Nicknames I have had...

Jenu (jen - NEW): This is what my brothers sometimes called me when we would just be hanging out. I think it came out of all the funny ways that non-Koreans have pronounced my name, and this nickname kind of came out of a conglomeration of all of them.

G: Certain friends of mine will sometimes call me this. Not sure why. I suspect it's out of laziness. The extra syllable takes a little more work, so why not stop at G. Sounds snazzy and hip hop.

jiji: For some reason, at work, both at Menlo School and Hillbrook School, my co-workers have come up with this name all on their own. It is playful, sexy, and sophisticated at the same time. But if you say it with a certain emphasis, it can also mean "dirty gross stuff" in Korean.

Chej: This one was birthed spontaneously by my friend Miriam. Since my name is now Chai Jieun, "chej" is a shortened version of that. It just kind of rolled out and stuck. It has a charming quality about it that I really like.

I'm not naturally a nickname person. When I choose email names, it's always boring jieunchai, jchai, or my favorite: jieungracechai. None of this dcfly business, or any of the other cutesy things people use to represent themselves. Maybe I'm just boring. I like my name, and I just stick to it. But I do enjoy when other people invent things for me, cuz then I feel cool enough.