Vox etc.

[norwich36]

Thanks to itsaslashything, I now have a Vox account here: http://norwich36.vox.com/ Who knows if I'll ever use it, but when I get invites I will pass them along, and if you are over there and I haven't "neighbored" you yet, let me know and I will.

In the five minutes it took me to set up the account before rushing off to the dentist (the interface is very easy as long as you assume it's a totally different system than lj), I made a decision that I've been thinking about for a while, which is that I want to change my name. Not my lj handle--I kind of like norwich36, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to ever have to fight off other folks who are norwich_36 or anything like that--but my actual nom de net.

Way back when I was deciding to maybe emerge from lurkerdom for what was really the second time (since I was briefly active on usenet under my real name in the mid 90s), I was looking for a name that I could keep while switching fandoms, which I used to do a lot, and I picked "Julie Norwich" when I set up my yahoo account because I was reading a lot of Annie Dillard at the time.

But it didn't take me long to decide I didn't really feel like a Julie, so I decided to just go by Norwich. I still kind of like Norwich--I'm keeping it--but now that I'm starting to meet other fen in person it feels a little cumbersome. I wanted a nickname. Or a first name. Or something. So I've been pondering this for literally three months (yes, I am slow), and I even thought about doing a poll, but instead I drove my best friend in RL crazy with suggestions.

Me: "What do you think of Jaye."
D: "Why do you have to come up with a new name? I like your name."
Me: "It's a net thing. Look, just tell me what you think of Jaye."
D: "No, you are definitely not a Jaye."
Me: "Well, I was only thinking about Jaye because it could kind of be short for Julie, which is already sort of my fake name."
D: "Oh my GOD, you are totally not a Julie. Your hair is completely wrong for a Julie. What about Kate? You look more like a Kate than a Julie."
Me: "No, there are way too many Kates on lj already. Maybe Annie?"
D: "Why do you have to change your name, anyway? I like your name. I don't think you should change your name."
Me: "Because (my RL name) is too distinctive, and I actually need to remain anonymous for work reasons."
D: "You can't be Annie, because Annie is (D's ex-girlfriend's) current girlfriend, and that would just be WAY too confusing for me.

Etc. etc. etc. D was very resistant to the whole idea of a pseudonym! We even spent a lot of time brainstorming variations and anagrams of Norwich: N? Which? Nor? Whorn? Horn? Chorn? Ichor? It didn't seem very nickname friendly.

But then I was reading the latest Laurie King novel, and there was a character named Nora, and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of that, and I called D up right away, and she said "Nora? Oh, you could TOTALLY be a Nora."




So, the short version is, call me Nora. (Or Norwich--I'll answer to either, but Nora rolls more easily off the tongue). And as soon as I get a chance to set up my exciting new gmail account, courtesy of the invitation bop_radar, I'll be Nora Norwich (or the closest non-taken approximation of that) over there.

Comments

[mskatej.livejournal.com]

I totally thought your real name was Julie. Boy is my face red.

Nora it is! Also, I will take a vox invite when you have one to spare. I am sick of being left out.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Well, it's in my email, so that's totally understandable! I probably should have changed my email address a long time ago, but I had a hard time thinking of a good pseud, as you can tell from this post. Anyway, no need for you to feel embarassed for making the assumption that pretty much everyone makes.

I will give you a Vox invite as soon as I get one!

[yavannauk.livejournal.com]

I have a spare VOX invite at the moment if you want it. Just let me know the email addy I need to send it to.

[mskatej.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you! ms_ninjafan @ hotmail . com

[sadface.livejournal.com]

Of course, now I think you're like a spy or something.

I refer to you (as often I do actually) as Norwich mostly, and occasionally Julie. I have reasoning behind this, I thought Julie was your first name, and since you never use it on LJ I only use it to people that I know have had emails from you and would know that that was you, and also that you had given them the information about your name.

Calling you Nora will probably confuse me too much, so i'll stick with Norwich. yes.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Norwich is fine with me!

(Unfortunately, now that you've revealed my secret identity, I will be forced to kill you).

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

Oh, when I think of Nora, I think of the stylish and utterly fabulous Nora Charles, so I heartily approve of this name change for you!

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

(http://photobucket.com)

I should be so lucky! I hadn't even thought of Nora Charles--thanks for reminding me.

[candidlily.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I like Nora. And you remain mysterious about your real life, which is fun. ;) I like your friend's responses to your new names. Sounds like something I would say. Hehe.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That conversation was half the reason I made this post in the first place--D completely cracks me up.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Wheee!! You have a new name. *g* That is very good. I like Nora. Nora is a good name. Although I always think of you as Norwich, and probably still will. But I like the way Nora kind of works as an abbreviation of Norwich. *g*

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Well, since Nora was *supposed* to be an abbreviation of Norwich, that works! But feel free to continue calling me Norwich; Nora is really the nickname or more informal version.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

I think your namechange (or name addition) lingered in my subconscious, as last night I had a dream that I saw a picture of you online. It was attached to some lit journal article, but I knew it was you (in that way of dream logic). How bizarre! Sometimes I do have 'LJ' dreams, but mostly people are represented in them by little floating icons and I would have thought you'd just be 'Chloe' in my mind. ;-)

[mailerose.livejournal.com]

Oh, so you have a pseudonym. Me too!

I actually made a post about it a little while ago, but that was before I friended a bunch of people. So I'm pretty sure most of them think my name's Maile.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

It's funny--I almost always assume that people's lj name is pseudonymous unless they tell me otherwise. I guess people automatically assume whatever they do is the common practice!