#GeekSpeak: The sometimes random misadventures of @Abby_Cake

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Abby. I met her in Chicago at the #20SBSummit, and this chick is raaaddddd!! She considers herself more of a nerd than a geek - but I think she's just all shades of random and awesome. Oh and FTR, the TNTML stance on nerds versus geeks are that nerds are products of a genetic predisposition, and geeks are raised. BOOH-YAH!!! I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ABBY!!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Abby_Cake

I don’t like purses.

I don’t find them to be enjoyable accessories, interesting companions, or particularly accessible. I don’t like the way they rub against my side as I walk or pull down my cardigan on only one shoulder. On the other hand, I can’t imagine having a wallet either. I do not like the feeling of being uneven while seated and I fear it would put a permanent dent in my behind.

I left my purse at home this weekend while we are out of town. Already I feel more free. I don’t have anything remember when we leave a restaurant, and I don’t have to scavenge every time I want to use my phone. This experiment in untethering got me thinking: why do I carry purses at all?

Hyper-preparedness seems to be the obvious answer.

In our consumerist culture we are encouraged to buy things which will keep us prepared for any scenario. Jared and I are only two people, yet we own upwards of twenty dishes. Just in case we want to have a dinner party for his entire extended family. We only drink tea from one or two favorite mugs, yet we have at least ten. For that imaginary tea party I’ve been talking about.

We have all these items in our purses for the same reason — just in case. Kleenexes, different brands of lipgloss to match each outfit, a hairbrush, hair ties, earrings, sunglasses, a wallet overflowing with coupons, receipts, and cards. We have discount cards, credit cards, debit cards, frequent shopper cards, sandwich punch cards — it’s overwhelming! The excess weight fatigues my shoulder and makes me feel like a weighted down pack mule.

In addition to purses, we fill our pockets with physical unimportance. When I empty Jared’s pants I almost always find a pocket knife, pen or sharpie, keys, headphones, occasionally bottle caps or tools of some kind. He absently tucks things away in his pants and forgets.

But why wander while being so weighed down?

<strong>Every item we carry is a burden.</strong>

My goal is to eliminate these burdens before they add up. This week, I will take the time to evaluate each item in my purse, determine its worth, and either keep or discard it. Ultimately, I will probably downsize the purse itself to something much smaller.

Think about what you carry with you. What is important? What is just in case? What is trash?

Eliminate the trash, evaluate the just in case, <strong>keep what’s important.</strong>

xx, @abby_cake

#nerdsunite

Want more from Abby?? Check out her blog over yonder - and don't forget to drop her a follow on twitter!!

#GeekSpeak: The sometimes random misadventures of @Abby_Cake

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Abby. I met her in Chicago at the #20SBSummit, and this chick is raaaddddd!! She considers herself more of a nerd than a geek - but I think she's just all shades of random and awesome. Oh and FTR, the TNTML stance on nerds versus geeks are that nerds are products of a genetic predisposition, and geeks are raised. BOOH-YAH!!! I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ABBY!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Abby_Cake

Does anyone else watch Mad Men?

I don't know WHY it took me so long to discover this damn show, but it is amazing. I've spent several afternoons binging on Don Draper and candy corn lately. I finally finished all of the seasons offered on Netflix, and then I reached that point where I was done and was all, "my life is over!!"

Instead of sinking into a never-ending pit of despair (inevitably followed by more candy corn -- why do I love that shit so much??), I began brainstorming how I could continue my Mad Men obsession without seeming crazy.

Initial ideas included: make Jared dress up like Don Draper, invite my friends over and act out scenes from the show -- either through script handouts or trickery, find a Joan Holloway wig to wear all day, take up smoking.
However, fortune smiled on me when we discovered two bottles of 1960's alcohol tucked away at Jared's mom's house. Seriously. FROM THE 60'S. That may not seem like a long time ago, but how did this shit not get drank?

I spent a few minutes Googling "Mad Men drink recipes" -- and found out AMC has a site devoted to just that.

(I'm not alooone!)

But then I discovered Bacardi had a bunch of recipes listed on the back. Apparently, rum wasn't super popular back in the 60's, and so we postulated that the recipe list was meant to encourage people to drink it.

Or maybe I am just thinking like an ad man.

Anyway, we found a recipe for a Bacardi Collins:

• 1 jigger rum (I made it a generous one)
• 2 teaspoons frozen lemonade concentrate
• Mix in shaker with ice. Pour in cup.
• Top with club soda & two ice cubes.
• Garnish with cherry and lemon slice.

The gin we just mixed with ice and lime concentrate. I was incredibly intoxicated because YES that bottle says 90 proof and it's basically been fermenting for 50 years. No Big!

IT WAS DELICIOUS! I thought the rum was extra sweet and, I am not a gin fan, but that particular vintage was smooth. I handed my concoction off to Jared's sister and she told me I had to be an alcoholic because she couldn't drink that (I'm not, calm down!)

If you get a chance to try some 1960's liquor DO IT (and I still might be Betty Draper for Halloween.)

xx, @abby_cake

#nerdsunite

Want more from Abby?? Check out her blog over yonder - and don't forget to drop her a follow on twitter!!

#GeekSpeak: The sometimes random misadventures of @Abby_Cake

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Abby. I met her in Chicago at the #20SBSummit, and this chick is raaaddddd!! She considers herself more of a nerd than a geek - but I think she's just all shades of random and awesome. Oh and FTR, the TNTML stance on nerds versus geeks are that nerds are products of a genetic predisposition, and geeks are raised. BOOH-YAH!!! I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT ABBY!!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @Abby_Cake

Full disclosure: I haven’t been on a lot of first dates. Most of my relationships have formed from a previous friendship or a lot of internet contact (IM, emails, etc.)

But there is one, really bad, first date that sticks out in my mind, and I felt like I should share it.

When I was a sophomore in college, I interviewed for a job as a webdesigner. Naturally, I got it because I am awesome (and also know HTML and CSS). Well, the guy who had to train me was older (not gross old, like 26), geeky and kind of looked like Harry Potter.

My boyfriend had just broken up with me via text message earlier in the week. I was lonely. And Harry Potter and I  had already spent an evening playing Star Wars Monopoly and drinking cheap beer with his roommates. I was considerably younger than most of them, and they informed me several times I poured beer into plastic cups incorrectly. Who knew.

I figured the date would go fairly well.
I mean we had killer IM chemistry because we chatted all day at work, I had already met his friend, shown off my knowledge of Star Wars trivia and patience for extended board game sessions. He picked me up at my apartment after work and took me to Chili’s, which was probably the classiest restaurant in our small college town. Skillet queso is definitely date worthy.

We sit down and immediately his phone rang.

“It’s my mom,” he offered, apologetically.

I smiled and nodded, “Oh yeah, sure! Take it.”

The waitress came by and gave us menus while he answered the call.

As it turned out, he was the resident geek for his family, much like me. And the call was of vital importance: his mom needed to fix her CD burner.

I listened with mild interest as he detailed how to download the drivers and proceed with the installation process. The waitress returned to take our order and I smiled wanly, then nudged Harry Potter, who was not interested in ordering just then, despite my overwhelming hunger.

I contemplating eating his phone.

The date could have been salvaged at this point, but he stayed on the phone the whole time. I am talking, through dinner!! In between bites he was all, “No Mom, that’s not right” etc. WHAT THE HELL?

I am a cute female who knows interesting things and instead of talking to ME you are walking your mom STEP BY EFFING STEP through driver installation??

Not to mention the sad, lingering looks from our nosy-ass waitress. It was like she was trying to telepathically explain how pitiful I looked. I felt like an idiot. But he drove so I couldn’t leave.

The worst part? I went on a second date with him. Oh College Abby, there are so many things I wish I could tell you...

Geek-on-geek dating is hard. Many of us have little to no social skills. Fair warning.

xx, @abby_cake

#nerdsunite

Want more from Abby?? Check out her blog over yonder - and don't forget to drop her a follow on twitter!!