Friday, March 19, 2010

Meh...

I'm one of those weird creatures with two middle names. Not only do they not go together, it make life sometimes slightly difficult. Like today, when I got a letter from the Texas Insured Something-or-Other (I already shredded the letter), letting me know that my car was not listed as insured in the state of Texas.

D'oh!

I did all they asked, compared the car's VIN to the one listed on my insurance policy, check. Got all the numbers together (VIN, insurance policy number, license plate number, reference number on the letter itself), and gave them a call.

After wending my way through the automated system, I got a hold of a nice lady named Linda, who asked me the fatal question: What's your FULL name...?

D'oh, again!

Seems that my insurance company has me listed as Christina A. (name redacted), while on my actual vehicle registration I'm listed as Christina A. I. (name redacted).

D'oh, for the third time.

Their computers couldn't handle this discrepancy and were unable to reconcile these two seemingly different identities, so my records never got properly amended.

Luckily, Linda was able to take care of it posthaste! Let's hear it for real humans!

All the while I was handling this, I was inwardly cursing my folks for not being able to agree on a middle name, which is how I ended up with BOTH. My dad's bright idea, btw. THANKS, DAD! ;)

On another meh note: Fat-free cheese is an abomination on par with Milli Vanilli: it doesn't MELT. Much.

25 comments:

Old NFO said...

Ah yes, to err is human, to REALLY screw it up takes a computer!!!

Christina RN LMT said...

Good one, Old NFO...I'll have to remember that!

Home on the Range said...

With the name Mary-Brigid as my middle name on my birth certificate, at least no one asks if I'm Catholic.

Christina RN LMT said...

Brigid, I have no doubt you are correct! Hyphenating, does it make things easier or more difficult?

Dave (aka Buckskins Rule) said...

DN3 has two middle names. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that she's 16, we are beginning to see where we should have given it a little more thought.

Christina RN LMT said...

Buckskins Rule, don't sweat it. She'll learn to deal with the pain-in-the-assness of it soon enough. ;)

And I bet that the names you gave her are at least cool and or beautiful. Mine simply do not go nor flow well together.

On a Wing and a Whim said...

Yay for getting to a real live human! NFO nailed it.

Yeah, fat-free cheese is an abomination on par with Velveta: neither taste nor consistency match real cheese. Enjoy the real good stuff in moderation instead!

Buck said...

Fat-free ANYTHING is an abomination in my book. Ditto with "Lite" and "sugar free." Better Living Thru Chemistry only applies to drugs.

Shit. There I go, being all negative again. I need an intervention.

Mauser*Girl said...

If it makes you feel any better, I can tell you from personal experience that it's no easier having NO middle name at all.

Having previously filled in NONE where the middle name is required on forms, I've found that this has caused some of my paperwork to be entered as Chris N. (last name). WTF? I've also tried N/A as in "does not apply". And have found myself with the middle initials of N. A. DOH.

I now just leave it blank and wait for them to ASK me why I didn't fill it in.

Christina RN LMT said...

Wing, Vaarok (in his dairy-man wisdom) filled me in on what fat-free cheese is made of. It made me want to vomit. Never again.

Buck, I eschew (mostly) artificial sweeteners. But now there's stevia (which has been around for thousands of years, of course), a plant that grows in South America and is a natural, no-calorie sweetener. I use that to sweeten my drinks.
It's okay to be negative, ya know...on occasion!

Mauser*Girl, that must be a real PITA! Most Americans have middle names, but I do have some German friends with none. The U.S. is not set up to handle N.M.I. folks. I'm sorry! Heh, my middle initials are A.I. (artificial intelligence, *snerk*), and my on-line banking for YEARS declared me to be Christina A. [Lastname], I. I was Christina the First! w00t!
Took me forever to straighten that out.

SCI-FI said...

But they are *nice* middle names...

IMHO, of course.

Christina RN LMT said...

Oh, of course! Taken individually, they are fine. I just don't think they go together very well.

Christina RN LMT said...

Oh, and thank you, SCI-FI!

Anonymous said...

CHRISTINA!!!! CHRISTINACHRISTINACHRISTINA!!!!
I have returned to the land of the living! Funny enough-may also be moving to Texas next year....Dallas area....to work for FEMA. We shall see!

Christina RN LMT said...

ZOMG!!! You're ALIVE!!!!!
*whew*

I was worried about you. Can you imagine us as neighbors? The awesomeness of that is overwhelming...

Miz Minka said...

I have no middle name and was using a hyphenated last name for many years. PITA indeed! I'm from a German family -- my dad has three middle names, my mom one, and Lil'Sis and I each got none.

And you already know my opinion on fat-free cheese!

WV: snese
Gesundheit!

Christina RN LMT said...

Miz Minka, you have my sympathies. My German best friend has no middle name, and when she came over here and was doing a little tour of the Southwest, she had difficulties sometimes on check-in at various motels/hotels. And she'd show them her passport, and everything!

be603 said...

My mum had 3 last names. Stewart Thompson McLean.

Eldest daughter born in 1922 in a small town in Ayrshire. For her first and middle names it was her paternal and maternal grandma's maiden names.

People misspelled her first name regularly. We joked it would happen to the day she died. Boy, did we have a good laugh when the programs for her Memorial service came from the printer with it misspelled one last time. lol. She would have laughed with us.

Stewart Thompson may not be so bad when you think about. Her little sis' got tagged with "Euphemia."

Christina RN LMT said...

Did she have a nickname?! At least they are strong names, I don't think they're bad at all. "Euphemia", however, is a different story!

be603 said...

Stewie, Stew...

Insisted we not name any girls for her. A couple grandsons(including my son) and so far one great-grandson got Stewart for a middle name.

"Effie" is what my Aunt answers to. Their mum was also Euphemia -- she answered to "Famie."

Actually, joking aside, I think Euphemia is a beautiful old name. Just wouldn't wish such a bygone handle on a modern era child.

My girls had to settle for "Lindsey, Megan and Shannon." At least there's a wee bit of their ethnic (Scot, Irish, Welsh) heritage showing in those names.

Suldog said...

Any cheese that is labeled "Cheese Product" or similar (in other words, not labeled as just plain old cheese) sucks. Almost as much as insurance companies and the registry of motor vehicles, as a matter of fact.

Christina RN LMT said...

be603, you chose lovely names for your daughters, indeed!

Jim, yup. "Process(ed) cheese food" should be banned. That's why I've never liked so-called American cheese. Ugh.

John the Texaner said...

Try having a Suffix on your name. Despite the fact that My legal name includes a suffix (and it's there on my birth certificate and SS card), Federal forms NEVER have a place to put it. Taxes, Social Security apps (I'm in the process of ordering a replacement card), 4473 forms, passport applications, whatever.

It makes everything form-related a hassle, because I have to get a hold of a real person (who will answer a phone - tall order with the fed) for them to tell me where I'm supposed to put it. Sometimes it's after my last name, sometimes after the middle. Ugh.

Shalom said...

The State of New Jersey, as represented by the Motor Vehicle Commission, has declared that I am two people.

(I have two cars; one had my first name and middle initial on the reg, the other has only my initials, because that car was transferred in from NY, where they allow you to put a first initial and middle name (which is how I normally sign my name) on a registration. Of course each permutation had a different ID number associated with it. This made for much amusement when I was trying to obtain a copy of the title, by reason of which amusement I missed out on the Cash for Clunkers deals...)

Christina RN LMT said...

Well crap, Shalom! That truly sucks. Bureaucracy is the same the world over: stupid and arbitrary!