Nicknames

So I decided to start blogging. I have no particular cause or topics, but if you know me then you know that weird stuff happens to me and I've always thought that it would make for some funny reading. I always keep a travel journal, and I enjoy recanting funny happenings in emails to my closest friends, but blogging will be a good way to do it more consistently and to chronicle the happenings of my life. Maybe nobody will read it but me, but it'll be interesting to look back and remember life before 40. (even if there isn't much of that left!)

Recently, my friend Sandi lost her husband John to pancreatic cancer at the young age of 44. They blogged about their battle with the disease, and now in the wake of his death Sandi has continued blogging about her life as a widowed mother of two toddlers. Their blogs have really been the inspiration for me to start writing. I've always wanted to write, and I don't want to wait for something bad to happen in order for me to start doing it. Procrastination has always been one of my downfalls, and their story has given me some new perspective on the value of time and opportunity.

Anyhow, I guess I will explain the title "Barbra Peapod Disco Bubbles." I had no idea what to call my blog so I lumped some of my nicknames together and voila -- it's a blog title. Here's where the nicknames came from:

• Barbra - I gave myself this nickname by accident when I was in college. During what came to be known as "THE Message", I announced myself as Barbra then sang Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were" aka "Memories" into my friend Autumn's answering machine with John commenting in the background. It stuck, and to a crop of my beloved friends from Penn State I am most affectionately known as Barbra.
• Peapod - Carolina gave me this one. We all need those couch potato days; however, I refer to my couch as my "peapod." It stuck, and now she calls me Peapod. She's the only one and that's fine with me. Carolina is one of my dearest friends, a former roommate, Penn Stater, and most of my best stories involve her in one way or another. Oompie, I love ya! (That's her nickname ... maybe I'll write about that one sometime.)
• Disco - My friend Michelle aka "Mira" gave me this name. When Carolina and I lived at 522 Spruce, we use to have a great apartment with a big hardwood floored living room -- aka dance floor. It was a given that after a night out, our friends and neighbors would come back to our place where the party would continue and the dancing would commence. I appointed myself as the DJ and always managed to pick out stuff that made people dance. Somebody called me "Sister Disco", which I then wrote on my plastic beer cup so I'd know which drink was mine. That was all it took, I was crowned "Disco" by Mira. I love this nickname -- it's fun, musical, happy and reminds me of really fun times.
• Bubbles - I got this name probably because my ass was so huge. It's still not little, but it's better than it was. Anyhow, Eddie at the Shamrock Pub gave me this nickname while we were playing darts. Funny, he gave Sue a nickname and we gave him one but whose name stuck ..... mine. Normally, I probably wouldn't be too thrilled about a nickname that makes fun of me being a big fat person, but I kinda liked Bubbles. It sounds happy, and I don't think Eddie ever meant to me disrespectful. That's sort of an odd statement, considering if you know Eddie he's possibly one of the most offensive people you may ever meet. I love him though. He's an original, and was one of the first people to welcome me into my neighborhood in South Philly. The name stuck, and pretty much everyone in my neighborhood knows me as Bubbles. I don't mind, and I feel lucky to live in a neighborhood with some of the best, most genuine, caring and passionate people in Philadelphia.

So that's it . I'm going back to watching the Penn State game. They're winning but only by 3 points, so I think they need some fan support. I hope this finds you having a happy Saturday!