As a child and teen, I was called strange, a geek, teacher's pet, etc. nearly every day. It turns out that liking school, reading the dictionary for fun, respecting your teachers and parents, hanging out at the library as much as possible, and getting straight A's doesn't make you popular in school. I was never a "Magic: the Gathering" kind of geek, but just a smart, driven, walking-dictionary/thesaurus kind of geek.
My husband was known as the "Alpha Geek" amongst his friends in college. Though just barely 17, he quickly became the geek to which other geeks looked up--and not just because he towered over them at 6'3". For one thing, he had the distinction of being able to "pass" in the "normal" world and had a girlfriend--me. Secondly, he was observant and tactful. It was he who would kindly point out to the others when they stepped over social boundaries (storing leftover food in the beard, wearing too short pants, prattling incessantly at an uninterested person, etc.)
Over the years I have discovered that there are some hazards of being married to a well-socialized geek. It turns out he can secretly fulfill his inner geeky dreams while coming across as normal to me. Most recently, I just found out that I unwittingly named my first child after a video game character! We picked the name Keaton months ago after "Alpha Geek" suggested it. When I asked where he had heard it (as I never had), he just said, "I knew a guy with that name when I was a kid." Yeah, well, it turns out the guy he "knew" with that name was a ROBOT from AeroFighters 2.
I'm not sure I'll be sharing this fact with my parents. They already think I'm strange for "letting" AG turn our dining room into an arcade. Since all of our friends would rather play four-player Ninja Turtles than eat at a table, I personally think it was a very practical move. Knowing that their first grandchild is named after a robot may just be too much for them. (ADDED: I did tell my parents, and they like the name, finding it to be different enough to be uncommon, but traditional-sounding enough to not be weird. They are amused about the source.)
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2 comments:
Great Blog- I jumped here from WTM! Can't wait to read the next thing!
:) Today I explained to my mom how we came up with our names for grandbaby #6 (due in Dec). Both first and middle are from LOTR... Then my dad got on the phone and told me it wouldn't matter what we named the baby -- her sibs will just give her a nickname from some book they're reading. He's right, of course.
October is coming soon!! :)
Lee
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