*2001-10-02 - 8:18 a.m.*

Well, here I am on October 2nd, about to write about the weekend of September 21st. It was the 3rd Best Weekend Of My Life. (3rd refering to it's chronological status. For 1st and 2nd, please refer to past entries.)

Ok, to begin at the begining...the weekend started on Friday, September 21. The next day I was to turn 18. Almost all my college friends were leaving for the weekend, but my parents were picking me up and we were goin to the scupture garden the next day, so I knew I was going to have a good birthday anyway. Friday night, I was watching Red Dwarf with some friends, when Yessika comes in and says that she found a little frog in the lounge on our floor, and that it was hopping along the windowsil. Well, being a frog lover, I wanted to see it. So, I left my friends in my room and went to the lounge. I went in was was greeted by a big "Surprise!" and flashes going off in my face! Lorraine, Chrissy, Yessika, Elisa, Khana, Jon, and Craig had planned a surprise birthday party for me! They had decorations up, and made me a poster signed by all of them, and music and cake, and pizza, and it was great! I was completely flattered. Lorraine even got me a present! She got me a little notebook with a kitty on it. After cake, I went back up to Jon's rom with Craig, and we started playing a riddle game. It took me an hour to figure one of those out. But I did learn some great riddles. Then I went outside and started playing Silent Frisbee with Wolf 10. (Wolf 10 are the people who live on floor 10 of the Wolf Dorm Building.) That was a lot of fun too! Then I went back to Jon's room and we figured out another riddle. Then we all went back to our respective dorms and went to sleep.

The next morning, I was watching Neon Genesis Evanglion with Wolf 10. During one of the breaks, Lenore brought me to her room, and gave me a birthday present. She gave me gum, bug spray (because of our flying, stinging, insects problem) and a really nice picture frame. It was great. We sat and watched anime all day thanks to Timmers's immense collection. I went online later and saw that a bunch of Früheads had signed my birthday card, and that my Bubba had also sent me a birthday *e-mail*. Those made my day. I'm not that hard to please.

That night, my Dad called. He said told me to dress nice because instead of going to the sculpture garden, we were going into NYC to see RENT and eat at the Russian Tea Room! I hadn't seen RENT in years, and I hadn't been to the Russian Tea Room since 5th grade! AND...my friend Lauren was coming with us! I was comepletely blown away for the second time that night. I had wanted to go into NYC initially, but then September 11th happened, and the plans were trashed. So, yes, I was very very utterly surprised.

Sunday morning, I wake up, throw on what I thought was dressy casual and waited for my parents to arrive. They did, with Lauren in tow. Then they told me to get changed. So, I changed in my jeans for some black pants, and we were off. We missed the first train, but caught the second one. The train ride was pretty fun. We were playing the riddle game I had learned the previous night, and I was totally stumping my siblings and friend. We get to NYC. We look for the absence of the WTC. We saw it. Then we walked to the Nederland Theater. The show was to start at around 2. It did. It was fantastic. It was my second time seeing it and I was still awed. My friend and family were also blown away. My Dad, Lauren, and my little sister had never seen the show. Mom still cried at "Seasons of Love". It was great. Absolutely great!

After experiencing RENT, all of us were hungry. So we walked the 8 or so blocks to the Russian Tea Room. The dinner was an experience all by itself. The food was beyond heavenly. I had the Caesar Salad and Chicken Kiev. And Chocolate Souffle for dessert. Lordy...it was magnificent.

After dinner, we took 2 cabs (we wouldn't all fit in one) back to the train station. We hopped on the train and went home. Most of us fell asleep on the train. I didn't really. I was still on a high from having such a teriffic day. We got back to my college, I hugged everyone goodbye, and went back up to my dorm, where I fell asleep.

That was my incredible 18th birthday. You can see why it was one of the best weekends of my life. It was perfect. Thank you's go to (in alphabetical order): Andrea, Andy, Billy Joel Mike, Bubba, Cara, Carey, Choo-Choo, Chrissy, Craig, Dad, Dana, Elisa, Gordon, Helene, Irena, Jared, Jon, ^kat^, Khana, Lauren, Lauren, Lenore, Lis, Lorraine, Matt, Mom, Nitsa, Paul, Racer Mike, Robin, Sara, Steve, Tall Mike, Timmers, Yessika, and everyone else who made that weekend awesome!