WARNING: Many of these table names are nicknames we have about each other - if you start to feel sick from all of the lovey-dovey cuteness then STOP READING IMMEDIATELY!!!
Buddies - Our head table since we are The Buddies! Whether it was since we started off as friends or just because it sounded right, we have always referred to each other as "buddy". We rarely call each other "Joe" or "Laura" and we rarely used the terms "boyfriend", "fiancee" and even now we rarely use "husband" and "wife" unless we have to. "Buddies" just has more of that younger, longer-lasting friendship type of feel to it that just stuck for us! We wonder whether it will last forever or if it will fade away by the time any kids show up....
Spaghetti - For all of our code breakers in the audience, this actually means "I love you". Towards the early stages of our relationship, instead of actually saying straight out "I love you", we would just say "spaghetti", especially at work. Perhaps it was because we were mostly at work and perhaps it was because "I love you" just sounded too serious at the time. Whichever it was, "spaghetti" has now been replaced by "iLu" (see below).
Joera - Whoever came up with "Google" for a company name was pretty cool, huh? Well, when we came up with a name for something, our brilliant minds came up with "Joera". Perhaps it's because we just aren't creative enough to think of something really cool or maybe we lived too much through the days of Bennifer and TomKat but we decided to come up with "Joera". I actually bought the domain name "joera.com" (it redirects to our wedding website) before we came up with the name of our first beta fish (Joera). Sadly, Joera the Fish did not live a long life, but Joera the Couple have every intention to! Although the name Joera is still dear to our hearts, hopefully our next ideas for names (kids?) will be better.
You'll do - A classic example of our long history of understatements to lighten the mood. Many times a response to "I love you", "You'll do" is really a term of endearment, even if it seems to mean otherwise.
Lemon Zest - So, we started this song that goes "I love my buddy, (s)he is the best! S(he) makes me feel like lemon zest!". Don't ask us how we started it, all we know is that "lemon zest" rhymes with "best". And, presumably, lemon zest stands for smell-good freshness!
Rice Kripsies - Well, first, this is how I say "rice krispies". So, Laura got a kick out of that when she first heard it. Secondly, we were at work one day and we went down to the basement to get some snacks from the vending machine. Laura wanted some rice krispies but since it was my money I decided to get something else. Little did I know this was actually sending a message to Laura that I didn't put her first! Ah, the younger days. Hopefully I'm much wiser now =-)! Thirdly, rice kripsies are delicious and we enjoy making them!
Coworker Joe - So, on Laura's birthday back in 2007, somehow I ended up meeting her mom, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew for the first time all on the same day! After all of that, we ended up going hiking in Great Falls. On our way to hiking, Laura gets a call from her aunt/friend Nancy asking her what she is doing for her birthday. Laura responds that she is going hiking and when her aunt asks who she is going with, she responds with her "Coworker Joe". Needless to say, I thought I had risen to higher heights than that so I chose to give Laura the silent treatment for a good 10-15 minutes after that! Afterwards, Laura would always refer to me as her "Coworker Joe" to her family.
One Nose & Two Nose - Somewhere along the way, we both found out what each other's noses felt like (what couples don't?!). It turns out that my nose has a little divot in the middle so it's almost like my nose splits in half and I have two noses. So, I am "Two Nose". Laura's nose doesn't exhibit the same characteristics and so she is "One Nose".
Lemon Zest - So, we started this song that goes "I love my buddy, (s)he is the best! S(he) makes me feel like lemon zest!". Don't ask us how we started it, all we know is that "lemon zest" rhymes with "best". And, presumably, lemon zest stands for smell-good freshness!
Rice Kripsies - Well, first, this is how I say "rice krispies". So, Laura got a kick out of that when she first heard it. Secondly, we were at work one day and we went down to the basement to get some snacks from the vending machine. Laura wanted some rice krispies but since it was my money I decided to get something else. Little did I know this was actually sending a message to Laura that I didn't put her first! Ah, the younger days. Hopefully I'm much wiser now =-)! Thirdly, rice kripsies are delicious and we enjoy making them!
Coworker Joe - So, on Laura's birthday back in 2007, somehow I ended up meeting her mom, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew for the first time all on the same day! After all of that, we ended up going hiking in Great Falls. On our way to hiking, Laura gets a call from her aunt/friend Nancy asking her what she is doing for her birthday. Laura responds that she is going hiking and when her aunt asks who she is going with, she responds with her "Coworker Joe". Needless to say, I thought I had risen to higher heights than that so I chose to give Laura the silent treatment for a good 10-15 minutes after that! Afterwards, Laura would always refer to me as her "Coworker Joe" to her family.
One Nose & Two Nose - Somewhere along the way, we both found out what each other's noses felt like (what couples don't?!). It turns out that my nose has a little divot in the middle so it's almost like my nose splits in half and I have two noses. So, I am "Two Nose". Laura's nose doesn't exhibit the same characteristics and so she is "One Nose".
Skim & Slim - One day Laura was talking with one of our friends and somehow the topic came up about how much "say" I have in the relationship. Laura said I had 50% say in the relationship and our friend says "he has less than that, more like 2%!". Hence, being less than 2%, I became "Skim". Since it sounds similar and since Laura watches what she eats, she is "Slim"!
iLLLLu! - Used for both texting and in normal everyday speech, this is how we say "I love you" to each other. Early on it could have been confused with "I like you" as well (part of the understatement/codespeak we enjoy).
" " - The infamous story of when it all got started. So, Laura and I were talking one day at the office as we often used to do. As part of the conversation, Laura asks whether or not I wanted to go with her to her holiday party with her company. Apparently, instead of answering her question, I simply left the room and went back to my office. So, the blank quotes " " show my response to her invitation. The story continues that after consulting with friends and family on this bizarre turn of events, she mustered up the courage to ask me for a real answer and I said yes. At the holiday party, we actually both won prizes in a raffle and I ended up meeting the cool people who started her company (and almost joined the company a year and a half later!). So, it was quite a memory about the first time we hung out outside of work.
Lorna Doone - While we are not exactly clear on this story, we think it's because on a JetBlue flight we had Lorna Doones as a snack which we really enjoyed and since "Laura" sounds like "Lorna", I started calling Laura my "Lorna Doone".
Myrmie & Ergie - In case you don't know what a "myrmidon" is, it is one of those guys who followed Achilles in the Trojan War or more generically "a loyal follower". For better or worse, I was nicknamed "Myrmie" as I was Laura's loyal follower! Turned out I followed her right to the altar! To go along with my cool nickname, we had to add one for her as well. On some of her magazine subscriptions and junk mail, Laura's last name had been spelled "Erg" and so we became Myrmie and Ergie!
iLLLLu! - Used for both texting and in normal everyday speech, this is how we say "I love you" to each other. Early on it could have been confused with "I like you" as well (part of the understatement/codespeak we enjoy).
" " - The infamous story of when it all got started. So, Laura and I were talking one day at the office as we often used to do. As part of the conversation, Laura asks whether or not I wanted to go with her to her holiday party with her company. Apparently, instead of answering her question, I simply left the room and went back to my office. So, the blank quotes " " show my response to her invitation. The story continues that after consulting with friends and family on this bizarre turn of events, she mustered up the courage to ask me for a real answer and I said yes. At the holiday party, we actually both won prizes in a raffle and I ended up meeting the cool people who started her company (and almost joined the company a year and a half later!). So, it was quite a memory about the first time we hung out outside of work.
Lorna Doone - While we are not exactly clear on this story, we think it's because on a JetBlue flight we had Lorna Doones as a snack which we really enjoyed and since "Laura" sounds like "Lorna", I started calling Laura my "Lorna Doone".
Myrmie & Ergie - In case you don't know what a "myrmidon" is, it is one of those guys who followed Achilles in the Trojan War or more generically "a loyal follower". For better or worse, I was nicknamed "Myrmie" as I was Laura's loyal follower! Turned out I followed her right to the altar! To go along with my cool nickname, we had to add one for her as well. On some of her magazine subscriptions and junk mail, Laura's last name had been spelled "Erg" and so we became Myrmie and Ergie!
Well, if you got this far, then you must have a stomach for sappiness or maybe you were just sitting at that last table and wanted to know what it meant! Regardless, hopefully all of the mysteries are solved!
