A speak out with your geek out moment

As part of something way bigger and much nobler cause than my attempt to entertain I am about to share an interesting story full of twists and unexpected turns.

I've never been called a geek. True story. Well, mostly because the word in my mother's tongue doesn't exist. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that a few of my habits wasn't frowned upon with my parents leading the way.

My father and mother had a hard time accepting that their precious little daughter refuses to grow up by constantly watching animated movies of all sorts. They were convinced that as an older sister I set a bad example for my sister, Laura. Long story short, I got my fair share of criticism.

At this point I have to admit my scale was indeed wide. I could sit and watch everything from Two stupid dogs and Powerpuff girls to The Beauty and the Beast. But as I grew older and my taste sophisticated ever so slightly I discovered Hayao Miyazaki's work and realized nothing I did till that point was in vain. I won't go into details about the brilliance of the man and his animation studio (not to mention Madhouse). That's something everyone has to see for him/herself.

My point here is that one day Laputa: Castle in the Sky was airing on TV. By that time I was already familiar with Miyazaki's film and managed (using superhuman forces) to convince my parents to give it a chance. I mean it won an Oscar, for Pete's sake. They can't deny its worth.

Unsurprisingly neither of my parents was delighted with it and by mutual agreement we changed the channel. The moral of this two-sided disappointment (parents in the film, me in them) made me realize one thing: I'm not the weirdo here. On the contrary. My folks are nice people, but they are undeniably narrow minded. And for that they are missing out on many great things.

Since that day I embrace my geekiness. Calling someone a geek can only be interpreted as a compliment, because those are the people who understand the world to its fullest.

Which, in itself, is the single most adventurous journey one can dream to accomplish.

What do you think of my conclusion? Any pros or cons?

Treasure hunt

Before I tell you the story of an interesting August afternoon, there are two things you need to know.

Firstly, my in-laws are the nicest people I've ever met (no, seriously, they are), but my brother-in-law (hereinafter: B.) is downright crazy. Imagine middle-child syndrome meeting the selfish game-addict with no sense of responsibility whatsoever and you can't be far from the truth.

Secondly, his self-destructive lifestyle amazes the hell out of me. Which is why sometimes I just follow him around. It's a lot like seeing Jack Sparrow in action, only without the yummy Depp-like looks (sorry B.).

Much like vampires B. rarely leaves the house during the day. But when he does, something big is about to happen. Last week, for instance, he found a 200 years old sword in his grandmother's house. That was the day, when he decided a treasure hunt was due.

About two centuries ago there was a huge battle near to our village. Luckily, he found a few other dreamers and with the motto "Let's tear up the place!" we went on a life-threatening quest. The funny thing is that everyone had a different goal. B wanted to find another sword. A little boy searched for World of Warcraft items. There was also a guy who kept wandering how did B. manage to convince him to tag along. And I went out for a good story.

After two hours of digging the hard soil (excluding me, I just watched) next to an ancient looking poplar B. and the boys gave up. That day I was the only one who got what I wanted. But this is not the end of the story. B. purchased a metal detector and we are going back. As soon as the rain stops, that is.

Advice corner: What to do when you're bored out of your mind and/or are under a lot of pressure (reasons may vary)?

Find a dreamer and dream together. And if it doesn't work, if you can't laugh with such people, you can still laugh at them. The latter might seem mean, but all is far in a war to stay sane.

Needless to say pretending to be a cartoon hero by digging in someone's backyard is rather adventurous.