Yay! I had a very excellent weekend. We kicked it off with company-sponsored drinks at work. Most people just get potato chips (in addition to beer and wine), but I got a WHOLE CHEESE PLATTER. There is still half the cheese left over today. My team also chipped in and got me a £30 gift card to SuperDrug! I love SuperDrug!

The Island Queen was great. Nearly all my friends in London showed up. The Ben, Kate and Joe group, the burners (including Santi), Demetri and Karen, Arran and friends, Dave Merwin, and the work group. Sadly, Dan and Sarah couldn't come because it was Friday (and because they are filthy jews).

The gaming nemeses talked and got along perfectly fine. They may even like each other and will meet up in SF with Sarah. Many Frulis were drunk and I think I may have converted a few skeptics (including a boy even - Tim).

On Saturday I went to my first ever football game. I really couldn't care less about sports, but I figured that this was a very English thing and that I should experience at least one. So Arran, his friend Frank and I went to the Southampton vs. Ipswich (home of the ripper) game in Southampton.

It was actually very fun. I still couldn't care less about the team's ranking and I will certainly never engage in any football talk outside of the stadium, but I can see how it's fun. Also, since it's such a fast-moving game, you're actually watching the whole thing instead of sitting around and talking to your friends while the game happens in the background. Since you're so engaged in the game, you really feel like your yelling is helping the players.

On Sunday I went to the Brompton Oratory with Santi and India to watch the vesper service. Both the church and the service were really, really beautiful. The oratory is one of these beautiful old cathedrals with the domes (many of them) and murals and columns and whatnot. And the singing! The singing! Everyone should go and see one of these. There was also one of those swinging incense ornaments.

We went to the Natural History musuem for a little bit after. Today we did marine animals and mammals. It's awesome. I still haven't even seen a quarter of this place.

All in all, a very good birthday. A very special one for a not very special age :)