What the hell is a greybon?

• view: 2 Comments
• posted: Aug 27th, 2009
• under: Daily Life

Over the years I’ve gotten asked a lot about “greybon.” Usually it’s “What the hell is a greybon?” and “Why greybon?”

I’ve used greybon as my standard online username for a long, long time. It only made sense for my personal blog to have the same name. Let’s see if I can shed a little light on where it came from and why I use it.

My dad subjected my brother and me to many years of Jeopardy. It was our routine to have dinner on tv trays while watching the show. My dad tried to break that routine he’d established once when company was over. He actually tried to make us appear “civilized” and sit at the table. Laughter ensued. “Right, Dad. I’ll get the tv trays ready…”

In any event, one night we were watching and this Canadian guy with long frizzy blonde hair was on. His name was Greybon. I remember thinking, what the hell kinda name is that? I guess it’s only fitting that I get that question at lot too.

Then when I was in college I got a teddy bear for Valentine’s Day. In thinking of a name, yes I name my plushies!, that name came back to me.

After college I needed an email address since my college account expired. My name is so damn ordinary that it’s hard creating usernames with it. So I went with greybon and have used the name online ever since.

But why was I drawn to the name so much? I think that’s best answered by breaking down the word. grey + bon “Grey” is an alternate spelling of “gray,” while “bon” means “good” in French. So basically, grey is good (yes I have a habit of using the “e” variant of its spelling). This is fitting because grey is the center of black and white. It’s position between the two colors is why we refer to something that is impossible to define as existing in “grey area.”

I do not like to be defined. Categorized. Classified. Labeled. I never have. And to me, “greybon” is a celebration of being happily undefined.

What about you? Do you have a username you get questioned about a lot? Why did you select yours?

tagged: greybon, usernames

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