I have had several nicknames over the years, for various lengths of time amongst various audiences, and for various reasons. Among the ones I remember:
Einstein: This is the most common one, and it crops up periodically and regularly with different people at different times. As you might suspect, ordinarily it refers to my intellectual capacity, my affinity for math, and my anti-social behavior. Sometimes, it also refers to the fact that there are some simple things I simply cannot do or do very well, and of which I am absolutely clueless. Albert was famous for not being able for example to tie his own shoes. As he once said, "The things I know are not very useful in the real world" and like him I frequently find that I know more about what should be than what is.
Baby Man: My father gave us all nicknames along this line of thought when we were younger. It's been years since he brought them up, but all three of us sons had some variation on the theme that we were not yet real men. Other than that, I don't remember how exactly or if there was a specific reason for mine unless it was because it was the first thing that came to mind, I being the eldest son. One of us was Baby Man, One was Tiny Man, and the third one escapes me at the moment.
Ford: I picked this one up when I went to college. When I bought books my first semester, the bookstore had the complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series on sale at a great price (I think the complete set, bound together as one hardcover cost me $12). It's how I met people when I was in college. They would see me reading it and come up to me. This is one of the only nicknames that is still in use today, and some people actually call me Ford even though it's not my real name.
Fergi: This one comes from my old screennames. No, it has nothing to do with the female singer, who came along years after I started using it. I used this as a login or user ID in many things to which I felt disinclined to provide my actual forname, and there are people who think this is my name. It makes it easy to screen spam and solicitors because they call and ask for Fergi or Fergus, and there is nobody in my household by that name.
There are a few others. They are for a unique handful of individuals or are things with which I was not in agreement, and so I have never responded to or used them in reference to myself.
Einstein: This is the most common one, and it crops up periodically and regularly with different people at different times. As you might suspect, ordinarily it refers to my intellectual capacity, my affinity for math, and my anti-social behavior. Sometimes, it also refers to the fact that there are some simple things I simply cannot do or do very well, and of which I am absolutely clueless. Albert was famous for not being able for example to tie his own shoes. As he once said, "The things I know are not very useful in the real world" and like him I frequently find that I know more about what should be than what is.
Baby Man: My father gave us all nicknames along this line of thought when we were younger. It's been years since he brought them up, but all three of us sons had some variation on the theme that we were not yet real men. Other than that, I don't remember how exactly or if there was a specific reason for mine unless it was because it was the first thing that came to mind, I being the eldest son. One of us was Baby Man, One was Tiny Man, and the third one escapes me at the moment.
Ford: I picked this one up when I went to college. When I bought books my first semester, the bookstore had the complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series on sale at a great price (I think the complete set, bound together as one hardcover cost me $12). It's how I met people when I was in college. They would see me reading it and come up to me. This is one of the only nicknames that is still in use today, and some people actually call me Ford even though it's not my real name.
Fergi: This one comes from my old screennames. No, it has nothing to do with the female singer, who came along years after I started using it. I used this as a login or user ID in many things to which I felt disinclined to provide my actual forname, and there are people who think this is my name. It makes it easy to screen spam and solicitors because they call and ask for Fergi or Fergus, and there is nobody in my household by that name.
There are a few others. They are for a unique handful of individuals or are things with which I was not in agreement, and so I have never responded to or used them in reference to myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment