This is kind of personal, but what the hell, I’ll share it.

I’ve been feeling a little down lately, even though it’s not normally in my nature to feel that way for more than fifteen minutes in a row. I’ve been thinking that maybe I don’t fit really well with some of my old friends any longer. I don’t play Dungeons and Dragons anymore, so maybe I’m not enough of a geek for my gamer friends. On the other hand, when I saw the Lord of the Rings trailer on Saturday, I had a hissy, much to the despair (and disapproval) of a girlie friend sitting next to me, which made me think I’m too much of a geek for the hairspray-and-heels crowd.

Yesterday afternoon, I was thinking about how things would be easier if I were just really completely interested in makeup, OR completely embraced my inner geek and threw myself into live-action role playing or my comic book collection. But of course, I can’t just make myself live into a stereotype, because I just don’t.

However, I used to think being an academic generalist (degrees in filmmaking, psychology and genetics) might eventually cause me professional grief, but it’s always been an advantage. You pull out the card you need when you need it. I want to believe that being a generalist in terms of personality (isn’t that called a schizo?) might be similarly valuable.

Last night, Bill (a girl) and I (also a girl) were drunkenly trying to explain to two poor guys in a diner the new “Greedo shoots first” scene in Star Wars. Paul did not run away screaming when we drew comparisons between him and a hobbit. This is why Bill and Paul rock.

Who knows. Maybe when you don’t live into a stereotype, it’s harder to find kindred spirits, but that much more rewarding when you do.