Thoughts on the Day (7/25):

Today is the start of:

Equal parent's week
Don't Eat Meat Week (Monday to Monday)

I gotta admit both of these strike me as... not my type of week. "Equal Parents" what does that mean? Equality between parents of the same children? Equality between all parents everywhere? And what, exactly do they mean by "equality". I want information! As for the don't eat meat week, well, Friday 25 more chickens are going to bite the dust so that we can eat meat all year. I don't think we're gonna do well celebrating them.

But, hey, I'm sure that there are those out there who will, so, it's all good.

Today is

Birthday of the Birthday Cake (In 55 B.C., the Greeks were the first to put candles on a cake celebrating someone's birthday.)
National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
A Chorus Line Birthday 1975
Merry-Go-Round Birthday 1871
Thread The Needle Day
Parent's Day (Last Sunday in July)

We need to thank the Greeks for birthday candles? That's cool. Who would have thought? And didn't we just have a Sundae day just a little while ago?

Thread the Needle Day. I love the sound of that. Not sure why, just do. Thread the needle. I guess I don't mind the lack of information in this case. Thread the Needle day, though, appeals to my imagination.

Many years ago, when our small town first introduced a public bus system for transportation (OK, "system" may be an overstatement, I think there are only two or three busses and I'm not sure if they have regular routes. I do know I can call and have them pick me up at my door... Very cool). Anyhow, the city held a contest to name the new busses. The winner: Merrill-Go-Round. (Merrill being the name of the town). I've always liked that.

Partly Enigmatic --

I had a conversation today with powerpynt and he pointed out that I never mention my "real" name. And I realized that I don't. Not online.

And it's not really so much that I want to "hide" who I am. I am exactly the same person online as I am in real life (scary as that thought may be). I am -- slightly -- concerned that I keep personal information off the web, but that's a paranoia that comes from teaching Internet Safety to eight grades each year. No personal information. No identifiable descriptions. Yadda. Yadda.

Still, I think it's not that, either.

I've been "Partly" for 15 years. It was the first internet handle that I ever used. It is, in many ways, as much my name as is "Becky". In fact, when I'm online, even when I'm talking to people who know me in real life and who call me "Becky" all the time, I will more than likely sign my IM "Partly".

It's odd. I don't think of Partly as handle, it's my name. I don't ask people I meet in real life to call me it, but I certainly would answer to it if someone from online called me by it. With Wil having a LJ now (mosestaff) I'll probably be referred to more often as "Becky" because that's how he knows me. Someday I will relate the trouble I had when he decided to be Wil instead of Bill several years after we were married. I'm not interested in changing my name. Actually, I'm not interested in changing either of my names. I realize that an adjective is rather hard to visualize for some people. And in the world of throw away internet handles, I can see how they can be less real than a name.

So, if I don't give you my name, it's not because I'm thinking that you are all a bunch of crazy internet stalkers, rather it's because, in this media, where I type all my thoughts and communicate with little icons, I am Partly.

Which, of course, should make you all fear that I am a crazy internet stalker.