revised: the label[s] which i respond to

a certain 17 years old cousin on my dad's side recently started a blog. so..being the good cousin, i hopped [or rather "mouse-d"?] over and left my mark on her tagboard - name, blog add and a nice short comment. a couple of days later, i revisited it and to my amusement, she linked me as "siyun" aka my chinese name. i am quite tickled by it but its really not a surprise.. as it turns out, its more or less the catalyst for this rather needless, lighthearted post which serves no purpose except for some self-entertainment, and escape from exams.

but anyways, it got me thinking about the names i use and respond to..
1. my full name [not putting it for obvious reasons] all sorts of official matters or trips to the doctor i think.

2. jane - as im known to the vast majority of people. "gripes" about people's reactions to and jokes made at the expense of it shall be dealt with in a separate post. its quite funny at times though.

3. siyun - hmm..chinese lessons i guess. and its more used on my dad's side which is slightly more chinese-speaking[esp the uncles and aunties generation]. and which explains the above little anecdote even among the younger ones. i think its also cos most of my cousins do not have english names so we sometimes just all laspse into the chinese names.

4. yun - this name is strictly for family use and is well..out of bounds for non-family. my own family uses the 2nd syllable of our chinese names at home/to each other often causing some confusion for outsiders and friends. i think its roots started from my materal grandmother being afraid of mispronouncing our english names. but anyhow, i see this as a term of endearment and only a select few are allowed to use it. i think my siblings may have different opinions for themselves.

5. janey/janie - as a couple of jc friends call me sometimes. i figure its kind of cute and its not often that a nickname is longer than the real one.

6. kbof - py coined it back in jc 2 when we were supposed to be studying for our A levels. see if you can solve it to see how i refers to me. more or less an msn nick only although some friends use it. plus i conveniently use it for a couple of internet accounts.

7. u06****x/u06***** - for exam papers when thats all i have been reduced to. for random other nus matters too.

added after a reminder from esther. cant believe i forgot.
8. er jie - translates into 'second sister' [when there is that many sisters, a heirarchy is necessary] and this is how my 2 younger siblings address me. yup only those 2 people in the world so technically its strictly for family use only.

and this added in after erica's reminder. man..my memory is zilch.
9. ms lim - when i was working. and this is a name/label i havent really gotten used to yet. in BA this year, the principal would try to call me that and i wont respond but once she switches to 'jane' she gets my attention! but i will have plenty of time getting used to it once i start teaching.

10. esotericmind - *how could i forget this!!* a bastardised version of my email address and K my vcf cg leader started calling me that after being so intrigued by it. and his usual words of welcome would be "hi..is the esotericmind feeling esoteric today?" the vcfers dun use it but a substantial number knows it refers to me cos of vcf arts welcome tea.

at final count its at least 10. [poke me if i have left out anymore but i pray no more are lurking around] it seems so excessive looking at all that now. but ah well..official names/labels are definitely here to stay and as for the rest, i guess they are nice for variety:)