What Kind Of Geek Am I?
Starting in the next couple of weeks, I am going to be showcasing various geeks on the Internet. It will consist of a written blog post once a month talking with that person about what kind of geek they are. I already have a couple of people lined up, but if you have someone you'd like to read about, email me at chris@ocdcast.com. To read the first post, click onwards past the break.
Before interviewing other people, I figured a good way to start this column off would be to interview myself, talking about my geekiness and letting you guys into my psyche just a bit (be afraid!!). I hope you enjoy it.
When did you first consider yourself a "geek"?
I have been a geek for most of my life. The first traces of geekdom surfaced for me in my elementary school days. Back then, if I wasn't actively involved in anything, you would find me sitting down reading. I never went ANYWHERE without a book of some kind. In fact, when I think about the microscopic amount of reading I do nowadays compared to what I used to read, it's pretty embarrassing.
If you had to pinhole yourself into one label of "geek", what would it be?
Honestly, for the most part I consider myself a "geek of all trades" - I am constantly finding new geeky things for me to obsess over. However, if I had to narrow it down at all, I'm definitely a Gamer Geek - and not just in the video games sense. I love all kinds of games - board games, video games, card games, role playing, etc. I love them even more so if they are something I can play with friends. Single player games are great, but I truly enjoy the social experience that you get when you play games with others.
What is your favorite game (or games) then?
-As far as video games go, it's a toss up between Halo and World of Warcraft. Both of these series I've played for many years now and I always enjoy playing them - usually for different reasons. WoW is great for hanging out with a large group of people and tackling dungeons, raids, or doing battlegrounds with. Halo is good for when you've got a couple of friends over and want to shoot some stuff together (or shoot each other). For board games, it probably won't surprise anyone that my favorite game is Munchkin. I played it a couple of times and college and since then I've amassed a large collection of various Munchkin sets. It's hard to explain why I love it - most likely it's because of the quirky humor than rifts on every aspect of geekdom that I've tried in my life.
Why do you take pride in being a geek?
-For me, I have spent a large portion of my life trying to be 'normal' (what is normal by the way? Who determines what normal is?) - it wasn't until college and afterwards that I realized that my geeky hobbies and obsessions were a part of me and that I should embrace it. Being a unique person is great because it shows other people - especially people like my daughter Chloe - that there's nothing wrong with being different and just because everyone else is doing something and into something, it doesn't mean that you have to be into it as well. Be yourself, don't be everyone else.
What is the weirdest response you've ever gotten from people when they find out how geeky you are?
- For someone who wrote these questions, I had a hard time coming up with an answer to this one. I think the looks and stares you get when dressed up in costume for a comiccon have to be up on top of the list - or the comments on Facebook you get when you post the pictures online to friends and family.
I hope you guys enjoyed learning a bit more about me this week - once again send me feedback and suggestions for other people to interview at chris@ocdcast.com.