New economy, new country, new name, old TV show

I finished my first session as a coach in a Dale Carnegie class several weeks ago. There's something I like about the unfettered optimism of the training philosophy. The Dale Carnegie program came out of the 1910s when scientific progress and business progress and the economy were all still tied together quite neatly. (I like that era's mindset also because I was in a church denomination that started at the same time. The denomination was progressive for its time by allowing the ordination of women without hesitation, something that more established churches still have trouble allowing. The confidence that humanity is redeemable always appeals to me, especially when I don't believe it. I'm charmed by the idea that it some people believe it even when I don't.)

But, I digress.

Last night, the instructor treated his coaching team to a dinner at a Thai restaurant. He shared with us all the Olympic stories from Dale Carnegie courses he taught. (The other thing I like about Dale Carnegie is that it's all about stories.) We talked about different customs between the U.S. and Asia, and the Middle East. Driving in the U.S. ruined our Taiwanese colleague for driving in Taiwan. He said that he failed his U.S. driving test three times because he was driving too aggressively, Taiwanese style.

The topic turned to interesting Western names Asian people choose for themselves. I shared my favorites (Blues, More, Tiger, Sygnet, Weapon)

The Taiwanese coach, told us he hated the Western name his father picked for him (John), and so he picked his own name. He liked Family Ties and he liked Michael J. Fox's character so much that he named himself Alex.

Ever since then, I've been thinking happily about the prospect of picking my own name from my favorite characters in television, literature, or the world stage. Too bad we didn't pick up the tradition of choosing our own names (or letting a trusted spiritual leader help us find one).

Hmmmmm... What would my name be? Margaret? No. Jane? No. Thursday? No. Friday? No.

Still working on that. It could take a while. It took Alex quite a few years to decide.