a belfast birthday

so "happy birthday" was sung to me about three times today.

the first rendition followed my late entrance to the group warm-up after trekking through the rain to rehearsal. the entire group sang as they continued their jumping jacks and i removed my soggy shoes and jacket laughing quite hysterically at the entire scene.

the second round of the tune came during lunch when Joe, a dear classmate of mine and our milk/biscuit lady, unveiled a special treat. TEA CAKES. Quite yummy.

the third refrain of "happy birthday" came directly after lunch when my housemates, who had already given me flowers and a card earlier that morning, walked in with a cake.

now I'm either dearly loved or I'm just dealing with people with poor communication skills. I'm going to pray for the former.

the day itself was lovely. my neighbor dropped a card for me through our mail slot, very nice of him. we went for a drink after rehearsal at our local pub, oddly enough it was the first time we've actually gone there. made a nice dinner. saw a show, that I have to say was not my favorite. went for another drink after and headed home. all in all a good day. I'm am quite please and settling into the start of my 26th year quite well.

Rehearsals have been going well. We had a run through this afternoon. All of the pieces are fitting together very well. We have about a week and a half of polishing and tweaking ahead of us. Should be fine. There are still a few bits that don't feel just right yet, particular the sections with text, but I'm assuming that will all gel together shortly.

tried on my costume for the first time yesterday. think old timey swim gear.

tomorrow some of the other girls and I will be drawing on some moustaches and hitting the streets to hand out fliers for the show. we'll be doing human pyramids and blowing whistles all over town. hopefully we won't get in trouble for it as we don't exactly have permission, we'll see. If you don't see a post for a few days it's because I'm in jail.

well i am a bit sleepy after a very long week.

i shall be off to bed!

hope all is well!

best, jen

(picture from abby inch in downpatrick)