My oldest, and most widely used online name is “trunkboy”. As a big fancy grown-up, I realize this name is odd at best. It’s one of those things, however, that is so deeply ingrained into my past, that ditching the name just seems wrong. Plus, it’s the account I use on gmail for everything, so it would be very inconvenient to separate myself from it. Here’s the scoop:
In 1993, I graduated from high school. I was a pretty brainy kid, and got a couple scholarships for college. One of those scholarships was for $1,000 cash that was supposedly above and beyond my needs for tuition, room, and board. As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, it was NOT above and beyond, and I had to turn the money in on day 1. My spending money for the entire year was gone, and I did not have a job (why would I need a job? I had $1,000!!!!)
The college year started, and as most college kids, I was expected to pitch in for the Saturday night beer pizza. Since I had NO money, I usually ended up mooching from my friends, and was jokingly called “Trunkboy”, because of an episode of Cheers. See, the other thing that happened in 1993 was the 11th season of Cheers. In this episode, Frasier gets shoved into the trunk of the car to get into the drive-in theater for free. They call him trunk boy. And that nickname stuck. (I didn’t fight it, because I much preferred if over “Cheap Freeloading Jerkface That Needs to Get a Job”)
So there you have it. 15 years later, I’m still Trunkboy, and although it seems silly, it reminds me of a unique time in my life. 🙂
I had never heard that story, but always wondered. Did you remember it or was it a story told to you. Did you get your memory back? When we were living in Detroit a friend of yours Jaseon King gave me the nickname TikiTia and it stuck, it was my license plate for a while.(I even named my cat Tiki, remember her, she was the best) After having Ian I realized I wasn’t TikiTia anymore I was MomTia and needed to not spend the extra money on a license plate renewal, but on diapers!!! It cost more to have a personalized plate, now I’m just cba 321!!! But deep down I’ll always be TikiTia, just as you’ll be Trunkboy!
No, didn’t remember, just know the story from someone else’s telling. Same with the TikiTia story. 🙂
And you can always be TikiTia. No license plate proof required.
Too funny! I’ve never had a cool nickname/screen name like that. My maiden name is Sisco, my friends called me San Fran (and my unfriends called me Crisco).
Trunkboy fits you. 🙂
Trunkboy would be an excellent phone phreak name. That’s what I always think of when I hear it even though I knew the origin. I think you told it one night in irc.
Shockingly, even though I am nerdy and have the last name of Wertenberger I was rarely teased or saddled with a bad nickname. Someone once called me Squirtenberger, but it didn’t stick
Phew! That’s alot better than if it had been inspired by “Pulp Fiction” !!!