Thursday, May 29, 2008

The Lifestyle of the Poor and Geeky


Little known fact by just looking at me: I'm a geek. I'm someone who absolutely loves to research, to learn, and spend time with the internet and computers. This leads me down many paths, and leads me into true geekdom. What do I mean?

Well, many people, when they buy something, decide that some research should be involved. Geeks, however, raise this research to another level entirely. A wonderful example: I am going to buy a car when I graduate from college. That's a pretty typical thing, and most people would start investigating this a month or two ahead of time, look at a couple cars, decide what they like, and head off to buy. When I decided that I was going to do this, back in February or March of this year, I began researching. I went through list after list, looking at used Pontiac G6's, G5's, BMW's, Mazda3's and 6's, MazdaSpeed3's and 6's, and even Lexus'. I had decided, about 2 months ago, that I was leaning toward a Pontiac G6, due to their styling and their prices used from '06 and '07. Of course, being a geek, this was not the end of my searching. And now, I've decided on one important factor I hadn't been entirely considering yet: Gas mileage. This has made me reconsider my choices, and I am now squarely focused on either the Honda Fit, Scion xD, or the Suzuki SX4 Crossover. And that means that I have spent hours perusing the internet, reading multiple websites with consumer and professional reviews. And I'm not even going to buy for another 6 months or more. Yea, that's how a geek operates.

You see, a geek isn't only about computers. Geeks research and consider EVERYTHING before they buy it. We research endlessly, and attempt to verify our decisions and continuously look for better deals. You'd think that would lead to us never buying anything -- but the reality is that it makes us buy more things. Because, in the course of our research, we often discover other things that we "need" or simply want. It's pretty fun. But it's not a bad thing, it's simply how we work.

The other weird thing about geeks is that we aren't made to be poor. And that's my main problem. I have no money. But I have lots of wants. And that makes the internet evil. Cause, you know what? You can find ANYTHING! It can be stressful.

Besides that, I research plenty of other things before buying. You ever need advice about a computer? MP3 Player? GPS unit? Pistol? Car? Find a geek researching to buy the same thing, and trust me, he'll fill your ears with plenty of information. Maybe too much.

I love being a geek.

Comments? As a geek, I'll read and listen to every single one. ;)

3 comments:

Dianne said...

I was watching 'Last Comic Standing' last night and a 6' 120 lb dude described himself as a geek. Not a nerd. He said the differene between the two is that a geek would stand in line for the premiere midnight showing of --oh, what's that movie I never saw with the kids and the magic? you know, the wizards and everything?--Harry Potter! The nerd would also go stand in line for the show, but he'd be dressed as the lead character.

Your thoughts? I always believed the primary difference was projected earning potential. Your thoughts?

Matthew Gamblin said...

I'll be honest, I agree wholeheartedly with both sentiments. I have stood in line to be the first to get tickets for a late night movie premiere (Ironman recently, but I'm smart enough to use Fandango to get the tix and then stand in line to get good seats) but the projected earning potential argument is valid. Nerds don't interact well: geeks do. Therefore, geeks = managers. :)

Dianne said...

It's kind of a shame, actually. Even if I had to admit that you had nerd tendencies, it would have been delightful to see you in that ironman suit.

Seriously.