If a Nerd Falls at a Convention Can You Loot Them??

Recently I’ve had the full extent of my nerd driven home to me. How do I know I’ve begun to truly realize the full extent of my nerd? Three ways.

One: I not only subscribe to (on iTunes), but have begun watching in order all the episodes of the MMO Report. For those not in the know, the MMO Report is a weekly ten minute show produced by G4 TV in podcast form that follows and shares all the latest and greatest in the world of MMOs, from WOW to LOTRO to the eagerly anticipated in production KOTOR from BioWare. If none of that meant anything to you, don’t worry. That means you’re normal. For those of you who totally understood that alphabet soup, congratulations. You’re a PC MMO/RPG gamer. Welcome to the meeting. Coffee and donuts are on the table at the back.

Two: I now follow half the cast of Next Gen, the entire cast of Dr. Horrible and Tyra (no last name necessary for God – I mean Tyra) on Twitter. When I say half the cast of Next Gen, by the way, I don’t mean Patrick Stewart or Michael Dorn. I mean the nerd squad where I spent most of my youth crushing: Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton (I CAN do anything!). For those of you shaking your head in pity and embarrassment for/over me, don’t bother. They’re shmexy and I like ‘em.

Three: I have begun to out-tech computer engineers that come shopping in my section. I was discussing processors and graphics cards with a man who builds his own computers and when we got going on gaming and vid cards, I talked him silent. Damn. Not only am I not safe in comic book stores (being an actual girl in a comic book store) but now I’m not gonna be safe in Best Buy. Crap.

It’s a relief, really to know there are outlets for my inner nerd (or more accurately my nerd – not so inner is it?) but at the same time I can’t help wondering why I feel slightly ashamed by my geekdom. I should be able to revel in it! People have built entire careers around playing with and reviewing video games, cameras, sound systems, phones and other assorted electronics. They all seem to live in LA, though, and that’s not a commute I’m willing to make. Three hours to and from work a day is excessive. Still, a job at G4 would be a sweet gig. Especially if it paid. Except for an intern spot on XPlay. Those poor bastards may as well wear red shirts on an away mission.

And that statement right there is my commitment to nerd-dom. Long may the nerd reign.