Being a Nerd ain't Easy

               As a first class and well known nerd, I feel  the responsibility to warn up and coming nerds about gerneral nerd qualities and the rigourous hours and dollars that you will need to submit in order to be considered a true nerd. Hundreds of dollars, hours of manga/comic reading and collecting, time spent perfecting your academics, and organizing your wardrobe of Marvel and DC t-shirts are all commitments of our way of life. It is time for outsiders to see how much upkeep being a nerd actually requires.

Expenses Are Large For A True Nerd:
I am what is know as a J-nerd and an academic. I read manga, watch anime, listen to J-rock, fully support the visual kei style, attend cons, etc. This can all become extremely expensive. In general, a manga usually costs an average of $10.50 USD. Magazines such as Yen Press, Otaku USA, and -Cure-, can cost upwards of $20. When you add up just what I own now, with the average, I have spent over $450 dollars on manga alone. J-rock is rare in America. In order to get these songs, I must either special order albums from Japan or buy individual songs or albums from Itunes. Either way, I am spending about $12 an album. That's nearly $200 dollars that I have spent in the past year, for J-rock alone. And of course, the real wallet drainer of any true nerd, is conventions. For an average three day convention, a badge is $50 dollars. A hotel for three nights can be over $300. And food is always over ten dollars a meal. Always. These are just necessities. Cosplays are usually over $100 and the convention's dealers room and art gala are musts and most spend over $100 dollars at each. So, just this paragraph is, indeed, over a grand 0.0

Sacrificing Your Time For Fangirl/boy Time:
A true nerd is a  capital  "F" fan. What most people don't know about being a superfan is that it takes time. A lot. of. time. Examples of time taken:
1. Supporting your fixation
2. Talking about your fixation
3. Drawing your fixation....perfectly
4. Reading about your fixation
5. Fighting with opposing fans in denial of the awsomtude of your fixation
6. Creating general awareness to all regarding your fixation
7. Acquiring other fixations through research of your fixation
8. Fixating on your fixation
9. Shopping online for things related to your fixation


As you can see, being a true nerd (which includes fandom) is a daunting and mentally trying test. Many can not handle such responsibilities and give up on what they love early on. But those of us who can prevail will forever live up to the prestigious title of "Nerd".

The Worst Halloween Candy

When I was younger I LOVED to trick-or-treat. I was always excited to find what my hard work had earned me.....untill I found these:

1. Candy Corn (Duh duh DUUUUUM)

I really believe candy corn is some type of decoration. I personaly view candles as more food related than candy corn.

2. Super cheap not-Halloween-related hard candies

Sure, they are ok when your waiting in a bank, or preoccupied with homework. But really? In the Halloween stock? I THINK NOT!

3. Raisins
What do you expect in your candy bucket? Candy. Since when do people think of mouse-turd-shaped dried fruit as candy? Beats me. If you absolutly must add fruit to an unfortunate child's diet, at least cover them in chocolate.

4. Stale bags of chips
Must I even type anything? This is cheap, gross, and and injustice! I can get FRESH chips anyday, why would I want old ones among my candy?

For those of you who are passing out candy, please be aware of how much you will be disappointing the frothing, rabid masses of excited children dressed as power rangers and M&Ms. Please, stick with the Snickers, Milkey Ways, Skittles, etc.




Question: What is the worst thing you have ever found in your trick-or-treat bag?

The Pros and Cons of Foreign Exchange-Should you do it?

For about two weeks a huge goal of mine was to study abroad in Germany for my senior year of high school. But my father brought up some questions when talking to me about my exchange that both intrigued and annoyed me.....

1. Think of all the things you don't consider
Is the fact that you could have to repeat a year worth it? What if you despise the host family? How are you going to get all of that money together? Why travel now as apposed later when you could afford it better and you (hopefully) don't depend on others for support? What are the cons of this idea? These are all very thought provoking questions. When these questions were presented to me, I could not personally come up with any reasonable argument why my answers would not tip the balance of my scale towards staying put. Of course, the answers to these questions are different for each individual. The important thing is, do the answers effect your over all decision?


2. Exactly why do you want to do this?
My response to this question was "Because, it is a good opportunity". As my dad riddled me more and more about WHY the opportunity was good, I struggled to come up with an answer. Chances are, if you can not define the reasons you want to study abroad, you may want to rethink. 


3. Are you willing to seriously leave your friends, family, and support? Are you mature enough for this?
Are you? When caught up in the excitement of this intriguing new dream, you may not think about this in depth. It may not even occur to you. At first, in a foreign country where everyone speaks a different language, you will most likely feel utterly alone. You will feel immense home sickness and long for companionship. Before going off on your grand adventure, you must be sure that you can handle this emotional roller coaster.


Don't get me wrong, studying abroad IS a great opportunity, but it takes a certain type of student who has strong reasons as to why this opportunity is so great. Ultimately, these questions turned me away from studying abroad and back on the (just as exciting, even when normalized) path of becoming a physicist. When seriously asking yourself these questions like these, you never know what will result.