On being a nerd

i'm a 3..lol, but i stopped caring about what others may think of my hobby's a longggg time ago.

"We dont stop playing because we get old. We get old because we stop playing"

Goonstah wrote:

@mr_sinister: where in swe do you live?

Forshaga, 25km norr om Karlstad

Why bother explaining some random guy what i am doing in my spare time when he'll just take up the "Smile and wave boys. Smile and wave"

BTW. Nerds FTW

Nr. 4

I am pretty open about the modelling hobby. That is, if people ask me. Now, I KNOW that everytime ppl find out, they give me a "questionable smirk" and raises an eyebrow. When they do, I say to myself, and occasionally to them, to bugger off. IMO, ppl like that arent worth knowing any way.

I can't believe I have ever noticed this before...

I guess I would be closer to 4 than anything...But I feel like I should explain my geekiness like everyone else did.

My nickname, Figment (Figgy to you folks) comes from having an incredibly overactive imagination.

EVERY waking MINUTE of my life, I imagine what it would be like to be the hero of some small town, to learn to break-dance, to be a wizard... Constant thoughts ALWAYS in my head.

Why can't I just break down the boring monotany of this world into something great? A world where I don't have to worry about bills or getting to work at the same time everyday. I want a world with DRAGONS and MAGIC. I don't care if I died in my first 10 minutes of my life there, I would be okay with it.

This is what I see in my games. Call it childish, but I see myself as Link, saving Hyrule, when I play Ocarina of Time. I see myself as Grimgrin the Orc Warboss when playing Mordheim, leading the Orcs into a scrap.

My Troll in World of Warcraft.
My goblin in Vanguard.

Whenever I play a game, or even think about a fantasy/sci-fi world, I become what I think about, or what I play.

When I hear a song, I just zone out and put thoughts to it...For instance, the remake of Beethoven's Fifth by the Trans-Siberian orchestra makes me think of a castle siege - Trolls walking in front carrying large stones, followed by all sorts of creatures walking uphill to take down the castle at the top.

....

That is kind of how my mind works. It's all over the place. One minute I am a wizard, the next a space-marine, the next a break-dancing monk.

I don't understand why I am like this, but it always seems that I am living a dream - but honestly, all I am doing is being a dreamer - wanting more out of everything I do. It's not possible, so I have developed an insane imagination where I escape this world and live in my head.

....

That is what makes me geeky - Every geeky thing I do I see in my head as something much greater. This is why football doesn't appeal to me - what can I imagine out of football while playing it? . . .well, maybe bloodbowl!

Anywho, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't play games for the gameplay. I do it for the sparks that fly in my imagination.

And don't get me wrong, I am not depressed or bad around people - quite the opposite! It's just the way I am!

I hope this doesn't look off-topic to anyone, because it makes sense to me. I apologize!

Haha! That's the best self-description I've heard in a long time. Imagination is the start of inovation and so many awesome things. Keep it up.

Hey Figgy, you sound like a Guy who was born to play Mordheim. Have FUN with your dreams...they're what make life worthwhile.

I don't think painting minis and war-gaming classify people as Nerds...
that would fit better as "Geek" (is not the same).

I actively tell everyone about Warhammer/Mordheim within the first 15 minutes of meeting them, listing it right alongside my other hobbies like martial arts and hiking. If it drives them away, they obviously were low enough on potential in the first place that even if I could talk to them about it later, it would be a chore and a bother in that it would require some guile or possibly even dishonesty to get it past. This can only lead to feeling shame about oneself, and I don't have time for that anymore.

I don't talk to to too many men, but if a girl couldn't play a wargame with me, she's not really worth knowing... and surprisingly, with the advent of geek culture, they're getting easier and easier to find... sadly, they're also getting younger... and I am not.

Milliardo wrote:

sadly, they're also getting younger... and I am not.

This is so very true.

Awww man so true.

It's scary.

I am closest to 4. I let people know I am a nerd but I dont go into detail unless they ask. I also thend to find that most people are decent people and after you have known them for long enough the social presure to be nice to you becomes greater than the presure to burn the nerd.
I think its important to let people know about you as a person rather than as a nerd first otherwise all they have to go on is steriotypes which tend to be neagative ( for example if you told someone you were scottish and then nothing else they would probably immagine you wearing a kilt tossing a caber).

Hey, what's wrong with wearing kilts and tossing cabers? I don't see how that could be misconstrued as anything but positive.

I'm only 8% Scottish, but am wearing a kilt... I don't know what a caber is, though.

Ashton wrote:

I'm only 8% Scottish, but am wearing a kilt... I don't know what a caber is, though.

A caber is a log; for the toss it's held vertically at the base & pitched so it lands on the opposite end...hopefully. Successful caber tossers are often employed by the Scottish Phone Company.

Wow, I'm the only 2? Considering most of my friends are artists, this hobby really doesn't cause much question. I think the only person who really has issue with it is my wife... and she knew about it right from the start. She even painted up some of my snakes to make them "look pretty." The people I compete with in martial arts are a mixed bag, too. Most of them are of the feeling that hobbies are just hobbies and martial arts are more led by personality. To me, this is true. I chose 2 because I have even been guilty of making fun of some "hobbyists" but I do like to have a 12 hour plus converting session every now and then.

I think I was a number 2 when I was a little tyke, around 10 to 14, because I knew well my friends would give me an epic amount of hassle about Warhammer, just as they did about everything else. I remember very clearly that I had friends to play Warhammer with and friends to play video games and paintball with, and even though many of my Warhammer friends played paintball and video games right along with us, we never brought it up in front of them. I hid my games table in the cellar so the other guys wouldn't see it.

Then I grew a backbone around 18, and decided that if anyone gave me too much trouble for it, more than just a gentle ribbing, I would simply bash their face in with a table leg. Things are a lot better now that I have an aura of simmering violence. Most of the time I don't even have to act on it! Although, I have far fewer friends now. :3

Life is just too short to lie about who you are or to feel any kind of shame in it. :3

DeafNala wrote:

A caber is a log; for the toss it's held vertically at the base & pitched so it lands on the opposite end...hopefully. Successful caber tossers are often employed by the Scottish Phone Company.

Hey Deaf, Aren't there some Horde's models that wear kilts and toss Cabers?

Figgy wrote:

DeafNala wrote:

A caber is a log; for the toss it's held vertically at the base & pitched so it lands on the opposite end...hopefully. Successful caber tossers are often employed by the Scottish Phone Company.

Hey Deaf, Aren't there some Horde's models that wear kilts and toss Cabers?

Now that you mention it...those Ogre Guys have a caber tosser.

I fall into category 4. I am glad I found this thread. I enjoy playing warhammer and mordheim. I also enjoy other "nerdy" pass times like reading, star wars, occasional computer games, etc. But I also spend a lot of time playing ice hockey, hiking, skiing, and other sports.

I don't know why I am embarrassed of the war games but not any other hobbies. I think it is because most people seem not to understand. Even good friends who are good people can be judgemental. And for some reason that judgement can be annoying. I don't want to justify my hobbies to other people. I don't really mention it unless someone directly asks. Very strange really. I am 24, successful, happy, sociable, active, and collect and paint toy soldiers.

I guess number 3 bordering on 4 its not the first thing i mention in a conversation but when hobbies come up it always gets a mention. mostly i just say moddel building/painting instead of wargames since most people have no clue what that is but pretty much every1 who knows me more than 2 weeks knows i play mordheim. and when they get to my house they know right away since the place is littered with buildings and models all over.

Milliardo wrote:

I don't talk to to too many men, but if a girl couldn't play a wargame with me, she's not really worth knowing... and surprisingly, with the advent of geek culture, they're getting easier and easier to find... sadly, they're also getting younger... and I am not.

Hold yer horses here. Of course someone is worth knowing even if they do not like to play or paint with you, as we must respect their opinion too, for example if they do not think it is fun or constructive for them. However, and I think this is what oyu mean, if they JUDGE you for this hobby, and refuse to even hear about it, then they can take it up their backsides.

It really sucks, cuz my best friends gf is really judgemental, and she openly calls him out as a geek and nerd and as not being a man. She even told us, laughing, that she dares not tell her family and friends that her boyfriends "plays with dolls" (her exact words). Even my gf, who is not that into the hobby (she accepts it and has even painted a little, and acknowledges the creativity, so shes cool, even though she does not personally think its fun to play), even she got upset by hearing this, as of course these words reflected back on me as well. My friends gf also refuses to let him come and play Mordheim as well, so he can only do so when she is out of town, basically, which sucks.

BUT, if she would acknowledge the hobby as, yes, maybe nerdy, but not judge a person because of it, then I'd be fine with it, as I cant be mad at someone as long as they respect you as a person (something this wench des not...), they dont have to "like" the hobby, just accept it for what it is: A creative and advaned hobby as well as a creative and advanced game.

(sorry if I worked myself up here, but I hate to see my friends get hurt, and to see them be hurt by their own gf is just messed up... )

Yes, you pretty much nailed it. A much more diplomatic way of saying it...

But I meant in terms of finding a GF, or even a friend for that matter. I don't think I'd get on well with another girl who didn't want to play games with me, at least in some form or another. If I couldn't play Warhammer, video games, martial arts or something like that (which most girls don't do), then we wouldn't have much in common. The same holds true with other men I happen to meet. If they think those pursuits are a waste of time, its often best to just sever things quickly, right from the start, because there's not much I'd have to say to them.

Well, I find that the things that it is important to have in common are the view on life. To share idealistic ideas concerning both ethics, morale and a general sense of purpose is, IMO, the only thing that needs to be the same. Now, a different view on such a simple thing as modelling hobbies or gaming, can actually tell you a lot about a persons views on such things stated above. As in the case with my friends gf, shes a cursed egoist, and cares more for appearances than essences, a view that I cannot sympathize with the least.

Being a nerd really has nothing to do with a personality, its just a "funny" label, such as jock, or bimbo etc. Be what you want, I say, as long as you wont call people out on it (saying someone is a nerd, for example), and I could fall in love and be happy with you, cuz that view on life is so devoid of judgment and appearances that the rest does not matter (common hobbies, interests, etc), you can be togetehr and still be two unique individuals with different personalities.

I think I begun to ramble again, ill try to stick to topic from now on , sorry