Embracing your inner geek

I am so upset that no one asked me what today’s date was just so I could answer “Ten four good buddy.” Ever since the end of the CB radio era in the late 70’s you really only get one day a year where you can use that phrase in polite conversation. Actually, there is one fad we could really use a return of. I know that the trucker hat has seen a rebirth and merciful end of its popularity but I don’t know why we can’t all have CB handles and have “Convoy” blasting from our stereos at every possible moment.

(Convoy was a number one hit in the US and reached number two on the UK charts. Ah, the seventies. The time that culture forgot. Except for Dynamite magazine; that was freaking awesome.)

Also, I must note that I completely missed Talk Like a Pirate Day this year. It has typically been a blog holiday along with Pi Day, Pi Approximation Day and the Mole Minute on June 2 at 10:24 A.M. Oh and Star Wars Day on May 4th. Basically, any legitimate reason for me to be a geek is considered a holiday in my mind. How I am lucky enough to have a wonderful fiancé like Kim is beyond me.

I know that people make fun of me for being a geek (and for the fact that I am 37 and am still proud of the fact that I can tell you that the name of Jabba the Hutt’s court jester was Salacious Crumb) but there is a sense of liberation that comes with never being the cool kid. And I never was at any moment in time in my life. I’ve never been at the top of any social structure, never had the envy of my peers in that sense. But what that has meant over time is that I have learned to not give a damn about what anyone thinks about me. If you know you are going to lose the popularity contest you suddenly learn that you no longer have to play.

As I’ve gotten older I’ve seen people who are still trying to win the popularity game when in reality it ended ages ago. Look at your friends on Facebook and all of these people from your past who are still broadcasting every moment of their lives in an effort to gain what exactly? Attention? Notoriety? A brief sense of accomplishment? I know I shouldn’t critique given what I do but most of my writing is a critique of myself. I’m not overly concerned with what others think; I’m more interested in enjoying my time here and if that means making Star Wars jokes so be it. Life is so damn short that I can be bothered wasting time trying to act cool just so other people will be happy.