The Name Game

Here is a question I would like to ask parents. How did you figure out what to name your child(ren)? Was it after a relative, friend, lost loved one, or was it a name that would sound good rolling off your tongue when you had to discipline your child? (Which one of my friends actually admitted to )

I see all kinds of names where I work. There are names from all walks of life. Some long, some foreign, some hard to figure out how to even try to pronounce them, and some extremely funny. For example, there was an actual person named, 'Ima Bush'. Seriously, Ms. Ima Bush. I am sure Ms. Bush is a very nice person, and I apologize if she is now reading this and is offended, as that certainly was not my main objective. I guess Ms. Bush's parents weren't thinking soundly after the delivery of their beautiful baby girl, "Let's name her Ima...Ima Bush." How much teasing & harassment do you think Ima received at school, in the playground or even at work? And unbelievably there are many, many, many and many more funny, crazy names out there! I actually saw a file for Jesus Crist. (I'm serious)

So now I would like to ask some parents, "What were you thinking?"

As a mother, I remember being pregnant, everything was crystal clear. I knew all of the tasks that needed to be accomplished, but then again I also craved steak, hot sauce & egg foo young (go figure). But most importantly, for forever, always & to this day, I love surprises. So, I didn't want to know the sex of our baby prior to birth. I did, however, decide on a name for our baby. The same name whether it was a boy or a girl. The first name had no family significance, but it was Irish, I had always loved it, & although I had rarely heard it as a female name, it could be spelled a little differently & still be cool. The middle name was my maiden name , because I am proud of my heritage & it is a Scottish tradition. And of course the last name was our family name, my married name, which I embrace because I love my husband and am equally proud of my Celtic heritage.

I know that some of you might have read my blog in the past few years. So some of you have seen my daughter's name. But for those of you that haven't, well, here's the kicker, as I now ask other parents, "What were you thinking?", I also have to ask myself the same question!! Because even though I thought I was being so smart; giving my child a cool name... I found out 4 years later that I was so wrong!!!

The first week my daughter was in pre-school, she came home extremely upset because another little girl called her, "Crying Ryann." Why didn't I see that coming? I should have known better. I had gotten teased almost my whole life for one thing or another, I wanted my child to have a different experience. But honestly, I think everyone gets picked on sometime or another, for all kinds of different things. I think it's wrong, but does happen.

I know that I love my daughter & her name. To me, her name means a strong & independent girl (future woman), unfortunately to other children it means she cries alot... The 'Name Game' aspect didn't even occur to me when I was thinking of children's names!!! It should have since my Dad's name was 'Chuck', which was always a favorite for anyone who wanted to play 'The Name Game', a tradition anyone from the 70's-80's era should remember. You know? 'Chuck, Chuck..."

So, now I know am am one of those parents that should be asked, "What were you thinking?"

Closed Door Meetings

I work in the accounting department of a title company. Over the last year and a half, the mortgage industry has taken a huge tumble largely due to the sub-prime lending market crashing. Luckily over 2 years ago, my company was bought by a large nationwide company, which I think is the only reason we are still in business.

But still there were layoffs. Which I have survived.

At work today, there were a bunch of meetings, teams consolidating, teams dissolving, and then came the 'Closed Door Meetings'(Layoff meetings)...I can only hope for the best.

I love where I work & it took a long time for me to find this job! So what the heck!!! I hate closed door meetings!!!

The reply to: "A Letter To Mr Crist"

"Dear Ms. Duff:

Governor Crist received your e-mail and asked me to respond on his behalf.

The Governor appreciates the challenges local governments face in providing essential services while also lowering property taxes. Governor Crist believes that local governments can and will tighten their belts while at the same time providing the services our citizens need and expect.

Thank you for writing and do not hesitate to write again on matters of concern or interest to you.

Sincerely,

Rex T. Newman
Citizen Services"

My response:

Dear Mr Newman,

I thank you for the response, but I still don't appreciate or understand the reasoning for the passing of the amendment.

Prices on everything are skyrocketing... except our pay...that stays the same...and has for years.

WTF?????

Hello, Mr Crist?? Got any answers for that??

When I was young, people that were different, scared me and that's the truth.

Though it shouldn't have been that way, it's a fact. I have a cousin who is about 8 years older than me with Downs Syndrome. When I was 4 years old, at my Grandparents 50th anniversary party, she scared the heck out of me. For no reason what-so-ever, I was scared of her. She didn't DO anything to me. I was just scared. She was different. Back in those times (OK, I'm talking about the late 60's early 70's, NOT the pre-historic times), people with Downs were not asually in the mainstream population. My Aunt Joyce, my cousin Barb's mom, was told when Barb was born, that she should send her to an institution, because Barbara would never be able to walk, talk or function. Well, thank God my Aunt Joyce didn't listen. She worked relentlessly with Barb, and because of that, Barb learned to walk, talk & be productive, all of the things that the doctors said would happen, NEVER HAPPEN!!!

My cousin became semi-independent. She works, and has worked for years; she is a productive member of our society. Today she lives in what would be classified as assisted living. Not bad for for a baby that supposedly would have never walked or functioned & should have been either aborted or sent to an institution at birth...Anyway, I watched a documentary tonight on HBO about a married couple who have been deaf since birth & then decided that at age 65, they should have cochlear implant surgery. Afterward they could hear some sound, but not the same way we do, at least not all of the time. They could hear talking, but were not able to decipher the words. Some sounds were deafening while others were minuscule. Watching that program mesmerized me!

There is a good reason for that... I work with a deaf guy and he has a cochlear implant. I always thought that he could hear a lot, at least more than he let on to. After watching the HBO program, I wonder, "How much does he really hear?" I know everyone is different & there was a lot of screeching involved, and, I also know, he hears just 'noise'. So let's bring it on!!! What do you hear/sense? Our voices, our tone of voice, the revving of the engine...

Truthfully, there is no 'Can You Hear Me Now?'

A Letter To Mr Crist

Dear Mr Crist,

I did not vote for Amendment 1 but since it has passed, I now have to deal with the circumstances.

Please excuse my lack of enthusiasm over the grand celebration of my property tax being reduced by approximately $61.00 a year, because my home is not in the 300k + value range that will actually benefit from the property tax break.

My husband is a county employee. He works for the parks department which is the first place the county has earmarked for lay offs. This year there were no pay raises. (Prices on everything have skyrocketed, but no pay increase) Now because of amendment 1 passing, he is in jeopardy of losing his job. Which would mean that we would lose OUR HOME!!! Do you know that there are no less than 3 houses on my street in foreclosure? And this is before your precious amendment 1!

In the last several months, due to the threat of Amendment 1, I have seen many of my government employed friends lose their jobs, and then their homes. How is this a benefit?

I have a child in the school system. The Pinellas county Superintendent has proposed cutting teacher salaries by 2% as well as closing schools. We will lose assistant principals, counselors and many necessary programs including those that help troubled students (the ones that REALLY need help). How is this beneficial to our future? Think about it, who is going to be 'in charge' when you get old? When we all get old. Why are you messing with the educational programs? And don't you dare say you aren't, because that is exactly what has happened due to your precious Amendment 1 passing.

I ask you to please, do us all a favor and be a governor for ALL of the people in Florida, and not just the privileged!

Today in the St Pete Times Metro section there was a headline, "Tight Budget? Not For Everyone", which told about you approving $2.5 million in the state budget for CW Bill Young Institute of Government for a St Pete College to also be led by US Rep Bill Young. It is going to be fully funded by the legislator. WHY??? I don't want my taxes, which I pay faithfully every year, going to that.

How many children in Florida do you think will go to that college now that the money that funds to our public school system is cut to the bare minimum due to the passing of amendment 1?

OMG!! People are losing their jobs left & right. We are losing public services left & right...HELLO?!?!?

CAN ANYBODY HERE ME?????