v's virtual vacuum
August 29, 2003
vanoowho?
I keep meaning to write an entry explaining my name and someone prompted me to this morning ....it was a nickname bestowed upon me by a former bossman.
I was working in a printing factory with in excess of five hundred men and about ten women, and the boys always used to correct their language in front of me and apologise for swearing and stuff, there was really no need cos i prolly knew more swear words in more languages than they did anyway, and it got to the stage where I used to swear about them under my breath when they left the room as I actually started to find it offensive - like I was the little miss of the piece or something. My favourite put down of the time was "fuckwit" directed venomously at their retreating rear view.
My boss man kept calling me vanoonoo, particularly when the swearing boys were around and saying it in this really strange accent. I didn't think anything of it cos with a real life name three syllables long and a mother who is part irish and a father who was from hungary I was used to being called all sorts of things.
However the boys on the print floor wanted to know why bossman called me vanoonoo, and he explained one day that it was swahili for fuckwit. I have no idea if it is or not, but it makes me giggle to think that I was mumbling fuckwit to all of them and bossman was calling me a nickname that he had decided meant fuckwit. As far as i know he's not fluent in swahili *grin*
Anyway, that was a very long time ago, and the very first time I chatted on the internet proper I didn't know what to call myself, so vanoonoo popped into my head and kinda stuck? I've been using it for about 5 years online now and although it's a silly name I am loathe to change it as I use it for almost everything and and and, well, you know how it is? I like to keep my unidentity even though I'm pretty easy to find.