My post is a little late today. I prefer writing in the mornings. But there were too many things going on. Sheldon was around today, so we had croissant and coffee breakfast while watching Big Bang Theory episodes.
It’s unbelievable that he hasn’t really watched the Big Bang Theory before. He’s seen an episode or two, but he’s never really seen an entire season of it.
Now, we’re on an off and on marathon, looking at the lives of Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, and Ragesh. I still say he’s a Sheldon.
Watching the series again, in his presence, gives it more life. He notices things, down to the sodas they were drinking in the cafeteria. Its Dr Peeper, not Dr Pepper. Its Cola not CocaCola. And so on.
This pretty much ate up our morning. I haven’t been sleeping well lately, I think there’s been too many ideas in my head. So a lazy Monday morning is great. With a Sheldon beside me and a Sheldon on screen.
My Sheldon loves Green Lantern. He wears green almost every single day. He wears his green belt bag and black hiking sandals wherever he goes. If he does not, all is not right in the world.
He explains mathematical and scientific principles on a regular basis. He’s a mathematician. I will stare. He’d laugh and continue explaining.
We were watching an episode of Little People, Big Dreams and one of the children failed a math exam because she didn’t know a formula (that I still don’t know now). Sheldon proceeded to explain that the formula is on imaginary numbers. I got so confused that I thought imaginary numbers should stay in the imagination. It was a good laugh, I haven’t thought about stuff like that since my college years but he brings them back to life.
He likes things when they are just so.
He also loves superheroes and he can differentiate the Justice League from the Avengers, something that has always confused me. And the superhero life permeates in his being. He loves X-Men First Class and absolutely loathes the Green Lantern movie. It’s something that I agree with, though I will never be able to fully explain what is what.
We were also talking about a friend’s wedding ring, as he was complaining that his gold ring is already scratched. I thought titanium would have been a better choice. But Sheldon brought up Volverine’s ademantium and Gundam’s gundamium as the much better metals. I don’t know if people are actually working on that.
He’ll measure ingredients down to the last teaspoon. He asked me to cook garlic fried rice and he’d cook the bacon, lo and behold, halfway through the process, he’s the one cooking the rice. I’m not complaining though. He’s a great cook.
Math, science, history, unraveling the mystery. It all started with the big bang.
I didn’t meet him in the past year, but in the year before that. But the prompt asked for the most interesting person, and he’s that. Anyway, we spent the past year getting to know one another. And the superhero nerd is really just getting out of his shell, just like in the comics.
He’s also a Magic the Gathering L1 Judge, working on his requirements to go for L2. About a year ago, I wouldn’t know what that means. We met through MtG and MtG friends, but knowing the depth of the game and the rulings, not to mention the rewards and hardships of judging, is something that I gained through him.
He’s a great judge, though still learning. He loved judging the Grand Prix Manila where he met judges from around the world. He wanted to make everyone feel welcome and since the event fell right after the holidays, I helped him prepare goodie bags for everyone. I heard they really liked it. It’s part of his nerdy world that is really fascinating.
Being a judge made him more mature, given the responsibilities that he has to the community. And yes, MtG is not just a game, it builds friendships and communities as well. Our community is also our family, as time went by playing the game, the relationships also deepened.
We’ll also hang out with our Magic friends and we would converse, as if we’re in a BBT episode. Yesterday, Sheldon was explaining the lore of where Elspeth came from. Elspeth is a slave girl from Dominaria and her spark brought her to Theros. She got her sword from Purphoros before she planeswalked to Bant. Heliod recognised her sword when she planeswalked back to Theros. And yes, I’m with him when he says that Elspeth isn’t dead, she’s just hanging out in the underworld until she gets herself out or someone rescues her. We just need to wait until the lore brings us back there.
That is how our Sunday afternoon looks like.
I double-checked on Elspeth’s story and he said I can elaborate it further. Elspeth planeswalked to Bant and became their champion. I asked if that’s where she became Sun’s Champion and he said no. She became a Sun’s Champion in Theros because Heliod anointed her. He needed a champion because they needed to defeat Xenagos, a planeswalker who wanted to become a god.
Wait, why did she become a champion in Bant? Well, she learned swordsmanship in Bant until she became their best knight.
It’s Monday afternoon, and this is what we’re still talking about. Sometimes, planeswalker lores are also my bedtime stories.
I realise that it is Monday evening now (very disrupted story) and though I try to edit things around, some of it just comes out confused. But that is the Big Bang Theory life. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes its plain crazy. But it is enjoyable.
My Sheldon also identifies as a cat. He has his own time and his own way of doing things. But I think he’s too sweet to be a real cat. But he insists that he is one, a silver one with stripes, and green eyes.
I’ll make him read this post later, but it will have to wait until he is done with Monster Hunter 4 or Dragon Nest. It used to annoy me a lot, but I’m ok with it now. He’s reliable when he needs to be. He’s trustworthy. And if his worst quality is that he plays his games too much, it’s not that bad. At least his vice is something fascinating and his other woman wears armours and fights for a Sun God.
Alright, he’s not as obnoxious as Sheldon and his name isn’t Sheldon, but I still see him as a Sheldon. All we need now is a Sunday night, with pizza and coke, and St, Patrick, and Lippy (and all our MtG friends) talking about strategies and lore. I’ll also tap four mana for katsu. Once we were playing EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander), I tapped four mana to cast Sakashima the Impostor to copy Zurgo, but he gave me a piece of katsu instead. It’s funny. And that is how we have our dinners.
I have to end this at some point. Maybe I’ll make more sense in the next episode. Or maybe I should write an actual episode next time, and hope that it makes more sense.
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I don’t think I made a good character sketch here. It’s my first time. But it’s something that I hope to learn. I do think I managed to tell some semblance of a story, at least I hope so.
I am the ARSENAL Party Planner, so when my birthday rolled in, I was thinking that maybe they’d surprise me or maybe they won’t. Or at most, there would be cake, because we always get cake. But they did surprise me and it was a lot of fun. And I did not expect such a unique presentation of cupcakes! How do I contextualize this? I play multi-player EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) of Magic, the Gathering, a collectible card game. My commander is Bruna, Light of Alabaster, and basically, I have a hit list of all other commanders that I want to kill. That is basically my playing style. I don’t really intend to win, I just want to kill each of the commanders at least once, thus, the Bruna hit list. What my play group did was print out the basic commanders in the hit list and place it on coffee cupcakes. It was an incredible surprise that I did not expect. Also, they gave me candy roses, and those are really yummy as well. My ARSENAL twin, Aya, also celebrated his birthday with me. It was indeed a lot of fun. 
We had a typical dinner at the food court and I thought our night would end there until we started to look for a place to sit and talk after the mall closed. Thus we ended up in Magnolia Flavor House. They had a promo at the time, if we ordered a pizza and a pasta, we get free ice cream. So we got a couple of those and once the waiter realized that it was my birthday, he asked me to write my name on a piece of paper, and later on, they surprised me with a birthday song and a complementary ice cream. It was a lot of fun. Also, being in a Magnolia House feels so old school, our late-night meal felt so nostalgic. They were even playing 90s songs, songs I literally grew up with. We over-stayed a bit, because we didn’t exactly plan this, and we waited around until the clock struck 12–my official birthday. I guess the saying was right, the best things are unplanned things. (Looloo review here: 
Of course, the pièce de résistance of all birthday celebrations–a lunch at Châmpetre. I’ve wanted to eat here for years–literally since I found out about it. But it’s so far and expensive, I never really had the chance to. So when my Mom and I were discussing things I want to do for my birthday–we decided on this one. She gave me a budget to work on, a generous one, and we were able to enjoy a meal at this lovely French provincial restaurant at the heart of Bonifacio Global City. I loved that the place do not have a hint of pretension about it, and the food was incredible! The staff was also helpful and accommodating. The entire experience brought me back to Europe, with Mom and Ian along for the ride. It was the best way to turn 30. 
We started with the cheese platter to share because I absolutely love cheese. So there. Loved the spread. Didn’t take notes on the names of the cheeses–but it is a nice platter with six cheese types. There’s brie (a personal favorite, soft with mild flavor), hard and sweet cheese (emmental, if I am not mistaken), two cheeses on the medium flavor and texture side, a type of goat cheese garnished with olive oil (soft, with strong flavor), and of course a type of blue cheese. The plate is garnished with walnuts, apple slices, grapes, and served with fresh bread. I’ve said I love cheese and I enjoyed this platter so much. Mom and Ian did too. A great way to start a meal. 
Too many good things on the menu. They had a lunch menu too, but no–we went for the mains. I had the grilled scallops with Lyonnaise sauce, Mom had the beef onglet steak, and Ian the lamb chops with Algerian-style couscous. Servings were very generous. Mom only finished half her steak so we had it bagged for later. She loved it though, and she even finished the side salad. It’s their best-seller, apparently. Ian’s lamb and couscous were very generous. Couscous was very fluffy, the lamb was cooked perfectly, and we didn’t expect the stew on the side. Very nice flavors. The dish also came with very peppery sausages. This dish was almost good enough for two! Ian can’t help but keep on eating. The grilled scallops was the best–great thing I chose it, at my Mom’s urging. The scallops were cooked perfectly! And the creamy, peppery Lyonnaise sauce was just heavenly. The sliced potatoes complemented the dish nicely. It looks small and light, but it was far from it. Good thing I ordered a glass of Chardonnay to go with this. Loved every bite of it. 
Because we were so full, Ian and I just shared the Grand Marnier with candied orange zest ice cream, and it was great! You taste the layers of orange flavor in there. Next is Champêtre’s birthday surprise–the dark chocolate mousse. Needless to say, it’s the best mousse I have ever tasted. Smooth, thick, pure dark chocolate goodness. Blended well with the ice cream order as well. I was so full yet I just can’t stop eating. Too bad my mom was simply too full to have dessert, she just took a bite to taste. Next time, we definitely need tummy space for their berry soufflé and end the meal with espresso. (Looloo reviews here: 
Mom had to go home and Ian and I ended the day with a light dinner at one of our favorite places–Pi Breakfast and Pies. We had our old classic, the corn waffle with chicken skins, and we tried something new, the cherry pie. Suffice it to say that we always come home full and happy after a meal here. By now, the staff is familiar with us, because we either dine there or simply buy bread. Given that it’s a Monday, it was a quiet night, and a very beautiful ending to a 30th birthday celebration. 
Not that the birthday celebrations have ended. We said we would make the best out of this month, despite the busy schedule. And we are intent upon it. We just don’t know what the next celebrations would be. Anyway,we’re not even at the halfway mark yet. 
Portia Placino 