"Geek" Is a Subjective Term
A few weeks ago, I took the "Geek Test" that I found on Pink Lemonade Diva's blog. I was all disappointed because the test deemed me a poser, while my husband managed to at least have "geekish tendencies." Maybe "disappointed" is the wrong word, but you know me...I hate scoring low on any test. Unless scoring low is a good thing. Ah, the joys of being an overachieving, type-A personality. I just couldn't believe that my word-nerd tendencies didn't give me more points. So, I retook the test, which, in itself, should have given me massive geek points.
This was an amusing little pastime, but I didn't think much more about it until the other night. We were visiting a friend of mine who had been at the 10-year high school reunion and we started reminiscing about high school all over again. We were all English nerds, so we talked about all our past English teachers. Then one of my friends said, "Hey, remember when we had to memorize the prologue to the Canterbury Tales in the Middle English?" Yes, it is true. This is something I had to do twice--once in high school and then again as an English major at UCLA. So, we busted out with it, and the scary thing is that we all remembered it! Our assorted husbands/boyfriends/hangers-on looked at us like we were crazy. It was fun, though. I also remember all the "being" verbs, which I had pounded into my head by a frighteningly thorough 7th-grade grammar teacher. If you, too, would like to memorize the Canterbury Tales prologue (a truly enriching experience), you can find it here, along with a helpful modern English translation.
Well, that night, as we were driving home, my husband said," Honey? Remember that geek test? You should be the geekiest of all for remembering that Canterbury Tales stuff." And I got a warm glow inside. I was a successful geek after all!
This was an amusing little pastime, but I didn't think much more about it until the other night. We were visiting a friend of mine who had been at the 10-year high school reunion and we started reminiscing about high school all over again. We were all English nerds, so we talked about all our past English teachers. Then one of my friends said, "Hey, remember when we had to memorize the prologue to the Canterbury Tales in the Middle English?" Yes, it is true. This is something I had to do twice--once in high school and then again as an English major at UCLA. So, we busted out with it, and the scary thing is that we all remembered it! Our assorted husbands/boyfriends/hangers-on looked at us like we were crazy. It was fun, though. I also remember all the "being" verbs, which I had pounded into my head by a frighteningly thorough 7th-grade grammar teacher. If you, too, would like to memorize the Canterbury Tales prologue (a truly enriching experience), you can find it here, along with a helpful modern English translation.
Well, that night, as we were driving home, my husband said," Honey? Remember that geek test? You should be the geekiest of all for remembering that Canterbury Tales stuff." And I got a warm glow inside. I was a successful geek after all!
posted by Astera @ 8:10 PM
4 Comments:
At 4:01 PM,
Katie said…
I'm beside myself that this post has been up for almost 24 hours and not one comment? On such a great topic?
1st, I'm so pleased to find that someone checked out that innocuous little link. I remember not being pleased with the non-workfriendly html design of the site the day I took the quiz, but I loved how the author clearly knew her geek, so I had to respect it and see the quiz through to the end.
I didn't score well either, matching your husband's score. But in your (our) defense, I think we're nerds, not geeks. Don't you think AV club and computers when you think geek? We nerds are definitely more right brained.
What do you say we come up with a nerd test for our people?
(I was the nurse in my English class's retelling.)
(I also can't decide if that apostrophe ess is correct in the previous statement.)
Do I qualify to help you design a nerd test?
At 4:14 PM,
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
At 4:14 PM,
Astera said…
I think we definitely need to design a nerd test, and it shouldn't be in black and lime-green, either. Hmm...what would be the qualifications? Having had to read Chaucer in the Middle English is probably a good start! And there should definitely be a vocabulary section. What do you think?
At 9:19 PM,
Bruingirl said…
18.7% Geek! I'm a Geek! woohoo!!! :) I knew all along that I was a Geek and here is the proof!! :)
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