Bakit Naging Jet???

bakit nga ba? everytime i meet new friends, whether in school, in the office, anywhere, people wonder why my nickname is far different from my real name. you see friends, my real name is alfred paul lumbang paiso. and i’m having a hard time people calling me alfred, paul, or paiso, most especially during my formative years.

my relatives call me jet-jet when i was a kid (actually they still do), but then i beg them to please just call me jet when i reached my teens (nakukulitan ako eh, paulit-ulit, paulit-ulit, paulit-ulit. hindi ako bingi, hindi ako bingi, hindi ako bingi!!!!!). add to that the times when i receive a gift, a letter, or anything that has my name on it spelled in their most creative way: jett, jhet, jette (whatever!).

and so the million dollar question… bakit naging jet? i’ve devised creative ways to explain to my friends why. first: ahhh… kasi… anu… basta! second: yung brother ko kasi, nickname jayvee (whose real name, by the way, is ace philip!), and we were named after that popular scotch whiskey. third: bakit ba marunong ka pa?! fourth: idol ko kasi si jett pangan. etc etc etc.

until finally, i asked the culprit to my misery… my dad, hehehe. one time, when he was driving me to work, i asked him: "why call me jet?"

and he replied: "you want me to call you bong?" i kept my silence for a while thinking… then he followed up: "how about jun?"

i broke my silence and told my dad: "ang labo!"

he then said: "very common kasi dati yung bong, jun, etc. i want to give you a nickname that is something else… different… unique! you’ve got my name (he’s alfredo, and i’m alfred, remember??) and your mom’s (my mom’s purita, and gave me the second name paul for whatever!). and your nickname is what we prefer to call you at home."

home… a place where you’re most comfortable. that’s the reason why i also prefer to be called jet (or jet-jet) ’cause i’m so used to it. people easily gets my attention when i’m called that way (except for my mom, of course, who yells ‘alfred!!!!!’ when i got her mad, hehehe).