Geekery: The Beginning
I was looking over the 31 Posts list again and noticed I had been neglecting the geekery category. With five days left of this whirlygig of fun I thought I should talk about that some. So I am combining two topics, How did it start? Why are you a geek?
Photos from the most recent DragonCon, random acts of geek, and Halloweens Past.
I think I would have been geeky no matter what, but I come by it genetically as well as on its own. My dad liked to tell me whenever we watched it, that one of his first dates with my mother was to see Wrath of Kahn. This is also the man who plopped down his wee daughter in his lap and said some very magical words. “This show we’re about to watch, its called Star Trek. [TOS]” And he did not stop there, James Bond, Bruce Lee, Clint Eastwood, Adam West’s Batman, The Hulk, A – Team, Highlander, Night Rider, WWE, Socc (sorry dad) Football, Wonder Woman, the Six Million Dollar Man. I’m sure I’m forgetting plenty.
The only thing my dad drew the line at was Horror, he assumed I would have nightmares. Likely because my half sister 5 years my senior did, but still insisted on watching them. She would drag me along, and in my five year old brain everything was dandy for logically; I did not live on Elm Street , I didn’t go to sleep away camp, and Chucky was a damn doll, fear was illogical.
And then I got older and there came the books. To read makes our speaking English good. I remember in grade school having a color coded learning to read system and getting annoyed because they kept moving me up in the colors before I had read ALL the books and wouldn’t let me go back. I read a lot as a child My dad who brought me to the library every two weeks and paid my fines when one of the 25 books I checked out vanished for a month, would let me buy a set number of books from, the Scholastic book club and Troll monthly book club and the library/school book sales.
One week I came back with a handful of books. By now my dad had gotten used to bargaining me down. Not because I wouldn’t read the books, but because I would misplace a few for a while, and he was tired of being a regular donor to our library’s fund.
Dad: That’s it?
Me: I read everything else.
Dad: Everything?
Me: That I want to. They don’t get new books fast enough.
Dad: Dad grunting sound that means the conversation is over.
Two weeks later we walked, and walked, and walked. And he brought me to Grand Army Plaza, home of the Brooklyn Central Library. Look at this place. In comparison my local library was one story, and easy to completely browse in 20 minutes.
That place is a monster in the best possible way. I found old Sci-Fi novels from the 70′s and 80′s , more YA horror, and series. I was in love. And that became our regular bi-weekly stop off.
I started reading comic books in the second or third grade. The boys would be reading them and I was intrigued. I watched all the Marvel Cartoons, so I recognized the characters, so at first I would just take them from the boys. “I read faster than you, you’ll get them back in a minute.” It helped that, that particular boy was the son of my God Mother and my Mother’s best friend, I spent many a Saturday at his place playing video games. Until I got my Super Nintendo in ’93. He caught on pretty quick and would just hand over the comics, and then we’d argue for half of the time on the playground who was more awesome. Then proceed to reenact stories.
I was one of the only girls that did this, but I didn’t think much of it, unless we were playing and they decided I had to be Supergirl. She was dating Lex Luthor, I think not, I have standards boys. Storm, Rogue, Batgirl, and we have a deal. I can’t remember if Wonder Woman had a run at the time, but if she did they weren’t buying it, I read some old stores in the library trades but that was about it.
Family TV nights were spent watching things like, Hercules, Xena, Buffy, and the lot. The only rules we had were in bed by 10 and homework done before the TV went on, which was easy to do. By 3:30 I was watching afternoon cartoons, at 5 I was reading a book or 12, and by 8 I was ready for prime time television.
I went through the various stages of Job desires by cool movie/character; Spock (oh I can’t be a vulcan? Astronaut then), Egyptologist (Dr. Jones, and Mythology), Archaeologist (Dr. Jones & Current Discoveries circa 1992 -94), Paleontologist (Dinosaurs – no further explanation needed), Biologist/Chemist (introduction to subject), Computer Programmer (this had nothing to do with Hackers I swear), Psychologist (first psych class in HS). I will hand it to my parents, their response was always, sure, go for it, with a also doctors are cool, just saying.
And then I went and got a Master’s Degree in an area of psychology that makes most people go, “so what does that mean?” and got the job that makes people go “but what do you do?” (I’m a Market Research Analyst) because it was what I studied and exactly what I wanted to do. I work in an office where Sauron and a Dalek guard my desk and my boss sends me emails about Comic Con. When I tell a story about attempting to kill a moth with a sword the only reaction in the office is, over kill much, no question on how/why I have a sword to make this attempt.
Not everything in my life is geeky but the things that are make those boring parts more fun. This geek started young and plans to stay that way. Now I’m off to call my dad and tell him he’s awesome.
