Inside a Nerd's Mind

Earth, Wind & Fire

It was the 21st of September.

Me, Zachary, Jeremy, and Kim were executing our plan for my mother’s birthday.

It is 7 in the morning on a Saturday. Guess how drained I am being dragged out of bed this early on a Saturday morning. Yeah, you guessed right. It’s like all of my energy was sucked out of me, my whole body is essentially just a corpse, and I’m being dragged and controlled outside with sticks and strings like a puppet – a zombie perhaps? – a zombie puppet.

It was a fine day. It wasn’t that hot nor cold. It wasn’t raining but it wasn’t also sunny. The golden ray of sunshine feels so natural in the skin like it was part of the human body. On a Saturday, mornings like these should be cherished as the weather knows no mercy and follows only what the Mother Nature wills it.

Me and the gang thought this day was perfect. It was everything that we expected when we planned it weeks ago. But of course, Zachary has a few contingency plans if the original plan becomes a disaster.

Zachary led the event planning with me and the others suggesting our inputs although that didn’t stop Zach from leading the charge. We call the plan “Earth, Wind & Fire”. The name was my idea. Isn’t it brilliant? It’s the band’s name that sang the song September, which is of course the date today; the 21st of September.

The name is because of the different roles that we have to perform in order to accomplish the plan and have a successful event for my mother’s birthday.

Earth pertains to Jeremy and Kim’s role. The Earth, which is the ground. The ground that we all step on, the foundation that every living and non-living thing is built or created upon. Their role was likely the most important and the most difficult of all. It is why we had the tag team on this one. Their job description is supposed to build the castle, strengthen its walls, hold the fort, and never let it perish into ruins. In other words, they are in charge of the venue. The place where everything will happen. The Earth that happiness will preside over.

The venue is quite simple really yet majestic. It is a small family al fresco restaurant, which means outdoor dining. What’s ironic is that the expression “al fresco” in Italian usually refers to spending time in jail and the common al fresco dining will have you eat outside on where you’re free. We’re lucky that the restaurant is not that far from our home and we can easily travel there by a taxi or by foot. We knew the family that owns the place because me and my friends eat here a lot after school or if we have an emergency group meeting. We’ve essentially made this place as our “central hub” or our friend group’s meeting place. It is usually full when we eat but sometimes, we just decide to take the food home because of how packed the place was. It is our favorite place in town which is why we chose to hold our mother’s birthday party here.

What’s enthralling about this place is its whole theme. It doesn’t pride itself from being extravagant and grandeur like a church from the Baroque Period. Instead, it boasts itself from being ‘one with nature’. It is called “Nature's Gift”. Before entering, you can see a small garden ecosystem that is decorated with small trees, different full-sized flowers, and a perfectly jeweled lawn completed with a small pond with a few koi fish and some frogs. The restaurant itself is half-covered, the kitchen and the counter have a roof for sanitary purposes but the dining area is open with a tent-like foundation so that a plastic cover can act as a roof when it is raining. The overall color inside was green as the half walls were covered with vines that is combined with red, blue, and yellow beautiful flowers. The roof structure is covered and surrounded all-around with what looks like a Christmas Wreath but flattened out and is also mixed with vibrant flowers. Now, the floor, what do you expect from an al fresco restaurant? Did you think the floor would be a perfectly mowed lawn or covered with human-made floor tiles? It’s actually covered with thick and strong bamboo stem that is held together with bamboo strings. Oh, I forgot to tell you. The structure of the dining area is actually made from wood, specifically bamboo stems. It is probably reinforced with steel but who knows. Let’s just pray that it doesn’t collapse on us. The tables, chairs, and the utensils are also made with wood. What better way to complement your theme than complete it with everything, right?

Additionally, the restaurant is built upon a hill. It is so high that you can see the city’s tallest buildings while eating inside. You can feel the air’s cold breeze being served to you as part of the place’s few assets over other restaurants that it was like you were in the movie The Lorax buying the fresh air that you breathe but for free.

The restaurant’s structure isn’t the only thing captivating about it. It is also the food. Let’s not forget the food. It’s a restaurant after all. The food doesn’t just taste like it was made from nature. It tastes like it was a gift from the gods, whoever your god may be, you should praise them for the gift of food that nurtures your body. The food served here isn’t your common dish. They don’t have pasta nor pizzas. As I said, it’s a family restaurant and the Santos Family originated from the Philippines. Hence, why the restaurant only serves Filipino dishes. One of their main courses that is actually in the list of my favorite food is Sinigang na Baboy, also called as Pork Sinigang. With its sour soup, sinigang is marked as Filipino comfort food. It rouses the senses because of the sourness and slight spice. Its lip-smacking sourness will surely wake up your tastebuds and delight your palate. It is a meaty soup that is usually made with a lot of vegetables so it is also very nutritious.

The ambiance makes you feel like you are a caveman back in the Stone Ages and you were relaxing after a successful hunt and decided to celebrate that success by cooking and eating the animals you have hunted in the fresh and open environment.

Some people might say that the restaurant is disgusting because it’s littered with small animals and plants, and also because it is unusual. But I say that it is one of their many advantages and that it also admirably encapsulates what it means to be living with nature.

Now, of course we shouldn’t just leave the restaurant as is. Jeremy and Kim’s job isn’t just reserving the restaurant, it’s also to redecorate it and fit it for a birthday party. This may come off as surprising but Jeremy actually has the appreciation for the fine arts, especially the beauty of it. Actually, if you think about it, it isn’t that surprising at all. Jeremy is always with beautiful women and he appreciates the arts. Isn’t that a soothing revelation? But then we aren’t painting nor are we in art class, so how will Jeremy contribute to this one? Easy. His older sister is an interior designer and an event designer. So, I assume Jeremy would be the brains in the decoration and Kim would be a helping hand. Wow, I wish I can see how those two would work.

The Wind signifies Zach’s role. The wind we cannot see but it flows through everything on Earth whether it is living or a non-living thing. It is one of the aspects of life that helps things keep moving and revolve around the planet. We don’t see much of its importance but most creatures depend on this to just spend a minute alive. But what does the wind mean on this plan? The wind could either pertain to the cake that we only see as a symbol for a birthday party but we some people actually don’t like eating it or it could be that the wind pertains to the act of blowing the candle on the cake whilst the birthday person is saying their wish.

That should be an easy job, just get a cake from a*****e and then deliver it to the restaurant. What is difficult is that we had to choose from a variety of shapes and sizes, color, and its flavor. We don’t know my mother’s favorite because she likes almost everything. So, it’s hard to choose something that a person would remember forever if she likes everything. We opened the cake store’s website online and we saw a lot of different varieties. Oh, what could be my mother’s favorite? There’s a circle chocolate cake with 3 layers of fat and thick savory chocolate covered with melted chocolate frosting topped with little chocolate nuts on top which looks like what your average geometry teacher would buy because of how perfect the shape and the proportion of each layer and topping. There’s also this cookies and cream rectangle shaped cake, it looks like a pool of crisp sugary melted chocolate cookies covered all around with sweet chocolate syrup and topped with full Oreo cookies and cream vanilla frosting. There’s a lot of possibilities! Nevertheless, I trust Zachary would make a good decision on this one.

So, what’s Fire, you ask? Most importantly, what is my role in all of this? Aside from Jeremy’s Earth, this Fire is also an important part of this plan. From the history of human civilization alone, fire has proved to be one of man’s greatest discoveries. Fire started the development of all modern technologies from ceramics, to metal works, even with the nuclear industry. In this plan, I am the Bearer of Fire. Kind of like those Olympic torch relays on where someone has to run while holding the torch and light up the fire cauldron which would stay lit until the end of the games.

If I am the Bearer of Fire? What is the fire in this case? The correct question is who is the fire. The fire is my mother. I am her son and my job is basically guarding her. She doesn’t know there’s a surprise birthday party for her and I have to make sure she doesn’t find out.

What an easy task right? I just have to spend a regular Saturday with my mom. That’s where the nightmare comes in. Every 30 minute or so I get a call from Jeremy and Kim asking about the decorations and if my mom would like it.

“Hi Ethan!” Kim greeted me joyfully.

“Hey Kim.” I replied.

“What do you think, do you think a hanging navy fabric would go with red balloon or a hanging yellow fabric would complement green balloons?” Kim asked.

“Uhhm… Why don’t you ask Jeremy?” I asked.

“Oh okay, Sure!” Kim exclaimed.

That’s Kim for you, always the joyful type. I wanted to make this day a memorable one so I’d say what I think my mom likes the best but sometimes I just say what I like because I’m clueless on what my mom would like. HAHA!

Then there’s Zach telling me that he’s going to be late because of heavy traffic. He also sends me pictures of the cakes every 5 minutes. Every – cake – in – the – store.

“Hey uhh, remember the cake that we chose online? The heart-shaped red velvet with dripping strawberry syrup topped with strawberries on top?” Zachary stuttered.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“They’re all out.” Zachary remarked.

“What! What are we going to pick now?” I questioned.

“I’m not sure, does your mother like Black Forest or Tiramisu or Carrot Cake?” Zachary asked.

“Uhmm… I – I”

“Oh, I got it now. Thanks!” Zachary asserted and turned down the call.

I turn around and see my mom confused on why I’m busy all the sudden on my phone. I hope she doesn’t realize.

It is only 12 noon and it is also one of the times on where you wish you don’t have any feelings. Because when I look at my mother either laying on the bed or just sitting on the couch, you don’t know whether to feel grief or excitement. You’re confused on whether you should feel excitement that there is going to be a surprise party for her later or grief that she has no idea and maybe she is expecting that I would greet her or do something for her. I haven’t said anything or even mentioned that it’s her birthday today. It breaks my heart to know that my mother is probably hurting inside and she is just keeping it on herself. What’s also breaking my heart is that she is still doing these house chores even if it’s her special day. So, I volunteered to finish her remaining house chores.

“Hey mom, what chores do you have to do for today?” I shyly asked.

“Don’t worry about it honey, I have it covered.” My mom assured.

“But I want to help, what can I help you with?” I insisted.

“Don’t worry about it. Just sit down and relax.” My mom reassured.

I didn’t let that stop me so I grabbed the broom and swept the floor while my mom went to the other room. When she saw me, I saw her smile and I felt that happiness in my heart.

I also had the courage and diligence to cook lunch. I don’t know how to cook any main dishes that my mother cooks or that you see in restaurants but I know how to do some standard breakfast. I just whipped some hotdog and eggs from the refrigerator and a can of corned beef from the cabinet and got into frying. I call it The Ethan Special because it’s my specialty as it is the only thing I know how to cook.

I ready the dining table and called my mother from the other room.

“Mooooooom, lunch is served!” I preached.

“So, what do we have here?” My mom chuckled as she was looking over the food. “Wow! What a five-star accommodation.” She teased as she sat down.

“I made this all for you.” I bragged.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile on her face.

As we ate lunch, we conversed about the recent happenings in my life and even joked about the same thing happening when she was a child. We haven’t had a nice conversation like this in a long time because I’m always in front of my computer or with my friends.

As we were talking, I remember my dream the last night about the coachman’s advices. It’s how I learned that I should appreciate times like these and cherish every second that passes by. I look at my mom while she was talking and I realized that I love her than anything in the whole world. She gave all her time and effort just to make sure that I would live a happy life. I am grateful for her fearlessness and hard work.

My phone rang whilst in the middle of lunch. I asked permission to my mother if I can be excused and answer it. It might be from Zachary or Jeremy and Kim. She agreed.

I looked at my phone and saw who called.

It was an unknown number.