Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I love my geek

    For this post I wanted to get the definition of geek, but I don't think I like the dictionary.com version.    Geek
1. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
2. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

The one at Urban Dictionary is a little better.
Geek
1. The people you pick on in high school and wind up working for as an adult
2. Not to be confused with Nerd. A geek does not have to be smart, a Geek is someone who is generally not athletic, and enjoys Video Games; Comic Books; being on the internet, and etc.
3. The term geek now enjoys a special status within the technical community, particularly among particularly knowledgeable computer programmers. To identify oneself as a "geek" indicates a recognition that most people still consider programming computers to be a bizarre act, along with a certain fierce satisfaction in being very good at their inglorious profession.
That most software geeks now easily earn twice as much as the average laborer just sweetens their defiant embrace of the term.
Note: Unlike the word "nerd," which is always pejorative, "geek" often carries a positive connotation when used by one of the group. The use of the term by outsiders is considered insulting.

The blue highlighted bits are what fits for my husband and the red, well that's all me. So being the proud and crafty geek that I am I decided to show it off.


I took this shirt I've had for years, it never gets worn. There isn't a lot of call for long sleeves in Georgia. I love the way it fits though, and it's beyond comfy. It actually struck me as very 80's, I threw it on my all-purpose duct tape dress form to see what I could come up with. I measured 5 inches from the shoulder and then cut off the sleeves. The I sat down and played with all the fonts I've collected and tried to find one that was suitably geek-y enough for what I had in mind.
I went with courier, it new, easy, tech-y looking and husband approved. after measuring the front of my shirt about three times, I figured out what size I needed to print my phrase out and managed to fit it onto a standard piece of printer paper. Which knowing my luck (they don't call me Jinxy for nothing) is just flat out amazing. I taped down my original, and then taped a piece of freezer paper on top of that, shiny side down and very carefully cut out my letters with an xacto knife. Saving the inside of the e's and the g.
I ironed the paper down to my shirt and started painting. I am pretty sure that I have about 5 or 6 coats on this. The black stripes are still visible through the yellow, but I think that getting enough paint to cover the black may have been impossible. Well,...maybe not impossible but I'm pretty sure that if I took a breath with that much paint on the front it would crack.  After letting the fabric paint dry overnight, I just pealed off the freezer paper (well picked it off very slowly and carefully) and ironed both sides and there it was for all the world to see.