jack

It is my 40.5th birthday, and to celebrate there will be a garden party at our house in the afternoon of Saturday 18th of June! From 2pm until 6pm, and possibly later if we want to continue.

Dressing up (in costume, in suit-equivalents or black tie, colourfully, or whatever else feels interesting) is encouraged.

There will be a assorted drinks, including cocktails, and nibbles, and if we stay later past dinner time we will source food of some sort.

If we are online friends, you are very welcome even if we don't know each other well, as are partners and children and pets. Please let me know if you ARE likely to come, even if you're not sure.

We will be outside, but you are welcome to come inside briefly for necessities. Please take an LFT beforehand if it's easy for you to do so.

Address in contact details: https://jack.dreamwidth.org/686373.html (Message if you can't see)

In order to celebrate my birthday, and by extension my engagement, there will be a party:

* From 8pm onwards
* At Cartesian Heights, Sherbourne Close (directions on request)
* Bring friends, bottles, etc

All are welcome, please come if you can. (As usual, if you're outside Cambridge, I won't expect you to be able to come, but you're very welcome if you want to.)

There will be a Halloween party at Sherbourne Close in Cambridge (directions on request) next week on Sat 31st, from about 8pm. Everyone is welcome. Please bring friends, drinks, extra decorations, and anything else that seems appropriate. Costumes are welcome.

As always, apologies to those not in Cambridge, or with commitments that clash.

There will be a may week party at Cartesian Heights from 8pm, to commemorate moving jobs, the end of another university year, world juggling day, and livredor's leaving Sweden. (If livredor is in Cambridge, she will be there, but we don't know if that's possible yet.)

Please bring friends and food. RSVP not necessary (though if you're likely to come, a reply would be helpful).

Cartesian Heights is 66 Sherbourne Close, http://maps.google.co.uk/?q=cb41rt. If you're coming from town, the citi 2 stops on greenend road just outside. Email me if you would like more specific directions.

The party was fun, thanks to everyone who came, and sorry to everyone for whom it was a bad time, or who couldn't find the house. The flat looked all christmassy: I put up some decorations[1], and got nostalgic sweeties from the market, and pizza and bahjis, and I copied Pippa and had food in little bowls, which looks good, and had little cheese cubes and crackers, and jugs[2].

Lots of different people came -- though not as hectic as last time -- and all were nice, and mostly only one hop from each other and got on well with everyone. There was a little exhibit of poohsoc through the ages (not that anyone before Martin came), and of cuddly people, and of mathmos, and of late SGO, not all disjoint.

Today I have chased off houseguests, loafed around, drunk coffee (mmmm, real coffee), read, and am about to go and meet flurble breaking her journey at Cambridge station.

[1] Leaving aside the november thing, a fibre optic christmas tree is:

(a) Chav
(b) Non-chav

[2] Stop sniggering already :)

And on tuesday I mail-merged about 80 invitations. I felt a bit guilty, but I would have sent the same email to everyone as far as I could tell, so there's not really any difference. About 60 "You are invited", half-a-dozen "You almost certainly won't be able to come, but", and a score of ones written out because I had something specific to say.

There's about 10 roleplayers, 10 poohsoc (many of whom likely won't be able to come), 10 tolkien, 25 sinister greenenders, 10 friends from Trinity (half won't come), 10 mathmos from my year (most have moved away), about 10 other halves and some non-categorisable people -- with some overlap between those estimates.

I generally divide people into probabilities of coming to get an estimate, depending what they said, or if I think they'd be likely to come if they haven't. Summing estimated probabilities gives about 20 people from those who replied positively, and maybe 15 more from people a few of whom are likely to turn up.

That seems about right, we should all fit, but I might prop the bed up in the spare room to make another mixing room. And everyone who's coming should know some other people.

I know I'm thinking about this too much. I always feel worried to make sure everyone will have fun, and to make sure I'll speak to everyone, and still have time to cuddle who I want to. I'd really rather be at someone else's party, but this way I get to see the people I know, and do my bit for entertaining.

Saturday was a massive four-way birthday party. First we met at the Mill to walk to Grantchester, and due to busing I was late, and nearly strode off down the river, before poking my head inside and seeing everyone else still drinking happily. With relatively small amount of faff we set off.

A disturbing man was cycling the other way, and ran striaght into the whole group of us. Perhaps we could have been prompter to let him past, but "look where you're going" doesn't really apply to people walking along a footpath from someone who cycles into them full speed. He crashed directly into Becky and both collapsed under their bikes, making close to dying twice, or maybe thrice, over. While still making cycling motions he then cursed everyone vehemently and kicked his way free.

It's always strange walking, since it allows unusually fluid conversations, so I chatted to just about everyone, though there were quite a few. At Grantchester we went to the Orchard and had tea and scones in a very civilised manner, and it barely rained until we were leaving.

We returned to the mill and dispersed (or disbursed) for last minute present/food buying, or changing into evening party clothes. I dashed to Townsend's and got a new cycle, together with free starwars bike bell, because I mentioned a friend with a birthday would think it so sweet :)

Finally mobile again I went home, changed to my pinkest shirt, and cycled to Oblivion. I got pretty drunk, but sensible enough to cycle carefully home, dismounting for awkward crossings, and enough to behave somewhat wantonly (sorry!) but without quite losing myself :)

I had shaved hair off, and it had reached the one-day strokey stage, which was a great hit. Well, several people laughed, but enough seemed to like it. It feels odd now, but in a couple of days I think is about perfect.

I chatted to lots of people, including some old friends I hadn't seen for a while, and spoke to new interesting people I'd seen about. Different geeks groups are intertwined with linkages like lianas through the rainforest.

There were even a few friends of Becky's from work and karate. Apart from Pip's parties and Becky's hikes, I so rarely meet people my friends know through different sorts of media than I knew them. Some fit right in, a couple seemed slightly shocked, if accepting, of the way everyone there was odd relative to 'normal' people -- the sanest conversation was about guppies. I felt (1) at times people like them here could have felt like people like me feel at parties where the main conversation is about football -- implying no criticism of either sort -- and (2) made me glad I do know people with whom I get on.

Of course, this was repeated when asked about the weekend this morning. Getting fairly drunk on saturday is fairly normal, but when I counted (a) men in supergirl outfits: 1 (b) conversations about aristotlean solids and the application of the offside rule to python: lots (c) people kissed: 4 (d) people in relationships kissed: 8 (e) blogging of party quotes: in real time (f) society comittee meetings: 1 (thankfully not poohsoc!) (g) etc I realised most of this might seem odd to the people I was relating it to and received editing.

Then on sunday... ok, separate post.