duck-shaped pain

22 August 2001
I Will Not Be Who You Want Me To Be

A very small pox on online shopping sites (and anything else) that doesn't have a clue that people might want to actually use their middle names.

Today. I am registering at a site in order to make a fairly large purchase. I have to fill in my name, of course. A box for the first name. A box for the last name. And one teeny tiny little space for the middle initial.

Next to the first-name [1] is an asterisk. I hunt over the screen for the note or explanation that accompanies that asterisk, and it says, "First name REQUIRED." No vagueness there.

So I tried putting in my name as I'd like it -- after twelve years of not using The First Name, I'm not about to change now. First with the first initial, then the middle name: "Error: Names cannot contain characters." Okay, so take the period out and just leave a space. "Error: Names cannot contain a space."

I could just take out the space and combine it all into one word, but that would create an entirely new name, one prone to funny looks and mispronunciations. So I acquiesce. I put in The First Name. Now the site is happy, and I am not.

(Then it had problems with my address -- addresses simply don't contain numbers like 1/2, according to its limited worldview -- but I was less willing to compromise there. I mean, it's my address -- I can't just change it�)


Today, I get to go to work for a scant three or four hours (or maybe even less, I'm hoping) and then I get to load up The Little Honda and drive to Denver. There I may eat Lao food, hang out with S. for a bit or drink coffee, but I definitely will be taking a bus to the airport on Thursday, where I will check in, go through security, and ultimately get on a plane, bound for Chicago, where I am going to have a good time and visit excellent people. Updates as they happen.


[1] Three times in a row now, I have spelled that "fist-name." Subliminal? Maybe.

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