"What's in a name?"

I was baptized Maria Johanna, good solid names indicating my Dutch decendency. I was given the name of my paternal grandmother. This was against the convention. My brother had been named for my paternal grandfather so I should have been named after my maternal grandmother. But, my mother had decided since mostly boys were being born in our generation, I would be called after my grandmother. She was ostensibly a wonderful person, talented and charming and she drowned in a car accident when she was 48 and my father was five years old. This story has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. And it has been a defining story. Whenever my dad acted crazy, we were told of his mother's sad demise. So I know this story really well. But this is not about my grandmother, but rather her name. for some reason she was called "Minnie" and so was I. It's a good name, a name that fits me really well,... so why do people insist on mispronouncing it? I'm MINNIE not MIENIE and even worse, I'm not MIEMIE. I introduce myself quite clearly as mInnie (something on the line of "Liza with a Zee"!) and yet I'm Mienie. Am I pedantic? I think not. I just like my name to be pronounced correctly or is that asking too much?

"There's a strange beastie in the pool, mother"

The pool in our garden is a creepy green colour with random bits of leaves and insects floating about in gay abandon. And that's exactly the problem, I've abandoned the pool. For some reason (I think it's because I'm the only one that swims) the pool is my responsibility. Usually I test and dip and add a dash of this and a drop of that and it stays a reasonable level of clean but what the hell, let the pool just relax into a space of least resistance. Let it turn green and sludgy because in actual fact, who the fuck cares!!!! When summer's here I'll do the work but for now, the pool is a creative space for green beasties of unknown origin