Baby Names

Seung-Hyeun
Originally uploaded by Oblivia.

My mom said once that she thought Korean babies really are the cutest. This has to be one of the most biased statements ever but I was pretty damn cute. Ha! Actually, I was FAT. Not ordinary chubby baby fat but huge. Michelin Man kind of proportions.

Lately, I have been going public with my baby names just because they've been kicking around in my brain for a few years. And going public with them means that it means that somewhere in my mind eye, I see a future - even if it is, in fact, not to be. A future that a wise-man-fortune-teller man my parents consulted said that I would have boys. And perhaps I always knew that because I never had anything but boy names...for twins.

The names aren't going over very well. My friends have been less than enthusiastic. People usually laugh first, and then scoff. Others prefer the "mock first, ridicule later" approach. One person recommended that I make baby names clear to any prospective Daddy before charting that course (may influence decision). Telling Setare and Atomic only caused us to riff on it coming up with gems like "Farfigneugen"* and "Pfeffernuss" for the girls.

So - deep breath - Titus and Leander. Ta da!

And what if I have a girl? I'm gonna call her Lexus. We're a Lexus family. When the time comes, I too will own a Lexus. Its in my DNA and I think I'm coming to a level of maturity and self acceptance where I'm alright with that.

This is my 'niece Seung-Hyeun' or 'second cousin Rachel'. I met her for the first time alongside our cousin AJ who made all the right "coochie-coo" noises which shocked me a bit because I think of him as a child. I changed his diaper and made him laugh when he pulled a sourpuss face to prevent him from crying. Now his little bro has a girlfriend and I am fully twice this kid's age.

Truthfully, I'm more comfortable with this in the abstract than in the messy reality.



*Farfigneugen is the perfect dish that involves Bugs Bunny wabbit, from Looney Tunes of course.