About

Not a Stereotypical Nerd

This is a blog about all sorts of different topics, whether you’re a nerd or not! Expect posts on anything from travel, technology, language learning, books/podcasts, real estate, religion, productivity, and the list goes on. Keep reading for more details…

Don’t need an intro? Jump to my latest blog posts here: https://notastereotypicalnerd.com/blog/

More about me:

I’m a nerd, but I don’t fit all the generalizations that typically go along with being a nerd. Here’s a list of my interests, in the order that I thought of them the day I created this site:

  • Travel
  • Basement Remodeling
  • Sports (more playing than watching, but interested in both)
  • Real Estate
  • Charities/Philanthropy
  • Technology (a little funny this didn’t come up sooner as it’s my profession)
  • Finance
  • Language Learning (Spanish in particular)
  • Books
  • Podcasts
  • Music
  • Religion
  • Outdoor activities (hiking, kayaking, biking, etc)
  • Mindfulness/meditation

My initial catalyst for creating this site was going on a very rewarding trip to Michigan with my amazing wife and travel companion and wanting to share some of our experiences/learnings from our trip with a friend who had told me he was visiting the same area later the same month. Throughout our trip I was thinking about what advice I would give my friend regarding what we were doing that day and found myself asking:

  • “Would I do this again?”
  • “Would I recommend it to someone else?”
  • “If I did this again, what would I have done differently?”
  • “What information would have been useful before <x> activity?”

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this information might not only be useful to my friend, but also… maybe myself as we were enjoying this trip so thoroughly, it seemed a very real possibility we would repeat the trip. Not to mention there were likely a lot of individuals out there considering visiting some of the destinations we enjoyed on our trip and could use some of our advice.

So, as I gave this idea some more thought (on the drive home from said trip), I started thinking:

  • “What am I looking to get out of this blog?”
  • “What else would I want to blog about?”
  • “Is this something I can monetize?”

I don’t yet have answers to items 1 and 3 on the above list, but I have some ideas for item 2. Taking the list from the beginning of this post and re-prioritizing based on what I think I’ll find the most energy writing about, here’s what i think this site will look like:

  • Books/Podcasts I’ve read/listened to that I found particularly interesting
  • Travel destinations I’ve visited with tips on how to get the most out of them based on my experience
  • Learning Spanish is and has been a passion of mine for some time; starting in middle school and recently getting a boost of energy after meeting my Colombian wife. So, likely some resources I’ve found helpful in that journey.
  • Technology: I’m curious to see how fulfilled this topic is in this blog as I find my interest in technology tends to falter outside of work hours despite it being my profession, but who knows, it is something I’m interested and knowledgeable in…
  • Other topics (The following are interest areas, but I felt they should be indented as I don’t know how much attention they’ll get (not really in any particular order):
    • Mindfulness
    • Human Rights
    • Real estate investments
    • Rental Property/Property Management (I own a rental property)
    • Financial Investments/Retirement Planning
      • Is blogging a legitimate passive income strategy?
    • Remodeling
      • In the early process of finishing a basement
    • Charitable giving/Philanthropy
      • What charities to give to
      • How to most effectively donate to charities
    • Religion
    • Cooking/recipes
    • Sports/Outdoor activities
      • We recently purchased a kayak, so I may post tips on local kayaking ops
      • Local hiking trails
      • Local bike trails
      • * Post Covid
        • Volleyball
        • Soccer
      • Golf

I know this is a pretty broad spectrum of topics and I fully expect that not every post will be applicable or interesting to the majority of you, but in the off chance that some of my insights are helpful to a handful of people, I will feel like I accomplished something. Don’t hesitate to reach out with comments, questions, or even topics you’d like me to look into!

Your self-prescribed non-stereotypical nerd,

Patrick