Lan parties were basically the highlight of my highschool career. I learned how to set up and configure complex networks just so I could be 'that guy' that knew how to fix problems at lan parties. Sitting in someone's garage all night with 12-16 sweaty, sleep deprived people playing Counterstrike or Unreal Tournament or Worms Armageddon was the absolute pinnacle of good times in a rural small town.
A bunch of people in the same room beating Serious Sam from start to finish while someone played an eclectic playlist of hiphop on the aux for over 24 hours. Those were the halcyon days.
I did computer repair for quite a few years after high school, then worked in IT at a game company, and currently work in the software testing industry, so... yes! Hah