the name game

Oh yeah, the other tradition is the whole name thing. I think that ideologically, I either want to keep my name or have both of us change it, but on a realistic level, I don’t think I’d mind it, because between the two of us, Seppo has the cooler name with more recent achievements tied to it, even though I have the older, more prestigious name. It’s something I’ve given a lot of thought to. I do, however, have a serious problem with people just assuming it will be Mrs. H, simply because “that’s what people do”. It’s pretty obnoxious and sexist. Grrr.

les traditions can bite me

Being engaged means thinking about a lot of “traditions” and whatnot that people expect us to cave into. It’s stuff that we ordinarily don’t have to think about, so it’s a little weird.

There is the whole diamond controversy. Some people think that we need to get a diamond, stat! One person has even said we are not really engaged until there is a ring. I will not reveal this person’s identity, so as not to incur anyone’s wrath. 😀 Seppo has been looking into manufactured diamonds. Some people think it’s just not the same thing. And you know what? It’s not. That’s the best thing. Now that I have spent just a little time thinking about it, I would be glad and proud to wear a ring with a manufactured diamond. It says many things that I like, such as:

• We are practical!
• We like new cool technology
• We are not buying into DeBeers’ scam
• We don’t need to feel any guilt over the history of the diamond, such as the conditions under which it was mined, the exploitation of third world countries, etc

Today, I read a really cool statement to the effect of, “A diamond was created a long time ago, but my SO and I only met a few years ago. But we hope to forge something permanent. What better way to express that than with a newly created diamond that we know is going to last forever, rather than a diamond with a long history behind it of shady things we don’t know?” Or something like that. I like it.