Nicknames Past and Present

When I was in the 10th grade, there were four guys with the same first name as me in Mrs. Bissell's English class. My solution to distinguish myself? I took the nickname Omar.

Why, you may ask, did I choose that name? Well, it sounded cool and had a completely different sound from my own name. And--Omar Sharif was a popular actor at the time. Oh--and I was 15.

The funny thing is, the name stuck through that school year, and not only was I called that in that English class, but it even made it into the school yearbook. I still have a couple of friends from that time (long ago) that remember the name.

Well, today I have run into the same issue, with two of us at work with the same first name. It's not really a serious problem, but we are getting each other's emails and it is confusing when people are referring to one or the other of us in conversations. This time, I have been given a nickname--Segundo (second). Of course, the guy who has my name, having preceded me at the company, gets to be called Primo (first).

Who knows if this will stick, but it's kind of fun to do this. I can't think of any negative connotations. The problem is, the email system is still using our given names, so confusion will continue to reign in that venue.