Don’t worry – the Geek Test will remain online. And I don’t plan to delete my blog archive. In fact, one of my goals in saying goodbye to this blog is to re-focus my energy on the Geek Test. It’s been almost two years since the last update. Geeks are more mainstream than they have ever been before, which is both exciting and disconcerting. I think that the more mainstream it is to be a geek, the more it takes away from what it really means to be a geek.

And this geek flood into mainstream culture has oddly made me feel like far less of a geek than I did just five years ago. I also wonder how much of that comes with getting older—there was something almost magical about coming into my geekdom in my 20s that just didn’t hold up after I turned the corner into my fourth decade (commence age-related whimpering). Then again, that sputtering magic time coincides with the aforementioned Crappy Life Issues so it’s hard to pinpoint the cause or effect.

It still delights me that the Geek Test itself is relevant to people out there. There’s a lot that I could have done with innergeek.us in the past that is no longer relevant. I feel that there are already lot of sites that aggregate geeky content from all over the internet and plenty of places for social networking with friends and strangers and strangers-who-will-become-friends that negate the need for a good old-fashioned innergeek message board. Recognizing this is an important step in making my site relevant in the future. How will I make it relevant? Well, I have some ideas from a few years back that are still viable, so I’m going to start with those. Rather than over-promise and under-deliver, though, I’d prefer to just surprise you.

I’m still on Twitter (@innergeek) but have been more consistently updating my Facebook page (facebook.com/geektest), which is 4,591 fans strong as of today. Please connect with me on one or both of those networks if you’d like to participate in the evolution of the Geek Test or be notified when there’s an update.

Despite a less-than-ideal 2011, I’ve made a lot of positive strides this past year. I have some new projects and challenges underway (both personal and professional) that I really want to succeed, and I’m hoping that will drive me to see them through. I’ve been hanging on to a little slip of paper from a fortune cookie since summer that has done much more for my attitude than one of those irritating motivational posters ever has. It’s a reminder, in small print, to learn from my mistakes and keep trying.

Failure is the chance to do better next time.

I’d imagined it more like cobwebs, but I like the imagery of digital crickets hanging out at the bottom of the screen, chirping and occasionally jumping around to make it known that nothing was happening to distract them from their own motives. I’m from Ohio, so when I hear crickets, I also think MOSQUITOS.

Grrrr. Now I’m slappy.

What’s with “29 Crickets” you wonder? Out of curiosity and self-flabbergastment, I counted the number of tabs I currently have open on my Google Chrome browser. Twenty-nine. Each one is a to-do item or an action trigger that currently feels too important to just bookmark. This is an accurate reflection of how I’ve felt lately: overwhelmed. So many goals, so many things I need and want to do, some exciting new ventures to explore… and yet when it comes down to I only feel like getting lost in a few seasons of Doctor Who while knitting (which helps me not bite my nails).

As the definition of geek evolves, and evolves rapidly, and yet does not change, I’ve lost steam in my relationship to my inner geek blog. I’ve lost interest in sharing personal tidbits of my life with you, Internet, because of recent personal stresses I don’t care to share AND I question my current level of geekiness. I’ve never shared my own personal geek test score because, as I am the author, I feel the result is biased. But right now my score has plateaued, which reveals more than the actual number to five decimal points. The test should be updated again. That’s a constant, though… as soon as I update it, it needs another update. That’s been the case since version one almost 12 (twelve!) years ago.

Bibble, bobble, babbling on.

I am going to the first-ever Geek Girl Con in Seattle in October and hoping that will reboot my sense of geekiness. I applied to be on a panel but wasn’t accepted… for probably a good reason, which doesn’t help my geek esteem level, but will hopefully allow me to experience and enjoy the con in a more laid-back manner. My goal is also to blog/tweet/facebook/google+ etc. my experience there, and I’m feeling more confident about my promise.

ATTENTION, CRICKETS: consider yourselves dusted off my site.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlBTcMpVfco

However, if I decided to make one of these, I would probably design the thing to size with Adobe InDesign and have a 2′ x 6′ print made on lacquer-safe poster paper. That way, if I screwed up in some way (which I probably would), I could easily have the thing reprinted and start over. Also: I wouldn’t have to spend 100 hours doing detailed paper cutting.

I was not focusing on my blog as much as a real blogger should, anyway—too busy with school and work and the other stuff that seems to take over life away from the internet. (Boo!) I graduated from college 2.0 last month, so at least that’s a weight off my shoulders. My life does not magically seem less busy, though. That was disappointing to discover, since I haven’t played nearly enough video games lately. I want to play Portal 2 (it’s all the rage, and I want to know why!) but I have to finish Epic Mickey and Super Mario Galaxy 2 still. And Ben just fixed the original Xbox this weekend, which means I now have access to games I haven’t played in a long time: Simpsons Road Rage, Tetris Worlds (because I can’t play Tetris ANYWHERE ELSE), and Dance Dance Revolution.

Oh! But Things in Life That Actually Matter, I have those, too. I’ve made strides in cleaning and organizing certain areas of my house, and now I can see portions of my actual office desk. I’m now officially a web marketing consultant (for money!), trying to decide if I like it enough and can be successful enough to go permanently full-time. Lumped in there are goals for certain websites that already exist and some that are in the planning/work phase.

It’s also way past time to update the Geek Test again. Pretty amazing how a year can make so much difference in the content of the test. The Geek Test Facebook fan page is approaching 3,000 fans, which is pretty exciting. And last week, on Geek Pride Day, a Norwegian blogger mentioned his test score and posted some screen shots on his post Geek og Stolt (“Geek and Proud”) which contributed to a 400% spike in traffic for the day. I knew I picked the right country in which to be an exchange student all those years ago! Some of the traffic spike was of course from people who learned about the test from their Facebook friends or were just searching for a way to answer the age old question, “Am I a geek?”

Well, little Johnny, if you have to ask… the answer is probably yes.

In conclusion, there’s a lot for me to do in the near future. This has been awkward for me to write since it’s been a while. I look forward to bringing you more frequent awkwardness this summer. Good day.

(I SAID GOOD DAY.)

I was recruited for a new position called a Festival Insider Pro, which put me exactly where I wanted to be: roaming on Main Street, the heart of the festival. Though I could have done without the “ASK ME” hat (it kept riding up and making it look like I was a Conehead) and the 8-hour mostly outdoor shifts in below-freezing weather, I had a blast.

I qualified for free lodging, so I spent 12 nights in a decent little condo with three roommates (coincidentally all from the DC area) who are now my friends. I shared a room but got my own twin-size bed… I don’t even remember the last time I slept in a twin. The bed was okay, but I slept a lot better after I acquired earplugs to drown out the busy Park Ave. street noise. I’m used to sleeping in a quiet house in quiet suburbia where I’m usually only awakened by the sound of vomiting cats.

My check-in date and first training were on Tuesday, January 18—two days before the official start of the festival. I was exhausted from the week leading up to my travel, which was not the best way to start out the trip. But Park City was pretty quiet upon my arrival.

(Oh, and my arrival was aided by fancy schmancy Google Navigation on my Droid X! Good thing I got the little doohickey that suctions to my windshield to hold my phone at eye-level. Unfortunately, Google Navigation really only helps when you enter the correct address.)

I skipped the two available volunteer film screenings (Bengali Detective and Mad Bastards) that evening in favor of sleep. It was a good choice. Tuesday was full of meeting people, smashing a bunch of learning into my brain, receiving my wardrobe plus accessories, and participating in a trial-run tour of Main Street with the other Main Street Insider Pros. The day looked like this:

My wardrobe consisted of a Kenneth Cole-insignia’d royal blue down vest, which I knew about, and may have partially contributed to my choice of coordinating pink hair… whoops, I forgot to mention that I refreshed it a few days before the festival. It looked sort of this, and my apologies but I was tired and this is the only photo that even came out:

Anyway, all Sundance volunteers received the blue Kenneth Cole vest, a gray hat (sponsored by Chase Sapphire), and a scarf (sponsored by Acura). For my specialty position, I also received a bright pink (it matched my hair!) pin that said “ASK ME,” a dorky white “ASK ME” hat, and a black messenger bag that was printed with “ASK ME” in an orangey-red that was apparently supposed to be pink. Of course I also had a credentials pouch on a lanyard, where I stuck a few buttons over the course of the week. I accepted a special “Jeg Snakker Norsk” button to announce that I speak Norwegian… which came in handy twice during the festival. First time!

All outfitted, I looked something like this:

And you can’t really tell because all of my photos were taken with my Droid (whose 8MP camera is most certainly not as good as my 8MP Canon Powershot or my 8 million MP Canon Rebel that I did not take along) but in this photo I am wearing glamorous blue and silver eye shadow thanks to Isaac in the l’Oreal sponsor room. Well, you probably wouldn’t be able to see it even with a better camera because my eyelids are invisible thanks to genetics. But I’m wearing l’Oreal mascara, which in theory you should be able to see. And please just ignore the yellow shirt underneath because it doesn’t really match. After I saw this photo I made sure that my scarf (which was mine, not the blue-gray one that Acura provided because I actually didn’t get mine until later that week) was tucked into my vest and hiding whatever garishly-colored shirt I wore each day.

With all of these excuses, I wonder why I’m even posting this photo. I don’t know. Maybe because I went to the trouble of putting all the links in the right places, and you should appreciate the time and effort I’ve taken to write this lengthy and not really descriptive post?

Uh-oh, I’m starting to go all Meta and breaking that fourth wall. I think it’s time to wrap up this post and take a breather before starting up part 2.

But at least let me leave you on a positive note from Wednesday before the festival officially started: I attended a volunteer screening of the documentary Being Elmo, which is about Kevin Clash and the puppeteering journey that led him to become Elmo’s alter-ego and a major player on Sesame Street. As a lifelong Muppet fan, I knew I’d love it, but even so I was still impressed and loved it more than I thought I would. When it comes out, you should definitely see it. My favorite part was learning about how, as a teenager, Clash was ridiculed by his peers because he was obsessed with puppets. But he set his skills to use entertaining kids around the neighborhood and started working on a local children’s TV show while still in high school, turning his reputation around. Like most of us geeks, he never forgot what it was like to be labeled different, and that had an effect on how he and his characters developed.

Being Elmo hasn’t been picked up for distribution yet to my knowledge, but when it comes out, trust me that this is a documentary you have to see. I dare you to not get teary-eyed.

I just signed up as an affiliate with Plasticland, [edit: Whoops, I'm not activated yet, so these are just plain old links.] so if you follow the link and buy these love bunnies or something else equally kitschy and sweet, then I may receive a tiny kickback that will go toward domain hosting.

Alternately, if you would prefer to outright buy me these bunnies when they come back in stock, I hereby promise to use them to create an original storyline and post it here. With photos, of course. You know you want to.

Yes, I am now the proud owner of a Droid X. After a little more in-person tactile research, I decided that the X’s larger screen was worth more to me than the slide-down physical keypad on the Droid 2 Global. And if/when I travel to Europe in the next couple years, I’ll just get a pre-paid phone while I’m there.

I did goof in getting a fancy new phone just a few days before leaving town for the Sundance Film Festival, though. I had grand visions of being able to blog from my new smartphone… which were soon thwarted by a somewhat poor experience with the WordPress app and the logistics of writing a blog entry on a small touchpad keyboard. THWARTED, I say! Also, I didn’t take my laptop because I didn’t know what sort of housing situation I would have, and didn’t want to risk losing my baby. The withdrawal was tough.

Top 4 things I missed while away from home for 13 days (in no particular order):

• My laptop
• My bed
• My husband
• My cats

Getting to know my Droid X before I left basically didn’t happen because of the (how am I still caught off-guard by this?) crazy busy couple days pre-travel. Some things were easy, but the interface introduced a lot of quirks that made me feel like an ID10T when it came to things like, you know, needing to dial a number. Durrrr. I was also overwhelmed by the number of apps available to download. I haven’t yet shelled out money for the birding app I want, but I did download a slew of essential free apps like these:

• Angry Birds
• The Weather Channel
• 3D Level
• Retro Camera
• IMDB

…and then I promptly lost all practical usage of my phone whenever Ben wanted to play Angry Birds. [Note: he is adamantly against getting a smartphone himself, but the fact that Angry Birds is not available for a PC is kind of crushing his soul.] He squished my high scores from the four levels I’d initially played and underwent his own withdrawal period when I left for the festival. Poor baby. He’s happy I’m home and that I haven’t yet broken or lost my Angry Birds console.

And the Sundance Film Festival? I have lots to say about it, so look forward to that (unless you have more exciting things going on in your life, which I really hope you do). I was able to use my Droid X as a camera and documented a crap-ton of moments for which I have anecdotes and probable lies to share. I uploaded a lot of those photos to facebook, and would have also to Twitter for my stalker-friends, but the default uploader application was being a bitch and so I gave up. Lame, I know. Hence the ID-10T Error title for today.

I had one helluva semester at school this past fall and was sooooo happy when it finished. Though I have caught up on some sleep, the intensity level of constant deadlines hasn’t really stopped. My year-long senior project provided many happy fun hours of work over the holidays, as did a new freelance project that I’m very excited to be working on. It’s prevented me from having a lot of free time, which has prevented me from doing as much video game playing, reading, and needlework as I would have liked. Not to mention catching up on blogging, innergeek site updates, and another side project that I’m not ready to advertise yet. But I’ve finished with the crappy classes that were sucking all the joy from my life and am feeling renewed and challenged by my current endeavors.

And very much looking forward to volunteering at the Sundance Film Festival again this year!

Santa didn’t bring me the Droid smartphone I wanted (see crayon plea below; apparently Santa didn’t want to pay for the data plan), but there’s a chance that I may still get one before I leave for Park City on January 18. If that happens, I hope that mobile internet access will help me blog more. At the very least, it will allow me to interact with Twitter and Facebook rather than just blindly post from my Little Dumbphone That Could.

My LG EnV2 has been a trooper, it’s just… time, you know?

I can’t say any more. It’s giving me a vacant power-save mode LCD screen stare from my desk. The silvery paint is mostly chipped off the front and its corners are dented and scraped from multiple drops onto pavement. I love you, little phone with a QWERTY keyboard that made it possible for me to send a text message without wanting to kill myself. Shhhh. I’ll go plug you in now. Say good-night to the internet, now. Aw, what a good wittle phone!

It was probably the most practical gift I’ve ever received.

Of course, I did eventually lose it.

There are days when I know the location of about six different tubes of chapstick around my house, car, and coat pockets. I shake my head and say “Self, we really need to examine your tendency to hoard chapstick.” Then I remind myself, “Self, there are times when you can’t even find one stupid chapstick. Enjoy the bounty, but don’t forget the lean times.”

Well, Self, you definitely have a handle on reality. I haven’t been able to find a damn tube of chapstick anywhere for about three weeks. It drive-a me ca-RAZY! It’s winter, and I’m not going to be at all dramatic here: my lips are devastatingly chapped. The little trick of eating something greasy to help ease the lip pain stopped working after the first week and, with no current plans to liposuc and repurpose the extra body fat from that experiment, I need a solution.

Even though I know that I’ll come across my lost tubes sometime in the near future, I finally bought a new one while at Walmart two nights ago. Standing there in the aisle, holding my preferred type (ChapStick Moisturizer, SPF 15, in the blue tube), I debated buying a second one. Even though they were only 97¢ each, and I know that I’ll eventually use up the first one, it unleashed an internal philosophical debate about whether my insatiable craving for this product, and acceptance of its inevitable loss, was actually the cause and not the solution to my suffering. After a couple minutes, I committed myself to pursue a greater understanding of the meaning of the question itself before coming to any conclusions, acknowledging that the conclusion may be that there is no conclusion. Then a lady in sweatpants accidentally bumped me with her cart and I grabbed a second chapstick package with the more fatalistic thought that yes, I will probably lose the first tube before I even open it.

Well, sort-of good news there. I held onto that first precious chapstick for almost 48 hours before it disappeared! It was sitting on my desk, I swear (or did I maybe put it in my jeans pocket, or my purse?) and then it was not. I looked, believe me. Then, shortly before starting this post, with an audible Hggrhm, I pulled the back-up chapstick from my desk drawer and ripped it open. Then I tossed the small blister package into the recycling bin, right on top of the first one. Sigh.

My dangerously chapped lips are now awash in the smooth luxury of White Petrolatum 40.7%, though I still harbor a knot of anxiety about losing this, my only tube of chapstick. But I know it’s safe. I just touched it to make sure. The question is: will I know where it is tomorrow?

*I am using the trademarked name ChapStick as a generic term because if it isn’t already there (like kleenex), it should be.

After I finish a pattern, the addiction makes itself clear. I can’t wait to start another.

It’s to the point, though, that I have about a dozen finished or nearly finished patterns laying around unframed. It’s really sad, and my friends are mad at me for not having any hanging on the walls yet. Well, that leads me to this first design.

Decisions are hard, yo!

My husband and I are both Libras. This is pretty much our mantra. In fact, I had the idea to use a strand of gold for one column in the uppercase D, but I still haven’t decided if I’m going to keep it that way… so the needle with a bit of gold thread is still there as a reminder to make a damn decision already.

The Libra pattern is from “Cross Stitch Borders and Motifs” by Jana Hauschild LIndberg, as are the letters. I just put the sentiment together.

This next “Irony is Not Dead” piece is actually the first cross stitch I ever attempted. The pattern is from Julie Jackson’s Subversive Cross Stitch book which, along with my friend Marie’s own brand of subversive embroidery, was responsible for this crafty addiction.

Instead of using the recommended 14-count Aida fabric, which I’ve used for almost everything since then, I used a 28-count linen that I’d purchased before I read the book. Along with a very pointy needle, that made for an interesting first cross stitch experience.

(I still prick myself with the blunt embroidery needle I use now, but it’s not as gory or painful. Impossible and unintentional self-injury is just a fact of life for me.)

Okay, that’s all I’m going to share today… next time I’ll have some geekier needlecraft works of art to share with you. Because if I can’t put the real ones up on a wall, at least I should share them online. Way more people will enjoy them that way!