nicknames...

in light of a recent post by my dear friend Ashley Gill (AGill if you will), there are a few things I need to say about nicknames. I love nicknames and I try my best to give everyone I know or care about rather a good nickname. However, I am puzzled by those who assign themselves nicknames. For instance, if I just suddenly started referring to myself as Bert it would be weird. I recently received an email that was sent to everyone on campus. This guy signed the email "Ike". His name is Isaac and I realize that maybe that's a common nickname, but he doesn't tell people his name is Ike and I would never call him Ike. We're not on that nickname level (and quite honestly I hope we never are), but I feel as though he has staked a claim over my friendship. I feel as though I should maybe reply with an email like "Dear Ike, Bert is no longer accpeting frienships from people like you. Love, Bert" I just dont understand. Maybe one day I will...
--Bert