OF BEING A GEEK

Okay, so Engel didn't necessarily keep his geekiness a secret. He's a certified nerd. He often wears checkered polos. He wears eyeglasses. There are times he combs his hair one sided. And he wears leather shoes and jeans. This may actually show him more of a fashion victim than a geek, but then again that's also true.

Allow Engel to geek out this one time. He doesn't do this anymore and he misses writing about his favorite topics. Video games, tv shows and comic books. But this post is mainly about the hobby where 20% of his salary goes to. Comic books. Don't judge, there are people who're willing to be bankrupt just to buy shoes, watches and cellphones (ugh).

HISTORY
As a kid, Engel learned to read because of these colored picture books. He initially did not understand any of the series he's read as a kid, he just thought that the drawings were pretty. He started collecting X-Men (maybe because he had a hint that he'll be able to relate to the mutant's being not accepted because they are different). He was a fan of Jean Grey, Psylocke and Rogue (his excuse was they were hot, later on though it may have been because of something else). But he didn't follow the series until he reached high school.

Back then he would save his baon so he could buy Uncanny X-Men and X-Men every month. He shows his collections off to his classmates mainly because his crush then also likes reading the titles, and that was his way to be close to that certain classmate.

His initial reason for buying these titles may have been selfish, but one thing still remained. He was so engrossed in the stories and characters that he'd read. It was his escape from the frustrations brought about by Trigonometry, Chemistry, Economics and Grammar.

CHALLENGES
Collecting comic books was not an easy thing for Engel. For one, as a kid he never really learned how to save money. He'd often resort to "borrowing" his mother's cash to buy those things. Come to think of it, he actually became creative because of this. He learned to make up different excuses so he could have extra pesos for his allowance so he could buy his comics.

Tantrums were thrown whenever Engel wasn't given an extra fifty bucks. Threats of leaving home was his weapon (yeah, he was really a brat when he was younger). Just for his magazines his horns started showing. Blame youth.

Then again, X-Men became a crappy title in the late 90's (it actually kind of became too gay) so he totally lost interest in collecting comic books.

COLLEGE
Thankfully, he got alot smarter in College. So everytime he finishes a semester with at least one class with a grade of 1.5, he's given permission to increase his allowance by a hundred. So now, he could afford to purchase comics again. He gave up FHM (that was just a facade) for X-Men (which improved a little), the Marvel Ultimate Line and eventually the Avengers.

And so Engel became really addicted to comic books. His monthly purchases became weekly.

To be continued...

*************
You're probably not interested to read what'll be coming next. Comic book nerds are a niche. And Engel only knows a few bloggers who reads comic books. Even less for PLU's who do. But then again, Engel doesn't really care.