Living the nerd life

I’m sure you’ve heard of Pokemon Go. It’s taking over the world like a storm! It encourages people to venture out to new places and even has caused mishaps like people causing accidents being too engrossed in it.

I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a nerd, though I exhibit some nerdy characteristics. I was a bit of a plain Jane in high school – I was never really into makeup and preferred to spend my time hidden behind a technological device, i.e. computer or phone.

So many years later and it hasn’t changed! I wasn’t really into Pokemon back in the day but I certainly remember a thing or two about it. And what’s awesome is that hubby is full on into it too!

Hence resulting in our numerous walks we are taking simply to catch Pokemon. No, our kids are not going to stand in the way, we are going to wear them on our backs/fronts and keep trying to catch ’em all!

But really, there are a lot of perks of living the nerd lifestyle. Some of these include:

1. We’re pretty good with technology. Okay, Daniel is pretty good and I am just catching on/surviving as we go. He is the go to person if some gadget of ours breaks, but I’m okay with using the gadget anyway. We often help our friends out with gadgety stuff. The fact that I’m using the term gadgety tells you how good I am though. Oh, you get the gist.
2. We’re in on the conversations. I think I’m still not quite there yet though I can occasionally quote anywhere from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones. It’s exciting to talk about the shows / books that we like with other enthusiasts. Back in the day, I used to write fanfiction – doh, I know, right?
3. We do well at trivia things. I wouldn’t call my sister-in-law and brother-in-law nerds (though they might disagree with me) but at their son’s school quiz night, they absolutely nailed it. Knowledge and nerdiness often go hand in hand, which can come in handy, but if not, is also just a whole lot of fun to know all the same.

4. We can dress up and be whoever we want to be. One thing our family really enjoys is dress up parties – it’s so awesome to be able to have an excuse to dress up as some book character or superhero. Can you guess what characters we’re dressed up as below?
   

   
5. We have nerdy artifacts (and love them). Back in the day when I did martial arts, I accumulated a number of training items including tantos, bokkens, hanbos, shurikens, etc. and it often suprises people that I have all this in my home. Dan, on the other hand, has a Nintendo 64, which is pretty vintage in a different way too. I never played it when I was young but have finally got the opportunity to play it now. And one day it might be worth quite a lot… While we haven’t gotten into a whole lot of merchandise, I am sure one day we will – we’ve already started building our Lego collection!
   
6. Movie nights are always fun. We have a lot of movie nights, especially now in winter. Netflix is our best friend after 8pm. We have seen so many series and as we’re watching, we’ll be like “Ohh where have we seen that actor before?” and we try and work out what other show he’s in, or sometimes just check on IMDB. Regardless, we always have a fun time.
7. Our kids tend to catch on. I do let Jacob watch some degree of TV but for some reason he can name every single character on ABC kids. Even all the owls on Giggle and Hoot – Hoot, Hootabelle, Hootley, Hootaluna, etc… Jacob loves that he can relate to these characters and he often uses a range of them in his imaginative play.

Here is Jacob at maximum hipster. Disclaimer: Yes, those are my glasses – I only let him wear them for this photo and took them straight back.

So, for those of you who are a borderline nerd like me, just embrace it – it’s ultimately a fun lifestyle! Keep on playing Pokemon Go, though be mindful of where you are so you don’t walk into a lamp post – hope you catch ’em all!

Game of Thrones Night (and more of the blog challenge)

I’m a couple of days late for the blog challenge now but have been flat out over the weekend and today, and then tonight was Game of Thrones night in our household.

Game of Thrones night is like a sacred ritual in this house. We make sure Jacob is asleep in his bed and that Jared is pretty settled (and mostly asleep) before we begin. We often have chocolate-laden desserts prepared, or at least a nice hot drink. Over the weekend, Jacob and I made pumpkin choc chip muffins which are to die for – top that with Aldi salted caramel ice cream with a hot chocolate and you’re all set for an amazing experience. (No wonder I’m not losing any weight lol!)

But anyway, I just need to say that Game of Thrones is SOOOOO good! Yes, I know that it does have a bit of unnecessary nudity (particularly in the first season) but the storyline is so full of twists and turns. But you probably already know this…

I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed, (no, I’m not) but I was at Aldi the other day and I noticed they were selling a whole lot of kids winter clothes including fleece pajamas. I saw this design and could not pass it up! It wasn’t too pricy at all (just over $10 each) and I now have wildling babies.

~~~

I am going to cover “One thing that you could teach others” and “What inspires you” in one blog post.

One thing that I could teach others

I’d like to think that at the age of 26, I have accumulated a wealth of life experiences and that I’d be considered “learned” in certain areas of life. I have been a jack of all trades but I admit that I’m pretty okay in some areas.

However, perhaps the thing I feel I can teach others most is about music. Yes, I can teach you how to play the piano if you like (I’ve been learning since I was like 3) or guitar or ukulele. But I can also teach you how to sing and to just appreciate music for what it is.

I’m no prodigy – in truth, there were a number of times I made my own music teachers cry because I was just that bad. I’m not a concert pianist, and I lack technique (because I don’t practice, full stop) but I’ve been told that I’m the type who ‘feels’ the music. So if you’re that type of musician who wants to learn that way, I’m the person for you.

I also used to write songs – and sometimes still do but lack the time to pen things down. This (embarrassing) video was taken 6 years ago, and it was the reason I named my previous blog “Reality Hits”.

In all seriousness, I’m thinking of working on the music side of things and potentially starting to teach piano lessons. Of course, I will have to work out my syllabus and refine my own technique (which is hard as I barely get a moment to myself at the piano – the toddler always insists on joining in) but I’m thinking it will still be a good thing to upskill and to share my talents with others!

What inspires me

I suppose I have different inspiration points at different times of life. Sometimes it’s budding young entrepreneurs that inspire me, and sometimes it’s strong female figures who seem to be able to juggle a million things at once and still come up on top.

Lately, I’ve been feeling inspired by people who, despite the odds, are able to rise up above their circumstances and make a new future for themselves. Someone I know has exhibited that – I don’t know her that well, but even in just seeing the progression of her life on Facebook, I’m just so impressed and happy for her.

Basically, she had a baby (who is just the most gorgeous thing!) and had to drop out of high school. She tried to make things work with the dad but it didn’t work out. So there she is raising her little boy with help of her mum (and now I believe she has a new partner). But she was also working hard in the background and was just accepted into Uni!

I love hearing stories like these – stories of real people who just keep trudging on despite the trials and the stigma. People like these dig themselves out of a rut and come out on top of a mountain.

I’m not sure if she reads my blog, but if you do, I just want you to know that you absolutely inspire me! 🙂