Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A Plethora of Kims

pleth·o·ra
NOUN:
1. A superabundance; an excess. . . .

But really--can there ever be too many Kims?

I was born in 1956 and I was named after Kim Novak, an actress who made several popular films in the year or so before my birth. Growing up here in California, I never knew another Kim. In fact, one year on the first day of summer school, I found myself listed on the boys' roll call--apparently the teacher thought I was an Asian boy, which wouldn't have been too bad except my mom insisted on keeping my hair short, so I was a little sensitive when it came to gender. When you're a child, having an uncommon name can feel like a handicap. I always longed to be named Susie and have long, blonde ringlets. Sigh.

In the past year, my office hired another secretary named Kim, so now when I call anyone, I have to leave my first AND last name. After being the only Kim for so many years, sometimes I forget. A court clerk who tried to call me back one day got passed around and was a bit annoyed by the time she reached me. I told her I'm considering changing my name to Bubbles. At least people don't usually stay annoyed when you make them laugh, and as a legal secretary, the LAST person you want annoyed is a court clerk! We have a new office manager, and when I was introduced, I asked if she could please fire the other Kim--not that I have anything against her, but it's all just too confusing!

Since beginning my blog, I've discovered quite a few quilting Kim bloggers out there. Early on, I had an email from Kim at Kim's Quilting Adventure--how funny a coincidence is that? A week or two ago, I had a comment from "KimP"--OMG! Did I somehow manage to email myself?! No, it was another Kim P.! Most recently, yet another quilting Kim left this comment:

"Good Lord! Talk about blonde . . . when I was reading down through your other comments and I came to Sherry's "Hi Kim..." I nearly jumped out of my chair! I was thinking, "Wow! How did that person know I was reading these comments?? Spooky!" . . . . Geez Louise, I'm still wiping tears from my eyes from laughing at my own lunacy."

At least I'm not alone in still thinking my name's rather unique--when it's really NOT anymore! So, in tribute to all the quilt bloggers who share my name, I've begun a link list in the sidebar especially for my quilty Kim blogger peeps. I'm pretty sure there are a few more out there I've overlooked, so if you belong to "our" special club, please comment so I can add you to the list. And if your name isn't Kim? Well, I still like you anyway and you're welcome to visit any time! Unless your name is Susie and you have long, blonde ringlets.

34 comments:

Daisy Jayne said...

My name is Marcia and I had never know another girl called Marcia Until I started High school then there was two......... I have always been called Marc for as long as i can remember. When ever I am introduced as Marcia I am nearly always called MARSHA I always correct them to say MAR ..C..IA or Marc ( I would not mind being called Susie sometimes(lol) have a nice new year

Kim West said...

In high school, I knew several other Kims (my class was 450 people and the next year was almost 600 - that incoming freshman year was 900 students!!) - Anyway, two of the Kim's were my best friends and we all three hung out together all the time; we were known as "Kim Cubed" - one of the Kim's introduced me to my husband my senior year and is my children's "godmother". Thanks for the link!!

Kim West said...

oh, when I was in sixth grade, I didn't want to be called Kim anymore because it was too popular of a name... I went by my middle name... Ann for that year. I had to stop because I wouldn't answer the teachers because I would forget.

Three Birds Inspired said...

When I got to the bottom of your post I was pretty concerned until I realized that I have changed my hair color to brown. Happy New Year from Suzie (who used to have long blonde hair)!

Anonymous said...

Ha! My name is soo Dutch that no one (other than Dutch) can pronounce it. I tried to create mail-accounts etc using my first and last name and that's always taken. Weird, so there must be loads of people with my name...
(btw Kim is quite common here!)

Anonymous said...

I never had that problem. I just turned 43 yrs old. But I found probably more girls spell their names kimberly but the spelling is different(funny spelling). Not the traditional spelling like I was given by my Mother---Kimberly.
Love reading your blog. I am at the country loft alot & Joann tells me about how someone saw something on your blog & call the store.
So I read your blog everyday & it's on my favorites.

Love KIm
knaylor@san.rr.com

Julie in the Barn said...

What a hoot! And a cute idea to have a list on your sidebar. I also grew up never knowing anyone with my name until I was in high school. I find the quilt blogging world populated with quite a few of us though and I always add them to my blogroll when I discover another one. I have started signing as Julie in the Barn when I leave comments so the blogger will know which one I am. Hi to all the Julies out there from Julie in the Barn.

Anonymous said...

Although I do not have a blog my name is also Kim. I am the Kim H from Quilters Hollow. When I was in school (large schools in Chicago suburbs) there was actually only one other Kim and we thought we were pretty special. Happy New Year from another Kim, love your blog. (It's the first thing I read when I get to work, nice start for the day)

Anonymous said...

There do seem to be a lot of Kims out there in bloggy land. I do remember the website for the other Kim's Adventures, that one confused me too! LOL And no, you don't want to tick of a court clerk, it's hard enough to get them to call you back as it is, let alone if you annoy them! There is another quilter Kim out there at http://threadheadsunite.blogspot.com/. I have had times where I have gotten emails from 3 Kims and I think I may have written back with the wrong "Kim" in mind. Very embarrassing.

tami said...

My name is Tami which is not very common either. When I started working at my current job there were 3 other Tammy's which was surprising and made things quite confusing. I must have intimidated them as they have all since moved on and I am the last Tami standing.
Oh, btw my sister's name is Kim so I was surprised to hear that you considered it an uncommon name. :D

Anonymous said...

I am 40 and have lived in Iowa all my life. I have known at least 10 people named Kim, so I would never have considered it an uncommon name. In a high school class of 36 people, there was one in my grade, one in the year above me, and I think one 2 years after me. My first name is Wendy, and in a grade that small there was also another Wendy, and we were best friends for years. There was also someone with the same first AND last name in my town, and she used to get my mail a lot. Then I went to college, and there was another with the same first and last name. Then when I got my first job in Des Moines, there was another one at the same company with same first name, last name, and middle initial! That caused a ton of problems when e-mail was first becoming popular because they couldn't figure out how to make us unique. It was also interesting when one day I got a call at work from an extremely aggressive bill collector, who wanted the other Wendy, but would not believe me that there were two of us working at the same place.

Wendy in Iowa

Anonymous said...

I see Kim West and I have more in common than just our names! There were five Kims in my high school class, two of them were my best friends. We called ourselves "Kim, Kim & Kim." Not very original, eh? LOL

I'm still laughing at myself over thinking Sherry was talking to ME through YOUR blog comments. What a dork I am!...though I do seem to find myself highly entertaining, so that's good...I think...

SuBee said...

Erk -- I'm sure I cut off my ringlets and my hair grew out dark! Blonde Susies were a dime a dozen back then and I was constantly trying to change my name! By the time I was 12, 'Susie' had given way to "SU with no E" because no one else had that name!
Happy New Year!

Lady of the Cloth said...

Oh Kim, I think you are my long lost sister, we seem to share so many things. I HATED my name growing up. I wanted to be Tammy, which was probably from monies as well, but I just got to be named after someone in the family, (mom) who was named after her DAD of all things. Just recently, on quiltville, I ran across TWO other Carline's. Of course, with a name like this, there has to be other spellings, so the ones I met are Carlene and Karleen and a lady at church is also named Carleen. Too funny. Have a great day.
Carline...no blonde ringlets here.

Darlene said...

Try having Darlene as a name growing up - YUCK! I hated it and still not fond of it. I heard "Oh my Darling" on a very regular basis while in school. Double Yuck! I've not known many Darlene's in my lifetime. I've had many friends named Kim over the years.

And, by the way, I hate my middle name, as well - it's A when asked what it is I just say "Adorable" LOL

Kim said...

Hi Kim, I have lurked on your blog for a while now, and I love it! I just had to post today. I am also a Kim, born in LA in 1957, but raised in Iowa. I was one of two Kims in a small class so I was always known as Kim G. and hated that!! I never thought of Kim as being unique at all. I also was named after Kim Novak. I'd love to be included in your sidebar, but I'm more of a quilting wanna be. I make baby quilts and have done several larger very simple quilts. I certainly don't put the time into it that you do! Happy New Year!

Judy said...

I seem to have come across more Kathy's in blogging and most have a different spelling. Kathie, Cathi, Kathy...and a lot of Mary's. Yours is the only Kim blog I read so that's been easy for me.

I think there is only one other blogger Judy I run across...Judy Laquidara(sp?)Most places I post my comment as JudyC...saves me confusion! Not too many of us in real life either..although the local forecaster with the same last name did marry a gal named Judy, and we ended up at the same church. Two of us with the same name...me brunette, plump and stumpy and her leggy, thin and blonde.
OH and the kicker!! My SIL's name is also JUDY! So in that family we use my first and middle together...like Mary Beth.

MichelleB said...

Having the name of Michelle, and growing up with at least 5 in my relatively small high school, I know how many of us there are! I'm also amazed at how many have blogs. But I think if I put a list together, it would be incredibly long.

Kimberly Mason said...

Oh, and BTW, sometimes when I'm being particularly flirtatious with the DH I'll talk to him with a New Jersey stripper, high pitched, "blonde" kinda accent...and her name is BUBBLES!

Small world. Small, very freaky, world. TMI? LOL!

Anonymous said...

How many people named Della do you know??? Probably none. I was named after my Aunt Della, the only other Della I have personally know in my life. But I've always loved it. One day when I picked up the newspaper my whole name was listed in the obituraries. Talk about a shock. I had to go look in the mirrow to see if I was still here.

Penni Domikis said...

Yo Bubbles... try living with a name like Penni. Not only did my mom name me after a coin (and not even a valuable one) she spelled it wrong. I could never have one of those cute little name license plates on the back of my banana seat on my bike... sucks. And now I am excluded from your club. And my Mom's name is Susie and she had blond ringlets... bitch! lol
It's glad to see that you have not lost your sense of humor and my resolution for you is that you get even funnier in the new year. XOXO

Suzanne Kistler said...

hahahahahahaha

ohmygosh! You don't want me commenting! But I am compelled!! My hair is long and blond, but it's not ringlets!

I was a "Suzie" in a class of 6 "Suzi/Suzie/Susies" GROAN. And I had the pixie haircut and was mistaken for a boy more times than I want to remember. What I would have given to have my own special name!!!

Your blog is truly delightful, and I look forward to checking it each day. Thank you for sharing your joy with those of us in lurkdom...even if we have long blond hair and respond to the name of "Suzie"... ;)

....still laughing!!! hahahahaha!

Suzanne Kistler said...

hahahahahahaha

ohmygosh! You don't want me commenting! But I am compelled!! My hair is long and blond, but it's not ringlets!

I was a "Suzie" in a class of 6 "Suzi/Suzie/Susies" GROAN. And I had the pixie haircut and was mistaken for a boy more times than I want to remember. What I would have given to have my own special name!!!

Your blog is truly delightful, and I look forward to checking it each day. Thank you for sharing your joy with those of us in lurkdom...even if we have long blond hair and respond to the name of "Suzie"... ;)

....still laughing!!! hahahahaha!

quiltmom anna said...

Names are sure funny things aren't they, Kim- My proper name is Anna Marie but I have stopped using when I got married, as it was a real mouthful with my married name. I was also born in 1956 and I never knew another Anna until I went to college, when there were 3 of us (slight variations) in a class of 20. One girl was Anna, I was Anna Marie and the last was Anne Marie. We made sure that we used our proper names in that class!It was quite startling to hear your name called and not have to respond.
I have met a few of Anna's on the blogs and, in fact, Anna of Thimbleanna's has indeed set up a list of Anna's on her blogs ( or she had one at one point - I am not sure if she still does). I checked them out to meet other Anna's. :D)
I am of Swedish descent and they use Anna rather than Anne-I was named after a great aunt but there was also a song called Anna Marie by Jim Reeves that my mom loved. My mother never has liked it when people call me Annie and I always know how people know me by the name they use. Now, the only people that call me Anna Marie, are people that know me through my family or knew me when I was growing up. My parents mostly call me Anna now. I have worked with a couple of Anne's, one of them has become a good friend.
I have seen a few Kim's on the blogs- I will have to let Kim at Stillmeadow Quilting know about your post.
Great Post Kim.
Happy New Year to you and yours.
Hugs,
Anna

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

I love having an uncommon name. I hate having to share it with anyone else! I tried to choose an uncommon name for my daughter as well - something not strange or unusual, but she'd be the only one in the class with that name. Unfortunately, there are many people with the name born after her time. Sigh. At least people will think she is younger than she is.

G'G'ma said...

I've enjoyed all the comments about names. My name is Lois. Does anyone know a Lois younger than 75?Growing up in MN I knew quite a few but once we left there I was on my own. I've never loved my name but have never been bothered by it. Only 2 people have ever call me Lo..both were neighbors...one in IN and one in MI and both were Jack.

Red Geranium Cottage said...

Hey KIM, Sharon here. LOL I was happy to read that you still liked us if we werent named KIM.
You know I never knew any other Sharon until a few years ago and now there are lots of them. Where were they all hiding all these years??
Happy New Year KIM!!

Kim said...

OMG that is too hysterical! I'm a quilting Kim too...AND...I, too, was born in California (1965) and said to my mother on several occasions growing up "Who names their kid Kim?? There are NO grown people named Kim." and she would inevitably ALWAYS say "Kim Novak". *I* always wanted to be Linda. That seemed like a very grown up name. ;o) Up until a few years ago, I worked at an insurance agency where there were FOUR Kims! WEIRD!!! And now look....a list of Kims who QUILT! How much more perfect can it get??? :o)

Kim said...

Hi,
My name is Kim and I also have met few growing up named the same. I have a story too.. my name is just Kim not Kimberly and when I started school I would get in trouble during roll call because they would say Kimberly and of course, I did not answer. My dad named me and when they called him to say I was not answering... he said why would she her name is Kim that is what I named her. My dad was a funny guy... he just didn't like Kimberly. Have a great day! Hello to all Kim's!

Unknown said...

I am of an age where here in the UK Anne was a very popular first name - if I tell you that when I was in the 6th Form at School (that's aged 16 to 18 here in the UK) there were 14 Annes in that sixth form then you'll realise just how popular it was - someone would walk into the 6th Form Centre and call 'Anne' and it seemed like every other female head turned round :o) Don't like my middle name of Patricia much though

Quilting Kim said...

Your post really Wowed me - not only do we share the same name, we also share a love of quilting and are both Legal secretaries. Good thing we are on opposite coasts, huh? However, you get a lot more done than I do!!

The only drawback to having an uncommon name when I was younger was whenever I misbehaved, they always knew who Kim was without question, and that really hasn't changed.

Quilting Kim said...

Your post really Wowed me - not only do we share the same name, we also share a love of quilting and are both Legal secretaries. Good thing we are on opposite coasts, huh? However, you get a lot more done than I do!!

The only drawback to having an uncommon name when I was younger was whenever I misbehaved, they always knew who Kim was without question, and that really hasn't changed.

Winona said...

I never had the problem of having any classmates with the same name. My name is Winona. It is pronounced just like it is spelled, short 'i', long 'o' and accent on the second syllable. I hated the first day of school because the new teachers could never figure out how to pronounce my name. My mom gave my 3 brothers very common names, but me, it had to be different. I always wanted to be called 'Mary'. Love your blog. Winona

Katie said...

I never thought or realized the name Kim was uncommon! How about that. It's a pretty name.

I grew up as a Katie in a sea of Kathys. I had to correct almost everybody all the time. I still often do.