Layer Cake

I must confess to having neglected my blog over the past few weeks, mostly because of exams. This is partially because I have been devoted to my studies and partially because nothing particularly exciting happens during exams – which is usually for the best, because exciting things tend to get in the way of academic endeavours. Actually, most things seem to get in the way of studying, because suddenly everything seems a lot more interesting than having to sit down and concentrate. And I do mean everything – cleaning my room has begun to hold a strange attraction for me…

So, after a few weeks of isolation, I was extremely excited about this weekend, because it was my 21st birthday party. I was rather nervous when I first planned the party, because most of the 21sts that I have been to have involved either clubbing (*shudder*) or large quantities of alcohol (*shudder*) or clubbing and alcohol, and none of these options looked particularly enticing. So, inspired by my friend Kirstan, I decided to have a tea party, and as strange as it seems, it was a huge success!

I spent the majority of yesterday morning baking, arranging plates and chairs and making tiny triangular sandwiches, and I was barely finished by 14:30 when guests started arriving. Having employed Luke and Duncan to direct parking, I ran around, frantically setting things up and organising tables. I was really stressed, because I wasn't quite sure how people would react to a tea party, and my guest list was somewhat interesting. Basically, I have a lot of very "diverse" groups of friends, i.e.

• people I've known for ages, like Pam, who I've been friends with since I was 6!
• high school friends, like Stead, Becka, Danson, Dustin and Brad, who I've somehow stayed in contact with over the years and who I reminisce with and annoy on a regular basis
• BA varsity friends - like Chris, Dione and Natalie, who have suffered alongside me and borrowed my notes in English lit and philosophy
• super-awesome friends, like Kirstan, who suffer alongside me in psych, analyze my dreams and try to find me hot dates
• super-awesome plus one's, like Marc (Kirstan's boyfriend)
• assorted random people who have accumulated from various events, and who are pretty darn cool, like Steven and Andrew
• my knights, Luke and Duncan (the most awesome guys on the entire planet)

And somehow, it all worked out! Everyone had someone to chat to (even if it was my parents - sorry Luke!), and between eating lots of cake, brownies, sandwiches, quiches and various other baked goods, it was a very successful party. The weather was lovely, with not a cloud in sight and the engineers even remarked that it was a really good idea (so, apparently chocolate cake can compensate for a lack of alcohol), which assured me that they were having a good time! All in all, it was a really great afternoon, I am one of the few people on earth who will actually remember their 21st and I got to spend a fantastic afternoon with my awesome friends. And, despite having spent 2 hours washing dishes this morning, it was definitely a good idea and something which I plan to do again. In fact, I just might have to do it again, because we have so much leftover cake... Anyone interested in coming for tea?