FAQ

That would be me! My name is Aleida Samallo and I’m a Gamer, Geek & Digital Hermit from The Netherlands. I live together with my significant other, Ricardo, and our cat in one of the quiet northern provinces of The Netherlands.  I love awesome movies, binge-worthy shows, delicious tunes & epic videogames.

After finishing High School I studied Japanese Language & Culture at Leiden University. I also followed classes from the International Business & Management minor. After being a board member of the student association for a year, I decided to shift majors. I started studying Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam. Even though I finished writing my bachelor thesis on Online Videogames, I ultimately dropped out due to family circumstances. I officially launched NERDSHOCK HQ the following year.

I’ve always loved sharing thoughts via my own blog. I’ve run various websites for 20+ years with pour-soi.net (2005 – 2008) and elocutio.nu (2008 – 2013) being my most active ones before I moved to nerdshock.com (2013). I no longer use my blog as an online diary, but also have not fully abandoned sharing my personal thoughts in my work. NERDSHOCK HQ might not have become the lifestyle blog I intended when I first launched it, but I love it’s back online and it’s powered by a personal spark.

For the last couple of years I’ve been focusing on healing, dealing with chronic ilness, taking medication daily with periodic infusions, and preparing for a possible takedown of my stoma or Barbie Butt surgery. I hope to get a better prognosis in the Fall of 2025. I would love to rejoin the workforce in 2026, but it really depends on which surgery I will need to undergo and how long the recovery will be.

All costs related to running NERDSHOCK HQ are paid out of pocket. It is not part of a blogging network or owned by a publishing company. Without the pressure of an overlord or being a perfect match for monetization, I’m free to express my opinion and not be influenced by a third party.

At this time I’m able to run NERDSHOCK HQ by myself. I’m currently not in the position to hire additional help or pay for additional services.

At this time batch recording video’s and uploading them on a regular schedule better matches my schedule. I also quite enjoy being able to plan and edit my video’s before uploading them. In the future I would love to get a dual PC setup so I can livestream somewhat more comfortably.

I’m currently only active on Bluesky, Pinterest, X and YouTube. You can find links to the official social media profiles in the footer of this website. Please don’t worry about missing out on updates if you’re not active on social media. You can always catch all updates here at NERDSHOCK HQ!

Thank you for asking! If you’re enjoying my work, please consider sharing a post, video or link to NERDSHOCK HQ with your friends & family members! You can also buy me a coffee via Ko-fi.com/nerdshock . Tips will be used to keep the NERDSHOCK HQ website up and running.