Are Nerds Marked? A Parking Lot Encounter

[Ivan Seeking]

Apparently we nerds are marked. This weekend I made a run over to a business located on the coast to help a new customer that needed a quick fix. I had never done business with this company before so I wasn't quite sure where I was going or where to find my contact. I pulled into a large parking lot that had perhaps thirty parked cars and a couple of dozen people wandering about. In addition to Saturday brunch being held onsite, people going to the beach are allowed to use the company's parking lot. So there was quite a bit of activity.

I pulled up to the most likely place to enter and got out of my car. Being that I might have to explore the facility to find my contact, I didn't take my computer. Just as I closed the car door I saw someone who looked just like Astronuc pull up in a truck. For a brief moment I actually thought it might be Astronuc even though I knew that was impossible. But he kept looking at me as if he knew me. Finally he yelled across the parking lot to me - Are you Ivan [obviously he used my real name]? "Yes" I replied. "You must be Michael. How did you know it was me with all of these people around?", I asked. "I can spot a techie a mile away", he replied.

So apparently I'm a marked man. Even in a parking lot full of people, I stand out as a nerd.

 

[Evo]

Maybe not too many people go to the beach with a pocket protector?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Maybe not too many people go to the beach with a pocket protector?

Heh, I had no definitive hardware on me. I was wearing jeans and a nice shirt. I might have worn the same thing had I been attending the brunch. And even the beach crowd doesn't look like your normal beach crowd because it's still too cold for summer activities. A lot of people were wearing their regular clothes.

 

[dlgoff]

Maybe not too many people go to the beach with a pocket protector?

And laptops?

 

[Borek]

And laptops?

Look, a ghost!

 

[I like Serena]

Perhaps it mattered that you were the only one looking around, wondering where you should go?
(I suspect that matters more than looking nerdy.)

 

[Astronuc]

I prefer T-shirts with pockets - for my mechanical pencil, two pens (min.) and high-lighter, and pieces of not paper. Be prepared!

If not for pockets then I have to wear my pencil and pens clicked on my collar, which is not too bad with a V-neck, which I prefer. It could be potentially uncomfortable with a high neck collar.

 

[NewtonianAlch]

What a beard! ^

I definitely need to grow one.

 

[ThomasT]

Finally he yelled across the parking lot to me - Are you Ivan [obviously he used my real name]? "Yes" I replied. "You must be Michael. How did you know it was me with all of these people around?", I asked. "I can spot a techie a mile away", he replied.

So apparently I'm a marked man. Even in a parking lot full of people, I stand out as a nerd.

Hmmm. Well, if you showed up pretty much on time and so did Michael, then I wouldn't necessarily attribute his calling out to you as being a function of your looking unnecessarily nerdy or geeky or techy. Then again, looking at your avatar ... nevermind.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Heh, I had no definitive hardware on me. I was wearing jeans and a nice shirt. I might have worn the same thing had I been attending the brunch. And even the beach crowd doesn't look like your normal beach crowd because it's still too cold for summer activities. A lot of people were wearing their regular clothes.

My stepfather is an engineer and wears the same for his "regular clothes". He tends to stand out a bit.

 

[BobG]

Do you think you might have stood out because you parked in front of the "Urinate Sitting Down" sign?