The Name Game

Posted: July 16, 2011 at 6:00 pm

While out grocery shopping this morning, a few people apparently tried to reach me but to no avail. I still have some things I need to figure out on how to use my new iphone. Besides apps. I get those. Love those. But all the pesky little details like the phone’s settings, ringer (bec I never heard any calls), data plan defaults, and blah-di-blah-blah I haven’t familiarized myself with yet. Technologically savvy? Not I! I even had to get Peter to help me set up my voice mailbox this afternoon. Which took way longer than it should have. All because I couldn’t decide which name to use.

I know what you’re thinking. Which name, Tina? Ummm…shouldn’t you know your own name??? Not that hard!

Well, I actually go by two names regularly. Do I say "Hi, you have reached Tina Reale…” OR “Hi, you have reached Christina Reale…”??? You see – my full name is Christina, but I much much much much much PREFER Tina. Like, by a landslide.

Growing up, I always wanted to go by Tina, but my dad didn’t “allow” for it because, in his opinion, my parents gave me the name Christina and that’s who I was. At a young age, I thought that ended any chance of my favorite nickname and always introduced myself as Christina. Only a few loved ones knew my preference and used that name with me. Peter calls me Tina. My mom calls me Tina. Some of my closest friends call me Tina. But a large portion of other friends and family call me Christina because that is how I introduced myself for years.

Then, when getting involved with healthy living sites, I always referred to myself as Tina because I could use whatever name I darn well pleased. The more involved I became, the more and more I associated with Tina and defined myself by that name. It’s hard to explain, but I almost feel Christina and Tina define two very different sides of myself. I almost view Christina as the old, frightened, depressed, unhealthy, self-deprecating me. Then, on the flip side, view Tina as the true me. The loving, passionate, strong me who lives life to the fullest, loves herself, and sees her worth in God.

People referring to me as Christina doesn’t bother me in the least, especially since they have known me that way for years. But, in my mind, I’m Tina! So, that’s what you will hear on my voicemail. 🙂

Wow. That was a total tangent of a topic for a Saturday. Shall we move on to the features, then? Happy Saturday!!!

Featured Post: Embarrassing Food

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I wrote this post to hopefully open discussion on if others feel any unspoken blog standards in the foods we eat and share. Even though I sometimes feel those pressures, I recognize it is all in my head and I refuse to feel embarrassed by what I eat.

Featured Workout: Discussion on Pacing With Runs

Featured Meal: Banana Mango Smoothie Snack

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Featured News: Working With Love Grown for the Healthy Living Summit!

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Featured Reading: “Running Is A Big Dumb Jerk”

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This post by Righteous Runner had me cracking up!!!

  • Do you have any nicknames that you love?
  • Are you technologically savvy?

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48 Comments to “The Name Game”
  1. If it makes you feel any better I had my iPhone for longer than 2 weeks before I realized I needed to set up my new voicemail… The saddest part is that it never occurred to me that it was weird that for two weeks I never had any voicemails. Hahaha

  2. Lisa says:

    I wish I had a nickname! Its hard to make one out of Lisa! Haha.

  3. Jenn GH says:

    Ha ha!!! I can sooooooo relate to this post! It feels weird to be called by any other name than Jenn although it’s not my birth name!

  4. Lee says:

    Lee’s a nickname.

  5. Lori Lynn says:

    I always wanted a more “unique” name growing up, b/c I always thought “Lori Smith” was a rather plain name. (On a side note, there was also another girl in my class growing up, whose name was Lorie, and my name was always mispelled- but her last name was Pospischel.) With the middle name Lynn, my best friend’s have started calling me Lori Lynn, which to me sounds a bit ‘southern.’ Hasn’t quite stuck with other people though. LOL

  6. Wow i can TOTALLY relate to the name thing!!!! It’s funny, the names people call me actually identify which phase of my life they know me from. For some reason, my entire family calls me Allie, and always has. I don’t mind it at all, in fact, it helps me feel that my family members are all close to me. Friends from elementary, jr high and high school and college all call me by my last name (Rice) or some version of it… ricecakes, riceball, ricerneener…the list is ENDLESS! And i love it. Ever since college I’ve introduce myself as Allison. Professors in college would call me allison, as well as teachers in HS. So when someone calls me “allie” and it is not a family member, it makes me feel really… off? And i have no idea why! I really like the nickname Allie, though, and I almost wish more friends called me by that. Even Ryan calls me Allison! He says he doesn’t see me as an Allie, but I wouldn’t mind if he one day started calling me that 😛

  7. I never realized that most people call you Christina! I guess since I’ve only ever heard you refer to yourself as Tina on the blog that’s all I can imagine you being called!

    I always wanted a nick name SO BAD growing up, but nothing stuck, so I was just Holly. But when I went to college, my roommates were totally into abbreviating/changing words around for everything that they could (haha) so I became Hols, Holski, and Holly Doris (that’s my middle name) and I although I hated my middle name growing up and would never tell anyone about it because I was embarrassed, I love being called it now!

  8. Robyn says:

    I agree that we relate personality traits to a name.

    My sister’s name is Michelle. Mom and Dad call her Micky! She has the personality of a Micky … hands down.

    In college on of the gals on my dorm floor started calling me robs. I love it and my closest friends call be robs.

  9. So, I’m almost embarrassed about my dinner tonight…a HUGE baked potato loaded with butter, sour cream, etc… and BBQ chicken on it. I pretty much ate the entire thing (I am kinda in shock about this and miserably full). Plus, I washed it down with not one but two beers. Awesome, I know 😛

  10. I totally understand the whole tina versus christina thing! I only have pretty standard nicknames for my name (chels being the top runner)!

  11. I’m having a hard time as I grow up. I feel like Katy sounds so young, and unprofessional, but have never changed it. My dad tried to start calling me “Kate” once I got to college, and I just couldn’t relate. Oh, and I had an ex that called me Kat and I REALLY thought I wasn’t attractive/slutty enough for that. (REALLY no offense to Kat’s. It’s not what I think now. But at the time, that was my perception.)

  12. Coco says:

    One of my college roommates changed her name years after graduating (and after I’d gotten married and had kids). I still call her by her old name because that’s how I (and my kids) think of her. I hope she doesn’t mind!

  13. Lol, there is no shortening Donna except my sister calls me Dee 🙂
    Good luck on the iPhone, there is still tons of things on it i don’t know how to use and i’ve had one forever!
    Love the blog, can’t wait to read more 🙂

  14. Cynthia says:

    The name on my birth certificate says Cynthia, but growing up people always called me Cindy. I never understood putting something on a birth certificate, knowing the whole time you will be calling them something else. What’s the point? When I was an adult and after I graduated college, I felt like Cynthia was a bit more adult. Also, I was working at a customer service center and several customers would call me “sweetheart.” So annoying! But when I changed to Cynthia, that didn’t happen. My family still calls me Cindy, as do several friends who have known me for quite a while. But my husband and my coworkers know me as Cynthia.

  15. Considering my name is Gina, there aren’t many nicknames I could have. People always ask if my real name is Regina or Angelina, but no it’s just Gina. I always wanted to change my middle name growing up. I hated that I was Gina Marie, what Gina ISN’T Gina Marie. boring! I don’t mind it as much anymore but mainly because I never use it.
    I hear ya on the technology. I don’t consider myself technologically stupid, but I’m definitely NOT adept! Starting a blog has actually made me more tech savvy than I’d ever thought I’d be 🙂

  16. My name is Brittany, and if it counts for anything people spell it all ways, shapes, and forms! Britney, Brittni, Britnay, Brittney, Britny, TOO MANY.

    Everyone just needs to realize that mine is the RIGHT way!
    (Just kidding 😉 )

  17. Priyanka says:

    When I was growing up, my family+friends preferred calling me by my nick name rather than my real name. It makes no difference to me, but in the US everyone calls me by real name, so it kind of segregates my worlds, one in US and one in India 🙂

  18. Sable@SquatLikeALady says:

    Oh man. I have had the same phone since 2007 (yeah!!) and I am DREADING getting a new one. It’s going to be a disaster. DISASTER. This phone needs to live forever.

  19. I hear you on the name dilemma, I actually use three different names! Not my fault, it kind of just happened. For my BF and the blogworld I’m “Sue” (nice and short), my family and college friends call me “Susie” (sounds like a name for a little kid or dog or bunny), and at work I’m known as “Susanne” (serious and professional). Sounds complicated, but somehow it works fine for me.
    I’m usually quite good at tech stuff, but I’m a total windows girl, I know next to nothing about iPhones, iPods, iMacs, etc.

  20. I always introduce myself as Gabriela, but people call me a variety of nicknames, like Gabby and Gab and Gab and Gabbers. I don’t mind it if it’s someone I like, but my biggest pet peeve is when people who are rude/mean/irritating to me call me by a nickname. Not sure why, it just irks me so much!

  21. I like Tina too 🙂

    I don’t have any nicknames really. Sometimes they will say ‘Kels’ for short…oh and well i guess ‘Squirrel’ is a nickname…but i only wish people called me that more haha. I remember trying to get everyone to adopt the idea of calling me ‘Kelso’ but that didn’t work too well..so ‘Kelsey’ it is i guess 😛

    xoxo <3

  22. As I was reading I was thinking, “please use the name Tina for your voicemail! please use it!!” so needless to say, I am a happy reader :).

    Growing up I had dozens of nicknames…and still get new ones wherever I go. The only one that has never stuck – and I won’t allow it – is Becky. *cringe*. I have nothing wrong with Becky’s in the world but it just doesn’t fit me :).

  23. Hannah says:

    Wait until you’ve forgotten how to spell your own name, and in the same conversation forgotten your birthday. THEN come and talk to me about feeling silly 😉

  24. me and technology are not very good friends haha! I am better friends with granola or food related items haha 🙂 I really dont have a nickname. I can’t think of one for my name anyway 🙂

  25. My first name is Frances. I usually only heard that growing up, when I was in trouble! Actually I would hear “Frances Ann!!” That usually from my Dad. I was Francie to my family, Franny (which I now HATE!) through grammar and high school. My best friend still calls me that and from her I’ll take it. I cringe when anyone else calls me that. When I got to college, I told people I was Frances. I wanted to sound fancy and serious. Sheesh!! Now I’m basically Fran or usually Pookie to Ralph! Names are a crazy thing, aren’t they?!?

  26. Meesh says:

    I totally understand what you mean – formally I’m Michelle, but all of my friends and family call me Meesh. Someone started calling me that in highschool and it just stuck.

  27. I can totally understand the name game dilemma, but I say if you like to be Tina better, than tell people that’s who they’ve reached! 🙂
    Congrats on your HLS sponsorship!

  28. Errign says:

    I don’t really have a lot of nicknames that I go buy regularly, but my parents and closest friends call me Err or Errbear on occasion 🙂

    I’m pretty technologically savvy, but I don’t buy new technology things just because they’re new – I wait until I need something new, like if my phone or computer is broken. This is why I still have a Motorola razor flip phone 🙂

  29. Don’t worry, you will get the iPhone in no time! Then you will be teaching others!

  30. Maren says:

    I had the same problem when I got my iphone a few months ago. The little toggle on teh side with the volume key was switched down, revealing a little red dot. That means the phone is on silent!

    Hope this helps.

  31. I’ve always been Bethany. Whenever people ask if I prefer Beth or Bethany I tell them that it doesn’t really matter to me (because it doesn’t), but I usually go by Bethany. I do that mostly because certain people take to calling me Beth over Bethany, and I like that. I don’t know…since I normally go by Bethany, I take Beth as more of a term of endearment. It makes me feel like I’m close to a person when they call me Beth since everyone else calls me Bethany. Pretty sure no one who calls me Beth puts that much thought into it, but whatever haha. I also get called Brittany all. the. time. I’m so used to it that I’ll always respond to Brittany, but when people call me Brittany it makes me feel like they don’t know me at all (because hello! Not my name. Haha).

    My family is big on the full name thing, though. We all call my cousin Michael even though all of his friends call him Mike, and we all call my brother Nathan even though all of his friends call him Nate.

  32. Jolene says:

    I think it is so interesting that you see Christina and Tina as two different sides of you. But ya know? I guess I can totally see that, absolutely. I like that you are going with your gut and going with Tina. I would do the same thing. I have nicknames but prefer Jolene, though I like ‘jo’ too – as friends call me sometimes. A playful name I consider it.

  33. I also use a nickname, Jackie, but no one has ever called me by my full name.

    I recently bought the iPhone too, but I didn’t really do much with the settings. I do love technology though….well, sometimes. I don’t love technology when I’m writing a paper at 4am about to print it and my computer suddenly dies.

  34. I feel the same way! I was born Katherine but have gone by Katie most of my life. I prefer Kate, though, but for some reason most people I know still insist on calling me Katie!

  35. Our little group of bloggers yesterday at the Central Florida Blogger Conference were talking about your blog (all good things of course!). We referred to you as “Tina” if that makes you feel better. 😉

    My full name is Kathryn but from the day I was born, my parents called me Katy. Even when I’m in “trouble” they call me Katy. The only time I am called Kathryn is at the doctor’s office or when roll is called the first time in class (since my legal name is on my school docs).

  36. I go my middle name, Brooke. Never have used my first name, and I don’t associated with it at all. So I get upset when people ask what my “real” name is. My real name is the name I have used for almost 39 years, but my first name is Stephanie. 😛 I don’t use that name.

    I started using ‘B’ a few years ago as a way to be anonymous & quick in my posting (and because if it was good for Buffy…!), and I kind of like being called B on occasion. Heck, I have worked it into my blog and my fan page on facebook.

    I like to think I am technologically savvy, but in reality I am probably only a little better than the average human. 🙂

  37. […] What’s My Name Again? and FFF Features […]

  38. cheryl says:

    Well, I’m nickname-free but on VMs in general I think nicks are fine as long as they are of the obvious variety. In my Southern days, I found many people who went by a middle name…or even a nickname of their middle name (ex. if we combined to Cheryl Christina…they might be Tina)….I think that on a VM can be confusing if people know your given name.

    As for blog “rules” and food…I think it is about personal accountability. I have my issues but they are MY responsibility and I need to avoid triggers. There’s certainly a line where the blogger is pro-ED and that is another issue, but in general I think the reader needs to take control. There’s a little “X” and an off button…people need to use them and be responsible for themselves

  39. I hate the nickname Cathy which I went by for YEARS in middle and high school (not by choice). So I changed it to Kat (something my friends called me anyways) when I went to college. There are still a handful of HS friends that call me Cathy, but generally, that name makes my blood boil!

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