Long story short, I have had a love affair with Harry Potter since I was 13 years old. I still listen to the audiobooks when I clean some times, and I have mastered just about every Sporcle quiz there is on the topic.
So, when work was overwhelmingly crappy, I said, "F this, I'm going to Hogwarts," and that's exactly what I did. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal was a dream come true. I literally got to go to Hogwarts (secretly ask for the Castle Tour, and you will get to tour Hogwarts through the express lane, but you have to bypass the ride at the end). I strolled through the quaint village of Hogsmeade and then switched over to the other park for some shopping in the wizards' mall, Diagon Alley.
Dream. Come. True.
On another--yet related--note, I recently decided to throw myself a spectacular 28th birthday party (this is a long-standing tradition) complete with Whirlyball and party bus. It is basically a repeat of the birthday party I threw for Kevin when he turned 25. So, how to differentiate the two?
This is where that somewhat related note comes into play. I was having a much-needed drink with my friend Ann Voss the other day when we decided that a great time to finish our meagerly started Harry Potter movie marathon (we only got through 1 3/4 of the films) was early in the day before my party.
Ann suggested, “We could do Harry Potter all day and then your party at night.”
That’s when it happened: magic. Those words sparked an amazing idea. Why not make ALL day Harry Potter? Why not make the 28 is Great birthday party into a Harry Potter party?
Now, I don’t want you to blame Ann. She was responsible for sparking the idea, but she could not have anticipated the madness that would follow and to which all attendees would be subjected.
No longer would we be playing Whirlyball; we would be playing Quidditch. No longer would we be riding in a party bus; we would be hitching a ride on the Hogwarts Express.
And so, I began scouring the internet for ideas, formulating a few of my own, and planning an all-out Harry Potter birthday party for a 28 year-old. 28. Yes, I realize how ridiculous that is.
But, I also realize that this is a time when magic is a little harder to come by than it was when I was 13 and reading Harry by any light and at any time (my original books still bear food marks from when I read through dinner).
And, really, we could all use a little magic in our lives.
