The Namesake

I am currently reading (via audiobook) The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahrir.  The story is about a Bengali couple who emigrate from Calcutta, India to the United States in the 1960s.  Once settled in the Boston area, the couple have a son and there is much explanation regarding the Bengali custom of giving a child a "good" name, as well as a "pet" name.  The couple look to the wife's grandmother who still lives in Calcutta to select the "good" name but her letter fails to arrive before or even shortly after their son's birth.  In fact, even at the point where I am in the book (the son is now 14 years old), the letter has still not been received or found.  The couple is not permitted to take their son home from the hospital until a name is placed on his birth certificate, so they decide to list his "pet" name of "Gogol" on the certificate and to change it later when the grandmother's letter arrives.  Gogol is chosen as the pet name by the father based on his love of the Russian author, Nikolai Gogol. The grandmother eventually has a stroke and cannot communicate to let anyone know the "good" name she selected and as such, Gogol becomes the child's good and pet name, which is very much against Bengali custom.  Early in the book there is much discussion about the author Gogol, as well as the other prominent Russian authors, including Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Don't you know that I happen to have a couple of books by Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov in my basement packed away from my single days that I never got around to reading? Yes, well, I am now sidetracked into digging them up and finally giving them a read.

The Namesake has also given me the idea to write an essay about the meanings behind my own children's names, which I will start here: 

My daughter, Clare Aisling, got her name by way of a combination of influences.  Clare was originally put onto the list of names that my husband and I were considering because of a character by the same name from the TV show "Beverly Hills, 90210."  Then, we realized it was also the name of the restaurant where had our first date, though it was spelled the French way with an "i".  We decided to spell it C-L-A-R-E after County Clare in Ireland.  When it came time to select a middle name, we wanted to keep with the Irish theme as that is where Josh and I became engaged, and because both of our last names are Irish.  While in Gallway, we stayed at a particular Bed & Breakfast for three nights and got to know the proprietor and her young daughter during our stay.  The daughter was the epitome of a young Irish lass with shiny brown/black hair, chubby/rosy cheeks, and a plaid Catholic school uniform.  She absolutely loved Josh's laugh and we often heard her in the kitchen trying to mimic him.  Her name was Aisling, which means "vision," and we felt it would make a lovely middle name for Clare.

My son, Finnbar Patrick, got his name via the 1995 movie The Brother's McMullen, which was written and directed by and starred Edward Burns.  The main character is called "Barry" but in the first scene of the movie you learn it is short for  "Finbar."  Later, a girlfriend says something to the effect of "Come sit next to me, Finn."  This movie was released five years before Josh and I met.  I was aware of it and had seen it, but it was a very important film to Josh and that name, Finbar/Finn, stuck with him.  Before we were even married he said that if we had a son he wanted to name him Finnbar, which obviously we did.  Patrick was selected as a middle name mostly because it flows with Finnbar and our last name.  However, it is also the middle name of Josh's brother, Matt, so there is a familial connection as well.

 Clare & Finnbar

April 2011

 Clare Aisling - age 3 years, 10 mos.

 Finnbar Patrick - age 5 mos.

What is this Blog all about?

As noted in my profile, the alternative title of this Blog was "serial hobbyist" as I am constantly collecting new interests and am desirous of starting new hobbies at regular intervals. 

At present, my active hobbies include reading, creative writing, photography (mostly of my children, but not exclusively) and scrap-booking (again, for my children).  Though, even that last one has been on temporary hold until I get a small desk for the only remaining spot in my small home: this oddly placed nook in my bedroom that serves no real purpose. 

There are a plethora of other hobbies/activities that are of interest to me but which I do not engage in frequently enough these days.  These include: hiking, music (discovering new bands/artists & going to shows), as well as knitting/sewing and other crafts.  To be honest, knitting is something new and really should be included in the category below.

Then, there are the hobbies I want to take up/learn: tennis/golf, running (as in 5k's), gardening, cooking/baking, and music lessons (piano and/or clarinet).

What is missing from my life of course, is time. Before I was married and especially before I had children, I used to think that I did not have enough time to do this, that and the other. I was an idiot.

Besides time, the other problem I have is that I get completely sidetracked; hence the name of this Blog.  This is most evident with reading.  For example, just before I went on maternity leave following the birth of my son in November 2010, I was listening to an audiobook called First Family: Abigail and John Adams by Joseph J. Ellis during my 90-minute round trip commute to/from work.  While on maternity leave, I watched the John Adams TV-miniseries from 2008, starring the talented Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.  This led me to plan to go back and read a biography about George Washington and continue in succession reading about each past President in order of their presidency.  I planned to do this via audiobooks once I returned to work in early 2011.  It is now late May 2011, and I can reveal that this has not happened.  Instead, in the meantime I started reading Nora Ephron's collections of essays: I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman (thanks to a FB post about it by NPR) and I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections.  Reading Ms. Ephron's collections of essays in turn prompted me to give focus to my own scraps of writing about myself whereby my plan was to write an essay about whatever topic interests me and eventually collect them into some semblance of order and gift the collection to my children when they are adults, as sort of a family history, as well as an outlet for me to write.  I could continue explaining this particular sidetrack, but I think this well illustrates my point and I will leave further examples for future posts.

Definition of sidetracked

1. To divert from a main issue or course.

2. To delay or block the progress of deliberately.