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!

As part of my lockdown this month, I’ve been playing a lot of Xbox 360. It’s nice because I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time to play… and now I finally do have a bit of time! Oh, and I finally finished Gears of War 2.

My Xbox 360 Gamercard

While I do play some single-player games, the majority of games that I play are for co-operative or multiplayer experiences.

It still surprises me that in 2009, video game developers still haven’t fully taken advantage of the huge untapped market that is co-op players. While many hardcore players do play by themselves, the vast and growing casual gamer market often prefers to play with friends or family. Whether it is their coworkers, fathers, brothers, boyfriends, girlfriends, or buddies… many gamers enjoy the feeling of playing video games with others. And while multiplayer gaming against one another is and always will be popular, I think many of us prefer a “chilled out” game session playing TOGETHER with a buddy instead of against him or her… to be a very attractive experience.

So where are the co-op games?

It’s not like the game companies haven’t been trying.

Gears of War 2 (and even Gears of War 1) has been the best co-op game to date in my opinion. Full online co-op, drop-in, drop-out, gameplay made for 2 players, a good storyline involving two players, and achievement points for finishing the game regardless of if you are solo or co-op (not to mention some co-op only achievements!). Halo 3, Left 4 Dead (which I’m going to pick up this weekend) and Army of Two had comprehensive co-op, but 4 major game titles is not enough!

Fable 2 recently game out with co-op support but it’s pretty miserable. No co-op achievement points, and not really able to fully interact or play the game as you would if you were solo. The same pretty much goes for Grand Theft Auto IV. Call of Duty: World at War has co-op, but if you finish the game on co-op you don’t get the achievement points. So lame! The same goes for many of the popular games that have come out in 2008.

Will it get any better for 2009? We’ll have to see.

Titles I am looking for to in 2009/2010 for co-op include Resident Evil 5, of course the next Gears of War installment, any new Tom Clancy installment,

I’d like to see more game companies focus on making a much better co-operative experience. There’s a reason why Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead became such huge hits… great co-op and multiplayer! I think being able to drop in and out, being able to share the FULL story experience with your partner(s), and being able to earn the same achievement points that you would be able to in single-player mode is extremely important.

Bring it on!

I don’t have a particularly strong backbone. In the past, I worried so much about what people thought of me that I slowly stopped being myself. Fortunately, in recent times I feel very much myself, and feel very much comfortable with who I am. I went out for dinner with a friend tonight that I care a lot about. And she made me think a lot about my life in general. I never thought that writing a blog would negatively affect some of my friends and the people that I care dearly about. I just wanted a place to share my musings and photographs. There’s no ulterior motive. I don’t comment on other people’s blogs to become more popular. I just know that comments mean a lot to bloggers because it means people are actually reading your posts. So to anyone who thinks I am commenting on their blog to raise my own popularity — I apologize for that misconception and I promise that is not my intention. I will stop commenting unless you want me to continue. To any friends who may be offended by things I have written or turned off by the tone of my blog — I’m sorry. I am who I am, but I never intended to hurt your feelings or come across as full of myself. It’s pretty much the opposite. I promise this blog will never have ads. I have never and will never delete comments (unless they are pure spam) or modify comments. I will have never and will never advertise anything without being transparent about it, if I even ever advertise anything at all. I promise I have always been honest in my posts and will continue to do so. I won’t lie or embellish. I will tentatively continue to blog, but not at the expense of my friends and loved ones. So, moving on.

GEARS OF WAR 2 is coming out on Friday and I could NOT be more excited. I have my pre-order in with EB Games (even though I despise them), and can’t wait to pick it up. I played co-op and multi-player for hours on the first Gears of War and to date, it is still my favourite Xbox 360 game. I imagine to spend just as many hours on this one. (Finishing it on the Insane level and trying to collect dog tags, of course )

The first Gears of War ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, with Marcus and Dom killing Raam and setting up the bomb that really didn’t do all that much I’m looking forward to finding out what happens and more about the Locust (and the Queen!) and their motivations for earth.

I also hear that there will be more cutscenes and cinematics which is great for Campaign/Co-Op mode. I love getting invested in video game characters, if it is supposed to be better than the first, then I know I’m in for a real treat.

Co-Op is supposed to be just as good as the first, so I can’t wait to get on there with my long-time gaming buddy Keith. Believe it or not, I used to play quite frequently in a bit of an Xbox clan, but I just haven’t had much time lately. It’ll be good to sit down and blow hours on a bit of gaming. Fable II will be my next game to play, but it is definitely Gears 2 all the way first

Anyone else excited about this game? Want to play multiplayer. Add me as “Buggo” on Xbox Live.