Confessions of a Geek

 Quirks.  We all have them. Some are obvious, some are annoying, some are cute, and some simmer beneath the surface where most people wouldn’t notice them.

Well, I think they’re interesting.  And I want to know more about all of you! So, welcome to our first “Confessions of a Geek.”  I say first because, if people actually pay attention and respond, we might get to do this again sometime! But it won’t be half as interesting if you don’t share YOUR confessions too. (Don’t worry – your comments can be anonymous.) 

 I’ll start.  I am fascinated by weather.  I like storms.  I've always liked seeing storm photos and reading articles.  I actually enjoy The Weather Channel (TWC).  I liked the movie “Twister” and thought, for just a second, that storm chasing could be fun.

Photo from kissrichmond.com.

However, I don’t have a death wish. I’m not all that adventurous. It’s not like I’d go for a swim with a hurricane approaching or stay outside in raging wind, ducking flying objects just to get a picture of an approaching tornado.

Still, something about extreme weather fascinates me.   I was never a top science student as a kid, but I loved learning about the different types of clouds and what happens when it rains. Not only did I imagine what shapes or images clouds looked like in the sky, but I liked trying to identify them too.

Cloud chart from http://eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html

And I used to feel a strange sense of excitement as a child when hurricane conditions were forecast, though we rarely got any major storms. They almost always hit farther south.  Perhaps my interest in storms hasn’t waned because I’ve fortunately never had to deal with the fallout from a huge one.

I remember taping our windows for Hurricane Gloria back when I was about 8 years old. I was scared, but excited too. Until it actually hit us, that is, and then I cowered in my parents’ bedroom while the wind howled around the corners of our townhouse.  That was probably the only time we had a severe storm when I was growing up.

Hurricane Gloria, 9/28/85, by Richard Mei, Hartford Courant

Even as I got older, I continued to be fascinated by the weather.  At the risk of upping the nerd factor a bit, I love “Storm Stories” on The Weather Channel.  I always took comfort in the fact that my late best friend loved TWC too. It became our little ritual to watch it in hotels on the weekend road trips we sometimes took. 

We’d be getting dressed, preparing to go out dancing or sightseeing, and TWC would often be on.  We’d come back at the end of the night, turn it on again for the comforting musak, and stay up talking until we couldn’t keep our eyes open anymore.

Now, I don’t have anyone to share my weather enthusiasm with, so I thought I’d publicly confess what a geek I am on this blog. It’s harder to be embarrassed when one is having a virtual conversation.

Go on, hit me:  what are your geek confessions?  What would your friends be surprised to know about you? Tell us in the comments!