Cool to be Geek?

When I first met my boyfriend, just over 6 months ago, i distinctively remember a drunken tour of his flat. This occuring just after we had established that we were in fact next door neighbours, and my alcohol induced delight as i said 'I'll show you mine, if you show me yours' (flat that is) we gave each other the grand tour. What clearly stands out though, aside from the drunken kissing and fooling around is the way he breezed past his bookcase and all the books and games that stacked upon it. A few weeks into dating, he sheepishly confesses that he is in fact a 'Gamer' and was clearly concerned on how i would react to this revelation, hense the bookcase brush off.

After assuring my new partner that this little fact was not an issue and that i was intrigued to learn more about this gaming world, i found myself engulfed in conversations around Magic, Warhammer, Game of Thrones and DUST just to name a few. At first all these names and subjects all rolled into one big mess and i couldnt decifer what was a card game, a book, a board game or a roleplay. But i persevered by nodding, in what i hoped were the right places and made the appropiate 'hmm' and 'ahh' noises to show my genuine interest and care for the world that he so treasured.

Slowly but surely, i started to understand a little. But this didnt happen overnight. Oh no. I had to research. I found myself googling various game websites and blogs in order to piece together this gigantic world of games. And to be fair, i was pleasantly surprised by what i found. This enormous industry of art, literature, strategy and imagination stretching internationaly, blew me away! How had i not known about all this before!?

Mentioning it to a friend, i was graced with a snort of laughter as she realised i was talking about the whole 'Dungeons and Dragons' scene. Yeah i was, but i just didnt get the stereotype that seemed to come with it. What made this subject snortable and embarrasing to admit? My boyfriend explains to me that he is a Geek, with a capital G. And that being a geek is NOT cool.

Well i beg to differ. Have we not seen a surge in the 'Geek' look recently? You know, the big glasses and cardigans? Or how about the major US series 'The Big Bang Theory?'. I thought it was cool to be geek?

Either way, what i will say is this; If my boyfriend can spend hours and hours of intricate dedication and patience on a tiny little Space Marine with his art brush...then well, just imagine what hes like paying attention to me ;)