Something I wrote for fun (non-nerdy)

“My Name” inspired by Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street Written by Ms. Wakefield

In French, my first name is a song, a bird soaring through the sky. In English, my last name is a city, a compound word.  One word breathes beauty, the others mixing volume and noise.  Dissonance.  Discord. Julie Nicole Wakefield. It means dusk during sunset. The mixture of blue, pink, and gray crashing in the sky.  The sight you see while driving in 5pm traffic. Horns honking over tired eyes.  Radios blaring, deafening eardrums.  Crashing on the couch. Waiting for that second wind to kick in. The sound of my mother making dinner in the kitchen, “Chicken or fish tonight, dear?” It is filled with youth, beauty, and vivacity. A journey of growing up, while managing to stay young.

It was a last minute decision. A second choice. Almost Amy Elizabeth instead. Almost a beautiful melody, instead of a song full of discord. That name is a fluid motion. Mine like a mismatched outfit. But I was a joyful surprise; a family who tried to be three, four, five but always stayed two. Until me. Never, my mother said. Never, but then I came out early. A mix of two, my father says.  Light English skin, green eyes, and curly blonde hair.  A taller, paler version of my mother.  A louder, opinionated version of my father. Lonely in a family who tried to be four, five, but always stayed three.

Our house stayed small, quiet and empty.  They tried to have a Bryan, an Amy, a someone for me to play with.  To fight with. To argue over who got the car Friday night, and the new dress for prom. To compete over every grade, sport, and hobby with. But I remained the oldest, the youngest, the only. A mixture of personalities. Selfish, yet thoughtful. Together, yet scattered. Focused, yet undisciplined.  Who would I have been if our house had been filled to the brim, like a steaming cup of coffee from Starbucks? A leader? Someone else’s shadow?  I can’t imagine myself as the oldest. The responsible one. The wise one. I can’t imagine myself, with a Bryan or an Amy. Tagging along.

I’d like to change my name to Juliet, Shakespeare’s muse.  Much more fitting. Sophisticated and poised. Wise. Compassionate. All of my good qualities, but none of my flaws. Juliet is a leader, the girl everyone loves. The epitome of grace, so maybe I’d be less clumsy. Plenty of Romeos begging to ring the doorbell, yet surprisingly independent.  Sounds like me. Juliet sounds like a thousand cheerful church bells ringing on a Sunday morning; looks like billions of sparkly stars.  Too bad there’s a long line at the DMV.

Bears, Beets....

Battlestar Galactica. 

Ok, I know it's been a while, fellow nerd-lovers.  In my defense, it's tough balancing a career, multiple extracurricular activities, a social life, and my relationship with a certain Captain Nerd-o.   I was recently reminded of my writing project on Facebook the other day...I mean while I was busy grading.  Anyway, several of my friends have started these awesome blogs about baking, yoga, time management, fashion, you name it.  Well if they can manage to write once or twice a week, why can't I?

Back to BSG.  Captain Nerd-o has been trying to get me to watch Battlestar Galactica for the duration of our two year relationship, and I just wasn't having it.  I mean, the show looks like a modern version of Star Trek.  No, thank you.   That's the crap that my father used to watch, and record religiously on VCR (back in the Stone Age, obviously).

But then I found out that you can watch BSG for FREE on Netflix; I didn't even have to waste a precious disc in my queue! I figured that if I hated it, I could just pretend that the internet at my house suddenly went down.  My technologically-inept nerd/boyfriend would never know the difference.  Game on.

Of course you all know what happens next...I end up becoming absolutely enthralled with the show.  Not like reading Gotrek and Felix, where my arm had to be twisted to finish a chapter.  I could bore you with arguments on the captivating plot, complex characterization, blah, blah blah, or.....


I could just leave you with this:

Capt. Lee Apollo

Now I know you're all about to become die-hard fans.

I really AM the Katara to his Aang!

A couple of months ago, I considered writing a post about M Night Shyamalan's atrocious take on the beloved favorite, Avatar: the Last Airbender.  But then I remembered that writing about his awful attempt would drive me to binge drinking, so I decided against it.  

Recent events have inspired me to write more, specifically the utterly fantastic gift Nerdman purchased for me at Comic-Con.   

Behold: 

This is a Water Tribe Engagement necklace; Katara wears one during the series.  It was her grandmother's, and eventually she finds out that her water-bending master made it for Gram back in the day.  It's a clearly small world after all.  

Baby, I'm like _____

Optimus Nerd is fantastic with comparisons and hyperboles; as an English teacher, I appreciate his colorful speech. I use hyperbolic speech every single day.  And now I hear crickets chirping, but at least I'm laughing on the inside, right?  Oh dear...


Anyway, apparently he sees himself as the heroic protagonist of every film, novel, cartoon, and video game he enjoys.  I often hear sentences that start like this: "Baby, I'm like Sherlock Holmes; I'm brave and quick." or "Baby, I'm like Gotrek; I'm tough."  And that's when I roll my eyes.  Insert groan here. 

But sometimes, he'll include me in the mix.  He must think I feel left out or something, because I hear these lines all the freakin' time: "Baby, you're like the Silk Spectre I to my Comedian."  Unfortunately, I don't always end up as a girl.  He once compared us to Sherlock Holmes and Watson, but he said that was because Rachel McAdams' character was a trampy whore who avoided commitment. (Actually I said that, but he did agree with me). Watson is obviously way more committed.  Clearly.  Hopefully he sees some sort of underlying romantic connection between the two.  


So by now you've all figured out that nerdy bf has a gargantuan sized ego, way bigger than the word "gargantuan."  He sees himself as a hybrid of all sorts of fictional super heros, and other "save-the-day" type male protagonists.  He also sees himself as suave and charismatic, but I will admit that his smooth moves helped sweep me off my feet.   Optimus Nerd is like a gift to all mankind; he's swift like Superman, brave like Batman, and fucking sexy like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man/Sherlock Holmes.  I bet he'll swoon when he reads this. 

Now don't get me wrong; Mr. Nerdtastic is actually brave, smart, funny, and handsome too. But the comparisons make me chuckle inside every time.  My picture of the stereotypical nerd is awkward and usually of the virgin persuasion.  I see someone with glasses who lives in their parent's basement and can't talk to women.  


I guess I should be thankful my Optimus Nerd is definitely the opposite, and has a healthy ego to boot.  After all, I'm like Mary Poppins; I'm practically perfect in every way. 

Boosh.

I can't air-bend because I won't try.

I'm performing in the teacher talent show at school in two acts this year; I'll be playing the flute and cheering.  Not at the same time, don't you worry.  I've been doing the former for years, but cheer leading is like a foreign language.  Well, not the actual dancing or cheering; I'm OK at that part.  It's the stunting.  I have to help lift a human being up.  Don't you all know that I used to carry a FLUTE around all day.  Not heavy.

Anyway, after complaining to Mr. Nerdtastic about my new task (and after finishing some intense Pilates), he says this: "Well baby, you probably can't air-bend either, but it's because you won't try."


I think he's trying to tell me something through his nerd lingo.  Now I've definitely lost it.  The air-bending advice is pushing me towards more Pilates.  Another teaser is coming my way.

Baby, you're the Katara to my Aang

 Mr. Nerdtastic hates the James Cameron film Avatar for many reasons.  For starters, he abhors James Cameron's seemingly pompous and arrogant personality. But that's not why Nerd Man refused to chuck up $14 dollars to see the film; he refused to see it because of the title.

And here's why!  Avatar: The Last Air Bender is the name of his current cartoon obsession.  It's about the Air, Earth, Fire, and Water nations; these nations are at war, and the Avatar is the only person who can save all of humanity.  But then the old Avatar goes missing; 100 years of war pass by.  Suddenly there's a new Avatar; he's this cute little Air Bender named Aang. 

That's enough plot synopsis; Here's the issue at hand.  There's going to be a live-action Avatar: The Last Air Bender film, but it can't have the word "Avatar" in the title.  Thanks to Cameron, it will simply be called The Last Air Bender.  And thus, nerd-whining has taken over my life.  Just writing about this, has caused Optimus Nerd to rant for at least five minutes.  Now I'm exhausted. 

Anyway, that's his beef.  What makes me laugh or maybe cry is that the boyfriend likes to pretend that he is an Avatar and can air/fire/water/earth-bend.  That means that he can control those elements and spin them around or something. You use these to fight; it's like Moses parting the Red Sea, only some benders can part earth, fire, and wind.  Anyway, these techniques are not real.  But I'm sure you all got that idea already.  

Right now, nerdy bf is pretending to earth-bend because I'm ignoring him.  How needy. He is amusing though, especially since I told him he's not allowed to fire-bend.  It's obviously dangerous; he might burn me!

And now I'm losing it.

Come Along Manling

Every time I avoid grading my Ninth graders' essays, Optimus Nerd tells me the same thing:  "What a perfect time to read Gotrek and Felix."

Gotrek and who? Actually if I asked him that, he'd probably hang up on me.  You see, Gotrek and Felix: The First Omnibus is a Warhammer novel by the author William King.  For those of you who don't know, Warhammer is a fantasy world similar to Warcraft.  Both were based off board games nerds adore, and both later became a series of novels.  Phew. Also, there is a Warhammer game similar to WOW (World of Warcraft).  And I'm sure most of you know someone who spends too much time playing WOW, and not enough time socializing with live people. These are the nerds who don't have girlfriends.