Dr. Paulo Pereira, M.D. -- Character Questionnaire

Name: Dr. Paulo Francisco Pereira... a.k.a. "Doc", "Dr. P", "Dirty Lusitanian", "Paulinho", "Habibi"

Age: 47 as of March 2012, 42 when he enters the story.

Height and weight: 5'11.5" (1.82meters) & 168lbs (76.2kg) BMI: 23.4


Body type: Slightly stocky and muscular, with a bit of 'extra padding' (the man loves food... what else can I say?) just below his navel, broad shoulders and back with well-defined pectorals, quadriceps and gluteal muscles. A generous amount of body hair covers his chest, abdomen, forearms, hands and legs. His hands and feet are slightly large and wide with strong fingers and toes that are longer than average for his height with smooth skin (slightly lighter in color than on the rest of his body) that betrays the part of his youth spent on a farm. His finger and toenails are always cut short, clean and well-maintained.


Eyes: Round, wide and always cheery, a bright green in color. He has thick, dark eyebrows that add a degree of seriousness to his expression and suffers from simple congenital myopia at a degree of -6.00 diopters, requiring him to wear prescription glasses. Having contracted corneal ulcers in early adolescence from a fungal infection, he is unable to wear contact lenses due to the scars. Plus he feels the glasses keep his eyes protected.


Hair: In his youth his hair was shaggy and jet-black. After his mother died when he was about 7 years old, his father found it was more economical to trim it with an oyster shucker rather than pay a barber to buzz it off. He wore it at varying lengths up until graduating from medical school, when he began to cut it shorter. After his first wife died while he was in his early 30's, his hair began turning prematurely streaked with grey and remains increasingly so. He now cuts it at about four centimetres in length and it remains shaggy and rather disheveled: the top part pointing mostly forward and up, the back growing backwards with a slight cowlick. He has a forelock that curls downward and toward his left from the front across his forehead and wears his sideburns at a medium length. From about age 22 till age 36, he wore a full goatee (it started getting too grey).


Race: Caucasian of Mediterranean origin and olive complexion (Celtic and Sephardic roots).


Nationality: Portuguese-Irish. Born in the small community of Foz do Douro, just east of Porto, Portugal and grew up alternately between spending the school year in the Urban Center of Porto and his summers at his maternal grandparents' farm just outside Sanfins de Ferreira, at an almost hour-long drive northeast of the city. At the age of 17, he enrolled at Oxford University and England was his primary residency until getting accepted at the University of Limerick's Chemical Pathology Residency program and the Emerald Isle has been his home ever since. He received dual citizenship in 2005.


Birthday: 7 March, 1965. Time of Birth: 3:15 pm. Pisces through and through.


Other phys. traits: His most defining facial features are his strong, somewhat angular jaw line, well-developed chin, and his large hooked nose. He is right-handed. His teeth are well-aligned with slightly large incisors and canines, the latter of which come to a defining point, resembling small 'fangs'. However, an injury involving diving into water that was slightly too shallow as a youth caused his lower incisors to become a little crooked. He kept them as such as a reminder to look before jumping for all aspects in life. Years of nicotine addiction has discolored them with a yellowish hue. However he is sure to keep his gums healthy with daily flossing and brushing and does not get smokers' halitosis as a result. He has severe nasal allergies to the dander of all equines: muggle or magical.   He also has a tendency to suffer from hypertension due to decades of smoking, but will never be as affected by that or most other nicotine-related ailments due to his squib blood status.


Preferred outfits:


Clothes: Aside from his medical scrubs and/or lab coat which he wears almost always for work (a few exceptions when he wears a suit and tie, i.e., board meetings, lectures, etc.) Paulo dresses quite simple. On his days off in the summers, he's usually in cargo shorts and either t-shirts, polos or athletic jerseys, of which he owns many including the Porto F.C. 'Dragões' and Portugal's national football team. In the winter, he switches to jeans, khakis, dockers and courduroy, often with wool jumpers. In fact, he often wears sleeveless jumpers over his shirt when he goes out, say to a nicer restaurant regardless of the season. For swimming (when he's not by himself or at a clothing-optional beach, at which times he enjoys not wearing anything) he alternates from boardshorts to Speedos depending on the region, activity and how much sun he wants to get. He also owns a number of guayabera and Cubavera shirts for summer barbeques and such. He likes rolling his long sleeves into French cuffs as well, and tucks his shirt in for formal occasions. Being a hunter, he also owns quite a bit of camouflage and 'RealTree'.

Shoes: The son of a military officer and war veteran, Dr. Pereira has obsessively taken very good care of his feet since childhood. He prefers not to walk around outside barefoot (unless he's really just going to stand on dry grass or is about to go swimming) and often wears athletic socks inside the house. At work, he wears his grey suede Adidas Sambas (he lives in these things) with his scrubs, or his dressier loafers on days when he needs to wear a suit. He also owns a pair of NewBalance 610 Running shoes for running through Ireland's muggy trails and his classic 501's for cycling and general gym workouts. For really hot days and water activities, he has several pairs of authentic Havaianas and Sperry Topsiders strictly for being on a boat (he doesn't find them very comfortable for much else). He also owns several hiking and hunting boots for just such purposes.

Colors: While he has been described as a 'warm winter', he has no idea what the hell that means! His favorite colors are blue, green and grey and as such, most of what clothes he owns are in that range. he often wears black and/or white as well, and there are a few times when he wears earth tones. He also wears reds sometimes, particularly when Portugal is playing in sporting events (except against Spain: then he wears green).

Underwear: Having spent so many years as a bachelor, Paulo would go weeks without wearing underwear of any kind, particularly in the summer. However once he moves in with Cat and spends more time with her daughters, he sticks to wearing boxers or boxer briefs much more often, especially in the winter and always either cotton or silk and usually solid-colored.  He does have some pairs of silly ones, however.


Family background:


Paulo's Paternal Grandparents are the descendants of their country's prodigious explorers and navigators who at one point claimed a large chunk of the world. His paternal grandfather, Gaspar, ran a successful fishing and mussel harvesting business, Pescaria Pereira e Filhoss, Inc. which was helped in launching by his wife, Paulo's paternal grandmother, Patricia (née DaChuna): a wealthy shipping heiress. They had a son, Agostinho in 1938 and a daughter, Beatriz in 1940. Beatriz died in infancy. Agostinho and later his eldest son, Breno, continued to run and improve Pereira e Filhos after Gaspar retired. It remains in business and Breno has expanded to open offices in Madeira.


Paulo's maternal grandparents, Ofélia and Hugo Lopes, owned and operated a medium-sized farm that successfully produced sheep, goats, dairy cows, eggs and wine. They had two daughters: Fabiana in 1936 and Jacinta in 1941. In the winter of 1958, shortly after her elder sister's marraige, Jacinta left the farm to stay with relatives in Foz do Douro. She began working as a clerk at Pereira e Filhos just shy of her 17th birthday when Agostinho -- then a young Captain Lieutenant fulfilling his military duties in the Marinha Portuguesa -- fell head over heels for the bespectacled teenager. They married soon after and had Breno in May of 1959. He arrived the day after Jacinta's 18th birthday. He was a beefy child which made labor difficult and the doctors feared she would never be able to bear a child again.


However, Jacinta would become pregnant five years later -- with Paulo -- in mid-1964. By then Agostinho had risen to the rank of Capitão de Mar e Guerra, and Portugal was at the height of conducting the bloody and violent Colonial War in its overseas provinces of Angola, Portuguese Guinea, and Mozambique. Agostinho had struggled to spend the small amount of time on-leave with his family he could salvage when he was not commanding a Frigate in the South Atlantic or killing communists and rebels North of the Okavango. However, he did manage to get a brief leave of absence just in time to witness the birth of his second son.


In the winter of 1972, tragedy struck the Pereira family. Jacinta had mysteriously fallen ill with a number of symptoms presumably thought to be typhoid. Agosthino took a leave of absence in these peak years of the war when the news of her illness reached him. He was stationed in Luanda at the time. She died from what was later discovered to be B-Cell Lymphoma. Paulo was just shy of his eighth birthday. Agostinho would never be the same again. Following the end of the war, he developed an alcohol dependency that would eventually lead to his death decades later from liver failure.


While he attemtped to be a good father to his sons, involving them in running the family business and teaching them basic military survival skills, his depression somehow always got in the way of his parenting one way or another. Nevertheless, Breno would remain steadfastly close to his father for the rest of his life, even dropping out of high school to take over the reins of Pereira e Filhos (which he did with aptitude and gusto). Paulo, however, could never manage to understand his father's grief until years later, when his first committed relationship suffered the same fate. Even by then, the emotional distance between him and his father and brother were too great to bridge any gaps.


Young Paulo was shipped off to his grandparents at the start of each summer until he enrolled in college. As a result, his childhood was reasonably happy in spite of experiencing tragedy at such a young age, and developed good moral character -- a 'nature boy' through and through. Rather than spend his endless free time during the summer holidays enduring his father's tempter, grief and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, he spent the days in the loving care of his grandparents who taught him the value of hard work and the healthful benefits of rural living.


General history:

1965 - 2006 - Paulo lived in a modest townhouse in the old town of the city of Porto with Jacinta, Breno, Gaspar, and Patricia and of course, Agostinho, when he was on leave from the war front.  He lived there year round until Jacinta's death in 1972, when he began spending his summers in Sanfins with Ofélia and Hugo.  In 1982, after receiving a scholarship to Oxford University, Paulo moved to England and enrolled therein, staying until graduating from Medical School.  He continued to live in England on a modest budget and working until he could afford and get admitted to a residency program in Pathology.  At the time, he met and fell in love with a young bartender-studying-journalism-and-communications and fellow named Aurora Serrano, originally of Lisbon.  He married her in 1992, when he was 27 and she was 24 and recently hired as a field reporter for the Sky News.  But in 1997, tragedy struck when Aurora had just completed a late-night story on a public anniversary festival a local historic watering hole was hosting when she was hit by a car while walking home and died on impact.  Paulo had been at the hospital working a nightshift when the news that her body had arrived at morgue reached his ears.  This tragedy almost destroyed him.  A few months after Aurora's untimely passing, Paulo had been hospitalized several times with depression, exhaustion, and malnutrition and he was prescribed powerful antidepressants when his acceptance letter to the University of Limerick's Residency program arrived.  The positive news restored his health somewhat, and he accepted the opportunity without a second thought.

After settling in Ireland and getting back on his feet with regards to his wife's death, Paulo began teaching lower division chemistry at the university as an adjunct while completing his residency.  The peaceful rural culture of southwestern Ireland -- along with the famed hunting and fishing available therein -- helped him overcome his grief.  Ireland's zealous Catholicism also suited him better, allowing him to reconnect with his faith and eventually become a retreat leader, Sunday School teacher and a respected, active figure in his parish.  After a time, Paulo had a few  relationships with some local women, but none provided the chemistry he had with Aurora.  By 2001, Paulo completed his residency and secured a job as assistant director of the chemistry core laboratory at St. John's Hospital.  In late 2006, Paulo received word that the Chief of Pathology at Ennis Community Hospital was retiring.  Due to his outstanding reputation at St. John's and as a scholar, Paulo had been hand-selected by the Board of Directors as a top potential candidate to replace him and was urged to apply with the promise of a very sizeable salary.  In spite of the long commute to Ennis, Paulo took the job.  Meanwhile, he remained teaching chemistry part-time at the University of Limerick to occupy his free time.

2007 - 2015 and continuing (SPOILERS) - Paulo happily continued on as the new Chief of Pathology, making friends and living the uneventful, albeit lonely life of a busy bachelor.  However, one nurse with wide, hazel eyes and shoulder-length golden-chestnut hair kept piquing his interest whenever he saw her lurking around the halls of the moderately-sized rural hospital.  Something mysterious about her captivated him like no other woman had, including -- though he will never admit it -- Aurora.  After casually finding out some general information about the captivating registered nurse, Caitlin Black: divorced mother of two adolescent girls and recently-appointed Unit Director of Geriatric Oncology, Paulo suddenly found himself in a professional emergency where he would be forced to confront her.  One of her patients' blood chemistry had contained suspicious compounds and it seemed as though he was being purposely poisoned.  Caitlin and Paulo diligently worked together to crack the case and collected the necessary evidence to convict the patient's adopted adult children of attempted murder.  During their research, Paulo would frequently visit Caitlin at her home in Doolin to work on the case and forge a strong friendship with the nurse and befriending her youngest daughter, 12-year-old Elizabeth, in the process.  Her older daughter, 15-year-old Alice, was away attending school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where her aunt Evelyn (Caitlin's older sister) and her husband Severus Snape teach.

After months of research (Paulo having spent Christmas and New Years in Portugal), Caitlin and Paulo testified at the trial on the second Friday of January, 2008 and their patient's case was won. Since the trial was held in Limerick during a horrific blizzard, Caitlin spent the evening in Paulo's flat at his insistence that he'll happily sleep on the couch for her safety.  However, after indulging in a decent amount of celebratory Port wine, Paulo and Caitlin confess their mutual feelings for one another and consummate their friendship into a passionate romance.  Paulo did not end up sleeping on the couch.

During Easter Week 2008, Paulo, who was spending the week in Doolin, finally met Alice and Severus and Evelyn, along with their 2-year-old son, Soren. He was met with a bit of hostility and distrust by Alice and Severus but welcomed with open arms by Evelyn, especially after treating Soren's mild bout of food poisoning and carsickness with a home-made remedy upon their arrival in Ireland.  Alice warmed up to her mother's boyfriend soon after as well, but it wasn't until an incident several days later when Paulo saved Soren from a near-drowning incident that Severus' animosity melted away entirely and the two grew to become best friends within the upcoming years. Their bond would last for the rest of their lives.

In the spring of 2009, Paulo resigned from his teaching position at the University of Limerick and relocated permanently to Doolin.  When the Snapes arrived in Ireland for the summer, Paulo announced his intentions to them and Caitlin's daughters that he planned to propose to Caitlin before they returned to Scotland.  After this announcement, Severus and Alice revealed their identities as a wizard and a witch, respectively, and the truth behind the Wizarding World, including its recent history and Evelyn's status as a squib.  Paulo asked Caitlin to marry him that August and they married the following summer.  The late Spring following their wedding, Cat and Paulo visited the Snapes at their home in Hogsmeade and Paulo's suspicions that he too was a muggle-born squib were confirmed when Hogwarts Castle was clearly visible and tangible to him, but not to his wife.

In late August of 2015 Paulo and Cat celebrated their 5-year anniversary by spending a week in Paulo's home town of Porto, residing at a posh hotel with a view of the Douro.  One afternoon, while Cat pampered herself at the hotel spa, Paulo took a walk to a recommended wine and spirits outlet to buy wholesale cases of wine to export to Ireland at a discount price.  To his immense surprise and by sheer coincidence, he discovered that the young man who owned the outlet was his son.  He was a 32-year-old by the name of Camilo Salgueiro and his mother was a free spirited girl 3 years Paulo's senior named Silvia Salgueiro, who worked at the vineyards adjacent to the Lopes farmstead in Sanfins de Ferreira.  She was Paulo's first sexual relationship.  At the time of their son's conception, she was 20 and Paulo was 17 and about to embark to England for the start of his Freshman year at Oxford.  Shortly after finding out she was pregnant, Silvia left Sanfins to give birth in Porto and lived a bohemian lifestyle, working at vineyards around the world to provide for her son before settling in the San Fransisco Bay Area, where she and Camilo could expand their professional horizons.  Before Camilo could graduate from college, a legal incident ruined their ambitions in the United States and mother and son relocated to Porto and open the wine outlet there together.  Silvia would lose a battle with Cervical Cancer three years prior to Camilo's encounter with his father, about whom Silvia had only revealed that he was a university student living in England to her son.

Camilo and Paulo maintained a very close father-son bond for the rest of their lives.  Camilo even changed his surname to 'Salgueiro-Pereira' in honor of both his parents.  He opened the outlet's headquarters in Dublin to reside close to his closest living blood relative and married his long-time girlfriend, half-Carioca art history scholar, Daniela Teixeira. They provided Paulo his two biological grandchildren, Heitor and Tatiana.  Both turned out to be a wizard and a witch and would attend Hogwarts under the tutelage of their grandfather's best friend and sister-in-law.


Schooling: Young Paulo, along with Breno were both enrolled at the Escola São João de Brito, a Jesuit-run coeducational school, when they each turned five years old. Both boys excelled at math. However, Paulo, a precocious learner, loved all his subjects and unlike his more practical older brother, performed superbly in academics. Breno, on the other hand excelled in athletics and dropped out of secondary to begin working full-time at Pereira e Filhos, as his father's deteriorating mental and physical conditions were becoming an economic drain and liability.


At the age of 11, Paulo's brilliant academic scores granted him a partial scholarship to the Oporto British Institute (Instituto Cultural Britânico do Porto).  His grandmother Patricia, always awed by her beloved grandson's intellect, paid the remaining tuition.  When he took the entrance exam, his scores were high enough for him to skip a grade.  It was here where he learned to speak and write proficiently in English (though he will always retain his Lusitanian accent). Patricia would continue to help him with his academic finances until her death in 1987, when Paulo was just about to graduate with his bachelors degree.

During his last year of Secondary, he won first place in a math and science competition that granted the victor a full-paid scholarship to Oxford University in England. Paulo graduated at the top of his class and continued to excel throughout college, where he graduated Suma Cum Laude with a Double-Bachelors Degree in Biology and Chemistry.  After his grandmother's death, Paulo inherited a decent sum of money, splitting a third of his grandmother's estate between his father and brother, and enrolled in medical school at Oxford.  Due to financial difficulties and refusing to have any debts after graduating, it took him longer than average to complete his medical degree as the average student.  He insisted on working draining odd jobs in the mean time to pay off living expenses and dedicated Patricia's money to paying off tuition, supplies and books.

After receiving his Doctorate in Chemical Pathology at the age of 28, Paulo took time off to marry his girlfriend, local Sky News television anchor Aurora Serrano, and work in shadow the chief medical examiner at the Oxfordshire coroner's office in order to save for his residency.  He also taught lower division Organic Chemistry at the university as an adjunct.  Five years later, shortly after Aurora's death, Paulo received his letter of acceptance to the University of Limerick's residency program in Pathology.  Eager to leave his widowers' angst in England behind, he took the opportunity without a second thought.


Talents: Paulo is one of the world's most accomplished chemical pathologists, and has had an insatiable thirst for mathematics and sciences since the womb.  He was also blessed with an oversized nose that can pick up scents few people can detect -- in other words, he is a 'Human Bloodhound'.  He uses this talent both at work and in his favorite hobby: hunting, at which, along with fresh and saltwater fishing and outdoor activities in general, he is extremely adept.  As a teenager, his grandmother bought him a used Gibson 6-string, and he taught himself the basics of playing guitar: electric and acoustic.  However, he is no Eric Clapton, and usually only plays when he's well on his way to getting drunk.  He has decent football skills, particularly as a goalkeeper or defender, but Breno seemed to have hogged a higher percentage of the family's athletic ability. Besides, the only sport at which Paulo competes with his brother is drinking -- and living in the UK and Ireland for all of his adult life has given him quite an advantage.  While a sharp, cheerful sense of humor, dancing and impromptu poetry -- again all improving exponentially while he's under the influence -- are also listed amongst the Doctor's many talents, his friends and family all agree that his greatest God-bestowed gift is his ability and creativity in the kitchen.  It is a talent that helped pay much of his way through medical school and lauded him the undying devotion of anyone who has ever tasted his cooking.


Special powers: Paulo is a genetic anomaly known as a "Muggle-Born Squib", in which the phenotype of the magical gene is only partially expressed. He discovers this in his mid 40's when his best friend/brother-in-law, Severus Snape notices something odd with him. Paulo cannot perform magic, but he can perceive it.


IQ: If Paulo were to take an IQ test on an ideal day, in adulthood, being in optimal health, he would likely score between 140 and 155. He is a genius, as is evident with his academic and professional success.  But more meriting than his inherent intellect it is his dedicated hard work that dictated his achievements.


EQ: In spite of the tragedy he faced when he lost his mother, young Paulo was provided the most nurturing environment possible given his circumstance.  All four of his grandparents were alive for most of his youth and went to extremes to ensure he had all the emotional support he needed from them.  While Agostinho had more than his share of issues -- enduring the violence of war and the pain of losing his wife in less than a decade would drive anyone to extremes -- that could have had a tremendously negative impact on Paulo, he tried his best to keep his temper, depression and drinking under control as best he could with both his sons. He never once reprimanded them physically (aside from a reasonable amount harmless spanking in their early childhoods when they deserved it) and whenever he relapsed, he made it up to them by engaging them in family bonding activities such as fishing or going to the movies.  While the 'bonding' never really worked on a young Paulo (who, except with fishing, would spend his time daydreaming instead), he appreciated his father's efforts nevertheless.  As a result, Paulo has a deep-rooted sense of family while still retaining an appreciation for personal independence. As an adult, he is superbly stable and would fight to the death to protect his family and defend their respect.  He is thoroughly a gentleman.

Thanks to such stern yet nurturing upbringing, Paulo is a man of superb emotional strengths (see 'Quirks & Mannerisms' and 'When Angry'). However, he is also EXTREMELY sensitive and not one who feels the need to hide his feelings.  It may take a great deal of effort to get him angry, but when he crosses the threshold he makes it known.  He is quite prone to crying in moments of extreme  emitional delight (i.e., when he discovered his adult son who he never knew existed) or distress (i.e., the death of Aurora, and his sister-in-law Evelyn telling him the story of her brother's death) with no qualms about holding back the tears. And as such, when he's happy, he shares contentment with whoever happens to be nearby, if only by smiling.


General Personality:


MBTI: "INFJ": Introvert (11%) iNtuitive (25%) Feeling (25%) Judging (1%)


Maturity: Paulo's maturity levels are often difficult to describe.  On one hand, he is the brilliant, responsible leader and provider who had to grow up a tad faster than his peers given his great loss at such a young age; the go-to man for sound advice to both his coequals and his juniors -- very much including his step-daughters, nieces, nephews and son.  On the other, he is the big kid with an eternally fun-loving lust for life who still indulges in classic Warner Brothers' cartoons and stupid YouTube videos and runs after small wild creatures such as frogs just to amuse himself and whoever happens to be watching.  As such, his and Caitlin's relationship often shifts in gears as to who has to act the part of the parent/grown up in situations: about 80% of the time, that 'guardian' role belongs to Paulo.  The fact that Paulo is all too happy to pull up his britches and keep his wife's less-than-mature antics in check actually maintains their relationship's harmony in perfect balance.


Relationship status: Paulo married his fiancée, nurse Caitlin 'Cat' Black, on August 21st, 2010 and they remain happily so their entire lives.  They began dating on January 12th, 2008 and became engaged on August 15th, 2009.  Prior to that he was a widower.  He married media anchor Aurora Serrano on April 10th, 1992. Her fatal accident occurred on November 29th, 1997.


Social standing: Paulo is a man of many acquaintances but a very small number of what he considers 'close friends'.  He has never particularly sought the thrills and burdens of popularity, but has never been, nor purposely gone out of his way to be a social outcast either.  As a child and adolescent, he was regarded as an oddball. Though he could stand his ground in any verbal argument, he was, unlike Breno, a pacifist who usually avoided conflict -- verbal or otherwise.

As an adult, Paulo has risen to become one of the World's leading experts in chemical pathology.  He has written several books and articles on his realms of expertise and frequently conducts field research all over the world, particularly Western and Southern Brazil.  With that comes the respect and admiration of his colleagues in the hospital, in academia and of his students.  However, even with all his academic recognition, outstanding professional work ethics and bloated bank accounts, Paulo prefers the company of his closest friends and family to superficial popularity.


Philosophy/Values: Born, raised, baptized, fully-immersed, and saturated in the deep-veined Catholicism of his native Portugal (and later in life, in the equally-zealous Republic of Ireland), Paulo credits his Roman Catholic faith and spirituality with providing him with the strengths to take the blows life has dealt him: most particularly in the loss of his mother and his first wife.  Any other man would have sunk into the darkness of despair like a sack of lead weights, and he knows fully-well how close he came to falling into that abyss. While he believes many of the aspects of the church are indeed ridiculous, impractical and outdated, particularly in regards to sex (i.e., gender integration in the clergy, the vow of chastity, abstaining from sex before of marriage and intolerance towards homosexual unions), he still tries to attend mass every Sunday and often participates as a Eucharistic Minister and Sunday School teacher for young children.

Paulo believes strongly in personal freedom, independent thought and right to privacy, but otherwise, it really depends on the situation as to whether or not his views swing left or right on any particular social or political issue.  Since his father spent years in the military combating communism in Africa and he spent his childhood living next door to Franquista Spain, he knows full-well the dangers of political extremism both left and right, and believes in the power of individual freedom ensured by a representative democracy.

Religion and politics aside, Paulo very much values decency, freedom, courage, individuality, voluntary community service, an indestructible work ethic, and humanity's insatiable thirst for knowledge and discovery.  He also, as a doctor, regards the human body as the most complete embodiment of Divine beauty, and not a social taboo.


Quirks and mannerisms: Perhaps Paulo's most signature habit -- in spite of the total irony that he is a licensed, Oxford-educated medical doctor who spent years dissecting the cancerous respiratory tissues of deceased smokers -- is the nicotine addiction he picked up a couple of years after his mother died.  He is not exactly sure when, but definitely before he turned 12.  Tobacco use was all too common in Western Europe during the 1960's and 70's.  His father had been a chain smoker since his own days as a young sailor and his older brother had also picked up the habit early on.  He found that nicotine helped him cope with the stresses and anxieties of his youth as well as his career and while he will cut down considerably once he begins focusing his affections on Caitlin he will never quit entirely.  Aside from smoking and a tendency to overeat, Paulo also has the habit of cracking his knuckles whenever he's lost in thought -- another mannerism to which he is highly prone.  He has a very mild personality and not one to have frequent shifts in mood and temper.  In times of emergency or trouble, he rarely loses his cool and remains in complete control of himself.  He merely mutters a little prayer, asking God to take the reins of fate and does whatever he can to the best of his abilities and judgment to asses and correct the situation.


When angry: Paulo is a punching bag who can take an excess amount of crap before getting really angry, thanks in part to his natural good humor and imperviousness to idiocy -- after all, anger rots the soul, and he is aware of just how much it does so. When that happens he does whatever he possibly can to avoid confrontation and reverts to his shell until his wrath subsides.  He will get extremely quiet, and find a dark secluded place where he could brood in peace.  Often he will take with him alcohol and drink himself either to sleep or to distract himself into a lighter frame of thought.  Once his thoughts are collected and organized, he will go back and diplomatically resolve whatever issue, if he can do so, to avoid it making him angry again.  Rather than raising his voice in an altercation, he lowers it and speaks slowly, clearly and menacingly, his piercing green eyes trained on his opponents'.  As he does so, he squares his shoulders, spreads his feet apart slightly, lowers his center of gravity and appears larger and taller than he truly is and his thick black eyebrows arch to peaks that strike fear into anyone who drove him to such a state.


Values violated: Paulo rarely gets mad, but he always gets even sooner or later.  He is prone to passive-aggressive behavior, saying very little, if anything at all if he senses someone's trying to get his goat, but then going ahead and doing whatever he feels with little regard for his short statements and knowing full-well this will irk the violator more than verbal or physical reactions.  But if lines are crossed where passive-aggressiveness is no longer a useful option, the doctor does not bother holding back a solid right hook to the temporomandibular joint.  He was raised by a naval officer and his martial arts skills reflect that.  However, 98% of the time, he casually pitties the violator for his/her ignorance and holds his mockery and laughter till he arrives at a distant and private location.  He keeps smiling and continues on his merry way.  The remaining 2% of the times, the only issues that would set him off are disrespectful jabs at his mother, his father's physical and mental state, his first wife, and his family (Caitlin, Alice, Elizabeth, Sophia, Evelyn, Severus, Soren, Camilo and Daniela or their deceased loved ones) and if he witnesses something horrible and abusive being done to a child, elderly/infirmed person or animal.


Misc. Views: An avid sportsman, Paulo believes firmly in the right for the individual to bear arms for protection and obtaining game along with all civil liberties.  He stands by the fact that a healthy exposure to the outdoor lifestyle helps young people become healthier adults.  He values courage, wisdom, common sense and open-mindedness.  Fanaticism and extremes frighten him.  Politically, he considers himself center-right on fiscal/economic issues, gun control, and unionized labor (and boy, does that necessarily evil entity give him grief!),  and center-left on social issues such as civil rights, education, environmental protection and preserving infrastructure and historic landmarks.  With 'The Big A', his Catholicism has definitely ingrained in him the belief that a woman should definitely seek out all other options prior to terminating a pregnancy and has dedicated much of his free time to consult female patients who find themselves in 'interesting predicaments'.  Paulo loves children dearly, even before they are born.  But he also knows that the dangers of a prohibition on abortion and what young women risk -- physically and emotionally -- when they inevitably seek out underground "clinics" (which frequently terminate two lives instead of one), and sliding along with his mantra of individual human rights and freedoms without government interference, he knows that a woman is free to do with her body as she wished regardless of the moral outcomes.


Minor Notes: Paulo finds a bit of delight in disorder.  He is clean and enjoys  living in an neat and tidy environment, but when it comes to work, he seems to relish in a bit of organizational chaos.  If his office doesn't have his stacks of books, papers and office supplies scattered in the manner which only he can expertly decipher what's where, he cannot function optimally.  His tendency towards disorganization often gets him into trouble whenever he and Caitlin visit the Snapes in Hogsmeade during holidays.  He adores Severus and Evelyn like siblings, but they can get a bit ornery (especially Evelyn) when he forgets to put his clothes in the hamper.  In other words, he can be messy: especially in his private workspace.  However, years of toiling in the restaurant industry knocked a sense of tidiness in the kitchen into him with a metaphorical rolling pin.  Paulo is also a lactoholic, with a weakness for ice cream, cheese and dairy-based desserts.  His biggest fear is for death and/or injury to happen to those he loves... though he will argue that goat eyes freak him out almost as much.  As stated before, he is allergic to the dander of horses, donkeys, zebras, and their magical bretheren such as unicorns and thestrals.  They cause his eyes to redden and water and his sinuses to plug whenever they are nearby.  He also loves animals: dogs and fish in particular, and rarely have there been moments in his life when he hasn't owned a pet. He currently owns a nano-reef aquarium with rare corals, crustaceans, and in which his favorite vertebrate occupant is a Japanese 6-Line Wrasse named 'Lieutenant Pinkerton'.  When he moved to Doolin, he brought his tank and its living contents safely to Cat's house with the help of his wizard best friend. He also bought his younger step-daughter, Elizabeth, an English Pointer puppy which she named 'Sorcha' as a reward for improved grades , but borrows the dog whenever he goes upland bird hunting or generally needs a good nose.  


Strengths: Down-to-earth, brave, thrifty, resourceful, extremely hard-working, heroic, sensitive, diligent, wise, charming, open-minded, spiritual, adventurous, a planner, patient, tolerant, humorous, fun-loving, humble, pleasant, easy-going, kind, gentle, polite, educated, physically active, natural, honest, courageous, and one hell of a cook and marksman!


Weaknesses: Passive-aggressive tendencies, can often be too-frugal, disorganized, obsessive, shyness (especially when it comes to flirting and sex), stubborn, unpredictable and extreme reactions to anxiety (i.e., drinks too much in one sitting, either overstuffs himself with crap or doesn't eat for days, will skip showers or bathe excessively) which he keeps under control with a nicotine habit, easily-distracted, talks too much, has trouble keeping secrets, high tendency to overindulge, mulls over decision-making too long.


Growth: Paulo will continue his personal growth and enrich his knowledge until he breathes his last breath.  He was born with a thirst for knowledge and adventure and while he will never grow out of that, he will use such virtues a stepping stone to learn as much as he can.  His relationships with various types of very interesting and diverse people have helped him in this as well.