Nerd Culture

I refer to myself as a nerd quite frequently (exhibit #1: the header above). I get a wide range of responses to my proclamation.

Some people go with "Noooo! I don't think so!" which means one of two things. 1) They've never met me or 2) They put a negative connotation on the word "nerd".

The most common response is nervous laughter while they try to ascertain how I feel about my own label.

But the response that spurred this post is the admonishing "Don't say that!" Somehow, in the current heyday of geek chic, being labeled a nerd is still seen as an unfortunate occurrence.

I have no qualms about calling myself a nerd.  I wear it as a badge of honor.  I care about something(s) enough to be considered a nerd.

But then I really blow people's minds with the sheer diversity of my nerdscape.

Comics, Sci-Fi (not SyFy), computers, fantasy books, Star Trek/Gate/Wars, documentaries, music deconstruction, baseball stats, genre TV shows, gadgets, math......

Wait just a second my opinionated opiner, I like some of those things but I'm not a....nerd.


And here's where the conundrum comes in.  Given the current accepted definition of "nerd", everyone is a nerd about something.

Patton Oswalt may have written the best rant ever on this subject.  He points out that the internet gives us instantaneous access to a wealth of information that would have taken basement dwellers of old years to compile.

Why argue about how many episodes of Star Trek TOS had Kirk hooking up with a pastel-colored lady when all it takes is a quick Wikipedia search?  You want to own life-sized replicas of Ian Holm circa Alien AND Fellowship of the Ring?  Look no further than Ebay/Craigslist.  You might just find some herpes while you're there.

So, my dear reader(s), I say embrace your emerging nerdiness.  Accept your irrational obsessions.  And don't be afraid to read that Farscape/Care Bears crossover fanfic just because Karen in HR would think you're weird.

Life

Life shouldn't have to be what happens in between work and sleep.  Work should try to wedge its unwanted ass into your life.  Why is it that to be considered "successful" you have to put work first?  Now that I have an infant in my house I feel like I'm missing 800 things everyday that are WAY more important than anything I'm doing at work.

With respect to jobs, I always hear "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life."  That would be great if someone would pay me to play music, or stare at boobs, or read comic books, or play video games with my son, or eat buffalo chicken.  But I don't see anyone offering me jobs in those fields right now. (I'm holding out for a cross-over.  Maybe boobs covered in buffalo sauce? Or playing music with my son?  Or just the boobs?)

Why is it accepted that you're going to hate your job?  Including drive-time I spend roughly 50 hours per week dedicated to my job.  Quick math lets me know that I waste 2600 hours per year doing something I don't enjoy.  Why is this normal?  Does anyone start college wanting to be phone support?  Or an accountant?  Or middle management?  No.  You get stuck there.

I don't mean to sound like a whiny teenager but my family is the only thing I'm remotely happy with right now.


But that's all that matters.  Right?  Well, kind of.  Loving my family doesn't help me feed/clothe/bathe/spoil them.  And it sure as hell doesn't make me hate the job any less.


But loving your family should make all the bad things worth it.  Well, then I must be broken.  I love my family, and I will do anything for them, but it does not make everything worthwhile.  I'm not okay with wasting any intelligence/talent/initiative that I have for a paycheck that almost pays the bills.  Just so I can turn around and give every bit of that money to multi-billion dollar companies.

I have always adhered to the philosophy of "don't sacrifice today for what might happen tomorrow".  Doesn't that also apply to me?  If I throw away my dreams and desires and put on my Corporate Andy hat just so I can put food on the table, am I not doing that same thing?  If children are our future does that mean that our future is over?

I'm struggling with how to feel about how I feel.

Am I a selfish bastard for bitching when I actually have a job and three other human beings dependent on me?  Or am I an idiot for basically giving up on my dreams at 25?

I have no idea.