The Ascent of Nerd

As I mentioned in my first post I am what I like to call a "Person of Alternative Interests" after I've been drinking. When I'm sober I'll accept nerd, geek, weirdo or "hey you with the glasses come help me fix my computer" - which I can totally do (ladies) - a moniker I have earned via long hard years spent in the weeaboo trenches of various societies, conventions and internets. After much reflection on my life so far I've decided I may actually have my parents to blame. For example the only night we were allowed to have dinner in front of the TV when I was a child was Wednesday night because that was when Star Trek: The Next Generation was on.

Pictured: what I (still) want to be when I grow up

Also at some point between the ages of 12 and 13 my dad sat me down for an important man to man discussion. The kind of talk that all good fathers have with their almost teenage sons. That talk was about Star Wars and how we should watch it together.

More important than sex ed

A lot has happened since then but the geek in me has never gone away, in fact he's grown into something new, something eccentric and something sexy. He moves in exclusive circles, speaks a myriad different languages and inhabits a world that many people don't even know exist.

We live in a society where enforced social norms and compromise crush the life from our lungs and the colour from our souls, where apathy and futile acceptance force us to build gilded cages from the stuff we accumulate in which we are imprisoned until death. Where fiscal responsibility and creative photosynthesis force us to root ourselves to stagnant sinking soil made from endlessly recycled celebrity and hollow pop culture.  This is a world that I decided a long time ago not to inhabit so I made a big life choice:
I joined an anime (Japanese cartoon) appreciation society. The group of people I found there was one of the most creative, welcoming and fun social groups I have ever had the pleasure to be a part of, we all had issues (some of us even monologued like self indulgent Rorschach wannabes) but everyone was welcome and united by one passion. We drank, we watched anime, we argued, we fought, we laughed, we partied, we philosophised and had elbowy awkward sex until the early hours of every Friday night. I met a girl, fell in love and became a man in the company of these amazing crazy people.

Some of which were also anthropomorphic animals

Towards the end of my university years I moved in with four physics and philosophy students who were all kinds of amazing, we played through Mass Effect 1 and 2 together along with Assassin's Creed and formed probably the worst 5 man team DotA has ever seen. I had some of the best friendship times ever in that house with those guys (no homo).

After university one of the first jobs I got was at the headquarters of Games Workshop "Warhammer World" essentially a combination of the virgin sweat boxes you see on most high streets, an epic gaming hall a museum and a bar.

It sure as hell beat Starbucks as a graduate job

In this hobby stronghold I got the opportunity to teach kids to paint, make friends and kick ass at table top role playing games, just like I did when I was little.

Here I am, kicking ass... apparently

I also got to hang out with some pretty cool dudes and manage other smaller GW stores across England. Those were magic times.

Then of course there's the conventions:

Cosplay Hard

Party Harder

So what's the point of this self indulgent look back at the past? The point is I'm not the only one who's grown up as a nerd, we're everywhere hidden in plain sight. We've done it all, probably better than you have and we've lived to tell the tale. We're not all reclusive misanthropic loosers who sit in our bedrooms alone, we're out there stealing your girlfriends and living it large and we're not scared any more. We've grown up, we know what we're doing now and we're not going to take your shit any more. So next time you see someone like this:

Remember underneath all that apparent awkwardness he's dropping sick ass beats like this:

And you will never be as cool as he is.

Stay Crunchy Internet