Nicknames

My name is short, just 4 simple letters. 2 syllables; Lisa. Technically, if someone wanted to shorten it to one of those syllables, they could, but few people do. I do have the occasional "Li" or as my lovely Deb calls me "Li-li" - but she's the only one that usually calls me that, thankfully 'cause it sounds like a panda or chimp name...(maybe Deb is trying to tell me something?! *scratches head with one hand and underarm with other pondering why WHY WHY Deb might associate her with a monkey!?*)

More often than not, if someone does shorten my name, they will call me "Lis" (pronounced Lease - as in "Space for Lease"). What I have realized is, I don't always like it. I couldn't figure out why for a time, but then I realized one day that only people that are really special to me can get away with it. The earliest occurrance of "Lis" that I can remember are my uncles Bob & Mike. Then, in Oz, a few of my closest friends did. Ahhh...fond memories... It's a familiar and intimate thing, calling me "Lis." However, I don't get really irritated by it if someone "less than special" calls me by that name.

I worked with someone that did. She had a longer name that she almost refused to answer to. She insisted on the familiar tense of her name. And another that didn't like it when hers was shortened.

The familiarity thing definitely rings true for my friend Danielle. I call her anything from Dani to Dan to just simple "D."

My "Lis" had really been my only nickname forever. The where I work, my logon is "watsol." Meet the Fockers" had just come out and the little kid kept chanting "assholllle" and the way he said it, sounded like "watsollll" - that one stuck for awhile. Recently though, the one that has been used is "eldub" (derived from LW). Yet, again, I don't think it would translate outside of work.

So, I guess you can try your luck, call me "Lis" and see how I really feel about you!