Valentine’s Day, Nerd Style!
I’m continuing the semi-off-topic posts for just one more. I’ll be back to normal after this, I promise.
Valentine’s Day is the quintessential “Hallmark holiday“. But Hallmark has done a great job: our “significant others” continue to expect something for Valentine’s Day, even though they acknowledge that it’s a made-up holiday.
When I was dating my wife in college, I had a great combination of free time and resources. I worked in what was called the Educational Technology Center (ETC). That means I had a near unlimited supply of “arts and crafts” stuff, computer labs with Corel Draw and Photoshop, audio and video editing equipment, and lots more. It was fantastic. My time at the ETC helped form me for the future, both in mentorship from my boss and in the well-rounded experiences it gave me that have served my career in software development well.
But I digress. This isn’t about me, it’s about my wife, Mindy.
Because of my situation, I was able to produce an inordinate amount of creative gifts for my future wife. When the real world hit, however, that creative gift giving slowed waaaaaay down. Like a screeching stop kind of slowing down. And now, having two kids that are almost 2 and 4, my creativity operates more in line with the evolutionary theory of Punctuated Equilibrium than anything else: long periods of non-creative gifts like flowers, etc. and punctuated “spikes” of creative thoughtful gifts.
This Valentine’s Day, I decided to spend some time and combine the nerd part of me with the romantic part and hit a “punk eek” spike (“punctuated equilibrium” == “punk eek” … get it? It’s how all the cool kids say it.)
Warning: don’t try this at home, kids! I’m a trained professional. Mixing different aspects of your personality can have catastrophic effects.
I don’t care who you are, when you spend the large portion of your day with two small children and have limited contact with other adults, it can drive you crazy if you’re not careful. Heck it can drive you crazy even if you are careful! For that reason, I work hard to give Mindy a break from the kids when I get home, and throughout the evening, while balancing time for her, and time all together.
So, playing off that, I created a 7th grade science fair project depicting an experiment where I hold constant everything except “my actions when I arrive home from work”, and I measure Mindy’s response.
(Click the image for the big version – I’m thought the “Procedure” part is funny, which you can read in the large image.)
My hypothesis is that if I help with the kids when I get home from work, Mindy will be happier than if I sit on the couch, or check my email. Turns out my hypothesis was correct. (Shocking!)
Now that I’ve wasted your time, reader, this entire post is to say that I love you, Mindy. Even on a made-up holiday that’s been invented by the corpor…. whatever. You’re amazing, and I love you!
How about you, reader? What have you done that’s creative? Have you successfully combined geeky/nerdy and creative/cool? How do you show your significant other they’re special?
February 15th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I showed my creative geeky side this Valentine’s Day and surprised nearly everyone. We generally don’t do much for Valentine’s Day because it’s just two weeks after my birthday. (It’s difficult to think about what gifts to get for your husband on your birthday. It’s also difficult to come up with a birthday gift and Valentine’s Day gift at once as a husband.) Anyway, I wanted to change my behavior this year and do something nice for him, so I made a concerted effort to find something he would actually like and use this year.
My first strategy was to go to popular websites like Amazon.com to find things in the Valentine’s Day category or For Him category, but nothing seemed quite right for a stay-at-home dad. Getting desperate, I found a list of what NOT to get for your spouse and took a gander at that. First came a list of what not to get for a man. These rules include anything that requires care (pets and flowers). I noted these items and moved on to the list of what not to get for a woman. I thought, “surely I could find something a man likes on this list.” And sure enough, I was right. Near the bottom of the list I found it: “Do not get her that movie you’ve been wanting. She’ll know it’s really for you, and you won’t get to enjoy it.” I quickly remembered that he didn’t get the Season 1, Volume 2 set of Heman cartoons that he wanted for Christmas.
I quickly headed over to trusty Amazon.com to find that much-wanted gift and ordered it. I made the mistake of having this item sent directly home instead of routing it through the office so that he has no idea it’s coming. He was so excited about the package that he opened it up two days before Valentine’s Day and put it directly into the DVD cabinet. When I got home and asked about my package, he smiled and told me he got his present. We spent that night watching the much-loved Heman together. Boy, are we geeks or what?
February 15th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Good ideas Rachel, thanks!
January 29th, 2009 at 3:25 am
[...] If your picture editting skill is not as good as the people above, why not consider hand made your own Valentine’s Day poster? [...]
February 14th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Can I just tell you, I was searching online for a picture of a nerdy valentine’s, my fiance and I are uber geeks. I came across your picture and it is seriously by far the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I’d be shocked to know that your wife wasn’t crazy flattered. Have a good one this year and keep up the sweet surprises, chicks love that. : )
February 14th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Thanks Christin! She did like it (though she’s not the geek I am)
This year I didn’t get so crazy… I’m just spending my weekend getting her music ripped to MP3, making the home movie DVD’s I’ve promised for a while, etc. But she’s also gone this weekend, so I have the time.
February 28th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
[...] is a great science project-inspired Valentine’s Day card from one geeky-yet-considerate husband with a sense of humor to his overworked wife. Click on the [...]