Hello Steemit Community!

My name is Felicitas Tan-Magkalas but a lot of people know me by my nickname Babes. I was born and raised in Manila, Philippines and where I come from, the nickname Babes is quite common. So I grew up with my family, friends and acquaintances calling me Babes.

I started working soon after graduating with an AB major in Sociology degree and my officemates and colleagues all called me Babes as well.

THE PROBLEM WITH MY NAME BEGAN WHEN...

In September 2000, my husband and I migrated to Canada. After 3 months, I got a job in a non-profit organization and on my first day of work, my boss called me to her office.

She asked me how I want them to call me and so I said Babes since every Tom, Dick and Harry back home call me Babes.

AND THEN SHE SAID...

"I'm sorry but we can't call you Babes. Can you imagine if the CEO wants to see you in his office and he says: 'Hey Babes, can you come to my office for a second?' That would sound inappropriate."

So I asked why. Honestly, I didn't know why calling me Babes would sound inappropriate.

And she told me that Babes is just like Baby (and it's a name you call someone you are intimate with).

Anyway, to make a long story short, everyone in the office started calling me Fel (the first 3 letters of my formal name). At first, I didn't respond when someone called me Fel (I was so used to being called Babes!) but eventually, I got used to it.

I COULDN'T EVEN REGISTER AT FACEBOOK WITH THAT NAME...I got this message instead.

So I registered under my formal name! (ugh!)

So nowadays, I have 2 names: Babes and Fel. All my Filipino friends call me Babes but most of my non-Filipino friends prefer to call me Fel and I respect their preference.

But please, call me Babes!...if you don't mind.