I must say my parents did a great job of giving me with a quite a unique name. I was christened REAGAN ALEXANDER as my first names, and I really love it, minus the vanity ok? (Yes, Filipinos are fond of having 2 or three 'first' names.) I've learned that here in England, you'll be known as (FIRST NAME+SURNAME) only, thus dropping ALEXANDER entirely on most documents here.
My name had a good story behind it. No, I won't bore you, I swear, this will be quick! According to my mother, my late father planned to name me Alexander only. Then his father, my late grandfather, intervened. Allegedly, he was a big fan of the ex-U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and insisted 'Reagan' must be the name of his yet-to-be-born grandson.
My father, ever-so-gracious, planned on Alexander Reagan to make everybody happy. Guess what, that didn't sit well with grandfather. He wanted it to be the first name, for he REALLY wanted it to be my first name. And you might say we now know who won the name game.
Now as I grew older, it would be a conversation revolving around my name with foreign strangers, particularly with the British elderly. 1. For they lived around the time of Ronald and 2. Regan is an Irish family name, or a girl's name. See, my name is a conundrum and is having an identity crisis most of the time.
*****
I had this phone call from a patient's relative at one time, and most of the time, this is how I plead my case with regards to my name. But this chatty fellow is quite a character. This call lasted more than it should, but it was fun. He asked first how his mom was doing, and then we'll pick it up from there.
Caller: Thanks for updating me on my mom, I do hope that everything goes well and she gets home tomorrow.
Me: You're welcome, we'll do our best to have that plan get done.
Caller: By the way, did you say your name is 'Reagan?'
**My thoughts: Uh-oh here we go again with my name**
Me: Yes, it is Reagan.
Caller: Is it your first name? Like from Ronald Reagan right?
Me: You got it! (whew)
Caller: Wow that's great, are you an American then?
Me: No sir, I was just named so because my grandfather was a fan. I am from Philippines. (Used this line 100000 times)
Caller: I see, don't mind me asking, how come you do sound like an American?
**Usually after this, I would have to explain that I worked before in a call center in Makati, Philippines, thus acquiring some of the accent. But I was to busy to retell this story, so I had to come up with something.**
Me: Uh, well I guess I was watching too many films and telly then! (tired laugh)
Caller: (really laughed) Yes of course! You must have a lot of chances of speaking to Americans then, because you had a U.S. military base then there right?
Me: Umm, yeah. That was a long time ago but yeah.
Caller: So, wait, are your parents American though, or one of them?
Me: No, as far as I know they are both Filipinos still. (tired laugh)
Caller: Right! That's great! (laughing still, not drunk I guess) You guys from Philippines are great boxers, that guy Pacquiao is something.
Me: That's true, that's why when you meet a Filipino, better be nice or else they'll knock you out!
Caller: (LAUGHS) Thanks for the reminder Reagan, I won't ask for your weight and height for you might throw me a punch soon. Have a good night!
Me: And you too sir, you're welcome.
(No real boxing occured)
*****
This different encounter, is one and unique. Since there are lots of African-British professionals here, we do get to work with them regularly. I'll have to replace his name for protection, I'll call him 'David'. This scenario, we were both working on a different ward from ours.
Me: Hi, my name is Reagan. And your name is?
David: 'David.' (He checks my name badge to read?)
David: Reagan, as in the President?
**here we go again**
Me: umm, yeah. Grandfather was a fan, named me after him.
David: I have met a friend, name was Nancy, after Nancy Reagan. Why would you be named after an American? They're Americans. We should be different. They are not all that good too you know? Us Africans, we are named by Bible names. Benjamin, Sara, David, etc.
Me: *silent*
David: Americans, what do they do? They boss everyone around. They would kill Kaddafi, and say they did the right thing. They would start war, and say they're the good guys.
Me: uhhh...I see.
**tried to run away from conversation as I answered a phone call**
Big WHOA.
*****
This other encounter made me sure to keep it on my life-tickboxes. I've worked with a doctor, who is an American-Asian. After an explanation of my name's origin:
Me: So wait, you're from America, right?
Doc: Yeah. Both of my parents are from Taiwan, but lived in the USA. That's why the Taiwanese people hated President Reagan.
Me: Wait, why?
Doc: Well, he drove them out of the country.
Me: Right, thanks for reminding me, I might not visit Taiwan in like, ever!
-----
So those are just some of the situations I get into because of my name. Either I'm of strange Irish descent, an American son who boxes,or a bad guy starting a war. So parents, and guys wanting to decide on a baby name, please make sure your child won't get into trouble much later on because of their given name.
My name surely is versus the world. Anybody wants to tag-team with me? Guys? Hello?
My name had a good story behind it. No, I won't bore you, I swear, this will be quick! According to my mother, my late father planned to name me Alexander only. Then his father, my late grandfather, intervened. Allegedly, he was a big fan of the ex-U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and insisted 'Reagan' must be the name of his yet-to-be-born grandson.
My father, ever-so-gracious, planned on Alexander Reagan to make everybody happy. Guess what, that didn't sit well with grandfather. He wanted it to be the first name, for he REALLY wanted it to be my first name. And you might say we now know who won the name game.
Now as I grew older, it would be a conversation revolving around my name with foreign strangers, particularly with the British elderly. 1. For they lived around the time of Ronald and 2. Regan is an Irish family name, or a girl's name. See, my name is a conundrum and is having an identity crisis most of the time.
I had this phone call from a patient's relative at one time, and most of the time, this is how I plead my case with regards to my name. But this chatty fellow is quite a character. This call lasted more than it should, but it was fun. He asked first how his mom was doing, and then we'll pick it up from there.
Caller: Thanks for updating me on my mom, I do hope that everything goes well and she gets home tomorrow.
Me: You're welcome, we'll do our best to have that plan get done.
Caller: By the way, did you say your name is 'Reagan?'
**My thoughts: Uh-oh here we go again with my name**
Me: Yes, it is Reagan.
Caller: Is it your first name? Like from Ronald Reagan right?
Me: You got it! (whew)
Caller: Wow that's great, are you an American then?
Me: No sir, I was just named so because my grandfather was a fan. I am from Philippines. (Used this line 100000 times)
Caller: I see, don't mind me asking, how come you do sound like an American?
**Usually after this, I would have to explain that I worked before in a call center in Makati, Philippines, thus acquiring some of the accent. But I was to busy to retell this story, so I had to come up with something.**
Me: Uh, well I guess I was watching too many films and telly then! (tired laugh)
Caller: (really laughed) Yes of course! You must have a lot of chances of speaking to Americans then, because you had a U.S. military base then there right?
Me: Umm, yeah. That was a long time ago but yeah.
Caller: So, wait, are your parents American though, or one of them?
Me: No, as far as I know they are both Filipinos still. (tired laugh)
Caller: Right! That's great! (laughing still, not drunk I guess) You guys from Philippines are great boxers, that guy Pacquiao is something.
Me: That's true, that's why when you meet a Filipino, better be nice or else they'll knock you out!
Caller: (LAUGHS) Thanks for the reminder Reagan, I won't ask for your weight and height for you might throw me a punch soon. Have a good night!
Me: And you too sir, you're welcome.
(No real boxing occured)
*****
This different encounter, is one and unique. Since there are lots of African-British professionals here, we do get to work with them regularly. I'll have to replace his name for protection, I'll call him 'David'. This scenario, we were both working on a different ward from ours.
Me: Hi, my name is Reagan. And your name is?
David: 'David.' (He checks my name badge to read?)
David: Reagan, as in the President?
**here we go again**
Me: umm, yeah. Grandfather was a fan, named me after him.
David: I have met a friend, name was Nancy, after Nancy Reagan. Why would you be named after an American? They're Americans. We should be different. They are not all that good too you know? Us Africans, we are named by Bible names. Benjamin, Sara, David, etc.
Me: *silent*
David: Americans, what do they do? They boss everyone around. They would kill Kaddafi, and say they did the right thing. They would start war, and say they're the good guys.
Me: uhhh...I see.
**tried to run away from conversation as I answered a phone call**
Big WHOA.
*****
This other encounter made me sure to keep it on my life-tickboxes. I've worked with a doctor, who is an American-Asian. After an explanation of my name's origin:
Me: So wait, you're from America, right?
Doc: Yeah. Both of my parents are from Taiwan, but lived in the USA. That's why the Taiwanese people hated President Reagan.
Me: Wait, why?
Doc: Well, he drove them out of the country.
Me: Right, thanks for reminding me, I might not visit Taiwan in like, ever!
-----
So those are just some of the situations I get into because of my name. Either I'm of strange Irish descent, an American son who boxes,or a bad guy starting a war. So parents, and guys wanting to decide on a baby name, please make sure your child won't get into trouble much later on because of their given name.
My name surely is versus the world. Anybody wants to tag-team with me? Guys? Hello?
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