i speak geek
my dear friend allison recently lent me "what a girl wants"... a comical glimpse into the everyday life of a single, intelligent, 30 year old female living in silicon valley (seeing the parallel?). now, although i don't consider myself hopelessly single, i couldn't help but share in the author's frustrations. it seems as though the book is directed at the cluelessness of the men around us... in particular... engineers.
as a student at the uofi, women of champaign-urbana are flooded by equation driven, trilogy loving, let-me-fix-your-problems men (for lack of a better noun).... so i thought i'd post a little of this irony for those bloomingdale's princesses out there.
"i rail on engineers, but if you lived here in [champaign] where the men are engineers, and the women are hopelessly single, you'd understand my point. when a new science-fiction movie opens here, it's an event worthy of a costume...
'we're watching the matrix tonight, [val]. you want to come over?'
'no thanks'.... i don't add that i think the matrix is stupid. that's blasphemy around here. 'don't you guys ever get tired of our lives in [champaign]?... i mean, we always do the same things. we hang out at the coffee shop, we see the same movies, we - you know, i can't even think of what else we do...'
'the matrix is an allegory, a worldview, if you will.'
'we've still seen it a few times,' i try half-heartedly. i've started it. now we'll get into the deeper discussion - like why spock, without feeling, would sacrifice himself for mankind in star trek genesis.
'do you want to watch lord of the rings?'
he cannot understand my problem today, and i can't fathom my own lack of interest in the life around me. engineers have their own language, their own culture. my fear is that i speak it fluently, and if i ever leave, will i still be able to speak english? or will i revert to discussions about the battle for middle-earth? these are my people."
as a student at the uofi, women of champaign-urbana are flooded by equation driven, trilogy loving, let-me-fix-your-problems men (for lack of a better noun).... so i thought i'd post a little of this irony for those bloomingdale's princesses out there.
"i rail on engineers, but if you lived here in [champaign] where the men are engineers, and the women are hopelessly single, you'd understand my point. when a new science-fiction movie opens here, it's an event worthy of a costume...
'we're watching the matrix tonight, [val]. you want to come over?'
'no thanks'.... i don't add that i think the matrix is stupid. that's blasphemy around here. 'don't you guys ever get tired of our lives in [champaign]?... i mean, we always do the same things. we hang out at the coffee shop, we see the same movies, we - you know, i can't even think of what else we do...'
'the matrix is an allegory, a worldview, if you will.'
'we've still seen it a few times,' i try half-heartedly. i've started it. now we'll get into the deeper discussion - like why spock, without feeling, would sacrifice himself for mankind in star trek genesis.
'do you want to watch lord of the rings?'
he cannot understand my problem today, and i can't fathom my own lack of interest in the life around me. engineers have their own language, their own culture. my fear is that i speak it fluently, and if i ever leave, will i still be able to speak english? or will i revert to discussions about the battle for middle-earth? these are my people."
posted by Valerie @ 10:40 PM
4 Comments:
At 9:39 AM,
Mark Sidarous said…
"He cannot understand my problem today, and i can't fathom my own lack of interest in the life around me. engineers have their own language, their own culture. my fear is that i speak it fluently, and if i ever leave, will i still be able to speak english? or will i revert to discussions about the battle for middle-earth? these are my people."
1. Val, you straddle the line between nerd and not. I have no doubt that you can still relate to badger clubbing neanderthals.
2. Nerds are basically just great people who are passionate about something. It's not a negative label anymore. I think a woman should consider herself blessed to be in such a ripe repository of robust romeos.
3. EVERY man is a "let-me-fix-your-problems" guy. It's what we do.
4. The Matrix IS stupid.
5. The good of the many outweighs the good of the few.
At 10:51 AM,
Valerie said…
1) i agree that i am slowly blurring the lines of nerd and not.... however, this was not so much an issue before i became friends with nerds ;)
2)i def agree that nerds are great people who are passionate about something... i am simply noting the humor of what that passion is
3) agreed
4) agreed
5) agreed
overall, i consider myself lucky to have such amazing men in my life. engineers have been a much needed source of practicality and self-restraint. in fact, i envision myself living happily ever after with a man who owns a PDA.
At 3:17 PM,
allison said…
First off, I'm glad this book is giving you as much joy as it gave me.
I feel your pain, Val. Long before I knew this present group of geeks, I dealt with my own engineer issues. Three generations of guys in my family are mechanical engineers. Even a great-grandfather of mine was an engineer.
And there's nothing wrong with that. It's just tough for those of us who don't speak that language to relate sometimes. Like when my dad and brother tried to tutor me in high school geometry. Emphasis on tried. Or when my brother tries to explain to me what he did at work this week.
Thankfully, I have mastered the smile and nod. I have to trust that they are as clueless about my work as I am about theirs. But I love the fact my brother wants to share it with me. He wants me to know the details of his life. That's awesome.
Also, Mark, I love your words, "ripe repository of
robust romeos." Great use of the English language.
At 2:09 PM,
Anonymous said…
engineers like sci-fi? Who knew? Sorry, i live in a musician's world where everyone discusses amps and drivers and effects and guitars and string gauges...i guess we're a little nerdy in our own dirty, late-night-over-a-beer kind of way. Don't lose hope in those engineers, however. You must remember that in the end, they take orders very well. From what i understand, women can use that to their advantages.
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