You hear that, Mr Andersen?

And time is still marching on...

So, today is my actual birthday. I am now 31, or will be by the end of today. I seem to remember a story which involves me being delivered by a man in a bow tie and gumboots, but my recollections of the event are hazy at best.

***

A fair number of people turned up for the party, and everyone seemed to have someone to chat to, so that was all good. In fact, there was some actual mingling between different groups, which was something of a shock - I mean, I half-expected the three factions I invited to be pretty immiscible. I'd point to alcohol as an effective social emulsifier, but I don't think that accurately reflects what I saw. Maybe Wellington is small enough that it's inevitiable that people will find some connection. Or maybe I just happen to know cool, sociable people. ;)

(Yes, I think I just compared parties to mayonnaise. Maybe I still need more sleep. :)

I was a bit worried about my purchases, since I made the terrible mistake of going shopping while hungry. Luckily, Margie was there to restrain my worst excesses, and we grabbed a bite to eat in Moore Wilsons Fresh. Even so, we still have an entire huge box of corn chips, a box of toffee milks that wasn't even opened at the party (though my flatmates have done their best to make inroads into it since), and six or seven litres of fruit juice. My fridge, which was pressed into service as a drinks repository and frozen pie holder, is still about half-full. I guess that just means we won't have to shop for those things for a while.

Speaking of things I won't need for a while - I got a half-keg of beer for the party. (Monteith's Golden Ale, to be precise.) While we didn't manage to get through all 30 litres, people did make a valiant effort - particularly since it seemed to be more than half head when it emerged from the tap. Next time, should there be one, I will provide an icy trough (which apparently helps) and a large jug (which would definitely have helped had I thought clearly and grabbed one earlier in the evening). We still have half a soup pot of beer on the stovetop; I intended to make a beef stew with it, but haven't managed to yet.

(If you're thinking, "Hey, Svend doesn't drink beer!", you're right; it just seemed appropriate to have a wee keg if we were going to have part of the party in the garage. :)

And - the cleanup went very smoothly, with the bulk of it being done in the morning before the others were awake. Big shout-outs to Sok for mopping the kitchen floor, BTW. And we're still pretty tidy! :)

***

Went to "The Princess Diaries 2" with Jenni, Giffy, Puggle, Sass and Bean. I liked it, but would agree that it wasn't a "good" movie - I could see why "tweens" would love it. That may be part of why I liked it, in fact: it was such a good exemplar of what it was trying to be.

Opinion among the group was mixed, as you can read about in other's blogs.

***

There are two problems with handing a lot of cash to Giffy, and telling her, "Buy me cool cheap anime that you think I'll like!" Okay, three if you count not having the money any more. :) The first is that you've suddenly got a whole lot more stuff to watch - in my case, just after polishing off the first two seasons of Due South so that I could lend them to Jenni - when you should be doing other things, like preparing for the game you've said you'll run on the weekend. The second is that your flatmates want you to watch said anime now, so they can watch it either with or after you. This is while still wanting you to prepare the weekend game for them. (Except for you, Sok - you only want the anime. :)

You might say, "But can't you just let them watch the anime first?" But that would be a very dangerous precedent to set, so I want to stave off that possibility for as long as possible. Luckily for me, Sims 2 has just come out, so some of the pressure is off.

***

I'll be going to my parent's house for dinner. My mother mocked me for suggesting that Louise get me Josie and the Pussycats on DVD. Well, all right, not "mocked", per se - more "made incredulous spluttering noises". Luckily, I'm completely undeterred - I see no problem in liking both Josie and the Pussycats and Fight Club, or The Princess Diaries, Perdido Street Station and Simpson & Roud's Dictionary of English Folklore.

Besides, I figured it's a DVD that Louise would like too, so she'd understand that I'd like it. ;)

Anyway - being 31 isn't too bad. There are a bunch of things I expected I'd have done by this stage which haven't happened; but on the other hand, I seem to be mostly liked by people who know me, so I'd say I'm not doing too badly. :)

Posted by svend at September 28, 2004 6:44 PM