I don’t cook, do laundry or put up with cheeky bastards!!!

What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet? (I hope I got it right, I wouldn’t want ol’ WS to be squirming in his grave.) Maybe there is something to this old cliché, but if you ask me what is in a nick name, I’ll tell – there is a lot. At least for someone like me who believes that expression is what makes life interesting.

I use MSN messenger and prefer it over other similar IM services because it gives me the freedom to use a nick name of my choice. In the last 4 years of being on MSN I must have changed my nick over a hundred times, sometimes as often as 5 times a day.

It has got to the extent that friends have told me that they log on once in a while just to check what new name I am using. Last night something dad and I were talking about had him suggesting that I write a blog about the different names I have used and why. Why not? Considering I have so many people asking me the relevance of my various nick names.

‘I don’t cook, do laundry or put up with cheeky bastards…’ was one of my absolute favorite names. The line is from Mission Impossible 2, made by Nyah to Ethan when he first approaches her to join his team. I think the punch in the statement is perfect and really serves to describe the person I am (although I have been known to cook up a fine meal when I choose to).

Another one I loved using was ‘Hotlips…’ M.A.S.H. 4077 fans the world over would know what I am talking about. Not that I would like to be like Margret Hulahan, but the name is irresistible. You can just imagine the kind of comments I got from people on my list reading that nick.

When in doubt, I choose ‘Joli’ or ‘Kags’ over all else. These are the only real nick names I have been given in real life, and I love them both. Simple, short and sweet! But my attitude often runs ahead of me and I have to change. I consider these two my constants and use them as fillers so to speak.

By now it must be obvious that music is huge influence in my life. Using titles of some my favorite songs has been an obvious habit. This depended on the mood I was on at the time. Some of these include ‘Liberian Girl’, ‘Caribbean Queen’, ‘Girl from Ipanema’, ‘Black is Black’, ‘Musaafir hun yaaro’ and so many more that I can’t remember.

I am a person of many moods and they are as volatile as they can get. Situations, conversations and fantasies coupled with these, bring forth my creative best in finding the words to describe how I am feeling.

Once when I wasn’t sure of what I was doing with my life and the paths I had chosen, the words that spoke my mind were ‘Kya maine socha aur kya hua, kya dil ne chaha aur kya mila’. Another time, and there have been many of these, I have been looking for inspiration, I found these words to be the most appropriate ‘If you had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted; in one moment, would you capture it or let it slip?’ Thank you Eminem for articulating it so well.

There is nothing more sensual then dance, and when that is how I feel it is best expressed in the line from the song Sway ‘Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore’. Secret fantasies showed themselves in ‘Two drifters off to see the world’ from Moon River and the phrase ‘Peaches & Cream’.

Now I am not always full of intense emotions. Most of the time I am a very mischievous and cheeky person. That’s when my names get influenced by characters like Calvin ‘My brain always rejects attitude transplants.’ Or stuff dad makes me read (like today) ‘Candy is dandy but Liquor is Quicker’ by Ogden Nash.

But coming to my most oft used nickname which I am sure must have lead to much curiosity – ‘Inmyeye’. Break it up, there are three words there ‘in’ ‘my’ ‘eye’. That is directly related to my actual name which is Kaajal (a distorted version of kajal; Sal at DSS had it on the first shot) and where would one apply kajal? You get the picture…

Now I wonder what I am going to call myself tomorrow. Any suggestions?