Saturday, September 22, 2007

Sunday Scribblings - Hi, my name is...

It was about time I joined these wonderful people at Sunday Scribblings, people that write based on a single world or a single expression like this one. It's called a prompt and I love prompts, it seems.

What better way to begin this than with a prompt called "Hi, my name is", especially on a very special Sunday - the Autumn Equinox. Libra is starting and it's all about the arts.

"Hi, my name is"...and I'm an alcoholic. No, it's not true in my case. But that's how it goes, isn't it? What's in a name? And what's in a label? As we all know, labels can be dangerous and misleading and should be used carefully, only when necessary (in the case of alcoholics, it's a very good use of the label, as it is necessary to come forward and confront your problem).

But what about the names? We introduce ourselves and we say our name and what does our name tell other people? Does it mean more than saying, for instance, I like to play chess? If I told you my name would you know me any better? There are thousands of women with the same first name as me...Some names indicate social status (or be completely misleading on that point); others are so original that they indicate something about our parents (boy, you're called One Two Three of Oliveira Four [this is a real name, it happened once in Brazil, where else?]?? Man, your parents must be craa-zy!). But they rarely indicate anything real about you, except for nicknames (and are these real or simply wishful thinking?)...

So why does it matter so much when you don't know somebody's name? I remember back in primary school, when I had my first crushes on boys twice my age and I wanted to know their names, even if they didn't mean anything. And I simply couldn't find that out, I'd make up names for them, so I could mention them properly chatting with my friends. We also used to shout out random names at them and see if they looked up and we'd guess the name. lol Those were the days.

12 comments:

Preeti Shenoy said...

Sunday scribblings sounds good!I think a name tells a lot about your parents not about you!!(Unless you are one of those who have chosen their own names and then gone on to change it by a gazette notification,after becoming an adult)
Laughed when i read the last para.That was really cute.

Crafty Green Poet said...

My partner and I make up names for people whose names we don't know! Have we not grown up yet?

I enjoyed your post, yes, what exactly is in a name?

Anonymous said...

I forget names! I remember faces thoug. It is so embarrassing at times!

Jonice said...

Yes! What is in a name? A rose by other name would smell as sweet... said Romeo to Juliet.
That part of shouting out random names so as to guess the boys' names is hilarious :)
Thank you for visiting my blog. By the way, I think yours is so cool!
Beijinhos

Anonymous said...

oh, I'm terrible with names--as in: not asking them. I play little games in my mind when at parties with strangers, I like talking and talking and seeing how long we can go without doing it. Most people indulge me, LOL!

Devil Mood said...

PS: It's similar to one you joined recently. I may do both, I don't know yet. Some people do that, perhaps they attach more to names than we're aware of.

Crafty Poet: Oh I do that too because it's so much easier to refer to people. lol It's fun.

Gautami Tripathy: Perhaps we should all have our names tatooed in our foreheads, huh?

Jonice: Well said, that's it precisely :) Thank you for your visit. Hope you come back soon!

Chrispito: That goes to show how unimportant they really are, right? :)

Niall young said...

We do so want to pidgeonhole people ..pin them down and put them in a box (this happens eventually one day when you die)..but until then...avoid any box...what does it matter if I'm a Fred, a Barney, a Jose,? ...although I think i'll avoid anyone called Satan the bringer of eternal damnation!

delhidreams said...

SS sounds good, and the first prompt, i do think i can attempt it :)

lemme chew my own thoughts a bit...

delhidreams said...

and well, my name is 'alok' and in Hindi it means 'the light'. and my love is called 'deepti' which is the feminine noun for again, 'the light'.

and i've always believed that the light of love is all i've to spread around. whether it has something to with my name or not, don't know :)

Tumblewords: said...

Oh, how true. I laughed when you were making up names and shouting them out to see who answered. Gotta love that! Nice post!

dharmabum said...

i don't know, but i like your name - its really...stylish :)

Devil Mood said...

Niall: well, my name is DEVIL mood, ring any bells? haha

Adi: Oh, that was nice, those are beautiful names. :)

Tumblewords: Oh thanks! I'm really glad I made you laugh.

Dharmabum: Ooh, thank you, mister. Yours is quite nice too and ..extravagant ;)