Talk Nerdy to Me

I have a soft spot for the nerds of the world.  I’m not just talking save-the-world-with-a-robotic-arm-thingie-so-that-I-can-prove-I’m-worthy-of-you nerds, I’m talking quirky people. They warm my heart. Maybe that’s because I’m a mega-geek (anyone who spends time blogging about any subject, especially about a subject they get teased about, like me, must embrace their nerd status).

Oh yes. Glasses. I love glasses.

When I met my husband, he was equal parts Mr. Nerd and Secret Partying Guy. I loved all of him, but was so drawn to the Mr. Nerd side.  The Secret Partying Guy made me nervous, but the Mr. Nerd who wanted to talk about old movies and The Beatles and who’d write me poetry—he blew my mind and totally stole my heart.  And the Secret Partying Guy was cool and fun and everyone liked him, but I loved the guy who was practically a genius even more. You know why? Because smart guys are hot.

Also, I’ve always found nerds to be so much sweeter than your stereotypical popular guy. Maybe it’s because cool is so far out of reach for nerds that they don’t even bother. They just treat everyone the same. They’re nice. And nice is good.

And think about it.  Neville Longbottom was a serious nerd.  Remember?

Oh Neville, you adorably dorky kid. We loved you back then too.

But then he killed Nagini and look what happened to him:

I'm just sayin.

Of course, everyone who’s read the Harry Potter books knows that Neville was an awesomely sweet, devoted friend to Harry long before he kicked serious Voldemort butt in the last book, but if he wants to put on a tux and look like a bad ass, more power to him.

Take, for example, a couple of my favorite nerds:

1. Michael Moscovitz from The Princess Diaries– Michael certainly ends up with the last laugh. His hotness is compared to that of Christian Bale’s, he’s a gabillionaire (or, you know, maybe just a millionaire), and he gets the girl.  But he was hot way before all of that stuff ever happened. You guys, he created a computer program just to tell Mia how he felt about her.  And he never shied away from laying it all on the table and just saying, “Yeah, you’re the one.” And he saw that Mia was a spazz, but he was totally into her anyway.  Also, he had a thing for Star Wars (which makes him both nerdy and cool).  And he created an online magazine where he talked about computer stuff!  Holy crap, do you realize how smart he was? And the dark hair, dark eyes thing doesn’t hurt either.

2. Cricket Bell from Lola and The Boy Next Door– If anyone were ever quirky, it’s Cricket.  He sort of fumbles around because he’s shy and he’s a bit awkward with girls (because he’s s huge dork), but he’s led by this wonderfully intense passion for a few things: first, his love of science, which inspires him to create all sorts of amazing gadgets. Second, his love of his family, which takes him away often, but shows that he has the heart of someone giving. And finally, his love of Lola. And he’s pretty open about that.  He makes sure that she knows how he feels now that he’s home. I mean, as a boy he invented a working elevator for Lola’s Barbies.  They don’t get more adorable than that.

3. David from The All American Girl series- This one is simple. David is obviously smart, he cares about the world around him being that his dad is President and all, and he obviously digs Sam, his girlfriend. And he’s artistic. AND he has no idea that when Sam says she wants to play Parcheesi, she actually means that she wants to do something entirely different (which really shows Sam to be a huge dork, but that’s OK too).

So ladies, any nerds—boy or girl—who are close to your heart?