The Name Game

[mabfan]

Well, since all the other cool kids are doing it... (and as an interesting historical note, this is the first time ever I'm playing the meme game)

If you call me Michael, you're an actual friend of mine or someone who pays close attention to introductions.

If you call me Mike, you're either my Mom, my oldest friend Gami, an editor friend named John, or another Michael who also always goes by Michael but who found that the two of us had no problem calling each other Mike. If you're not one of those people, you're way clueless, as I've probably already told you a dozen times that I go by Michael and not Mike. Or you're assuming a familiarity which does not exist, and probably won't, given your insistence on calling me Mike.

If you call me MAB, you're a student who asked once if I would answer to that, and I said sure.

If you call me Mabfan, you're someone who is confusing my URL or my LJ handle for my name.

I can't think of any other interesting ones at the moment, although this whole thing reminds me of a scene from the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Dr. Pulaski calls Data (DAYTA) by the pronounciation DATA (short a in the middle). When he corrects her, she asks what the difference is. He responds:

"One is my name. The other is not."

Comments

[fynixsoul.livejournal.com]

What about people who call you Mr. Burstein?

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

My first two years of teaching, I was at a school where they required the teachers to go by last name. So a handful of students did call me that. But once I no longer had to be called Mr. Burstein, I dropped it quickly. I don't think of myself in that way, you see.

Although I do remember, as a teenager, when the guy who ran the photo store nearby called me Mr. Burstein, as he addressed all his customers in a respectful way. I got a big kick out of that.

[fhwqhgads.livejournal.com]

I can't even imagine calling you "Mr. Burstien".