My name is Candace Nicholson, and I’m a nerd.
Seriously, I’ve never been afraid to call myself a nerd. I’ve worn that label with pride for 36 years. It’s funny to me how some older people feel like I’m bashing myself when I say it. All I can think is: “Don’t you know?! It’s the Age of the Geek, baby.”
I never sat at the cool table in the cafeteria. Since I knew early on that I would never fit in with the cool kids, I didn’t bother to try. Even my family treats me like I’m a freak of nature, so I figure as long as I’m happy with the person I see in the mirror, I’ll continue to do me.
I’m the resident egghead of my family. During high school, I excelled in academics, managed the literary magazine, played violin in the orchestra, and participated in every theater production our school put on that didn’t interfere with my part-time afterschool job. Where was that job, you ask? The local library. :-D
More proof of my lack of coolness (even compared to other nerds):
· I attended my first sci-fi convention during 8thgrade. Marina Sirtis was the headliner. She was awesome!
· Even though I dance all the time and love martial arts, I’m terrible at any sport involving catching, throwing, hitting, pitching or kicking a ball.
· I wrote my first and only fan letter to Russell Johnson, the professor from Gilligan’s Island … when I was 21 years old.
· I went to a Dan Fogelberg concert with my mom and her coworker when I was 16.
· I had a He-Man comforter on my bed between the ages of 9 and 12.
· I’ve seen 35 of the 43 movies Fred Astaire has appeared in.
· I wrote a blog post detailing why Ugly Betty’s Henry Grubstick was my perfect type of guy.
· I have an alarming number of Korean action films in my Netflix queue.
· Although I love R&B the most, I fell in love with Country music during the ‘90s. I’ve seen Charlie Daniels, Darius Rucker, Alison Krauss and Garth Brooks in concert.
Today, I’m a proofreader for an ad agency by day, and a freelance writer by night. My hope is to one day support my geeky obsessions with my writing alone. In many ways, I feel as if I have a bohemian spirit and I’ll never be happy if I don’t spend my life exploring everything that sparks my curiosity. I’ve lived in Los Angeles, Indianapolis, London, Allentown, PA, and Frankfort, KY. Within the next year, I hope to relocate again either to Chicago or Washington DC.
I’d love to write a book on my experiences as a Piscean perfectionist (hint: the two do not mix well). And in my “other” life, I’m a combination of Gina Torres in Firefly/Serenity + Helen Mirren in Red/Red 2. I’m pretty badass.
Feel free to connect with me:
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/incandescere
Email: Candace@incandescere.com
