A nerd or a geek?

I have a funny story about raising Andrew to be like his parents. Not cool. Not stylish. Not ever going to be part of "society" if that means elegant dinner parties and designer duds. I thought this as I was watching Andrew and Jeff dance to Ja Rule last night. Yes, that's right, Ja Rule. Andrew really loves one of the songs on that CD, and thank goodness I don't think they even drop the f-bomb in it. (amazing!). Anyway, in a fit of boredom about 6 pm, we decided to bust a move. And Andrew showed off his amazing dance skills. He asked Jeff to do the "shopping cart" dance.

That's right. We've taught our son how to do the "shopping cart". We've tried the "sprinkler", but I don't think Andrew knows what a sprinkler is. And "fishing" just hasn't caught on. Neither has "the lawn mower". But "shopping cart" is a huge hit. I was laughing so hard, my cheeks hurt, as I watched my son pretend to push and fill a shopping cart to the beat of Ja Rule. Jeff was encouraged by my giggling, and proceeded to do his "trout" dance. If only I knew how to put video clips on this stinking blog. Seriously, I thought I was going to have an aneurysm(try spelling that without spell check).

Anyhoo, I was contemplating starting this entry with a definition of "nerd", to prove the point that we are grooming our son to be the next generation of nerds. Until I looked it up. Then I was quite insulted that people have referred to me as a nerd. That I have referred to myself as a nerd.

nerd, (n), : an unpleasant, unattractive, or insignificant person

Ouch. Insignificant? Unpleasant? So, refusing to abandon what I thought was a really clever way to start a blog, I looked up the word "geek". As in, "band-geek".

geek, (n): a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake

Say WHAAAAT? I must have been on a different bus of band geeks. No alternative definitions in my dictionary for either word.

So I feel lost. What word am I searching for? How do you describe a person who doesn't need to follow trends or fads because they are confident in who they are? A person who finds intellectual factoids interesting. A person willing to not drink a beer or smoke a cigarette when the "popular" kids do, or who finds the joy in dancing even though they don't know how to do it "properly"? What is that kind of person called? I always thought it was "nerd" or "geek". I was proved wrong this morning.

Hmmmm, whatever it is, that's what I hope we are grooming Andrew to be. Shopping cart dance and all!