For less than a week, I changed my display name from complicated dude to mhärlon. I wanted to see my name everytime I post comments to my blogfriends’ posts [except those powered by
HaloScan]. Just recently, I decided to stick with the former. I explain later.
I could’ve used my real name, MARLON, as my display name but ever since, I found it too ordinary and boring with nothing exciting or different about it. That’s the very reason why the H after the M [MHARLON] on my
gmail,
hotmail and
yahoo email addresses and the name I used on my blogfriends’ tag boards. I even use it as a nickname everytime I fill up those application forms of various companies I’m applying with. Who else do you know who has a nickname that has more characters than their real name, huh?
When I was a kid, I asked my mother what’s with the name and why she chose Marlon to name her firstborn. I’m not sure whether she’s just joking or she can’t think of any reason and told me she name me after Hollywood actor, Marlon Brando. I didn’t confirm [or at least tried to] if there’s a grain of truth to it. That’s because she usually says that at the first semester of her pregnancy, she had this obsession to local actor, Rudy Fernandez and thought of naming me after him. Good thing she did not. I would not even accept it as my nickname had she tried. I mean, if she had wanted to have my nickname as Rudy, my real name could have been worse – Rodolfo (?)! Or worst, Rudolph, which would be an overkill had things turned our quite differently.
Now, why COMPLICATED DUDE? I was thinking of a cool name to use as my MSN Messenger name and why not? Its cool, isn’t it?
COMPLICATED, I got from Avril Lavigne’s break out single. I was thinking of a word that will reflect or say about what I am and what I am feeling at the time. Fresh from my first break up, I am both happy and sad, out-there but conscious, sensitive but indifferent, laughing out loud but crying inside, pathetic but proud! My mood swings then was like that of a pregnant woman. The word says it all.
While DUDE, is my former officemates’ term of endearment for each other. Can’t imagine calling your gay friend, dude? Well, at first, it was only the counter-strike addicts/guy officemates who are using it, but after they introduced it to me and three of my closest girl friends/officemates, they’ve been referring dude to us since. Everytime we play counter-strike, you’ll usually hear us shouting:
“Dude, under the bridge!”
“Inside the tunnel, dude!”
“Dude, double door!”
“Below the grass, dude!”
“Dude, hanging bridge!”
All referring to either where the enemies are or the team’s destination.
“Crouch, dude!” which is a defensive positioning and gives the players better aim at shooting the other team members.
“Dude, they’re using cheats!”
It became natural for us calling each other dude, that even while eating, smoking, drinking or just plain chatting, there’s always a ‘dude’ at the beginning or end of each sentence uttered. What makes it even more special is that it only clicked in that company. I even tried calling my new officemates that but it doesn’t quite fit and seemed forced. It doesn’t feel natural at all. I guess they’re the best bunch of officemates I [will ever] have that I think we reserve the word only for each other. Only them call me dude.
When I started blogging, I decided to use COMPLICATED DUDE not that I am still complicated, or am I still? I don’t really know why it appeals to me that much. Probably, I am still complicated. But I’m not complaining, even if I am complicated, dude!