We'll annex your provinces soon, Connie.

Very soon.

I for one welcome my new overlords.

So many people shorten my name that I decided I will not answer to it at all if it occurs. They yell my shortened name insistently and I say to them: "oh, my name is XXX, I didn't think you were talking to me."

In dogs, I remember reading about ball prostheses that vets could put in the sack after ball removal, to keep things looking, um, robust. I always figured that was more for owners who wanted the image of a bad-ass, macho dog

Testicle prosthetics are ENTIRELY about the owner. And, I always suspect, those guys are personally insecure.

I decided I will not answer to it at all if it occurs. They yell my shortened name insistently and I say to them: "oh, my name is XXX, I didn't think you were talking to me."

I've done a version of this. It's hysterical.

Stopped by a local carniceria that I'd never seen and picked up many things. None of them actually meat. Some fresh chiles, sope and cotija. Which has been converted into dinner.

Two more ladies nicknamed me since I last posted (in email). Not sure how to respond to that in the future. I detest teh "cute".

I make an effort to get people's names right. I don't have a great talent for foreign names so it is a challenge at times.

I like my name. My family gets away with Lauri, No One else dare try. Living in the South for much of the past few decades I don't mind the Hon and Darlin' and so forth at all. I take it in the spirit it is intended. But if I tell you Laura that is what I expect to hear.

Two more ladies nicknamed me since I last posted (in email). Not sure how to respond to that in the future. I detest teh "cute".

It's harder when it's someone I have to work with or deal with continually. Women who call other women things like "cutie" when they hardly know them are usually the type to get offended if I say I don't like it. They seem to take it as personal rejection and a sign that I'm not "friendly". Which, I'm not, not in the way they are, but I still want to have pleasant dealings with them.

My boss (a woman) occasionally calls me "Lady". As in, "Hey, Lady, how are you today?" with a big smile. I have no idea why. It creeps me out. And she's my neurotic boss, so I can't just tell her to stop it.

Everyone in my family calls me Hillie. I don't mind it too much from them, or from people who've known me since I was a baby, as long as they spell it that way when they write it out (I just don't like the spelling Hilly), but it really annoys me when I meet someone new, and I introduce myself as Hillary or Hil, and then they meet my family and hear them calling me Hillie, and then the new people start calling me Hillie.

then they meet my family and hear them calling me Hillie, and then the new people start calling me Hillie.

My mom is one of those people who has a million nicknames for everyone, including the dog. So if anyone tried to nickname me based on my family, they would be terribly confused. There are several variations on my middle name (or just my middle name, period). There's "Dolly", whose origin I genuinely can't remember, and then many variations on "Dolly" -- Dollmeister, Dolly Lama, Doll-o-rama. My brother generally just addresses me as "Sister", though never "Sis", because we already have an Aunt Sis.

Tim's dad is one of 6 siblings, and a lot of them nickname him with the first syllable of his last name. Which is hilarious, because they ALL have that last name. (Like if their last name was "Macdonald", and they called him "Mac".) (I don't know why I'm being circumspect about their last name when it's my name on FB.) At a big family shindig last week, I said that fully 80% of the people at the shindig could answer to that nickname, including me now.

As the youngest of 7, I was always "Danny."

Some of my siblings' children still call me "Uncle Danny" because of their parents.

My mom is the only person I don't mind calling me danny. Most others have gotten the message of "Uncle Dan"

I use Daniel a lot because at work, the a sound in shortened names like "Dan" "Pam" "Sam" etc caught my ear too often.

Of course, people who don't have the foggiest why are always the ones who are shocked! Shocked! that I might think they called out "Dan" across the room.

So my last few jobs I became "Daniel" Unless someone calls a spaniel by it's species, I'm golden. Well, maybe "Samuel" but how many people would use that long form? Spaniel is more likely, at least up north.