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Going Full Geek

I make no secret of the fact that I have geeky hobbies. I've been known to read comic books and wear associated t-shirts on occasion. I can still be goaded into a Lego competition by little kids, I keep a chess set in the office, and I have a highly developed sense of curiosity that often leads me to learn about random things like cooling a room without air conditioning. Heck, I work as a software developer during the day, so if nothing else, I've got geeky tendencies.

None of this is a problem for me, it's just a part of my personality. If others want to judge me based on that, that's their prerogative. I'll happily go on doing my thing. Of course, I purposely said that it's part of my personality. As much as I enjoy doing some of those things, I also think I should try to be a well-rounded human being. The cliche of the absent minded professor is not something I aspire to, and I think people fall into the trap of using that as a crutch. Sure, everyone has their social missteps, but you're supposed to feel embarrassed by those, and you're supposed to get better about avoiding them as time goes on. I also like playing sports and staying active, so I figure I should keep that up to be as healthy as possible. All in all, I think there's more value in cultivating different types of hobbies, rather than just the one subset.

As time passes, though, I've come to realize that it's a decidedly non-trivial part of my personality. I'm not sure I could even be a jock if I wanted to, nor could I be a bohemian free spirit. By and large, I'm a geek/nerd at heart (and for those of you who want to nitpick about the difference between "geek" and "nerd," you're missing the point). This leads to a bit of a conundrum, though: I don't want to go full geek because of, well, the previous paragraph.

Now, I fully realize that there's absolutely no reason why having geeky hobbies and being a socially adept person have to be mutually exclusive. But as a kid who grew up being one of the most obviously identifiable bookworms in the class room, it's easy to have that question in the back of your head. I also think it keeps me honest about both sides of the equation to think about it in those terms, so I don't really try to stop this train of thought. It probably doesn't hurt that I have friends who will have conversations like the following with me:

  • Me: "[Friend], this is [other friend]. I've known [other friend] forever, since we were kids.
    Friend: "Nice to meet you, sounds like you have all the dirt on Sam"
    Me: "Don't believe a word she says"
    Other Friend: "What? Like the fact that you're the biggest nerd ever?"

    Everyone was joking, but thanks a lot. You couldn't at least pretend like I used to be one of the cool kids at school?
  • Me: "Um, you know that's not right, don't you?"
    Friend: "Dammit, Autocorrect, quit correcting me"

    That is quite possibly one of the funniest nicknames I have ever been given, and she came up with it on the spot. Cracked me up.
  • Me: "I was asked today if I was secretly a math teacher"
    Friend: "Wait, you mean you're not?!!"

    This one actually happened over Facebook, but the basic premise is the same. People sure do seem to like poking fun at my geeky/nerdy tendencies.

Even with the funny exchanges with friends, though, the funniest part of all this is that I'm always reminded of a scene from Tropic Thunder when I think about it (you'll have to substitute a word, but you get the idea). Thank you, Robert Downey Jr. for keeping me in line.
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