactus were also in attendance, as well as Ki, the second host student. So, a full table. As usual it was great to see them both, Joan and the ever adorable animals. The food was superb, the wine excellent, and the company charming. It is a constant treat to be invited, and I feel very lucky to have such a willing and hospitable host family. 

Adventure Time...

Today was spent predominantly in the dining hall, as I took my laptop up with me at breakfast. I wrote my essay, taking advantage of the free drink - I don't know why I haven't thought to do it before. It also meant that I had chance to see everyone at some point as they came and went for food. 

I had made a lunch date with Marcela at 1:00pm so broke from work to have lunch. We ate and then hung around talking until class with Miller at 2:30pm. After class I went to the library to finish the essay and then Lenka and I went for an earlier dinner. 

This evening we went to KC B where Will continued to show us one of the most bizarre cartoons I've ever seen - 'Adventure Time'. But, despite it looking like what I imagine an acid trip to be, I find myself laughing and strangely hooked on it. 

Legally Drinkable!...

So today was the big day - the 21st birthday, when I can legally drink and have a good time in America. I'll take the opportunity to say that the past months in the US without a single drop of alcohol have been hard, but I think I handled myself with dignity on all occasions.

Today passed as usual, with nice downpour or two to make sure that my birthday wasn't completely devoid of British tradition. After classes, we had dinner and made plans for this evening. I did get chance to speak with Tom and the folks too, for which I was glad.

We socialised the night away at JR's, where I was finally able to buy a true drink off Jeff behind the bar. I did serenade people a couple of times with some piano down in the comfy chairs, which, whether it was enjoyed or not, was good to play in front of people. 

Pre-Birthday Weekend...

I hadn't really registered it, but I was informed today that the blog has fallen silent for the past few days. So, a catch up on a pre-birthday weekend. 

Friday rounded off the week of classes and then we spent a quiet evening at KC B, relaxing with the girls and hearing about their things for the sorority events this passed week.

We spent most of Saturday prepping for the Relay For Life Quidditch Tournament. Sean, Morgan and I drove out to Home Depot to get things for the brooms and then on to Walmart for some Potter related snacks. Sufficed to say, it was definitely the most unhealthy day of my life for a long time. After a fried brunch, we had Chick-fil-a for lunch and then I had a burger and fries from the cove in the evening. We then had drinks at Lenka's before heading out to O'Connors.

This morning I realised that a six pack and three fried meals made for a very tender feeling indeed. So, I had a much smaller brunch today. I did some reading in the library for Tuesday and then we went to the grocery store for Superbowl supplies. We set things up at KC B and then relaxed the evening away with the football. It wasn't the most exciting game, but I was rooting for the Seahawks, so I was pleased with the result. A huge thank you to Cheryl and David for supplying me with a chocolate birthday cake capable of feeding over twenty of us with some left over.