OMG, I have one right on the shelf in my cubicle at work… but then again I am 22 and never once finished or seriously tried to finish the cube. I often found that fact almost shameful. but good, at least i am nerd, not a geek! (degree in engineering, got glasses, read a ton of books, own a modded sportswagon, ex-editor at school paper, job in engineering, a condo decorated/littered with unbuilt kits… but a girlfriend and a good circle of friends in liberal arts majors plus the gym hours balance them all out. see models will only be that little minute factor that makes me a true nerd!)
Dude, it’s all a matter or perspective. Professional athletes are paid millions of dollars to play children’s games, and it’s perfectly acceptable to most of society. How is that any different than what we do?
I’ll do you all one better – in addition to my love of models, I collect Lego sets. Talk about getting some weird looks at the store . . . . I just figure, if they got a problem with it, screw 'em. I figure you should be able to do whatever makes you happy, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.
-Jonathan
wow… a lively bunch here! first, I build models and I love it! My coworkers love it because whether or not they at first thought it quaint, geekish or whatever… I now supply their childrens’ bedroom ceilings with authentic replicas of WWII aircraft and beyond! So they love it! Some were even quite surprised when they saw what my models looked like. “I thought you built things like my little brother did when he was a kid” was one response… I thought it a horror when I realized I was running out of room at the house for models… now it is nice because I have people asking me if I am doing any models soon as their son/daughter were asking about it… I even found one guy who snickered when I was talking about models once, finally fess up and tell me before he got married he was big into car models and was getting good at doing flames with his airbrush…
- As far as IT being geeks or nerds… I challenge that! Let them call me that the next time the switches at their location go down and I have to fix it… let them tell me that the next time the server abends and I am the only one who can find a cure for it! And lo and behold you KNOW my response if they ask me a question about their home PC!!! (::blank look:: you want me to WHAT?? I’m sorry you’ll have to take it to Best Buy… I don’t do work after hours) edit and if they still insist on calling me a geek I will throw my rubiks cube at them!!! [swg]
And as far as smokinggun3… how close are you to Phoenix? that is becoming a miniature Silicon Valley, as is Salt Lake and Provo, Utah… rent is cheap for them, and so is the non skilled labor! you need to go post a resume on www.monster.com and let some people see it! Don’t wait for the college job placement people. www.computerjobs.com is good too… go online and find as many places to post a resume as possible… even back when I was not as marketable, I got a lot of calls just by posting a resume everywhere I could… someone will give you a break. Certifications help… even the www.brainbench.com ones… I almost got hired for a NT support job once just because I had a brainbench cert for it even though I didnt have the Microsoft ones (declined it as it was in the middle of downtown and I was new to the area)… if you haven’t already, learn some Linux… it is becoming a big thing in the field to find someone who knows Linux as well as the big-name NOS’s… and good luck!! don’t act nervous in an interview and talk like you know what you are talking about! (it helps to know what you are talking about as well but if not, sometimes the people who are interviewing you won’t know a lot about it either) Also… biggest thing… look for an IT placement agency… it’s contract work and not steady but some even provide you with funding for certification tests! And in the meantime you have experience on a resume…
And the biggest… don’t be proud… if you have to get a job at Best Buy just to make money and get experience do it… I am on the hiring team at work and even that is experience, if we see a huge gap we question it… but if we see they were even working in the field it is USUALLY acceptable! I started out at my current job as a general PC tech… 6 years and several certifications later I am a Network Engineer making an easy 20k more than I started at…
Good post!
Ever since I was a kid I had an apprehension of telling people what I do in my spare time. I did get picked at by school mates and my father.
But to H*ll with them all! [}:)]
The coolest thing about these boards is there are people from all walks of life that share the same interests…after a long week or even a rough day it is nice to escape for a while in here…Thanks!
You know I wouldn’t consider modelers Geeks or Nerds. We are all a little “eccentric” but then again it is a requirement since we are all “artists” by avocation. Our craft needs a certain amount of skill to be good at it. This skill requires that we think “out of the box” (with all due respect to the OOB builders out there… 
) Anyway, we are still a long way from becoming Van Goghs and shunning the world… that, in my opinion is the definition of Nerd and Geek - social outcasts. I’ve known a lot of modelers and the term “social outcast” never came to mind. We are a bunch of happy-go-lucky, foot-loose people who enjoy expressing our feelings through our craft. That is not being Geeky.
John
i think we are the coolest persons on earth
We are most certainly not nerds or geeks! I tell all my workmates about my hobby and show them what I build too. Some have even asked me to build for them. I’ve never come across an adverse reaction from others when asked what my hobby is. If someone looks down on you because you enjoy model making they are the one with the problem-not you.
I never have seen the correllation between a modeler and a nerd/geek. Sure we had some in the club who never ventured out of their bedroom in daylight, never bathed, lived on Dorrito’s and Mt.Dew, and built nothing but vinyl models of dark lords and women with over-sized busts. Then again, they also lived in a comic book world and were more than geeky, for instead of a pocket protector, they would wear a shrunken head around their neck and carried a sword, they were just weird. The rest of us were MVP footbal players, members in rock bands, fighter pilots and KC135 tanker crew members, motorcycle and stockcar racers, politicians, nurses, bartenders, construction workers, and engineers.
Now I do get the quizitive looks when people come to my house and see my models and my dungeon that is my workshop, but more out of interest and respect than a sense of “boy, he’s in a far off world”. I guess I do not show as compulsive/obsessive attitude that sterotypes the personna of geek/nerd. Maybe I am a closet case?
I also do RC planes and rockets, the later, no thanks to all the old Estes adds and Model Rocketry showing kids with BC glasses and pocket protectors, will never erase the image of rocketeer = geek.
Scott
A serious reply this time [:D]
It rarely comes up in conversation at work - but I don’t go out of my way to hide it. There’s a couple other builders at work (since we all fly, aircraft is the main subject - one dude even has a few on his desk, but over in my office there’s too many imprompto nerf football attacks for me to do the same!). I also have my “better” completed projects on the large bookcase in my living room, so anyone who comes over to my house sees it and most are at least intrigued if not necesarily "wow"ed…
I guess that way they see the results first, so there’s none of the comments like the one mentioned above about “I thought you meant like what my little brother did when we were kids.” They instead see something with a modicum of craftsmanship and that took a bit of effort.
And when all else fails, the Harley in the garage counterbalances most thoughts of geekdom [8D]
Man iam about 60 miles out thats like 120 miles round trip the closest town to me is supirior az about 15 miles away and thats like a gost town and then there apache juction not much there either ive used temp agencys tech agencys they tell me there isnt any openings right now but they would keep me posted, as for unix/linux not my stronge suit as same thing goes for novell,netware iam better at windows OS’s i even have the CCNA book that came with router sim. As of right now iam just trying to get my foot in the door so to speak.
I probably shouldn’t admit this on a modeling site, but we have diecast items inside our entertainment center in the living room. I think there’s at least one NASCAR car (that’s my wife’s) and the next shelf is an F-16 and a bunch of little tanks (for my boys [;)]). Anyways, I was thinking about them while reading Kolja’s post and wonder if there’s a double standard when it comes to what people think of diecast vs. modeling? Do you think people think differently of someone who collects and is interested in diecast vs. someone who collects and builds models?
Nah, that just makes you a Heavy Geek! [:D]
I submit that might be true of people who just “hear” about someone who builds models without actually seeing it. I think LOTS of folks who don’t see the level of work that can be accomplished in our hobby really do equate it to what their kid brother did way back when.
While there are stories of people who are stubborn in their prejudices, the vast majority of stories I’ve heard is that when folks actually SEE what the hobby can produce, they come around to at least respect it if not embrace it[:)]
yeah that’s the reaction they gave once they DID see what I build… and same response… I have more requests than time right now. From my sister in law wanting to build a ‘boy’s treatment room’ to complement the girls one at her pediatric dental practice to people at work… I need to save one of my better ones for my office… that’s where I heard that comment…
That’s what I’m sayin’!
My Harley
Wow!!
I hadn’t checked in for a few days and was impressed with the discussion. Thanks for all the replys and input.
I think I’ll strip off my clothes and run around the neighborhood naked yelling “I like to model, I like to model!!”…anybody getting a visual on that!!
On second thought, it’s kinda cold out right now and there might be an issue with “shrinkage”.
Time to get back to work…I got one kid out of the house and my modelling is moving from a cramped corner into the vacated room!
benchman
benchman The mental picture ill be scared the rest of my adult life LOL.My problem is i cant seem to get any sleep and when i do all i dream about is models and dont mean the bodashish blonde kind,is that a bad thing dreaming about models? Well if i cant buy it i can atleast dream about it.
Strangely enough, some of the ideas for my current project have in fact come in my sleep. I confess - THAT part has me worried about myself a bit![:O]
My wife is happy that I have a hobby that I can ‘crawl’ into. My friends and relatives are fine with it. I do have some friends that look at me funny when I tell them what my hobby is. It’s my prerogative, if they don’t like it, it’s ok by me. I LOVE THIS HOBBY!!!
Well-I don’t give the south end of a rat for what people think of my hobby. One time I brought 2 1/72 airplanes to work as props for a one page featurette on diversions (in a golfcourse management magazine of all things) people were so impressed. I think most just don’t understand how serious this hobby is until they see the end results.