My bonny lies over the ocean

The internet is a wonderful invention.  I owe a lot to whoever came up with the idea in the first place. A lot of knowledge was acquired, and a lot of relationships were established. 

Last night, a very good friend of mine told me of a very unusual encounter she had whereby a person she knew a while back is completely offline.  What that means is

1. He does not own a PC 
2. He has no profiles set up anywhere on the WWW 
3. He doesn't own a smartphone or any other device that puts him online 
4. He does not use anyone else's pc/laptop/smartphone/whatever 
5. He does not steal wifi/use internet cafes 
6. He has never ever been online and 
7. Has no virtual footprint whatsoever.  

The thought of it was scary!
Nowadays, I cannot imagine myself living without the internet.  It enables me to have a relationship with people all over the world.  Yes, letters can achieve the same effect - I still recall the days when I had penpals.  However, it always felt like a monologue.  There is no real-time interaction.

Having said that, I do occasionally send and receive postcards and letters and greeting cards and gifts from friends spread all over the world whom I got to know online and still talk to regularly via technological means.

My point is this: I owe Creature's existence to the internet. 

The one invention I wish they'd create is teleportation devices.  As a Trekkie, I grew up amazed by the infinite possibilities such a device could provide.  From time to time, I look up information to see if there has been progress in the scientific fields that will bring us a step closer to having our own teleportation devices.  One can hope!

At times like these, I wish - really, REALLY wish - that one could email themselves over from one place to the other.  Most of the people I would want to be around are spread all over the place.  They live anywhere but here.  Thankfully there is still a handful of people on the rock that I enjoy being in their company.  Still, it does not makeup for those who cannot be here.

If you, like me, find yourself in this kind of situation - get a webcam and make your international loved ones invest in one as well.  That way, you can still spend time with them whenever possible.   I have plans in place where a friend from as far away as New Zealand would like to read stories to Creature via Skype.  Even when it comes to special occasions - Baby Showers, Baptism/Saining ceremonies - Xmas, New Year's, Birthdays - it makes it a tiny bit less sad not to be in physical proximity.

My name is... what?

There is a standard protocol one follows whenever they find out an acquaintance, friend or relative is pregnant. First off, they look at Pregnant Person confused, trying to assess whether "Congratulations!!" is in order or not.  Once the appropriate reaction has been confirmed and executed, [if said reaction was to be positive] the standard conversation would follow these steps:

• "How far along are you?"
• "Is it a boy or a girl?"
• "Have you decided on a name yet?"

 Ah, the name. That is one question that will keep on haunting you until the very end of the pregnancy.

 "What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
Juliet, in 'Romeo and Juliet' (Act 2, Scene 2)

If like me, you decide to wait until birth to find out your spawn's gender, the task of finding an adequate name will become even harder.You'll have to decide on First and Middle names for a boy, then go through the same process again for a girl.  Parents to twins+ have my sympathy - it must be hell trying to decide what names to choose, then figure out who should be given which name once the babies are born!

I set in place a number of rules when it comes to choosing a name.

1. No biblical names
2. No naming Creature after someone I know
3. No naming Creature after someone I know's children.
4. No naming Creature after an ex.
5. No uber-common names [e.g. Chris, Mark, Michael, Maria, Sara]
6. No extremely uncommon names
7. No names that are easily warped to become something rude [e.g. Josh,Garrett]
8. No names that are easy to make fun of - mainly because I'd be tempted to do so myself.
9. No stupid names
10. The initials must not spell something that will make a bully squeal in glee.

Those guidelines meant that I said no to pretty much all suggestions put forward by people who wished to give their input.  Unfortunately, I also had to change my own mind a few times as well. 

You know how everyone seems to have names up their sleeve that they'd like to call their child, should they ever become parents? Well, mine were Rhiannon and Gawain.  Thanks to pop music, I know for a fact that if I were to call any daughter of mine Rhiannon and live in Malta, more often than not people will call her Rihanna. *shudder*  Besides from that unpleasant factor, I know both a Rhiannon and a Gawain nowadays - and one of my friends actually named her own daughter Rhiannon, so that is a no-go.

I also happen to have a severe aversion to most unisex names, as they tend to be too masculine/feminine at the best of times.  Therefore, I completely ignored them whilst brainstorming for names.

At one point, I had decided I would call a boy Duncan - which meant I'd have to listen to Princes of the Universe once he's born... And a girl would be called Yvaine, after the Fallen Star in Stardust - one kickass novel written by God Himself - Mr Neil Gaiman.  This was the plan until it happened.

"What?"

Well, I was finding it so difficult to come up with a name mainly because I'm the kind of person who needs to see a face in order to assign a name to that being.  So, when I got to have a 4D Ultrasound Scan, and I actually saw Creature's face, I realised that neither names were appropriate, and therefore I would have to start my quest all over again.

My Creature :)

I spent the next few days constantly staring at the 4D images, trying to decide what name Creature looks like, besides from Creature, of course.  And then, one night it hit me.  I had finally found The Name.

At this point, you're probably hanging on the edge of your seat in anticipation. "What is it? Tell us! Tell us!" you're screaming frantically at me.

Sorry, but not yet. 

It isn't that I'm being evil..... well, not just that, anyway.  Remember the 10 Name Choosing Commandments I listed previously?  Number 3 is the reason why only a handful of people I trust know the name. 

Friendships can be ruined over someone stealing another person's future baby name.  It has happened in the past, and undoubtedly, it will carry on happening.  If you're one of them Name Stealers - SHAME ON YOU!!  It is really annoying when it happens, especially if the person robbed of the name has the same kind of rules I do.  Please, don't.  If you like a name someone has had up their sleeve for a while, and you would like to use it, ask them first.  They might not agree to its use as a first name, but perhaps they'd be fine with it being used as a middle name!

So, now that I've chosen a First Name, I get to repeat the same process all over again with a Middle Name.  Wish me luck!