Name Your Stuff

I like to name my stuff. I picked up the habit a few years ago when I purchased my first bike during the pandemic — a beautiful rose colored Kona Rove gravel bike. I named her Rose. Some might find a name like that too on the nose, but I don’t mind an obvious name. I think there is beauty in its simplicity. That’s why when I bought my first car — a lovingly used ruby red Ford Escape — I unsurprisingly named her Ruby.

In the realm of technology I reach for names from some of my favorite science fiction. My M1 MacBook Pro has donned the name Rocinante after the space frigate that carries around the plucky protagonist crew of the book series The Expanse. I named my Obsidian vault Gregorivich. The name is taken from a near omniscient ship mind in the book To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. A fitting name for a repository of my knowledge.

It’s true that the guitar I spent a year initially learning to play on went unnamed. But, I made sure to right my wrong when I purchased my first acoustic — a sleek Martin D-16e. He goes by Luther, Martin Luther. When the purchase of a Roland FP-30X digital piano followed suit I opted for a more subtle name: Miller. Both an ode to the first artist I loved Tor Miller and a missionary my Grandmother knew in India named Roland Miller.

I could list all sorts of reasons as to why you should name your stuff: it’s fun; it’s a way to express yourself; the personification helps you take better care of your things. But none of that really matters. You should name your stuff because you want to. Not every reader will want to. But, maybe you — yes you — will. And if that’s the case then what are you waiting for? Look up from your screen. Find something you love. And give it a name.