Saturday, October 31, 2009

SPARKS' REMARKS


I'm all the way over unauthorized people calling me Meg.

My husband gets to call me that. My family gets to call me that. A handful of friends get to call me that. People to whom I've written an email and signed off as "Meg" get to reply with that. But no one else gets to call me Meg. It's just too familiar. And creepy-weird.

I'm Megan. Not Meg. But how could you know any different, right?

How to solve? How to solve? Well, to solve, I have to man up and change my name. Online.

Up until this point, at the bottom of each of my posts it's read "LEFT HERE BY MEG." And if I left a comment on a blog, the screen name informed all that "meg" done said somethin'. Yes, I'm her. But not so much to y'all.

But how could you know any better?

So have to change my blogging name.
I told Whitney I was just going to change the screen name I operate under to "Megan," seein' as that's what I was given and I happen to really like my name. But she instructed me not to do so.

For, out there, she tells me, there are so many indiscernable mommy bloggers named 'Megan.'

Er, okay.

So what to call myself?

Am I "Sparkler?"

Too cute, says she, Go with 'Sparks.'
It works. It's where I live. It's what I cause from time to time. It's in the name of my blog. It's fun to say.

"Sparks" isn't all that clever, but neither is my blog's title. It's one of those things that I fell upon initally and have just become accustomed to over time; for, in the end, the blog's title suits its purpose. And for now, using "Sparks" as my handle will suit as well.
Oooh! And if what I expel are sparks, does that mean I'm flinty?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

hello. my name is ryan. i'm addicted to monosyllabicizing megan's aka sparks' ntbka meg's ntbka sparkler's christian name. it's been two days since my last offense.

that felt good.

megan, let me first thank you for not opting for sparky, for in my skewed world, clark griswold will forever hold claim to that moniker. let me second say that i suspect you captured the primary cause leading some of us to blaspheme (screen name). as such, i suspect that you MAY soon find yourself way over unauthorized people calling you sparks, for that is how newbies / occasional readers / non-readers of this post will read you identifying yourself in this, your online haven.

unless, that is, you're going to add a big warning sign at the top of the page explaining megan's law to all who enter herein, reiterating as much in summary within the comment form, requiring respondents to check a box, committing to having read and being willing to adhere to the new code. because that? that may just do the trick. and zeus help the poor sap that manages to screw it up anyway :).

as for me and my house, we will happily comply.

rabidrunner said...

I'll just call you Al.

rabidrunner said...

"Ryan" needs a blog, by the way. Don't you agree? Come on, "Ryan", you're holding out on us.

(Seriously Megan, you should consider a post on proper comma placement for the comma-ically challenged like myself. It would make the world a better place. Not that you're taking requests like a DJ - but I thought I'd take a shot at asking. You could, like, totally be our Literary DJ. "Busta Punctuation.")

whitneyingram said...

You forgot to mention that when I said it was too cute, you said, "But I am cute. My hair makes me cute."

You should have also mentioned the part where after we had this conversation, your driving made me car sick and when I opened the car door once home, I proceeded to fire-hose hurl my entire lunch onto the lawn.

As you can see, I am still quite effected. I never barf, even when pregnant.

Jessica said...

if you do add a big warning sign at the top of the page, will you make it flash, all annoying-like?

I get the "Meg" thing. Some people, mostly friends I've had for a while, call me Jess, but the husband won't. He called me that once and it was weird.

Can I say "ditto" to Rabid's comma request? You could do that on Thursdays instead of Ask-N-Gab if you wanted to. I know I need a brush up on my grammar and sentence structure.

Kelly Mo said...

I totally know how you feel! When people I hardly know call me "Kel" I feel violated in a way. In my book, someone has to earn the privilege to call me that.

Megan and Keli'i said...

I like it. It's got a "Johnny-on-the-spot" '20s sort of secretary/journalist thing going on. "Sparks! Take this down." Or "Sparks! Get out there and find a story! You're the best damned reporter we've got!" Yeah, it's totally working.

Natalie said...

Yes. I have this problem too. My blog is Nat The Fat Rat, so people call me Nat, when actually Nat is the name I hate most in this world. But it's catchy, so I used it. My name is Nat-A-Lie. So . . . I applaud you, Sparks Megan, and I can't remember if I called you Meg ever but if I did please know my regrets are sincerest, as I completely know from whence you come. (Grammar!)

L said...

Jessica, don't offer up suggestions to replace Ask-N-Grab! It is what I look forward to every Thursday. For some they long for Grey's Anatomy or The Office but for me it is that random question that awaits my pondering.

I encourage people to use my nicknames only because they can't say my name properly. In your situation I can understand it being odd for a stranger to call you by something that is to others a form of endearment. Most people don't know the nicknames my family has reserved for me.

I like Rabid's post just not in place of Thursday. I really need help in the comma dept, well lets be honest here, I need work in a lot of aspects of English and text.

Darcy said...

I call Lara "Lars"... not because I can't pronounce her name ('cause I can... it's LAH-RAH, not LOR-UH or L-OW-RUH or whatever people try to call her).

Anyway, I agree... I don't like it when strangers or casual acquaintances call me "Darce". My name is DARCY. I don't get offended, it's just a little bit weird, like holding hands on a blind date, or when a complete stranger hugs you.

What I love, though, is that in college, my VERY closest friends started calling me "DAR" -- it's cute. And sort of sneaky. Don't even try it y'all... OK, maybe Lars can.

Benjamin Loewen said...

Yup. I did a vlog on this once. I'd like to see someone try to call me Nat (retch) or Tasha. Why my About Me page says, "You can call me Natasha."

I'll also answer to Brilliant One, and Oprah.

Unknown said...

all you grammar and language enthusiasts like me, check out this hilarious blog http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com Read, let's discuss. It made me laugh.

my pet peeve is inappropriate use of comma's, to give you an example. i've seen so many letter's come from my kids' (proper) school, usually written by the home room mom's or other parent's and i just cringe. i've alway's wanted to tell them to get their comma's straight but my friend tell's me to let it go. that it will hurt feeling's and won't be worth it, etc. heck, i'd want to know. and while i realize we all make a 'blip' in our writing when we are rushing, tired, and just more or less making a typo...those inappropriately placed comma's are all over the place and so GLARINGLY WRONG that I've had to sit on my hand's to avoid typing the email that will (wreck my relationship with her) help her to avoid making embarassing mistake's. and now, having made my point, i hope, i am going to say, "goodnight". who know's what typo's i've left behind (but rest assured, those commas were intentional! meant to be funny. i hope.)

Megan said...

Oh, Jeannie--the "meant to be funny" very much were. You were laugh-right-out-loud successful.