Wednesday, April 20, 2011

My name is Michael

For now, I've got a day job.  And at that day job, I'm required to have an ID badge.  Multiple ID badges, actually (efficiency at it's finest!).  Today I looked down at my badge to notice that my name is listed as "Mike".  Never has the person who gave me this badge heard me (or likely anyone else) refer to me as "Mike".  I've signed my emails "Michael", I've left phone messages as "Michael", but there are people that still insist my name is "Mike". 

There's a guy named "Gerry" at my office.  Now, at first read, it might be unclear how to pronouce that, but since he refers to himself as 'gary' not 'jerry', most people have picked up on the proper pronounciation.  Notice I said 'most'.  There's still this one guy that insists Gerry should be referred to as 'jerry'.  Guess he didn't get the memo.  People have even corrected him.  It's actually a bit like a Seinfeld episode and George (or is that 'jerge'?) is about to go off.

I wrote my "Michael" memo in my second year of college after having gone through my life as "Mike" or "Mikey" (ok, my mom still calls me that; don't be a hater.), but I though "Michael" fit me better and having seen another student at my college correct some people that called him "Mike", I though I'd give it a go.  It worked.  Now, some people from my previous life still call me "Mike", and that's ok; I still call Charles 'Kip' and Peter 'Spam' and Jason 'Horse'.  It's just how you know someone, and you haven't been around them in their new life enough to be reconditioned.  But there's still those pesky people who just decide what your name is for you, even when presented with contrary evidence. 

So, I try to pay special attention to how people sign emails and letters, at least informal ones, because I assume that's what they want to be called.  And, please, for the love of mike, call me Michael.

P.S. My wife (since I seem to have to mention her in every post ;) ) and I have a running joke (that probably isn't actually funny) about compressing 'mike' into a single phenome somewhere between 'mike' and clearing your throat that sounds something like 'mak' and is usually in the phrase "Heeeyy, mak".  Ok, not funny.  Got it.

2 comments:

  1. You are defiantly not Mike. Ew. I cannot even imagine calling you that. So weird. Not okay in my book. I don't care if you want to call yourself mak, paco, whatever,... it will come out M-I-C-H-A-E-L at all times with me. Just saying... *irritatedwithpeoplewhowanttousenamesimproperlyunlessduallynoted*

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  2. I think of you as Michael, but when I think of you and Missy as a couple, I think of "Mike and Missy"...weird.

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