I Rant Sometimes

To understand this post, please follow this link

and watch this 5 minute apparent tutorial on

"How to Become a Nerd"

I'll still be here when you're done.

"Those cute guys on Big Bang Theory"

This video hurts.
It hurts my now sad little heart.
I am exceedingly grateful that this is obviously farcical...but...still. Shutup. Shut thine face. Everything she's listing is just how to be that annoying person pretending to be a nerd. The topknot doesn't help.
Basically right now I could say, "Here's my tutorial on how to be a snide hipster jerk and ironically mock the name of Nerd-dom," and then link you the video again.
Instead of titling the video "How to be a Nerd" maybe go with "In which I demonstrate how little I understand of nerd culture".
I don't even play card games. I don't do WoW (although I have a copy gifted me a couple years ago that I played a total of maybe half an hour on...) and the last time I played a video game was over a year ago and it was a sad, sad round of Counterstrike because aiming? Not my strong suit. Also stealth. Also strategy. And cunning.
But I do identify as a nerd.
I am extremely dedicated to my book collection and still cannot get the hang of reading without grasping an actual physical spine. Preferably leather or cloth.
I am borderline obsessive about my music. Both listening and practicing. I have the overwhelming desire to delve into countless different instruments and learn them but haven't the funds, means, or time (read; energy) to do so.
I am a dedicated Disney fanatic.
I like arts and crafts. I like baking. I like hiking, and camping, and fishing, and swimming, and gardening, and occasionally I enjoy shopping for shoes and handbags and scarves. But I burn out after about forty minutes of straight shopping.
However, I continually fail to grasp the concept of every day fashion/makeup/hairstyling. I can manage for one evening of haberdashery but my daily "office" look is sadly lacking. As well as at home. Not only am I not stylish, I'm not even hipster stylish. I just don't know how to dress myself. Not to mention half of my wardrobe is leftover from high school. It's a mish mash of things that don't go together, don't fit me very well, and don't look so hot anymore. I feel my best in a loose fitting tee and a worn pair of jeans. And bare feet, but that's another matter.
I used to play Crash Team Racing quite a bit as a kid. I am still addicted to Bookworm and Bejeweled and I played those educational CD-Rom games well into junior high when they were grade/middle school learning programs because I just enjoyed the puzzles. I wish to own Portal/Portal 2 but I cannot play in front of others because I am extremely self conscious about how long it takes me to beat levels. Even if I'm fairly quick at it, the peering eyes and over-the-shoulder watching breeds paranoia and panic (sidenote: holy deja vu right now.)
I do enjoy the Avengers and hero movies but that in no way "qualifies" me as a nerd. It is my passion for the subjects that I love that make me a nerd. I would say the creator of this video, this Stacey, is already a nerd because she so obviously spends a lot of time on these videos of hers. That is her "nerd" feature. The ability to be a nerd is only quantified by being able to find immense pleasure from certain activities and spending your time doing those activities.
That's it.
That's "How to be a Nerd."

And now I leave you with the wise words of Wil Wheaton saying exactly what I was just trying to say. #wordsarehard.

"So, there's going to be a thing in your life that you love. I don't know what that's going to be...and it doesn't matter what it is. The way you love that, and the way that you find other people who love it the way you do is what makes you a nerd. The defining characteristic of [being a nerd] is that we love things. Some of us love Firefly and some of us love Game of Thrones, or Star Trek, or Star Wars, or anime, or games, or fantasy, or science fiction. Some of us love completely different things..."
"...That's why being a nerd is awesome. And don't let anyone tell you that that thing that you love is at hing that you can't love. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you can't love that, that's for boys...you find the things that you love, and you love them the most that you can."
"It's not about what you love. It's about how you love it."