And You Are.....?

My first & middle name actually start with a "G" ... so signing anything "GG" makes sense already, but less than a year ago the man I no longer know what to call, (... BF? X-BF?Sorta BF? ... I'll call him SBW... 'cause that's his name on his blog, ok?... anyway...)  after much conversation, told me that I needed a nickname, and I said "I like my name as it is, so thanks, but no." He then proceeded to tell me that I had no say in the matter since among his friends everyone had, or ended up with, a nickname. Most had no say in what theirs were, so getting one was inevitable. (I didn't fully believe him till I started hearing some of the things they call each other.)

As time went by he kept calling me his "goofy girl"... 'cause I'll admit it, I'm slightly silly at times (read: most of the time), and eventually he'd just greet me:"Hey Goofy." It became a term of endearment that I was never honestly bothered by. Though I did find it funny that before his best friend ("The Northern Monkey") had met me SBW had referred to me as "Goofy" so often that TNM could never seem to remember my actual name.  I changed my name on this blog because it was just easier when SBW would refer to me on his blog, and I'd comment, so it didn't look like some weird love triangle. Not even sure if all that just made sense, but it is the story of why my name here is "Goofy Girl".... but the reality is (& if you plow back through my blog further than last spring you'd see) ..........

My name is Gillian.

  Most can't seem to wrap their heads around that simple fact.


And here is what I have to say to them.....

yes, this is me :)

My name is Gillian.
My name is Gillian.
My name is Gillian.

As a child, as most of you know/remember, if your name is mispronounced-especially by a teacher- and other peers hear it... you're pretty much fucked if the mispronunciation is even remotely funny.
I had to deal with YEARS of people pronouncing my name with a hard G... to which I still reply ""G" followed by "i"... think about it, do you call them Guh-raffes as well?" (i.e. giraffes)
So, what did I do? I changed the spelling. The change wasn't legally done or anything, I just started spelling it with a "J" in hopes that people would get it. THEN you know what happened? People just went ahead and started shortening it to "Jill." I HATE THE NAME "JILL", I HAVE ALWAYS HATED THE NAME "JILL", AND I ALWAYS WILL HATE THE NAME "JILL."(for me, if it's someone else's name-that's just peachy)... but as a kid I didn't know that I had the right to tell people, especially adults, that I didn't like it... so I was stuck with it....... until I moved to Scotland a few years ago.

In Scotland people automatically spelled my name "Gillian"... they never called me "Jill". After living there for about 6 months and then having to come back to the States... I put my foot down, I corrected EVERYONE... yet some people still can't seem to get it through their heads.

So... in short...

My name is Gillian.
It is spelled G...I ...L ...L ...I ...A ...N
Neither my first, middle, or last name has a "J" in it.

I do NOT like the name "Jill" & I do not respond well to people being ignorant about this. If I am introduced to someone named "Elizabeth"... I do not, nor would I ever, have the audacity to just call her "Lizzy" or "Beth" unless A.) they told me to go on and do so, or B.) I asked first.
So, no need to ask... I am not Jill/Jil/Gill/Gil ... my name is Gillian.

"Would you please fucking learn it?!" I tell them... alas... so many still don't. That's where I give them the "3 chances" rule. 1st time they do it, I ask them politely not to call me that... 2nd time I remind them that it really bothers me and I'd appreciate it if they'd stop... 3rd time? I stop speaking to them all together. (Not even kidding.)

My only exception to the rule is if it's someone that is either a) significantly older than me AND they've known me pretty much my whole life, or b) has brain damage. If it's BOTH? Well, they can call me anything they want.... but shouldn't be surprised when I don't respond.

ps. "gilly" doesn't make me crazy, and I've grown oddly accustomed to "goofy." ;-p

pps.  FYI anyone that is thinking of referring to me as Jill/Jil/Gill/Gil in the comments is about as original and funny as the people that think they are the cleverest person in the world and the first ever to say "Woah! Where's the saddle?!" or "Is that a horse?" when they see me out with the dog.

..... just sayin'....

She is lovely though isn't she? ♥