I've noticed something that I find kind of funny.

Whenever one of my friends introduces me to someone, they will introduce me as "Val." Joe did this when introducing me to a coworker at lunch today, MattyK did it the other day when his friend was over to watch Top Gear. It isn't something that bothers me, I just find it funny. Because almost exclusively when I introduce myself I will tell whomever I am meeting that my name is "Valerie," because, well, that is my name.

Joe likened this to the fact that he never introduces himself as Joseph, and I suppose I never introduce him as that or Matt as Matthew. But neither of them go by those names really, I don't think. But I actually go by Valerie. As I said, it is my name. Everyone else just calls me Val :) It doesn't bother me as I will go by both names equally but it is just an observation that I find to be interesting.

I can tell you exactly why I have always gone by Valerie though. It mostly stems from the fact that I have horrible hearing and it is easier to distinguish the three-syllable Valerie from other words than it is to distinguish the one syllable Val. Just like the time Joe's brother told him "Val called" and so Joe called Baehl to return the call. It's too easy to get confused.