The Life and Times of Blerds in the Workplace – Part II: Customizing Your Desk

This is the second in our three-part series The Life and Times of Blerds in the Workplace. You can back up to read Part I: What Kind of Blerd Are You at Work? Or read ahead to Part III: Being an Open Blerd.

As Jordan alluded to, navigating your professional day job is tricky enough if you are a Person of Color, let alone if you geek hard in the paint. So let’s say you just got that new gig. Upgraded the tax bracket. Health benefits on fleek. Now you got your own professional desk with a laminate finish and working drawer with handles and shit. You gotta customize this thing like Fast and Furious and make a 10 second car out of this bastard right away, right? Naw, b. Pump your metaphorical breaks. I believe in being Black and unapologetic, but I also believe in 90/10 dental coverage and having disposable income to buy special editions of video game releases with the DLC included. So let’s do the math on outfitting your desk or cubicle without getting to know HR on a first name basis before your 90 days hits.

I noticed you noticing my Daenerys POP doll. Now, back to the agenda, please.

[icon_check] You should: Outfit your desk with popular sci-fi and fantasy images, as those are easily relatable. You learn a lot about a person by how they respond to a Gandolf – “You Shall Not Pass” 5 x 7 color print you got pinned to the corkboard hanging over your workspace. The nerd shaming is low on that end because they didn’t make a trillion dollars for Lord of the Rings off just dudes …