Current Listening: Pagan Babies by Elmore Leonard
Current Reading:Diary of an American Au Pair by Marjorie Leet Ford
Recipe of the Day: Restaurants I want to visit...
Daily Quote:
Buffy: What? Did you just 'ugh' my name? - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1. Is the name you have now the same name that's on your birth certificate? If not, what's changed?

I got married. I thought briefly about keeping my maiden name, but didn't. Now, 4 years have gone by, and I may actually have everything (car insurance, title, etc. being the last things...) in that name. If I had realized what a pain it would be to cart around my marriage certificate to so many places, I might have reconsidered! ;-)

2. If you could change your name (first, middle and/or last), what would it be?

I'm okay with it all now, but when I was younger - say in middle school - I decided that I had been done a disservice by my parents. You see, they did not give me a middle name. They gave my sister a middle name - why not me? So, I started collecting names, and eventually my name became VERY long! I think it was:

Celeste Annette Regina Philippa Cleopatra Dymphna LeTard.

I can account for some of the choices: I was going to chose Arnett, as it was a family name, but I already got grief for Celeste (rhymes with pest, nest, molest...) and LeTard (rhymes with "retard"; often mispronounced "leotard") - yes, I have suffered. I chose Annette instead. Regina was the first name of my favorite teacher in middle school. Philippa means "loves horses" - which I do. Cleopatra and Dymphna were from my historical/mythological period.

I know, I was a wierd kid.

3. Why were you named what you were? (Is there a story behind it? Who specifically was responsible for naming you?)

I don't know - I think I asked my mother, and she said something about an aunt or cousin on one of their sides of the family. I just looked up the origin of my name, and here is what I got from Behind The Name.com:

CELESTE (sel-EST): f (English) English form of C�LESTE

C�LESTE: f (French) French feminine form of CAELESTIS

CAELESTIS: m (Late Roman) From a Late Latin name which meant "of the sky, heavenly".

4. Are there any names you really hate or love? What are they and why?

I don't HATE any names in particular, but, having been a teacher to African Americans, I do get impatient with name spellings that do NOT match the alleged pronunciations (by "alleged" I mean the way that the student pronounces it. Some examples: I had a student for two full quarters whose name was spelled Ilyasah, so I pronounced it "EE Lee Ah Sah." One afternoon, while the class was playing a game, I called her name. Finally , someone said, "Her name is 'eye LEESH ah." What the ...? I also had a student named Jacques - a good French name, pronounced "djzahk" (you know how it's pronounced, even if you say "jock"). When I called him that, he corrected me. "It's 'Ja kwes'." Yes he did!

5. Is the analysis of your name at kabalarians.com accurate? How is it or how isn't it?

Okay, here it is:

Your name of Celeste gives you a clever mind, good business judgment, a sense of responsibility, and an appreciation of the finer things of life. You are serious-minded and not inclined to make light of things even in little ways, and in your younger years you had more mature interests than others your age. Home and family mean a great deal to you and it is natural that you should desire the security of a peaceful, settled home environment where you can enjoy the companionship of family and friends. Whatever you set out to accomplish you do your very best to complete in accordance with what you consider to be right. In the home you assume your responsibilities capably, having the self-confidence to form your own opinions and make your own decisions. Others can rely on you; once you have given your word you will do your utmost to fulfil a responsibility. However, there is a tendency to be a little too independent in your thinking and it is difficult for you to accept the help of others when you should.

I agree with most of it, although I do make light of things, probably when I shouldn't. Here is an example from e-mails exchanged with the other ESOL teacher. She just aquired another cat to take the place of one that just died. She now has two cats - the male cat is called Paulie, and the new one didn't have a name yet. Here is what she wrote to me yesterday:

P: I'm thinking that I will name the new baby Xena---The Warrior Princess. She beats Paulie's a-- and can jump like a kangaroo. What do you think?

C (that's me): Is she gay? ;-) 'Cause, isn't Xena gay? By the way, who is Paulie named after? PLEASE don't say it's Pauly Shore. ;-)

P: If she turns out to be gay, I will deal with it and accept her for who she is. I never knew Xena was gay. Lucy Lawless is not, so I'm going with that. I can't BELIEVE you said that. Paulie started out as Paolo and just evolved. He's kind of goofy, so Paulie fits. I don't care if you don't like my children's names. You probably prefer Mittens??

So, I had to write back - as has been mentioned to everyone several times, e-mail is not a perfect medium for self-expression. Even with the help of smilies... So, I wrote back:

C: I LOVE their names - it is just VERY hard to resist my natural urge to be a smart ass! Oops! I said ASS! (note that she wrote a--.)

Back to the name analysis. The only other statement I disagree with is: Whatever you set out to accomplish you do your very best to complete in accordance with what you consider to be right. It's a little strange, the wording, but the point is that I am an "idea person." I come up with lots of fantastic ideas, but have a hard time being methodical and completing them.

Addendum: Scary update! I went back to Kalabarian.com, because I didn't do the health analysis. Here it is:

Due to your strong sense of responsibility, you could experience worry and mental turmoil through assuming more responsibility than you should. Friction could arise through others feeling that you were interfering with their rights and privileges, even though you are only trying to help.