I’ve decided that I officially have an alter ego, her name is ParaNorma or Norma for short.  This name stems from my paranoid nature the feeling that I’m constantly doing something wrong or that someone is mad/hates/out to get me.  I don’t feel like this constantly, and for the most part I’m not really paranoid, but when I get into a lather it’s generally a doozy.  My mind goes on some endless loop of how I’m so wrong.  Lately, I’ve been able to feel Norma creeping up on me and I try to keep her at bay but that hasn’t always been the case. My tendency is blame me first, ask questions…

My father didn’t like his middle name.  He often made fun of it, turning into something “Italian,” much to his mother’s dismay.  Because of this extreme dislike, he also didn’t do things by halves, he refused to give my brother & me middle names.  He said we didn’t need them, kids always tease you about your middle name, etc.  My mom always looked forward to giving us middle names because that’s something different than traditional Japanese.  Here’s the thing: we were still teased, only it wasn’t because of our middle names but our lack of middle names that caused it.  Ironic, no?  Additionally, my dad was retired Coast Guard, so…