When I lived on the OP I had quite the little group of friends who played Magic The Gathering. They’d come into my bar and play in the corner. I would watch them sort cards or get excited about some new expansion something or other coming out in the days that would follow. I’d sort of smile and giggle to myself. I enjoy other’s excitement and seeing them nerd out over a game always made me happy. I love games and anything that is puzzle-like in nature. In fact, I was the one who headed up our five hour Risk game night once a week. But alas, I never asked to join MTG. Well that is until the last three weeks I lived there. I was staying with a friend and we had a lot of time to kill.

“Teach me Magic,” I said.

Eyebrows raised, Derek sized me up. “For real? You want to learn Magic?” He said you as though the thought had never crossed his mind in any positive light. “I mean, you’ve just never shown a real interest. I figured you thought it was nerdy.”

“It is. But sure, why wouldn’t I want to learn? Have we met? I’m queen nerd. But queen nerd has been historically quite busy. But suddenly finds herself with a bit of time.” I smiled one of those face-eating grins. “Teach me Magic.”

“Okay,” and with that, he dug out a couple of decks for us to play with.

In those three weeks, I’d learned enough to beat him and his brother and his brother’s friend multiple times. That was more than five years ago and until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t picked up a deck since. Not that it hadn’t crossed my mind. In all honesty, I can see how this would quickly become a crazy hobby, taking over a small, extremely wonderful, nerdy part of my life. Also, I didn’t know anyone else on the island who played.

My roommate got extremely excited when I mentioned that I wanted to learn again. So excited that he went out and bought me a deck the next day. I came home from work to an edited Blue and White Planeswalker deck. And he taught me all over again. Let’s just fast forward a few weeks. I’ve learned the ins and outs, for the most part. There are still a few things I find myself googling but, mostly I grasp the concepts. I even bought some cards and built my first deck. I’m proud in saying it’s pretty much amazing. I may also enjoy deck building more than I enjoy playing.

*Thinks for a long moment*

Yep.

Over this past weekend, recovering from a cold and having the house to myself for the first time in weeks, I built three decks and tweaked a couple of others. I’m incredibly proud of these, in case you didn’t pick up on that. I love the puzzle aspect. Even my roommate is floored by how quickly I’ve taken to the game. In my spare time today I was researching commander decks. I’m thinking of building one when I get home. Do people do that? Just decide to build a commander deck after work? I imagine I have enough to pick through right now. Even commons are great if paired correctly. It’s the relationship between the cards that you want to pay attention to. Or at least that’s what I’ve gathered.

Hahahah gathered.

At least I amuse myself.