the name game

"what's in a name ?" asked that guy who wrote that movie starring LEO!. I believe there was some stuff after that too (something about a rose), but alas my Cliff Notes memory can't seem to unearth what that might be. Our name is our official label, something to be used by parents, teachers and customs officials alike. Not the most personalized feature for most of us, unless you have the unfortunate fortune of being named ESPN or some other idea that even a strung-out Bobby Brown would find ludicrious.

This is were nicknames come in. Whoever invented the concept was a true genius, a real mensch. Think about it, it probably goes back to some caveman, hanging out with his crew around a campfire, having a hard time pronouncing his buddy Harghjrusnf's name and proclaming "dude eff that, from now on I'm calling you Har". Thanks to that guy, we now have to deal with even more things to stuff in our incredibly-packed braincells. And that's not even counting the various "internet names" (rockchick84, pizzaisgood72...) that are now a part of our various identities, physical or virtual.

Nicknames are mostly a good thing. Even if it might sound a bit mean, like say, booger, it's something used by people out of love and affection. Sure, dictators have them too, but even for them it makes them sound better than their regular name. I mean, the Butcher of Baghdad isn't too cuddly, but it does sound pretty badass. So nicknames, generally a good thing.

Personally I never had too many of them. I've got a pretty organic one (matt, short for the longer version of matt) that has taken hold since living in the US, and a more recent one (lematt, you know, like Le Royal Cheese). But one thing that I've realized is that who uses that nickname is something I pay attention to. For some reason it sort of makes me feel weird when someone I don't consider a friend (or part of family) uses it. Sure, I don't mention it when it happens, but I've noticed that it kind of cools the familiarization process, as if it were too soon (?), as if they didn't have the right to do so. Which is completely and utterly stupid, I know, but apparently that's how my mind works. What makes it even more odd is that matt is pretty much my handle online, in one form or another. So I don't care if some stranger writing from Des Moines, Iowa calls me Matt, but if it's simply a real-world acquaintance, someone I don't have too much in common with and do not consider myself friends with I'll make a mental note of it. Granted this doesn't happen very often, since I tend to hang out with friends mostly, and become friends with theirs, but there's been a small number of occasions that have made me wonder about this phenomenon.

In a way I would sort of like to not care at all when it happens, because I'm generally very laid-back about most things in life. Actually i've been accused of being too laid-back at times, and definitely never of being too tense/stressed. But overall I don't really care about being that way. Each person's brain works in peculiar ways, and if this is the worst mine can come up with, I'll take it. Plus being called lematt by some random acquaintance sure beats being called the butcher of baghdad by pretty much the entire world.