So I've been thinking about what's in a name. I was born with the name James Scott Anderson, but my parents called me Jimmy. As I grew up, I became very close to my older brother, Jason. So close, in fact, that I got confused and would sometimes introduce myself as JasonJimmy.
"Hello, I'm JasonJimmy Anderson." I'd say. I must have heard my parents calling, "Jason! Jimmy! Time to come in!" and think they were referring to me alone. I wasn't an idiot, just four.
Anyway, by third grade or so I had gotten the confusion straightened out, but by that time felt that I was much too mature to be a "Jimmy." So I began going by "James" one year. Totally threw my friends off.
After a few years, I felt that James, though my legal name, was much too stuffy for me (no offense you non-stuffy Jameses out there, esp you James S!) and that I would now be simply "Jim."
That pretty much stuck over the years, until I got into Film School and brought back the "Jimmy." I even had a few screen credits to my name using the screen name "Jimmy Anderson" which I liked because I felt it was much more memorable than plain old "Jim Anderson."
I still go by Jim to most folks, except that I have created somewhat of a system, a way to instantly process calls, emails, and mail based on the sender's use of my name. If the caller (or writer) asks for James, they don't know me at ALL and oftentimes want my money or want me to share private information with them that serves no purpose other than wasting my time and breaking down my system. If they say "Jim" they know me pretty well or have been introduced to me before, at least its not a cold call relationship. And if they call me "Jimmy" I know right away that's it's a member of my inner circle, one of my closest and dearest friends or family members. Most people who know me don't know that I think of myself as "Jimmy" and would probably laugh if they found out. Funny, huh?
One last note: Lately I have found myself creating even more names for myself as I have learned more about the lovely world of advertising. For example, if I have to fill some kind of questionaire out for say, Land's End, but I never want to be seriously contacted by that entity, I might get a bunch of coupons in the mail addressed to a Mr. "LandsEndSpam Anderson" at which point I know exactly who is out there pimping my name. Its always good for a chuckle.
