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

[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. :)