OK, so I go to my friend Mike the LORD OF THE RINGS fan's surprise birthday party, and he was telling me about "Trilogy Tuesday," which he's attending in Columbus about 100 miles away - watching all three films, extended editions, of LORD OF THE RINGS all at once to mark the debut of RETURN OF THE KING, the final film in the series.
And Danielle, another of his friends, and I both ended up buying him THE MATRIX RELOADED. She apologized to me, but I told her not to worry about getting Mike a duplicate gift. He can exchange it for the extended edition TWO TOWERS DVD set with the complimentary Gollum bookends, which he's wanted for months.
(I told Danielle that the duplicate gift thing wasn't a big deal because last year, at Christmas, Kacoon and I both bought each other the same gift, a DVD copy of Britney Spears' CROSSROADS. I mean, that was really amusing, for we only got it because we enjoyed mocking the film aloud in theaters. I told Danielle that it was another Benjie-Kacoon classic moment, for it's like GIFT OF THE MAGI - except with a shitty Britney Spears movie.)
And another friend mentioned to me today that they went to DragonCon in September dressed as Trinity. When she mentioned a BUFFY convention meeting in Atlanta this weekend, I told her that I was actually excited that Season Five, featuring Dawn as the Key and the death of Buffy Summers, was about to be released on DVD.
Mike began discussing, at one point during the party, what Hayden Christiansen's STAR WARS: EPISODE THREE hairdo was going to be.
And in the kitchen, at one point, I began to sing the entire first act of RENT - by myself mostly but with occasional backup by this cool girl named Jamie - complete with its staccato lyrics.
I also found out tonight that Ronald the Sk8r, instead of using a sewing machine, hand-stitches his own designer pillows while sitting beside Lake Lanier and fishing. He asked me if I wanted to go fishing with him, and I told him that I would go, though I have an unnatural hatred for the "sport." I think my parents took me fishing as a child just because they wanted to find an excuse to keep me quiet, saying it would disturb the fish. I didn't realize then that, you know, fish don't have ears. I would go fishing with Ronald, though I'd have to bring along a good novel or a lot of alcohol.
I came home from the party, and, in an e-mail, my friend Benjamin mentioned something about owning a shirt that looks like it comes from "that alternate universe on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION where Tasha Yar was still alive." And, because I once created this Listmania list, I'm almost ashamed to say that I knew exactly what he was talking about.
At the party, because Mike, Kacoon and I all work at bookstores, we began to discuss, moreso than anything else, bookstore terms, bookstore etiquette, customer service and hot new release items. (And we all talked about how Best Buy, though they have great prices, have the WORST customer service. I mean, I once asked a guy for a soundtrack, and he had me clarify that I meant music "from a movie.")
So what does that say about me, my friends and our taste?
We call ourselves geeks. And we embrace that title with pride.
I think it makes us children of pop culture. I think it makes us interesting. I think it provides us with endless trivia and topics for discussion. And I think it makes us typical, not atypical, that we've found something that we enjoy being passionate about.
In this world, I actually hope that we're all geeks about something. I feel lucky to be one.
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