The girl with a thousand names - Day 20

Day 20: Nicknames

I'm not exactly sure how or why, but nicknames are one thing I have never had a shortage of. Let's see if I can name them all in the order I was given them.

Mini Kimmi - This lasted until kindergarden age. I'm not sure who started calling me this, but I do know I got this nickname because I looked like a miniature version of my older sister, Kim. All of her friends called me Mini Kimmi...until the basketball game when they fed me too much licorice and I threw up all over three of them in the student section bleachers. I'm not sure if this is the reason the name kind of died, but my memories of it stop about that time frame.

Like I said, the "mini" dropped off years ago, but my dad's side of the family can never tell us apart so I still get called Kim a fair amount.

Cuddle Bug - This was my CB handle back in the day before cell phones. Having a CB in your house and car was loads of fun. Let's see if I can remember all of our handles, I may need to phone a friend.
Home = Big I Base;
Dad = Gopher;
Mom = Honey-do;
Brian = White Lightening;
Kim = Sweet Thunder;
Jeremy = Hungry Jack.

Those of you interested in being as cool as my family or wanting your own CB handle, feel free to consult this eHow article.

Squirt - Kim used to call me this when I was in grade school. I think it was because I was short, but I can't be for sure.

Little Woman - I went to Park for grades 1-3. I was the only girl in my class of four and subsequently was the shortest girl in the school. The 4th, 5th and 6th grade boys called me this. I lost the name when Cheyenne started first grade the next year. It could have been worse....and I think it did get worse.

Gertrude - Ugh. And so the downward spiral of never being called Erin begins. As we already established, I wasn't a coordinated or athletic child. God made me to play Barbies, color and look cute, not climb ropes, run and sweat. Apparently, my attempts to dribble, run, stretch, play line tag, etc. al., reminded Mr. Heinz, our PE teacher — who in my mind back then was like a mean drill sergeant with bad teeth, goofy laugh and funny name — of a grandma. So, he'd yell things like, "Come on grandma!" "Lift your feet, Gertrude!"

Gerdy - Gertrude was quickly shortened to Gerdy and spread like wildfire all over school. By the second grade I was convinced Mr. Heinz didn't know my real name. I'm a little weird, so I actually didn't mind Gerdy as a nickname. I liked being "heard of."

Kirby - I think during 12 and under softball one summer Kirby was born, out of someone mishearing Gerdy. I liked this even better because of that cute little pink guy from Kirby's Adventures.

Gert - During junior high the nickname got shortened to Gert. To this day, people who I haven't been around since high school and some friends parents still call me Gert when they see me back home.

Kirb - Same story as Gert. Kids get lazy in high school and I still get called this from some long-time friends. I think this is one of my favorite variations of the nickname.

EG - Now we enter the college years. Part of the magic of going to K-State for college was nobody else from back home was really there, so I got to be Erin again...or the closest variation of it I was ever going to be. My dorm neighbors/friends quickly started calling me by my initials.

EG3 - Sometime during freshman year, the EG got a twist. I was with a group of friends and we were talking about one of their high school classmates, who Becca always referred to as James Elmer Fox the Third. I quickly proclaimed that I wanted to be Erin Garrett the Third. Dee, didn't miss a beat, and said, "Ok, EG3!"

Femminim - I went through a two week phase sophomore year where I thought I could be a while girl rapper.

Thundercat - Another self-inflicted nickname inspired by the song "Shake Your Tailfeather."

TC - Short for Thundercat and Dally still calls me TC.

Lulu - Ok, only my family and small children are allowed to call me this name. When Payton was little she as super tubby and had lots of crazy brown hair. One day, Kim had her dressed in a red and white checkered dress and I asked her why she had her dressed like Lulu from Hee Haw.

Payton started crying and was inconsolable. We assume she knew that wasn't a flattering comment. A few years later, when she could talk, Payton came running into mom and dad's house and firmly told me, "I'M NOT A LULU! YOU'RE A LULU!" And now that's what my family calls me. I can't wait for Sam to say it again so more people can hear it :)

I think between Gertrude and Lulu it's safe to say I could make a pretty seamless transition into life in the south.

Aardvark - Oh boy, this one was born from a conversation with Jessi where she kept referring to her Aunt Bunny, who was rich. Apparently my takeaway from this conversation was that every single girl needs a "rich aunt name" which starts with Aunt and ends with a type of animal. Jessi is Foxhound; Katie, Cricket; Choy, Panda; Kristin, Cobra and I got stuck with Aardvark (I only accepted this name once I was told it had to be said in a Boston accent.)


Wow, I'm exhausted from typing about myself for over an hour and there are probably still some that I've missed.