A Blog About Me: What's In A Name?

Remember the days of collecting rocks, coins, stamps and seashells? If you said yes, I'll let you in on a little secret: by the age of 13, I had amassed 200+ coins from around the world coupled with a respectable antique bottle collection. I know, closet nerd and proud of it. The good news...my days of accumulating dust collectors have gone the way of the do-do. Rather, to my astonishment, I seem to be acquiring a sizeable collection of monikers in a day and age when people are either collecting iTunes playlists or Facebook friends, all of which take little space (physically speaking). 

Nicknames come and go, but some seem to stick around like the lingering smell of a bad fart. Someone throws a few words together and voilà, an instant reflection of my character. I suppose my biased notion of my "star" qualities are not necessarily the views of those closest to me. So how do my friends & family see me? As I am no mind reader and am prone to exaggeration, I will list a few of my various nicknames and let you be the judge of me.

• Sweet-pickle: I can go from being sweet to sour just about as fast as a cheetah can go from 0 to 100km/h in 3 seconds.
• Anal Angel: although sounding like a porn star, it goes with my need to have ALL my "ducks in a row".
• Naserian: my Maasai name given to me in Kenya, by Maasai elders meaning "Peaceful One"
• Newbie: my Canadian friends living in Kenya bestowed me this title. A seasoned traveller to Kenya, I can still manage a few faux-pas or a.k.a. blonde moments.
• Growly Bear: I can be a little over protective with my peeps to the point of being bossy.
• Rose: not a flattering moniker but one my parents gave me a long time ago when in moments of absent-mindedness, I reminded them of a character on their favourite sitcom "The Golden Girls".
• Tuff N' Tiny: the name of my USB flash drive which eventually transferred over to me. What can I say? I'm petite and like to be thought of as tough. If the shoe fits..........
• Malaika: Kenyan Angel - yes, at times, I can be angelic
• Ducky: generally, everything is "ducky" with this Ducky (except around duck season)
• bB (baby Barracuda): generally solitary, a barracuda is a voracious predator relying on stealth and short bursts of speed to overtake its prey. I'm really not that evil but I do have a mischievous streak and fierce determination. Watch out for my sneaky side!!!

There you have it, your African Snow Angel revealed. Professional Photographer, part-time student, current Lead Gardener & Crew Leader, Africa addict, future Field Guide and all of the above. If by chance, and there is that possibility, you should ever run into this Canadian short stop (made famous by Disney's "It's A Small World After All"), ask me about my rock collection. I think geology may be easier to explain and let's face it, it's much more fascinating than what's in a name. Now to fill in box two of my student Visa application - FIRST NAME(s). hmm?!!!