The name I didn't get was Aliki, Greek form of Alice. It has its charms, but is an even easier tease than ita. My sister escaped being called Philippa, which would have suited her very well.

Less than 24 hours to my procedure, about which I will no doubt want to complain once it's done. I expect immediate pain.

LJ is back for me.

Back for me, too.

Oh, thank goodness. What work might I have gotten done if lj didn't show back up? Horrors.

It really would have been horrifying for me. My date on a blog tour is tomorrow and while it wouldn't have been a complete tragedy, it would've sucked.

Especially since I'm trying to get a good turnout for my part of the tour. In Barb's Not Nice news, there's a royal bitch on this tour who has a thing against me and I'd love to totally show her up by having a good turnout.

I know, I know.

I should be ashamed.

I just can't bring myself to do it. Be ashamed, that is.

Oh, and ita, here's hoping that even if there's immediate pain (and I hope there's not) that there's long-term relief.

ita, best thoughts for the procedure. I think you're due an unprecedented level of success and relief from the pain.

What Pete said.

Best-possible-outcome vibes for your procedure, ita.

Aliki is also the name of a children's author who is a friend of one branch of my family, and her books and posters and little friendly doodles are such a part of the background of that whole side of my life that I had to read the name over and over and repeat it aloud several times before the unfortunate teasing possibilities occurred to me.

My family doesn't use their given names. My sister Norene has always been called Mona. My sister Mary we call Judi. My brother John we call Jim. They call me by my name.

I have a cousin of sorts named Fintan, who is called Mike. I love Fintan, I think it's a fabulous name.

It is time to remind everyone of my Uncle Expedite? People called him Ex. Except fro his family, who called him Howard, which is his surname. I guess it's strange that his wife and children refer to him by his last name, but there are...unique circumstances.

Because of the role that my teddy bear played in my life (long story), and repeated viewings of the BBC Brideshead Revisited while young, I adore Aloysius. I would never seriously foist that upon a child though.

My bear's name is Algernon, and I had another bear named Sebastian.

For girls it's easy, for boys, not so much.

Is Pierre to foreign sounding in the US? Or my grandfather was Louis, which works as long as people don't default to Lou-isss.