What's in a name?

[wordinista]

I never realized there were so many places I'd need to change my name.

For instance: the veterinary clinic and pharmacy.

Now, I had a hell of a time getting Bronte's prescription filled at the local Walgreens, and after that odyssey, the woman assured me she'd changed my file to reflect my last name, spelled CORRECTLY.  Apparently that didn't happen, which I discovered when I went to get the prescription refilled.  So I asked them again to fix it.  Guess what I discovered when I tried to pick up another refill this morning?

If you said, "The fucktards still didn't fix my misspelled name," give yourself a cookie.

So I'm like, "Okay.  Let's try this again."  And I gave them my new, easily-spelled last name.  Six letters as opposed to twelve.  New and Improved Bunneh! 50% Easier to Spell!  Except I still had to spell it out for the girl.  Twice.  *facepalm*  While I was waiting (in the drive-thru, always a joy if you're in the mood to be ignored and watch through the glass as walk-in customers are served more quickly than you could ever hope to be), I called the vet clinic to change my name on file there, so hopefully the confusion with my name will be resolved.  Because I trust my vet clinic -- the gals there are great, and in my (extensive omg) experiences with them, they Do Not Fuck Up.

They also know me there.  A shock, I know.  I've only had appointments every two or three weeks since July.  They tend to remember you after something like that.  They actually remember your pets first, so if they remember you in addition to your pets, you know you're a regular at the vet clinic.

So, anyway.  I talked with my favorite receptionist (who, coincidentally, shares a first name with everstar3), and the conversation went a little like this:

Me:  "Hi, I was wondering if I could change the name on my file?  I switched from my name to my husband's last name, and I'd like to use that, please."
Awesome Receptionist:  "Oh, sure!  What's the last name we have on file now?"
Me:  *gives last name*
AR:  "Oh, I know you!  Hi!"
Me:  "Yup, I'm Bronte's mom."
AR:  "And Darwin's!"
Me:  "...Yeah, everyone always seems to remember him, for some reason."

Seriously.  Darwin's been in that office exactly three times.  Once for a limp after he slipped and jammed his leg in the corner of his kennel, once to be neutered, and once to have his stitches taken out.  Bronte's been in there every other week, practically, AND had the marrow aspirate.  AND she's their resident medical mystery.  Kisa knows no such infamy.  (Thankfully.)

But I find that's how it works with pet owners.  We always remember each others' pets' names -- when I call to make an appointment for Darwin at "doggy daycare," I say, "This is Darwin's mom," because if I used my name, no one would recognize me.  There's a woman who brings her Black Lab to the pond parties on Wednesday mornings (I stopped taking Darwin when I started walking with C, but might start up again since C's been unavailable for walkies), and I always have to think to remember her name.  Mostly I just remember her as Mace's mom.  (The Lab is named Mace, after Mace Windu.  Gorgeous dog, and such a sweetie -- about Darwin's age.)  I remember the "Labradoodle" (I'm not even going to get into my annoyance with the designer dog craze) named Mulligan, but not his owners.  I remember Snickers and Hershey (both Chocolate Labs), but not their owners (at least not right away).  I remember Sunshine and Happy and Polo and Gypsy, but have not a clue to their owners' names.  Luthor, Corky, Cocoa, Porsche, Peanut & Butter, Shadow, Millie, Titan... these are all dogs I've encountered at one time or another, and could not, for the life of me, tell you who they belonged to. 

But it does make me realize that people do give their dogs pretty stupid names.  Butter?  I mean, really.

Also, today the Miami Hurricanes will be announcing their new head coach: 'Canes defensive coordinator, Randy Shannon.  I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand, Randy Shannon is an unbelievable defensive coordinator, and he was the one I was hoping would get the job.  He's been with the team for years, and was brought in when Butch Davis was rebuilding the team while they were on sanctions.  He also played for the 'Canes, back in the day.  He's awesome.

However, I'm worried about him.  Miami is a difficult city, full of fair-weather fans and pundits who always seem to know better than whoever's in charge.  The Miami Hurricanes haven't been able to hold onto a coach for more than five years in a row since Howard Schnellenberger.  It's a tough gig, and unfortunately the university (I think) is giving themselves a bad reputation because of this.  Jimmy Johnson hung around for five years, then went and coached the Cowboys.  Dennis Erickson (ohgod, awful, awful coach) went to Seattle and is now, I think, in San Francisco (wherever he is, he's surely sucking the life out of the team -- The 49'ers suck right now, so I'd bet he is in fact there).  Butch Davis was, in my opinion, the best coach the 'Canes had of them all (wtf, Butch, you ditched the 'Canes for the fucking Browns after 4 or 5 seasons, and after assuring the team you weren't leaving, and now you're at North Carolina after coaching the Browns for 4 or 5 seasons).  And then Larry Coker (Larry, Larry, Larry -- you're not a bad coach, you're just too nice a guy.  You're too nice.  And those kids ran all over you.), who coached the team for six seasons.  I liked Larry -- I did.  I do like Larry.  I just don't think he's a great fit for the 'Canes.  Those kids need a hardass coach, and I believe Randy Shannon will be that hardass coach.

I just hope he hangs around for more than five years.