Jade by name...

I have no problem whatsoever with the fact that my name is Jade, but I DO have a problem with the fact that my name is one letter away from "jaded." "Apt!" you may say, but due to my new-found endeavour to discover the "glass half full" view of the world, it's vexing.

I hate the fact that "jaded" conjures up an image of a haggard old horse on its way to the glue factory. I also hate that by association I may as well be called "Old Nag Nelly" and left out to the pasture.

It turns out I'm not that far off the mark. According to the Word Detective, "jaded," originally meant just "mare," but then came to mean "old, broken-down mare." As a metaphor, "jade" then was used to mean "worthless person," or, more specifically, "prostitute."

Which is all very amusing if your name is "Mary," "Frank" or "Joe," but my name is akin to "worthless". So I may as well smash that "glass half full" Stella-style into someone's face and get it over and done with.