#378 Nicknames

Almost everybody I know has a nickname, either something short for their given name, or something inventive.  I want one!  I want a nickname.  I feel left out.  Unloved.  Unappreciated.  Sob.

As a toddler, I was "The Duchess", and my younger brother was "Duke".  His stuck.  He's in his middle 50s now, and his driver's license even says "Duke".  "Duchess" didn't stick to me.  In college, I was "Mom" (and there's a story as to how I got that name), but except for pet names like "Hey you", I haven't had one since.   Even Jay always referred to me and addressed me by my name.  By the way, "Jay" is a nickname.  His real name was Frederick John.

My real given first name is a double name (which I'm not going to tell here), but it's something like Sue Ann, where the first half could itself be short for something, like, in Sue's case, short for Susan or Susanna.  People who call me by only the first half of my first name think it's short for ... a longer name, which happens to be similar to my complete first name, in the same way that Susanna is similar to Sue Ann.  But it isn't.  The first half of my first name isn't short for anything.  It's just short.  (Does that make sense?)

An old friend, a long time ago, suggested "Peke" as a nickname for me, because I do look a bit like a Pekinese.  I tried to resurrect it a few years ago, but it didn't stick, probably because it's hard to say, and, actually, I don't much like it.

I've been using "Silk" as a signature in this journal because back when the entries had no signature at all, strangers who read only alerts or individual entries, and never read the "About Me", saw only the "written by jaykolb" at the bottom.  My ramblings tend to be very feminine and "jaykolb" obviously confused some people.  I was getting some very strange comments and emails, several containing amusing offers from some very confused but interested people, both male and female.

So I wanted a name that I could use to sign entries that would be ultra feminine to clue in readers, and would have meaning to me, but would not be too limiting or defining.  The labels that I put in my needlework and sewing projects say  "Made by SilkenDrum", so Silk seemed natural. 

I have grown to like it.  A lot.

I wouldn't mind if everyone called me Silk all the time.  I have gotten so attached to it that when the very few people who do use it call me Silk, I respond automatically.  So I'm ready! 

Are you allowed to choose your own nickname, or does it have to be assigned by others?  New acquaintances seem to pick up "...but you can call me Silk" easily.  Can I convert the rest of my world?  How?

~~Silk