One month...
...until...
MY BIRTHDAY!!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Shawn vs...
Shawn vs. Sean vs. Shaun vs. Shone vs. Chone
These are all the various spellings I am aware of for my name. I was going to type it phonetically, but I could only come up with typing it the same way I spell my name, so why be repetitive? After all, my name is spelled the most correct and logical way.
The are very strong opinions out there for which are the girls' spelling and which are the boys' spelling. At this point it really doesn't matter. With the crazy kakamaymee way people spell even the simplest of names, the boy/girl debate seems almost pointless. How many people can you think of with each of the spellings above? How many are girls? How many are boys? Are there other spellings?
P.S. I KNOW it's "cockamamie," but don't ya see the irony?
These are all the various spellings I am aware of for my name. I was going to type it phonetically, but I could only come up with typing it the same way I spell my name, so why be repetitive? After all, my name is spelled the most correct and logical way.
The are very strong opinions out there for which are the girls' spelling and which are the boys' spelling. At this point it really doesn't matter. With the crazy kakamaymee way people spell even the simplest of names, the boy/girl debate seems almost pointless. How many people can you think of with each of the spellings above? How many are girls? How many are boys? Are there other spellings?
P.S. I KNOW it's "cockamamie," but don't ya see the irony?
Friday, January 30, 2009
The Woes of a Girl Named Shawn
I used to hate my name.
Shawn is a boy’s name and it has caused an unending stream of situational stories. I have asked my mom numerous times where my name came from. She usually answers that she doesn’t really know. But I do find it rather odd that she had childhood neighbors named Shawn and Christine. How can that be only coincidence that my name is Shawn Christine?
When I was young, I wanted to change my name. I wanted to go by Christine because that was more girly. Plus I was WAY into Charlie’s Angels and my favorite was Kris Munroe (Cheryl Ladd). She was blond and pretty and cool.
At the time I thought it was spelled C-H-R-I-S. I only recently learned about the K-R-I-S spelling. I also had a huge crush (we’re talking second grade here) on Tommy McCluskey. He was a boy in my class and was so dreamy! So my new name forever more was to be Chris McCluskey.
I have since learned to appreciate my name. I like that it’s different. But regardless of how I feel about my name, stories continue to abound. So I thought I would start sharing some of my past stories (some funny, some not-so-funny) and new ones as they arise.
I’ll give ya the most traumatic for starters. :) Nothing like a little trauma, right?
I was probably in first grade and my parents signed me up for Vacation Bible School at church. I had never gone before and was very excited about all the activities and outings we would be going on. We showed up at church and they had sign-in tables separated by boys and girls. Naturally we went to the girls table and they couldn’t find my name. Somehow they looked on the boys list and found my name. They assumed “Shawn” must be a boy! I was mortified (or whatever emotion a six-year-old would have) and thought that since that was where my name was, that was where I had to go…with the boys! Yuck!!! I didn’t want to go to VBS anymore and just wanted to go home. Luckily adults are smarter than first graders and they just switched me over to the girls. Whew!
While everything was made right and I have mostly recovered, this moment has clearly stuck out in my head as my first memory regarding my name, and was only the beginning of a lifetime of assumptions.
Signing off forever,
Chris McCluskey
Shawn is a boy’s name and it has caused an unending stream of situational stories. I have asked my mom numerous times where my name came from. She usually answers that she doesn’t really know. But I do find it rather odd that she had childhood neighbors named Shawn and Christine. How can that be only coincidence that my name is Shawn Christine?
When I was young, I wanted to change my name. I wanted to go by Christine because that was more girly. Plus I was WAY into Charlie’s Angels and my favorite was Kris Munroe (Cheryl Ladd). She was blond and pretty and cool.
At the time I thought it was spelled C-H-R-I-S. I only recently learned about the K-R-I-S spelling. I also had a huge crush (we’re talking second grade here) on Tommy McCluskey. He was a boy in my class and was so dreamy! So my new name forever more was to be Chris McCluskey.
I have since learned to appreciate my name. I like that it’s different. But regardless of how I feel about my name, stories continue to abound. So I thought I would start sharing some of my past stories (some funny, some not-so-funny) and new ones as they arise.
I’ll give ya the most traumatic for starters. :) Nothing like a little trauma, right?
I was probably in first grade and my parents signed me up for Vacation Bible School at church. I had never gone before and was very excited about all the activities and outings we would be going on. We showed up at church and they had sign-in tables separated by boys and girls. Naturally we went to the girls table and they couldn’t find my name. Somehow they looked on the boys list and found my name. They assumed “Shawn” must be a boy! I was mortified (or whatever emotion a six-year-old would have) and thought that since that was where my name was, that was where I had to go…with the boys! Yuck!!! I didn’t want to go to VBS anymore and just wanted to go home. Luckily adults are smarter than first graders and they just switched me over to the girls. Whew!
While everything was made right and I have mostly recovered, this moment has clearly stuck out in my head as my first memory regarding my name, and was only the beginning of a lifetime of assumptions.
Signing off forever,
Chris McCluskey
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Fun With Dry Ice
I've been suffering the various stages of a cold for the greater part of the second half of December. It's a drag and I'm ready to be done with it. We hosted Christmas at our house this year and being sick wasn't in the plans, but I think I did a pretty good job of handing out a lot of the food responsibilities ahead of time, so there wasn't too much for me to do. Plus, the family of course jumped right in to relieve me of having to do too much. And Jim was a super-star in getting the house ready which is usually my biggest stress.
But even with the sickies it was a pretty nice Christmas and wonderful time spent with family.
One of the gifts I was most excited to receive came with an early notice. Around December 18th or so, we had a message on our machine saying that someone had given us the gift of Omaha Steaks and that they would be delivered on December 23rd. I have never had Omaha Steaks, but have heard they are good and Jim and I love to grill meat! So I was super excited and anxious for the 23rd to roll around. I later learned that my mom had received the same call. So we tried to guess who it could be from that would be giving to both of us. Jim eventually guessed that it was my sister, Susan, and that is indeed who they came from. Thanks, Sis!!
So the day of December 23rd arrived and I came home from work feeling icky but hoping Jim hadn't opened the steaks without me. Well, he hadn't even discovered them on the porch so we broke into it together. Once we made room in the freezer and stored it all away, Jim really started having fun.
You see, what we have here is a piece of dry ice. Dry ice is about 100 degrees below zero. Dat's pretttttyy c-c-c-cold! No TOUCHY!!!
Now, you put said dry ice in a bowl of water...
...and the fun really begins.
It's so simple, yet so fascinating at the same time.
Double, Double Toil and Trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
heh heh heh...
We had lot's of dry ice and Boy Scout Jim said it couldn't be thrown in the trash.
So....
More Witches Brew!!!
We're so easy to amuse. :)
But even with the sickies it was a pretty nice Christmas and wonderful time spent with family.
One of the gifts I was most excited to receive came with an early notice. Around December 18th or so, we had a message on our machine saying that someone had given us the gift of Omaha Steaks and that they would be delivered on December 23rd. I have never had Omaha Steaks, but have heard they are good and Jim and I love to grill meat! So I was super excited and anxious for the 23rd to roll around. I later learned that my mom had received the same call. So we tried to guess who it could be from that would be giving to both of us. Jim eventually guessed that it was my sister, Susan, and that is indeed who they came from. Thanks, Sis!!
So the day of December 23rd arrived and I came home from work feeling icky but hoping Jim hadn't opened the steaks without me. Well, he hadn't even discovered them on the porch so we broke into it together. Once we made room in the freezer and stored it all away, Jim really started having fun.
You see, what we have here is a piece of dry ice. Dry ice is about 100 degrees below zero. Dat's pretttttyy c-c-c-cold! No TOUCHY!!!
Now, you put said dry ice in a bowl of water...
...and the fun really begins.
It's so simple, yet so fascinating at the same time.
Double, Double Toil and Trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
heh heh heh...
We had lot's of dry ice and Boy Scout Jim said it couldn't be thrown in the trash.
So....
More Witches Brew!!!
We're so easy to amuse. :)
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