web variations of my name over the years

I love my last name, which in Czech means black cat or alley cat or tom cat (translation depends on who I speak to), but it really isn't the easiest to spell or say out loud. I've always identified myself through my first name, which is why I still get incensed at the mispronunciation of my name, for the record it's Taaaaaara, not Tear-a. But not my last name. I expect difficulty in its pronunciation. Over the years I've tried to make the use of my last name easier on people by not using it all.

My first email address back in high school was pixie17. It seems typical of my high school generation to have several email accounts that had nothing to do with real names. Among my favourites: drunkbunny18. It gives one a true sense of the nightlife scene in late-90s Bangkok. Or my friend's, at least.

I was in 12th grade when, in helping out as a student facilitator for some school event, I saw how my real name could entertain and be played with. Since my last name was long and could not fit on the name tag, I was appointed Tara Koc. My English teacher, Andy Davies - who remains my favourite teacher of all time - with all his toilet English/Welsh/Australian humour, took the piss out of me for this serendipitous abbreviation. pixie17@_.com was shut down and replaced by tarakoc.

I still keep that email address for nostalgic reasons but, feeling pressured by maturity, updated my current address to one that seems more professional. tarakoc became tara.kocourek. As a consultant to the govt, I've had to use federal email addresses to hide my true contractor identity, and recently assigned kocourt. Sounds like yogurt. This morning while signing up for a web membership, another variation of my name emerged: tarkoco.

I doubt the variations of my name will end anytime soon. Case in point: look at the name of this blog: tara.k, updated from my previous presence as tk photography. I don't mind all these changes though, since they reflect who I am at certain stages in my life.