It’s All in the Name…

Well, I just created my very own personal blog. It was easier than I thought and I didn’t even have to ask anyone for step-by-step instructions. Naming the thing came next, but that wasn’t the least bit difficult. See, back in the “olden days” I envisioned being a big city writer and having my own column in the newspaper a la Dave Barry. I would do a play on my name and call it “Jane’s Domain” and I would get to write about whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and would get paid big bucks to do it. It’d be like having fun at work and doing what I loved to do.

Hard as it is to believe, editors and publishers weren’t clamoring at my door begging me to be their star columnist, so I relegated my writing skills to snail-mail letters and occasional bursts of creativity in whatever writing project came my way. But now we’re in the middle of the Social Network Era and I can tweet and text and IM and blog to my heart’s content. And I get to name my blog whatever I want.

So why Jane’s Domain? Well, growing up I was frequently called “Jane Domain.” People mis-read the spelling and pronunciation of my last name, and they thought my parents must have had a good sense of humor and named me Jane on purpose to rhyme with my last name.

Actually, the last name is pronounced “Do-mee-an,” but that never stopped anyone from calling me “Jane Domain” even after being corrected. Sometimes people even shortened my last name to Doe. Get it? Yeah, right. It wasn’t that funny to me, either. I’d come back with, “…and my brother’s name is John…” And then I’d make the “ka-chhh” sound of the cymbals after the comedian tells a lame joke. But when they’d laugh, I’d say, “Seriously; it is…”

Getting married in September of ’09 changed all that. I took my husband’s last name and have spent many hours changing my Social Security card and my driver’s license and health insurance card and passport, and…well, you get the idea. I reasoned that his last name is easier to pronounce and spell. Ha. Lately, I’ve been noticing that people spell it “Cordoba” instead of “Cordova” if I’m not watching them with an eagle eye. Sigh. And don’t get me started on the “rich, Corinthian leather” comments said in a bad Ricardo Montalban accent. Perhaps I should’ve held out for someone named “Smith”? Nah, I wouldn’t trade my husband for anything. I’ll just have to live with saying, “V-as-in-Victor…” when spelling my new last name.

However, naming my blog “Jane’s Cordova” just doesn’t quite work, does it? Thus, (drum roll, please!) I warmly welcome you to “Jane’s Domain” – my own little corner of the world where I get to write about whatever I want whenever I want.

Now…where are those big bucks??

Ka-chhh.