ON BEING A NERD
There was a time, when being a nerd was not cool at all. These days, it seems like being a “nerd” or a “geek” is pretty socially acceptable. My whole life I’ve pretty much been a nerd of some sort, and while there were times when it made life hard… but mostly I am glad for it.
I think most people in the social media space, or bloggers, consider themselves to be nerds of some sort… I mean writing about yourself on the internet was pretty nerdy at one time! With Facebook, Twitter, etc… I think it is safe to say that it’s mainstream now.
There are many different kinds of nerds…
Computer Nerds: Programming geeks, internet geeks, forum geeks, hardware geeks etc…
Social Media Nerds: Bloggers, Facebook power users, Twits, Dating-site geeks, the social media nerds that join every social networking site… 
Music Nerds: Piano geeks, musical geeks, musical theatre geeks, composers, DJs etc…
MacGyver Nerds: DIYers, LEGO geeks, Robotics geeks, A/V geeks, etc…
“Fandom” Nerds: Sports geeks, WoW guild members, Twi Hards, Star Wars geeks, Trekkies, etc…
Gaming Nerds: Board game geeks, Xbox, Playstation, PC… you name it…
Academic Nerds: Book nerds, Smart geeks, PhDers… etc…
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I think I’ve been a geek in just about every category there at some point in my life… I’m not really embarrassed of it anymore, but let’s face it… it used to be hard to be a nerd!
So, this blog post is for all the nerds out there! I want to explore some of my nerdy past, and I hope you share yours with me 
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Let’s start backwards with those categories.
I’ve always been an Academic Nerd. When I was younger, I used to read a book a day. I spent most of my days in the school library. I was a Librarian’s Assistant at one point, haha. I still love reading even though I don’t have as much time for it anymore. I cared a lot about school. I studied a lot. I got straight As. I was made fun of in elementary school and high school like most nerds. I graduated from university with an Honours Business Administration degree from Ivey at Western. I generally preferred studying to partying.
I love Science World, the Planetarium, the Aquarium… anything science-y and geeky!
I played innertube waterpolo in university. Haha!
I’ve always been a Gaming Nerd. When I was little I used to play Pacman and Hangman on my old 486 computer. I played King’s Quest, Monkey Island, and all the old Sierra Adventure games. I played Math Blaster.
Eventually, I got an Xbox, and then an Xbox 360. I was part of an Xbox gaming clan for many years. Yes, I even went to Xbox gaming conventions. I pretty much played my Xbox 360 all through university, even when we’d have parties over at our place.
I love all kinds of games. Fighting games, shooters, music games, MMOs, RTS… you name it. The game I’m looking forward to most right now is Gears of War 3. I worked in the video game industry for several years.
I even got into shooting rifles because I loved gaming so much. No, not at animals or people. Just targets.
I love trivia games. I pretty much live for Cranium.
I dressed up as “Cortana” from Halo for Halloween.
I’m a bit of a “Fandom” Nerd too. I’m a big Twilight fan (a “Twi Hard”)… I set stalked, I blogged about it, I read Twilight sites every evening.
It’s no secret that I’ve been a huge Canucks fan since I was little.
I’m a bit of a Star Wars geek. I own Star Wars LEGO. I decorated our kitchen in university with Star Wars comic books.
Yes, I even visited the Star Wars store in Aberdeen, Washington. I think the store owner’s Carrie Fisher tattoo is pretty rad.
I thought getting a Star Wars 3D puzzle for Christmas was awesome.
I’m a bit of a MacGyver Nerd. When I was little, my dad cut the telephone line to our modem in my room because I surfing the internet too much. I found his soldering iron in the garage and I soldered all the wires back together and got on the internet again.
I used to patch cables from my computer to an old TV and an old VCR to do old school video editing. Yes, I was even part of the Robotics club in high school. And yeah, I loved the LEGO Mindstorms kits and frequently built robots with my little brother.
Believe it or not, I was also kind of a Music Nerd. I played piano and went to piano theory classes. I got up to Grade 7 RCM in piano. I kinda hated it though. I was a big Musical Theatre geek too. I played dress up. I played silly roles for musicals in high school. I was a geek.
I consider myself to be a bit of a Social Media Nerd. I started a home grown blog (no Wordpress or anything like that back then) in 1998 when I was 14 and had my own photo blog for several years! I had a 6-digit ICQ number. I met my first boyfriend in a Yahoo! chat room when I was 12. That was kind of awkward. I still use IRC, and of course I’m on the mainstream social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc. I’m not as much of a power user anymore, but it’s still fun.
And last, but not least, I am definitely still a big Computer Nerd. My computer is still my most valued material possession in my life. Here’s a shot of the old computer I built when I was younger. I had a blast going and getting all the parts and putting it together myself. I still build my own computers (I need a picture of my new one!).
I buy shirts off ThinkGeek. Yeah, I have a “No, I will not fix your computer” shirt.
When I went to university, I actually hand-packed my hard drives for my carry-on so I could bring my desktop computer, instead of buying a computer on the East Coast or getting one of those new-fangled laptops
I thought visiting Microsoft was the coolest day of my life. Bill Gates is my hero.
I drove all the way to Portland to pick up a Zune when it launched! I love my Blackberry, and I own a ton of different gadgets and techie tools. I even owned a Palm LifeDrive at one point… haha. I’ve gone through 4 different sets of the Logitech diNovo Keyboard/Media Pad.
I usually have 25+ tabs open in my Firefox. I love video editing. I love PhotoShop. I used to design and build webpages and graphics for money. I used to FXP and I still FTP. I’ve been a member of several internet forums since I was 12 years old.
I’m a bit of a photography nerd too.
I met people from internet forums when I was only 14 years old. I still meet people from the internet and internet forums. Hopefully I get to meet all of you soon too!
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Phew! That post turned out longer than I meant it to. Guess I’m a bit geekier than I thought. I’m sure most of you reading this are pretty geeky yourselves. As you know, it can be hard, especially when growing up. But these days I think it’s easier to be a nerd and easier to be proud of it!
I’ve had my lunch stomped on, I’ve had people break my glasses, I’ve been called four-eyes, I’ve been called a bookworm, and I’ve definitely been made fun of for all my nerdy things throughout my life. I’m sure most of you can relate… it just makes us stronger! While I’ve had my share of self-esteem issues because of it… today, I feel very comfortable and strong in my own skin. I’m really thankful for all of those experiences growing up.
So let’s celebrate our nerdiness! Who else is a nerd? What kind of nerd are you? Please share your story!
Tags: Bill Gates, computers, gadgets, gaming, geek, Nerd, Richard Ivey School of Business, social media, Twilight, University of Western Ontario, Xbox 360
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August 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
*high fiving a fellow nerd*
W00t!
August 26th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Love this post! you may be a nerd but definitely one of the coolest and hottest girlie nerds around. Plus since you are a kick ass surfer and snowboarder, that makes you instantly cool =D. Also didn’t know you shoot – that is very cool (in a lara croft/tomb raider kinda way).
I am a massive dork – I had the giant glasses, braces and headgear as a kid. Being chinese, of course i played piano (i hated those theory classes too) and was put into Kumon math courses after school (BLECH!). As a fandom nerd, I was obsessed with hockey (my room was full of hockey posters, subscribed to the hockey news, “stalked” canuck and vancouver voodoo players), Batman/Xmen, Smashing Pumpkins and Nirvana, and vampires during my goth stage. I also had IRC/ICQ and used chat that wasn’t instant – it required refresh! Like you, I met my first online friend in person at 16 (that’s a whole another story).
For a good laugh, check out awkwardfamilyphotos.com. NERDS unite!
August 26th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
KING’S QUEST! Don’t even get me started!
I still think that King’s Quest V is the best computer game ever made, Allie.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Another woman who is geek like me!!! Go Girl Geeks!
We were few and far between when I started in the wonderful world of computer geeks! I still bump up against some stereotypical prejudice every now and again espcially since I started working for government. Oh, and I build my own computers too!
August 26th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Wow, Allie, your geek-fu is STRONG. Like force-pull imperial star destroyers out of orbit strong.
I mean that as a compliment, obviously.
I only have a slight niggle with the way the terminology of geek/nerd is used; I’m of the stance that “geek” is when you’re passionate about a particular thing/hobby/etc, as you can ‘geek out’ talking about cars/games/clothes/etc, that leave the uninclined in the room rolling their eyes and going “oh man there they go again.” Which means that being a geek about something doesn’t mean you’re, well, a nerd. As “nerd” to me is more of a term describing the socially inept. You can be a nerd that isn’t passionate about anything; a complete outcast/introvert – a dork, even. That’s just my opinion though, but I prefer being called a GEEK than a nerd.
I am glad that these days, due to the fragmentation of the social cliques, that it’s harder to pigeonhole people in exactly one neat category (and thereby shun them). In fact it’s almost become socially unacceptable to NOT have any passions/geek traits – you’d be seen as pretty shallow and uninteresting!
What sort of geek am I? Geez, that’d be another long massive post in its own right.
BTW: Thinkgeek shirts are AWESOME – I periodically check that site for the new stuff…
August 26th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Hey Allie,
Thank you for sharing and giving us a glimpse into the cool geeky side of Allie. You sound like a very well rounded person, But I bet I could take you on the xbox360..lol
Nice to meet you my fellow geek.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
My room used to look exactly like yours about six years ago, except I had Los Angeles Kings wallpaper around the top of my room.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
ummm…… yah…. so….. ok….
August 26th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Haha! I love it… I’m a complete Geek as well, but I’ve turned my geekdom into my profession! City Planning? Remember that game SimCity (or civilization?) – I spent weeks or months of my life playing those games – and I STILL do! Now I just get to do it with other people’s money!
I loved this post!
August 26th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Monkey Island FTW.
August 26th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I’m a movie nerd, i love movies since i’m 16, i still can remember the first movie i watch on cinema, and i can remember names and character of most movie i have watched, my friend call me when they need a reference about past and new movies, i have friends asking me about movie review, what is good and what is not. i am a movie geek and i am proud of it. yay!! BTW i’m a twi fan too.
August 26th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I just have to say that I have always considered myself a GEEK not a Nerd. Nerd’s were good in school/acedemics etc, I was not!
I’m fairly geeky; computer geek, photo geek, programming geek, online geek, I play WoW here and there. Though I’m trying to be a snowboarding geek now. I still dont consider myself a social media geek though, don’t know why, I just don’t think I’m as involved as other people around me I guess.
That computer photo, looks a lot like one I took a while back for some reason. lol
August 26th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Why’d you go to Western?
August 26th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
You are a total nerd! But an uber hot, cool and well rounded nerd. And those are the best kinds. Embrace it!
August 27th, 2009 at 3:13 am
Oh yes, you’re truly what we call in French a “geekette”, but a real one, haha. =)
That’s cool that you’re interested in so many things !! =) I really think to. =)
I like very much be on computer, playing games (I’m actually playing the Sims 3 a lot, but that’s more a girly game than a geek one, isn’t it ? haha), but I’m not a real nerd. I don’t think so. I love reading (Twilight *-*) and many other things. But… less than you. =p
August 27th, 2009 at 4:43 am
I love this post haha
I’m a nerd.. of computer (I leart everything I know by myself), social media, music, fandom, some of gaming, and academic.
I was a librarian’s assistant too, got a time for candles collections, I bought exported things (fandom), play too much Guitar Hero and other videogames, I can’t go out without a camera.. I’m a big geek
xxx
August 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I really didn’t have a thing to add to this great post other than “guilty of a few of these nerd types”, but then I found an AV cable from my dvd player in my bed as I was making it. Apparently it’s not enough to use electronics, I guess I’m sleeping with them as well.
August 27th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
O.O this is TOTALLY unexpected!!! /faints
Well, least you havn’t sold your soul to World of WarCraft.
…not that I have …/cough!
August 27th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
You are amazing!
I was a big Computer Nerd throughout high school. I rarely left the computer lab. I started to do things the School Board IT guys wouldn’t do.
Nowadays I am definitely a Social Media Nerd. It fascinates me, plus it is part of my job.
Awesome Post.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Nice post here. I just need to say that I respect very much anyone who actually does built own computer. Desktop computers FTW!
August 28th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I read your blog all the time – this was my favourite post so far – very adorable – your enthusiasm for all things regardless of their “geekiness” is endearing.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Hey great nerd stories here. Hilarious about your dad cutting the line to your modem. My dad just took away the modem power cord though. I cut the phone line to my brother’s room so that he wouldn’t use the line to talk to his girlfriend.
I may have gotten in trouble for that one!
August 28th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Allie’s actually a much bigger geek than she makes herself out to be here. The Lego robot above was actually constructed to catapult pennies at our Dad, though I see she left out that vital detail.
August 28th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Gee…you are one well-rounded nerd Allie. I think that I’d be a proud nerd if I were you of all your accomplishments! I think that while I was in school, I was too afraid to explore my “nerdiness” and too caught up in the need to fit-in. But I am truly embracing the things that I love. I myself am a total Twi-hard and get teased of it, but I’m please with myself bc no one can take that away. I’m a total graphic designer nerd and loving it. Type is my pleasure and I love creating. I think my other “nerdiness” comes in forms of craftiness. Making things of all sorts that I find. I used to cut up my old Sanrio bags and make wallets out of them with sections and tabs. Thanks for embracing the nerd in you for all your fellow nerds out there.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:57 am
That was a cool post. I share your experiences…I fell pretty hard for Princess Leia, but even harder for anything Tolkien.
When I moved to Vancouver from Calgary in grade 2 I got picked on quite a bit…the whole coming home from school crying thing.
Around grade 6 though I started to grow a lot faster than my former bullies and, well, started to punch back which got me into more trouble. By grade 9 (as punishment for the fights I was getting into) I was put on the football team. Well, it stuck, and I ended up playing football for the next 11 years, college and pro. But if I never was picked on for being a geek, I would have never punched back and been thrown onto the football team. Being a geek paid off, huge.
And for record…I’m still a geek, and fully intend to father more mini-geeks one day to add to my familial geekdom.
August 29th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I have an entire gallery on Flickr dedicated to the geeky t-shirt collection that has been bestowed upon me. Although there is still a lack of geeky shirts specifically for females.
September 1st, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I’m a kind of analyst nerd.
1984 as very small child I foresaw computers would one day be used for almost anything, class laughed and teacher said “but computers can’t think”
1991 class was discussing dictatorship and survaiance. I predicted if a disaster would happen and it would be big enough, more survaliance would occur. Teacher said it would never be so, since every democratic country would never be like the dictator countries spying on everyone.
2000 may, told the CEO of 1 of the biggest newspapers in Denmark, that his expantion in europe would fail, his internet (portal like yahoo and such) would fail, and he would fail.
Then I walked out of the doomed newspaper when it actually was at it’s finest hour, but shortly after the IT bubble bursted, and his shares fell from 200 to ~12. He had to cancel the expation in europe, put his internet buisness on hold and fire almost all his internet staff.
4 years later he himself would be demoted from CEO to some other “importain” office, because he was a bit too creative with his shares.
Now 1 year ago, he lost the rest of his private fortune and has a debt of 200 mill danish crowner.
2009 A month ago, I analyzed through some sessions with a head doc, that she was so poorly enlighten about her own field of expertize, that she was educated about 1983, I actually hit spot on. She thought I had looked her up on the internet which I didn’t do, and didn’t have to do since she had given me all her data herself.
The past year, I’v earned loads of gold in World of WarCraft. When I tell how many I’v earned, ppl think I have e-bayed them, when I tell them how I earned them, ppl think I’v read the moneyearningbooks
The bad thing about it all, is ppl rarely belive me since their scope of knowledge doesn’t exceed that far as mine, then I often fall victim to suspecion or ridecule. On top of it all, I’m really bad at explaining things which only worsen the problem.
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Thanks for the comments everyone! So happy to read everyone’s great stories.
Section 2 baby!
Aaron you rock! Glad you decided to stop by… haven’t seen you in forever
JB, I decided to go to Western because I wanted to become independent and spend some time away from home (even though I love my family and am super close with them)… I wanted to grow up a bit. So I was looking for university outside of BC. We didn’t have much money to be able to go the States, so I researched business schools in Canada and at the time it looks like Ivey was the best. So I applied to Ivey (and Western) and luckily got a scholarship so the decision was made
Drew, I think that comment is hilarious about sleeping with your electronics
I laughed.
Miss604, I think you are definitely one of the biggest female geeks around and I salute you!
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:04 am
Go Allie, nerds rock! I’m a total nerd too, I love computers, star wars, James Bond, maths!!!, totally obsessed by Twilight, love reading, love learning, love super mario. Nerdy and proud
September 6th, 2009 at 9:42 am
there is nothing wrong being a nerd as long as we love it and it doesnt bother any other people. recently i have been an internet nerd too
October 15th, 2009 at 11:00 am
[...] a 486 computer for my family… I fell in love with computers and technology. As I mentioned in my blog post here, I’ve always been a huge nerd. Although I grew up into the arts and playing sports, I wanted [...]
October 29th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Hey! I just stumbled upon your blog, and I love it! I’ve found lots of similarities with me and you! haha, kinda creepy? I also had a huge canucks bedroom, and Im a member of a Playstation 3 Clan, I also have a Zune, And a BF who is older than me(who is trying to get a job in Marketing for a video game company in Van..so far no success), and I snowboard! I definately want to try surfing! Only thing is I don’t like Twilight! I know, I know, but it’s just not my thing. Anyways, I’ll continue to read your blog, its awesome. I like to hear about all the different places you’ve been to in Van, since Im also from there.