Still Not One of the Cool Kids!

[apple_pathways]

Today was a hectic day--my cold has progressed into a nice, chesty cough that sounds like an old man's death rattle. Because my job requires me to talk, I nearly lost my voice at several points over the course of the evening. And due to a scheduling snafu by the boss, and the inability of my students' parents to bring them during their scheduled appointment time, their was a nice overflow of students from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Lovely.

It was in that time I had my new student. He is the nerdiest thing ever and I love him! Because it was his first day, he got to spend the first part of the hour decorating his binder. What did he draw on it? A TARDIS, a sonic screwdriver, and a fleet of Daleks! ♥ Oh, be still my heart!

He was super impressed when I pulled out my TARDIS tote bag. Unfortunately, during our colossal geek fest, two of my older students got a glimpse into just how big of a nerd I am. I'm sure they always suspected: I mean, I am a math tutor. But this just confirmed it for them.

I tried to convince them what an awesome show Doctor Who is, but they knew better: it's an instinct that cool kids have when they're being confronted with something nerdy. (Don't get me wrong: these boys are sweet and adorable, and as far as I know, very nice young men. But yeah: they're cool kids!)

So in honor of me and my geeky new buddy, I would like to present:



True Life Confessions of a Grown-up Nerd

1. I practically speak HTML as a second language. Why bother numbering my confessions when I can just use the ordered list (< ol>) tag?
   
2. I own boxed sets of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Lord of the Rings, and the Dune series. I haven't even touched the boxed set copies of Hitchhiker's; I just read my old beat-up paperbacks. I just HAD to own the hardback versions.
   
3. I collect reference books.
   
4. If I could get away with it, I would name my son Atreyu after the young warrior from The Neverending Story.
   
5. I have a weird habit where I smell my fingers a lot.
   
6. I can't control myself around office supplies. God, I love Post-It notes...
   
7. It's easier to reach me through email than by phone.
   
8. There was a moment when I seriously considered declining to attend a friend's wedding when I found out it was the same day as the Doctor Who series finale.
   
9. I make baffling jokes about "disarticulating apples".
   
10. Faux nerds irritate me. (Social Awkwardness FTW!)
    

Comments

[alias-amy.livejournal.com]

Check: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 (although not a wedding, a birthday party), 10. My hubby sent me a list recently that says, Top Ten signs your wife is also a nerd. I scored on every single one, most particularly, do you regularly settle arguments by pulling out your laptop/iphone/iPad? To which my response was, "What? Regular people don't do that? How do they know who's right?"

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

"What? Regular people don't do that? How do they know who's right?"

It baffles me when people can "agree to disagree" on matters of fact! As I once said to a friend at the end of a drunken evening, and which is now often quoted back to me: "This is real life, of course someone's right! And it's not you!"

[planejane.livejournal.com]

You are much nerdier than me. *squishes you*

But I'm 42, and that's got to mean something. XD

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Of course it does! The answer to life, the universe, and everything...

;)

(I am much nerdier than A LOT of people! Fortunately, I wear it as a badge of honor.)

[professor-spork.livejournal.com]

Trey is a perfect socially acceptable nickname for Atreyu. I SAY GO FOR IT.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I am so tempted, YOU HAVE NO IDEA! I mean, let's face it: any child of mine is automatically going to be branded a nerd for life, right?

(See, I just don't need this kind of encouragement!) ;)

[roh-wyn.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on 75% of the list (and I think trying to figure out which bits are within that 75% ought to be a fun challenge for a fellow nerd, lol!)\

As for the cool kids, they can go on being cool, as long as they realize that nerds will pwn them one day...

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Oh, PLEASE tell me you also have a weird compulsion to smell your fingers!

No? Well, I can hope... ;)

[sabriel75.livejournal.com]

My husband does and it drives us all batty when we catch him at it. Sorry... but I'm a bit anal about germs and that habit seems like snorting them right into your system. I dunno, like crack or something?

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

LOL--germs as crack? No, I don't think that's why I do it. It's really just a part of my spectrum of OCD tics. I don't know where it came from! But I do know it started sometime after I quit smoking...maybe I just needed something else to do with my hands??? I dunoo! ;)

[sabriel75.livejournal.com]

Also, have you heard the song I'll Still Be a Geek Even After Nobody Thinks It's Chic by Marion Call. That pretty much sums me up if you wanna know. :D

If you must know I borrow books at the library that I own in hardcover because I don't want my books to get mussed or their spines ruined or fingerprints on the dustjackets.

Atreyu is so appropriate of a name. You could nickname him Trey and no one would think twice about it. No one would agree to letting me name my daughter Sabriel, but I swear if I could have I would have.

Every song at my wedding came from a Hollywood movie soundtrack. I avoid weddings like they're the plague so any excuse works for me but seriously, series finale of Doctor Who definitely takes the cake in my book.

Hello, my name is Beth, and I collect reference books. All kinds and even grammar books that have workbooks to fill out.

Post-it notes are love! Especially with cute designs on them or animals or anime characters. :D

Oh God, if I have to hear my mom explain how she'd have better luck emailing her requests than getting me on the phone. Although I don't do Facebook and they all wonder WTH is wrong with me?!

Uhm... already commented on your weird habit... and am trying to think of some quirk I have that really stands out, but am failing.

Oh and no one ever gets my jokes but it's alright because it takes me forever usually to get theirs.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

There's just something about owning books...I dunno, just having a nice version of one of my favorite books on a shelf makes me happy! Though I don't always buy nice versions of my favorite books--the only copy I own of A Room With a View (my favorite book) is the original Dover Thrift edition I first read in my high school English class. (Highlighting and all!)

Honestly, I really wish people would just email me! My phone rang this morning, and by the time I got to it (it had stopped ringing, of course; I never know where my phone is!) I saw that my bestie had both texted me and called me twice yesterday. Oops!

Don't even get me started on Facebook, though I do enjoy being able to go on there occasionally and see pictures of friends' kids who live out of state.

Loving all the Nerd Love here. :) (Though naturally, since I was posting this on LiveJournal, several of my most nerdy traits just had to be taken as a given, i.e. "I write fan fiction" and "half of my day's social interaction consists of typing on a screen.") ;)

[alt_universe_me.livejournal.com]

Hey, reference books are awesome and useful! And I really need all of my dictionaries. Truly, I do!

*hugs them close*

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I ♥ dictionaries! But they're only the tip of my reference book iceberg. I bought a copy of The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge from the bargain books and Borders; it contains basic information on a multitude of subjects, from architecture to physics. I spent the first few days just fonding it in my lap. ;)

[middlegirl.livejournal.com]

2, 6, 7, 9, and 10 for this girl, though I only own large single volumes of Chronicles of Narnia and Hitchhiker's, not boxed sets, and I just generally prefer email to phone, not necessarily because I'm easier to reach that way. (Yeah, you read that right. A receptionist prefers email to phones.) Also, my baffling jokes are either MST3K- or literature-related.

Right now the alarm on my cell phone is the sound of the TARDIS, and I usually set my phone alarm when I'm doing small groups at church so I know when to wrap things up. One of my girls recognized it as being from Doctor Who, and all the other girls started realizing just what a nerd I am. I got to explain the weeping angels to them, but they decided to go off and play basketball.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

D'aww, so you know how it feels! Kids automatically assign you a certain amount of cool just for being an adult who's not one of their parents, and it's funny to watch them start marking you down when they realize you were one of the nerds when you were their age. :)

[ladylovelace.livejournal.com]

Faux nerds irritate me.

+ co-signed.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Fuck yeah! Real nerds UNITE!

[paenteom.livejournal.com]

I think I would have liked maths a lot more if I had known that my teacher likes Doctor Who. :D

And I'd like to put my signature under Number 1, Number 6, Number 7 and Number 10.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Love your icon! Chemistry humor FTW! ♥

He was so cute when he was showing me all the drawings he made on his binder. They were really good, too! I could wish I could scan it in to show everyone.

[paenteom.livejournal.com]

Totally. *-*
I just love lame chemistry jokes like 'What does the surprised Oxide Magnesium say?'

You could ask him nicely if you are allowed to take a photograph? :D I really want to see them.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Ok, I give up: what does the surprised Oxide Magnesium say?

You could ask him nicely if you are allowed to take a photograph?

Actually, that's a good idea! It'll make him feel like a rock star if I tell him I want to share his art with other Who fans. :)

[paenteom.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, your icon. /dead

Alright, from the beginning.
What does the surprised Oxide Magnesium say?








OMg.



We should all totally write him little love letters that you can print out. :D

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Ah ha ha, Ok, I LOVE that joke!

Have you heard the Heisenberg physics joke?

[paenteom.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't. :D
/curious

My favorite science joke EVER!

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Heisenberg is driving down the road when he gets pulled over by a cop.

"Do you know how fast you were going?" asks the cop.

"No," says Heisenberg, "but I knew exactly where I was!"

*rimshot*

Re: My favorite science joke EVER!

[paenteom.livejournal.com]

/snorts
There goes my tea.
Oh my god, this is so going to please my physics teacher.
He tried in vain to explain the principle to us last year. XD