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maybe "rants" isn't the right word. these are simple thoughts about my life. some may be more colorful than others. some language may be offensive, but it depends on your definition of offensive. consider this your warning ;)

20 February 2014

Photo and Blog a Day Challenge-Day 20/28: The Written Word

"I don't have a bible in my apartment." That was my thought when I read the prompt for today. And then I told my Catholic guilt to pack it up and kick rocks. A three-word prompt of "the written word" can certainly be interpreted as a suggestion for religious text, but that's the thing, it can be interpreted as such.

Yes, I acknowledge that there is a distinct difference between "written" and "printed," but this execution of artistic license fits right in with my point. If you haven't noticed, the label on the container is read "Lavender hand soap," and the contents are a neon pink.

"So they reused the container and bought different soap."

Excellent deduction, my dear Watson. Bloody good job.

Words are wonderful things. I have a few tattooed on my body (yes, implying more than one), and if you had not heard already, you can visit the latest one in the post from Day 9: Under.

Within these words, are letters (at least, in English and a few others, but I'm not a linguist so I won't get into a discussion about characters and glyphs and the like). And these letters can be interpreted and molded to a degree as well.

The URL for this blog is dailyownx4.blogspot.com, and I'll let you in on a little secret. The first cluster of letters, "dailyownx4" can help you remember how to pronounce my last name--Deleon.

Daily-like daily newspaper, daily vitamins, daily workout.
Own-as in I own this town, you just got owned, and Jane and John own a house.

The "x4" was added since "dailyown" was unavailable when I registered for my Gmail account, and it's a reference to the different disciplines I've been privileged enough to train in: acting, directing, music, and singing. Those were the four I thought of at first. I occasionally change it up depending on how I'm feeling about a particular skill set, bundling acting/directing into one label of "theatre" and adding "dancing" into the mix. In more recent past, "writer" has replaced "dancer," but the concept still applies.

Fun fact: One of my recruiters shared a story with me about how the number four is the most important number in the world, and since I have yet to find it refuted in the last 15 years, I'm sticking with it. We can chat about this at a later time.

But yes, I read dailyownx4 as "Deleon times four."

That being said, I want to address my given name, Deleon. I've seen it written a few different ways, a couple of which I have used myself.

  • de Leon
  • De Leon
  • deLeon
  • DeLeon


I've been informed by my elders that the traditional form of "de Leon" is the preferred form. I don't mean any disrespect to the de Leon line by my letter regrouping resulting in "Deleon." I have a perfectly good reason of why I've interpreted it this way (there's that "i" word again...)

When I enlisted in the Navy, my paperwork listed my name in all caps as MARLON DE LEON. I don't have a legal middle name, but I can get to that later. That being said, quite a bit of my papers had been lost early on in my in-processing to basic training, and eventually we had discovered the issue. Someone had thought that "DE" was my middle name, and that my last name was "LEON," so they filed my paperwork under "L" instead of "D" as I had informed the petty officer at the desk (who, of course, was not pleased with my "failure to recognize" my own name and was then holding up the process).

On our uniforms, last names are embroidered on each piece, in all caps, without spaces, labeling me "DELEON."

I used to sign my name "de Leon," but having written my name altogether (aka without the space) for several years, and only capitalizing the "D" with it at the head of my surname, I molded it into what it is today--Deleon.

Every once in a while, someone will write/type my name with a space in it, or automatically go for the lowercase "d" and uppercase "L," but if I have the opportunity to edit how it appears, I go with my preference.

So there's a little trivia about me. I'll share the story of my middle name at another time, but I'm seriously considering making "Danger" my middle name,

1 comment:

  1. Good write about deleon or however you want that to appear. I like 'DeLeon' for no logical reason. I copied this from a friend's FB post:

    The two older kids discussing their mixed heritage. The third sibling, listening to the conversation, chirps in.

    Leilani (6 y.o.) - We're jalapeno?
    Malia (14 y.o.) - Jalapeno?
    Leilani - Yeah, you said we're jalapeno.
    Malia - *tries not to laugh* No. We're half Filipino.
    Leilani - Oh okay *thinks about it*...and half cocoa-Asian?
    Malia - Oh Leilani, it's caucasian.
    Leilani - Yeah, that's what I said...

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