I changed my name.

Well, not really. I changed the name I use to sign my posts on blogger. The reason I did this is that there are a lot of people named Emily. Did you know that Emily has topped the Social Security Administration's list of most popular baby girl names for twelve years? It was "dethroned" this year by Emma, which I don't think is a true victory, as I believe Emma and Emily are derivations of the same origin name.

I have no problem being called Emily. In fact, I quite like my name. I also don't mind that there are lots of others who share my name. However, when I post on friends' blogs, I often notice comments by several other Emilys. This can get rather confusing, which is why I have decided to change my name to Pemblemily.

Why this strange name, you ask? Well, Pem has been one of my nicknames for many years. It all started with my roommate Alison. I called her Al, then Pal, then Palison. So, she called me Pemily. Eventually we began adding the letter P to the beginning of all our friends names. Rachel became Pachel and Wendy was Pendy and so on. We would all disolve into fits of giggles whenever a name turned out particularly funny sounding. Some of the letter P names soon disappeared, but Pali and Pem endure to this day.

Now, I didn't want to use just Pem as my blog signature, because people who are unaware of the Pem/Pali thing would have no way to connect this handle with me. I lengthened it to Pemblemily because that contains my real name, while still being unique. Also, it makes me laugh.

Another nice feature is that Pemblemily is similar to the name of my blog, Invisiblelephant. Why did I title my blog in this odd way, you ask? Well, it all started ...

Virtuous Vices? Vicious Virtues?

I've noticed that there are certain character traits that most people would put on the "bad" list, and yet we don't seem to mind owning up to them. (At least, when these traits are part of our own characters. If anybody else displays them, we find it quite annoying.) I'm talking about things like being stubborn. Few would consider "You're so meek!" to be a compliment, but we admit to being stubborn with shamefaced pride. Other traits I would put in this category are independence, and perfectionism. These are things that, I think, society encourages us to develop, but when we become so good at being stubborn, or independent, or perfectionistical (Is that a word? Oh well. If it wasn't before, it is now.) we create major problems for ourselves and those who interact with us. Now that I think about it, the difficulty isn't necessarily that we have these traits, but in the degree to which we act on them. In most cases tenacious=good, but stubborn=bad. Codependent=not so good. Completely independent=not so good either, but interdependence seems like a pretty healthy middle ground. For me perfectionism is one of these vicious virtues. You wouldn't think that my desire to do certain things as perfectly as possible would be a bad thing, but sometimes it becomes a source of guilt and stress. It can even become a paralyzing factor, because if I don't think I will be able to do something perfectly, then I won't even try. I think the first step to take in conquering perfectionism is to recognize it for what it is-a vice rather than a virtue. Striving for excellence is a good thing. When this is taken to extremes and becomes perfectionism, it is not a good thing. But, how do you know when you cross the line between positive striving for excellence, and negative perfectionism? Other things to consider in taming perfectionism are how do you define perfect, and why do it that way? Am I perfect at something if I can do it as well or better than someone else? Am I perfect at something if I receive lots of praise and/or money? Hmm-this topic will require further thought.

Wheely Bug

Joel got a Wheely Bug for Christmas. It took him a little while to get the hang of it, but he now spends quite a bit of time zipping around the house on this ingenious contraption. It is a simple, sturdy toy made by a company named Prince Lionheart. One of the best things about it is that the wheels are castors, like you find on office chairs, so the bug can go in any direction. Joel loves his bug, but he is often a little rough on the things he loves. One day, after Joel had picked up the Wheely Bug and dropped it to the floor several times, one of the plastic castors shattered. Tragedy! Joel couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him ride it, but with three wheels and one screw sticking down like a peg leg, I thought it was too dangerous-both for Joel and for my kitchen floor. Imagine my delight when I was able to go online to the manyfacturer's website, and order a replacement wheel for a couple of bucks. Once it came in the mail, I attached it myself, and now we're back in Wheely Bug business.