Nerding Out Every Day

In January I started keeping a log of nerdy things I do each day. I don't want to be a poseur; I am what I am and that is a genuine nerd. My bedside notebook became my log of things ranging from wearing a superhero shirt to playing Dungeons and Dragons all weekend. A current trend is to throw on a fake pair of glasses, wear a comic book character shirt and watch a Harry Potter movie and that's what it takes to be a "cool" nerd. It takes a lot more than that.

Being a nerd doesn't necessarily mean a person is a genius; however, there is a correlation between a person that is an expert in a topic and their passion of said topic, and that is what classifies that person as a nerd. And people in this group tend to enjoy nerd culture such as Sci-Fi/Fantasy, comic books, gaming, and reading for fun.

So putting aside my Marvel shirts, allergy meds, and several gadgets, there are many things to establish my nerd cred:

When I started making this list I was reading Harry Potter for the seventh time. Yes, all 4,100 pages for the seventh time.

My local comic shop staff know me by name, and they know my style. So every Wednesday when I check in to Hijinx Comics, Neil and company have my pull list and usually a suggestion of a new title.

Weekly Twi-Fi meetings: I have a group of friends and we established our club almost three years ago. All members love Sci-Fi/Fantasy and adventure. We read books and see movies in that genre, and what really inspired our club was our collected love of the Twilight Saga, calling ourselves the "Twi-Fis." We meet weekly and our topics always include Harry Potter, Star Wars, and vampires. We plan out costumes for movie premiers and have an extensive list for 2011.

My tattoos: Ink is very trendy right now, with people of all classes, professions, and subcultures taking part in this super art form. It takes a lifetime commitment to wear a tattoo, so a person must choose what is nearest to her heart. The closest things to my heart are Death Eaters, the East India Trading Company, Iron Man, and the many races of Middle Earth. Future tattoos will include more Marvel characters and Indiana Jones.

Though I've only been playing RPGs for under two years, it's an important part of my social scene. My gaming group plays D&D 3.5 and we have also played Munchkin.

And then there is the squealing like a fangirl at the sight of a new book or toy. Like today when I saw a Thor Pez dispenser, an audible "squee" could be heard down the aisles of the toy store. This was just after fanning myself over the Thor action figures.

And now, Saturday night, I will start a jigsaw puzzle, chat with friends via Twitter, have Star Trek playing in the background then settle in for the night with a good book.