Which one has power over me?

December 10, 2001

People give me exasperated looks at the cafe when I have no clue how to spell their name. And I'm not talking about names like Heather, June, Jeff, or Roger.

I find it funny 'cause I want to tell them that no one can spell my first name either. They get close, but you might as well play scrabble with the vowels. I don't mind. I don't really care.

I tell people that my parents named me after a Massachusetts weatherman, but I really don't know if that's true. (My folks are a little unreliable about remembering these sorts of details. I'll give another example below.)

Evidently it means "little hill" in Spanish. Some people who speak Spanish tell me that they've heard that fact. Other people who speak Spanish tell me that it's complete bullshit.

Then I have my Chinese name, which only has two syllables, where normally there should be three. So I feel a little short-changed.

Again, I asked my father what my Chinese name meant, and he told me something like "Weeping Willow." I don't think he was making a joke, even though I tend to be kinda moody and glum.

When I finally learned how to read a Chinese to English dictionary (simplified Communist version, though), I found out my name meant "Inspired." I like that definition better, although my father was truly surprised.

And the final confusion is my fault. I choose to translate "little hill" into Chinese (but with , so I could have a three-part name, and now I use it on-line.

Then I found out a couple months ago that I mis-spelled the translation.