Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Day 23: Nerdtastic!

As I've mentioned in other posts, I'm visiting family right now in Reno. Most of the time has been just hanging out with people, eating good food and occasionally watching TV. It's been fun, and it has also brought something to my attention: I am way nerdier than I think I am.

You know how you hang out with people who have the same interests when you have a choice. But when you're hanging out with large groups, or family from different branches and people who married in and stuff, it's different. The same frame of reference is not used. I say things like Firefly, and people look at me with confused glances. Or say 42 and then have to explain it...

It's interesting for me, because I have such a wide range of interests. I'm definitely into the geek side of life, in a nerdy way. I am a book nerd, a denizen of the internet, influenced by meme culture. and I have a wide knowledge of that culture even if I haven't watched all the shows or read all the comic books. But I'm also a music nerd, both by education and by what I like to listen to. I'm into sports, and will get just as over-the-top excited about the Giants as about the newest Hobbit movie. Anyone who was following me on Facebook in 2012 can attest to that. I also played sports, enough that I can hold my own with the kids at my job. Which is really all I need at this point in time. Just enough dexterity to gain the respect of the boys.

All of this to say, I can converse on a lot of different levels. I talk with kids as easily as adults. Older adults as well as the people my own age. I just have to remember to stick within a frame of reference. Like, when talking with older relatives, mentioning something like tumblr or reddit is probably not going to ring all that many bells. Sometimes, not even Facebook rings bells, which is always fun.

But when I do try to have conversations with people I think are reasonably nerdy, and they understand almost none of what I say, I am a little shocked. Apparently, I have moved more into that world than I'd thought. I'm totally okay with that. It's just a revelation to me. Especially since I often hang out with people who are way more nerdy or geeky than me in a lot of different ways. Which is basically my favorite, because then I at least feel normal.

Which is actually funny, because my youngest brother made that comment a couple of days ago. "Yeah, when I'm around other people I'm the weird one, but when I'm around [the family] I look like the normal one." It's just the opposite for me.

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