Timmy feels the tug of Valentine's Day on his tiny simian heart. Let's hope that the turret feels something other than the usual murderous impulses.
Love is in the air!
There are a lot of geeks out there who are baffled and irritated by Valentine's Day and its rituals of flowers, candy, and gazing deeply into the eyes of your beloved while eating an expensive dinner at some fancy restaurant.
We can practically hear your lip curl at all the schmaltz. We understand. Those expectations can be a bit daunting and feel kind of half-hearted.
Valentine's Day doesn't have to be like that. It can be a day to remind us that love is really kind of awesome. That click that you have with another person who really gets you, or just smells really good - that's fantastic, and can be celebrated in any weird way you choose. (Even if that way is slaying chocolate zombies together.)
So, we wanted you to know that love can happen to anyone. We asked our fellow ThinkGeek Monkeys to tell us their stories of dorky, awkward lurve in an effort to remind everyone that love is rarely conventional or covered in pink hearts.
Prepare for heartwarming in 3...2...1...
Chris meets Bette: Everyone knew but them.
Bette and I met in 7th grade band. I played Alto Sax and she played Baritone. All year long, people kept telling me that she liked me. People also kept telling her that I liked her. It took me two weeks during the summer after 7th grade, but I finally got up enough nerve to ask her to a movie. We saw Gremlins 2. That night we realized everyone was right. From that summer until today (without question or pause), we've been a team. The end.
Yay for band geeks finding each other! They turned out pretty awesome.
Daria and Todd: When it really is okay to date your SysOp.
When I went off to college I had zero social skills away from a computer. I spend all of my time on BBSes (bulletin board systems - the precursor to the internet). Because girls were rare on BBSes, if a BBS had a girl on it their traffic went up. A SysOp (system operator) of a board I was on told me about her friend who wanted me to call his BBS so he would have a girl.
I called and we chatted. (Back then chatting could only be done by the person on the modem and the person on the computer running the BBS.) We got along great and decided to meet.
The next several weeks we were inseparable. Some girls on my hall asked why we weren't dating. So I asked Todd. He looked at me and said "I could never date you." I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. I went back to my dorm room and called the girl who had introduced us while crying. She said "You just have to tell him you love him." I yelled back "I can't tell him I love him." I turned around and Todd was standing in my doorway crying too. I got off the phone and he told me he was scared of losing his best friend if he told me he liked me and I didn't like him back. That was 21 years ago and we're still best friends today.
They're also married and adorable, so there's that.
Nathan: Sometimes it pays to be the guy who is good with computers.
It all started with her computer. You know, the one that booted
up straight into the blue screen of death. Somehow my roommate
found out about her computer being dead and it showed up on his
desk. I was not getting involved with it, nope, not another
computer to fix.
My roommate never managed to fix it. He was just about to pack it
up and give it back to her. She found me somewhere on campus and
told me the sad news. I gave her my condolences.
The computer was still there that afternoon when I got back to my
room, so I decided to take five minutes to look at it. Yep,
that's all it took. Five minutes. I let my roommate give her the
good news.
Then her date backed out of an upcoming group date. She asked
me to fill in, and I did. My roommate said I had to ask
her out, for that weekend, for a double date with him and his
date. I mentioned to her that we were going to a local hangout
for hot chocolate, and she could come along if she wanted. She
felt like she was inviting herself, and started to back out, so I
had to tell her that really it was okay if she came. She
maintains to this day that I never really asked her out. Oh well.
We had fun anyway. And we got married. And lived happily ever
after, or something like that, since ever after hasn't finished
yet.
Perhaps the next time a broken computer mysteriously finds its way to you, it wont be quite as frustrating? Happy thoughts, folks!
Carrie and Derek: Obscure lyrics FTW!
I've met many of my IRL friends online, and my boyfriend Derek was no exception. He messaged me on OkCupid because he recognized my obscure username as a Barenaked Ladies lyric. My only regret is that he's not named Steve.
Gotta wonder if half of their conversations consist of quoted lyrics and sly grins.
Isn't love grand? Isn't it WEIRD!?
If you're inspired to actually take part in this holiday of love and googly-eyes and don't have any idea what to give the boy down the hall in #301, check out our Geeky Valentine's Gift Guide or, if you want to be a little more subtle, print one of our free downloadable Geeky Valentine's Day cards. Maybe you too will find your band geek/sysop/music nerd! All you have to do is put yourself out there a little.
Have a happy one, folks!
We have moar stories!
Since we can't keep a good thing to ourselves, we shared this blog post on our Facebook wall. We asked you guys to share your romantic stories with us, because we needed a little extra heartwarming.
Here are some of our favorites:
Maria: Vampire Love
It was my first LARP - I was playing a Toreador in Vampire: The Masquerade, and someone told me I should go speak to the head Toreador. I tracked down the person they'd named, and when I met his eyes it was like being hit over the head with a 2x4. Took me another two and a half years to work up the courage to tell him how I felt, but it started that night. Yes, love at first sight really exists.
Andrea: The way to his heart involved hacking and slashing.
He was playing Diablo 2 at our friend's house... I wanted to learn how to play too... it's all hacking, slashing, casting spells and seven side strikes from there. <3
Sandi: Proving that reading is awesome.
When I was 14, I worked in the young adult area of our public library, He came in and read comics and sci fi books. I checked him out, and still have him. That was 33 yrs ago. Still reading together.
Matthew: Patience pays out!
It was my Freshman year at College and I was taking a a C++ Computer Science class. The first day I noticed a cute blonde girl sitting two rows back. The next class I made sure to arrive late and sat next to her. I introduced myself to her and she told me her name was Amy and she was a math major, but didn't have the first clue about programming. I offered to help her out some. :D
After a couple classes I managed to work up the nerve to ask her out to get some lunch after class. She shot me down, and said that she couldn't because she had a boyfriend. I backpedaled and said I just meant we could get some lunch as friends. So we did, and proceeded to talk on the phone, and get together for lunch until shortly after she informed me she was engaged. I congratulated her, and that was the last I heard from her for about six years. (I lost her phone number and she transferred schools.)
Six years later, one of my friends sent me an invitation to Myspace (back when it was cool) and I signed up. Less than a week later I got a message from her asking if I remembered her. We picked up where we left off getting lunch and chatting. This continued for another three years till she informed me one evening when I fixed her some dinner at my place that she was in the process of getting a divorce. That evening while we chatted on the sofa I couldn't resist any longer and leaned in and kissed her. That was four years ago, and we're currently planning our wedding. Good things come to those who wait!
Keep the stories coming, everyone! There are some hearts that are still only lukewarm!
Loot: 
