Hello all- I now write to you as a full-fledged 21 year old adult! My birthday was Wednesday- how the heck did that happen? You have no idea how fast time flies in college. I remember my freshman year surprise birthday party like it was yesterday- complete with chocolate Aramark cake in the Beze underground. I was admittedly a bit wary of spending my birthday far from home and all of my great friends and sorority sisters (and a country that actually cares when you turn 21!) but it was pretty great.

The day started out regularly enough- Theatre Capital class from 10-12, which was actually nice, since my professor told me he really liked my idea and work I’ve done toward my final essay (did I mention yet that for all of my English classes, they are all assessed by 1 essay worth 100% of my grade? No? Gooood times). I went shopping on Oxford Street, bought myself a birthday purse, and then my friends and I went to Wagamama’s, a sort of Pei Wei/Thai place, and had some delicious noodles. My flatmates surprised me with a gorgeous lemon cake, but the restaurant wouldn’t let us eat it, since it had dairy in it. This actually isn’t too surprising, as London is incredibly conscious of making note of allergies and vegan and vegetarian dishes on all of its menus, and since the cake was not from the restaurant, they probably did not want to be liable for any allergic reactions. Weird, but makes sense. Bryan had a surprise for me after dinner, so after a tube ride, we arrived at our destination- Wicked!!!! I’ve been wanting to see the show for ages (all of my friends are HUGE fans), and it lived up to my expectations- now I want to defy gravity! Afterwards, we met my other friends at a place called Loop Bar, and had a blast dancing and being merry. I told the bartender that I was 21 and he literally shrugged. A major difference from a birthday in Texas, let me tell you. I honestly had the best birthday I could imagine, and I’m really grateful to all of my old and new friends for how nice they were. I don’t have too many pictures from the night at the moment, but when I get some, I’ll update this post with them!

Two other pieces of exciting times (and I still have stories from trips to Scotland and Barcelona to regale you with- all in good time my friends).
The first would be on the 19th, The Other Boleyn Girl premiered in Leicester Square, and Bryan and I went to go watch the stars arrive. This is something I’ve always wanted to see, being a ridiculous movie/celeb-o-holic, and it was pretty darn cool. When we arrived, I elbowed my way toward the metal barrier surrounding the entrance area around the cinema. We were pretty far away, near the end where the guests enter, but we didn’t feel the need to queue (line) up in the morning to actually meet the stars. Screams of SCARLETT heralded the arrival of Scarlett Johansson, and then Natalie Portman and Eric Bana. We could see them all from a distance, but none left the carpet to head our way. Eric Bana totally waved at me/us whilst I was waving like a maniac. After they had all gone in, we went to the closest thing I’ve had to Mexican food in 2 months. There is no such thing as queso here, but I did order a huge bowl of refried beans, just because I love them so much.

In even cooler news, last Friday night I went to a play. Not just any play, but Othello- my favorite Shakespeare tragedy, and starring one of my favorite actors, Ewan McGregor (as well as Chiwetel Ejiofor). But one does not simply waltz up to the box office and order tickets to Othello. Those sold out in November, and now go for about 500 pounds a pop. Seeing as I’d like to be able to buy food and clothing for the duration of my stay, that wasn’t going to happen. But it is possible to get these tickets- if you are willing to work for it. The theatre reserves 10 seated and 20 standing tickets for every performance that are bought at the box office the day of the show. So my friend Nick and I headed over to the Donmar Warehouse Theatre at 4:30 am to queue up for tickets. Crazy you say? Nope! When we got there at 5 am, there were 6 other people in front of us. The first three women arrived at 11:30 pm and 1 am. The next two women got there at 2 am, and the other at 3 am. A man arrived 15 minutes after us. After a freezing cold 5 and half hours of waiting, we managed to snag the last 2 standing tickets (one was returned). We returned to the theatre that night for a fantastic performance- Chiwetel as Othello and Ewan as Iago were just fantastic. The interpretation of the show, the staging, the subtle effects, all of it was just so great. I’ll admit to breaking into a huge grin and hitting Nick the moment Ewan appeared. After the show, we met up with some of our line buddies at the staircase to the theatre in the lobby, waiting for Ewan and the other actors. I got the autographs of Cassio and Emilia- both fantastic- and also noticed a brunette woman coming down the stairs, trying to avoid notice- it was Anne Hathaway trying to sneak out! But no one can escape my all-seeing eye! Then Ewan came down the stairs- yes my heart stopped and my knees shaked- and he stopped right in front of my program, pen and camera clutching self. He was really nice and tired, signed my program and took a picture with me. It was one of the best nights EVER. Poor Nick had to deal with my crazy fan-girl self, but then again, he also put up with me at 5 am in the freezing cold.

Ok everyone, I have more updates on other trips that I will post very very soon!

*edit*
Madi is helping me with my pictures- I wanted to get this up soon, so check back to see when I have the pictures up!