The Dozey Geekette
Although I may claim the exalted title of ‘Geekette’, I fear I am merely striving toward that great honour.
Before anyone falls over in horror to learn that I’ve only just started playing Oblivion, that I only have one 10th level character, I’m not very technically capable and I don’t have too many board games on display, let me explain…
Long ago, when I was a little GeekGirl, I was obsessed with SF & Fantasy TV shows, books and movies. Now these were the days before the internet (well, before it was easily accessible to anyone who didn’t wear a lab coat). These were days before the introduction of several million quality TV channels filled with imaginative and absorbing programming. The times when we had to wait 3 years between movie sequels. When the newly introduced pre-recorded video tapes cost the price of a small country and you had to buy your SF books under cover of darkness, in disguise and smuggle them home in a brown paper bag. As a kid growing up in these dark days, I had to rely on the few pennies of pocket money that were the norm back then. I spent them wisely however, saving up to buy the latest Fighting Fantasy books and whatever new fantasy novel had been written. It was difficult trying to make my wonderfully unaware mum & dad just how badly I needed that plastic replica Blaster that was SO out of my reach – a fortune at £23. Anyway, I digress…
Once I was earning my own wage, I had surplus cash to spend on more books, gadgets (which although becoming more common were still very expensive), games and figures to paint which was my new recently discovered hobby. Ah – the joys of miniature figure painting. I’d spent every waking, non-working moment happily painting away.
Then I had the good fortune of joining a RPG group and my eyes were opened. They taught me that it was ok to be a Geek, and I began to realise my full Geeky potential. I would go to Game & SF Cons, enter painting competitions and have some of my happiest memories running around waving a latex sword around. Suddenly, I was not alone anymore, hiding behind a visage of 9 to 5 normality. There were other people just like me! It was OK to like Star Trek, Dr Who and play games with more than one page of rules!
Through all this, I made many good friends, all with similar interests and best of all, I met my far better half and we’ve had some pretty amazing adventures these many years.
Nowadays, although my non-disposable cash mainly goes on buying nappies and food for my awesome family, I still manage to play in a weekly RPG, find a few stolen moments to play the odd PC game and paint those beloved figures. I have to wait until all those new and exciting top games and DVDs have ended up in the bargain bin before I buy them these days, and can only read a couple of panels of my favourite comic before I fall asleep at 10 o’clock, but the thing is, my Geekette is still around.
