OF NICKNAMES & PSEUDONYMS...

I'm not talking about those cruel ones that are meant to hurt, like when a gang of kids single out the fat kid, or a bunch of teens single out the one with mega pimples. I'm talking about the name(s) that are given to you by your peers, by your coterie. The ones that are unique because of a quality you may have that only those in your group will understand. Screg (pronounced skrej) has been with me for years. Screg is the root, and it has seen several encarnations: Scregie, ScregieFresh, even Squeegie (pronounced like that thing you use to wipe frost and dew off your car's windows). Thus: ScregMan. However, I have no idea what this means. Who gave me the name? Years ago, when I was in 11th grade, a senior in high school gave it to me. I don't know why. One day, he just started calling me Scregie, and it stuck. My more current nickname is ronin. For those of you who don't know what a ronin is, it's a masterless samurai. Am I a masterless samurai who carries a sword and wanders the land? NOT! But I do lack a dojo. My sensei lost his lease, so I am out of practice for the moment. Thus the name: ronin. I believe it's pronounced roh-neen, with a long e sound. But I like the short i better. This name was given to me by Shogun and Linestepper. I have another friend who is a Tormented Soul and Thane of the Universe. Ah.. Tormented Soul... I beg you to reconsider that name. It has not become a self-fulfilling prophecy, has it? I seem to recall two friends bowing and kneeling to eachother, referring to eachother as thane. We must have been reading Shakespeare at the time. There's also GMF.

The one that I'm spending the rest of my life with... the #1 person in my life... her name is HotFudge, of the clan Chocolate Mama.