I am a geek and a nerd. If we are good friends, this is not news. If we are just acquaintances/coworkers/friends from a very specific setting you may not know this. Because I am not one to freakishly obsess about one franchise or collect anything or play role playing games or play video games. Pretty much any of the traditional (I was going to say normal, but that didn't really seem to fit with the geek/nerd theme) nerdy things associated with geeks. And yet I am most definitely a geek.
Let me explain. My sister plays D&D, likes video games, can tell you more than you need to know about Star Wars, will argue for hours on why Original Series Star Trek is far superior to any other Star Trek, and has been to multiple sci-fi cons. She is what would be considered a geek. She has a few general nerdy things and a couple things that she completely nerds out with. I don't do any of the really nerdy things and I don't have anything that I completely nerd out with. I am a nerd without a cause. I am too normal to have a geek group, but too geek to really be mainstream. Such a sad, lonely, nerd life I live. Except, not really!
So, without further ado...why I am a geek (and a nerd)
I know more about Star Wars than most normal people. That's right. I can quote the original trilogy, know what planets they go to, all the main creatures' names, and much more. I don't know as much as Jenny, but I know plenty. I've also seen quite a bit of original Star Trek and argued for why the new Star Trek movie does, in fact, work with canon. I have been currently geeking out on Doctor Who/Torchwood. If I were to have a geek focus, that would be it. I looked up the Doctor Who time line and tried to figure out how Captain Jack Harkness fits into everything and got confused (see...geeky enough to look it up, not geeky enough to get it).
My biggest nerd thing is that I do puzzles, which really doesn't fall anywhere on the geek scope. Most people think it is kinda neat, in a nerdy sort of way. I read Stephen King and Ted Dekker books, but I also read romance novels. Pretty much the only thing I can discuss at length with any sort of geek cred is Harry Potter, which is really not that nerdy. Though I supposed winning a HP trivia game at a sci-fi con probably counts as fairly nerdy.
I like technology a lot and have my undergrad degree in Security Informatics. I can write SQL, HTML, XML, MODS, Dublin Core, MARC. I can look through pages of script and find that one little piece of code that tells me what I want to know. I can work in command line and have set up a Linux system, complete with workable e-mail. I have also released and played with viruses and hacks (in a controlled environment). However, I really don't care to have the newest technology. I have no desire to have an iPod ever and am thoroughly against anything Apple. And really, that doesn't tend to go over well in the geek world.
I had a coworker not too long ago make a comment that she had no idea that I was a nerd and would never have guessed that. I kinda get that a lot. I consider myself a nerd and a geek, but am kind of ok with people not knowing that I'm a geek. I am like a ninja geek! A Ninja Nerd! I silently infiltrate normal society and then strike with an impressive fact about Star Wars! I think the part of geekdom that I fit into the most is the attitude of just owning what I like. Sure, it might not be as geeky as other people. But it is my geekiness and I like it!
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