Hi, my name is Xandria, and I'm a
geek. (Hi, Xandria.)
I like science, math, computers, and gadgets. I've spent Friday nights at the observatory, at software launch events, and at
gaming marathons. I play D&D, board games, and an
MMORPG; I've even played a TCG. I love scifi/fantasy, and am rarely without a book. I can't find my eyeliner or lipstick, but I can keep track of a TiBook, an
iPod, a
cell phone, a
PDA/GPSr, and a
GBA (with only a little trouble). I've even done
Live Action Role-Playing and attended movies in costume. Like I said, I'm a geek.
Amazingly, I was in denial until two or three years ago. Sure, I was a bit odd, but that hadn't kept me from finding a (really wonderful!) husband; I had friends, too. In truth, though, I'd been a geek since childhood; I had just never realized it.
It started innocently enough. My parents were both big Star Trek fans, so I grew up watching reruns. Then of course there was Star Wars; my sister and I were avid fans. (I
was Princess Leia, and I had the Underoos to prove it! And I can't count how many times we saw
A New Hope at the drive-in.) Too, my favorite cartoon was
Battle of the Planets. Bad sign!
School didn't improve things: my favorite classes were math and science. (They told me girls could be whatever they wanted to be; I believed them.) I became a bookworm, visiting the library almost daily.
High school was worse: I attended a science magnet program in ninth grade. I took BASIC programming and joined marching band (Flag Corps). When I got bored, I read Niven, Asimov, Robert Aspirin, and Harlan Ellison; I carried a book everywhere. I was
guaranteed a place with the "outcasts"—who were
much more interesting than the popular kids, since they were willing to be themselves!
In college, I found the local
Baptist Student Union, where conformity was
not demanded! Freed of the last constraints of high school, I followed a path of increased geekiness and vastly improved pool skills... My new boyfriend (now husband) was a true geek, and he leaped at the chance to indoctrinate me, starting with the writings of
Terry Pratchett,
Douglas Adams, and
Frank Herbert. His roommates were worse: their contributions included
David Eddings, the PlayStation,
Nuclear War, and the
Illuminati game! (
And Paranoia,
and AD&D.)
I switched my degree from science to art. (Gee, four quarters of calculus and a semester of quantum mechanics are
lovely as electives...) My husband and I did a short stint with live action RPG; then third edition D&D came out, and I was hooked. I also got sucked into
MagiNation...and Munchkin, and all the classic "beer and pretzels" games (without the beer).
I realized
he was a geek. We began hanging out at the
local gaming shop. (No one complained about having an extra female gamer around...even an almost-thirty married chick.)
Oh, did I mention I'm a Mac addict? And I have a gadget problem? (Just a small one—I
can still lift my purse...)
With all of this, it became too obvious to ignore:
I was a geek. It was hard, at first. But I have embraced my geekness, and wear the label proudly.
The geek shall inherit the earth!
Xandria
