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[personal profile] kitanzi
I've don't want to even try totalling up how many years I've been doing customer service over the telephone for various companies. One of the saving notes of entertainment in the whole thing, though, has been creative manglings of my admittedly unusual name (Larissa). I've always figured I would answer to any polite name callers gave me, without wasting time correcting them, but some of them do get ridiculous. At one point I was keeping a running list, which reached something over 30 before I threw it out. Some of these were obvious and understandable, like Clarissa or Melissa, or even Melinda, but I never did figure out (or bother asking) where a few folks came up with Miss Rita, Rose, or other totally unrelated names. The ones that really boggle me, though, are the ones that aren't even names. Is anyone really named Liverson? Or another one, new to me, that recently came up - Eureka? Where do people GET this stuff? My last caller, another who picked Liverson, wasn't even noticeably deaf, though he certainly had no idea of the basic concept of "If I shut up and listen instead of talking over someone, I might even get the information I am wasting everyone's time calling about." I figure I may as well laugh, since I sure can't do a damn thing to change it. *shrug* But seriously.... Liverson??

Date: 2002-12-09 07:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] autographedcat.livejournal.com
"I was one of seventeen children. We were all named Liverson -- I suppose it was roughest on the girls, but we all got used to it in the end. I blame the parents, really. ... It was just when they found a name they liked, they stuck with it."

*G*

Love you!

Re:

Date: 2002-12-09 03:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitanzi.livejournal.com
I still don't think that's much worse than the five sisters named Princess. I have the WEIRDEST job sometimes. *G*

Date: 2002-12-09 07:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] browngirl.livejournal.com
Wow. A list of name manglings. I should have kept one of those.

Diana/Nancy/Mary/Nanny/Naomi/Ashley
A.K.A. A. :)

Re:

Date: 2002-12-10 03:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitanzi.livejournal.com
What's the weirdest you ever got?

Date: 2002-12-09 11:52 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] duality.livejournal.com
i have to go by Bailey on the phone, and about a 1/5 of the ppl who talk to me, call me Mary. i dunno -why-.

i've had some fun manglings of my first name to. using my last helped disassociate me from the other person with similar first name who constantly screwed up at work. of those that do understand that i'm saying Bailey, many do comment on how unusual the name is, or how much they like it, or how some friend/relative of theirs just named a little girl that.

Re:

Date: 2002-12-09 03:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitanzi.livejournal.com
Yeah, and a lot of those who DO get it, start going on about "Oh, that's a pretty name, isn't it unusual! Where did you get that?" Sadly, it's not quite acceptable to say "Look, just tell me what you called about, let me fix it, and go away."
But I'd really, really like to.

Let's do Larissa!

Date: 2002-12-09 10:53 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
As has been noted, "There are always possibilities". (pointy eared grin)

Have you thought of changing your name to something more simple or more common,
like the Al Capp character Btfsplk? What? Oh, that's right - Btfsplk is a last name. Hey,
how about Wilhelmina? (Think of all the nicknames you can get from Wilhelmina). [g]

Is anyone really named Liverson? Do a web search - you might be surprised!

Ann Onynous

[music: Shirley Ellis doing "The Name Game"]

Re: Let's do Larissa!

Date: 2002-12-10 04:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitanzi.livejournal.com
Oh, someone probably is, somewhere.... but dammit, not me! *G*

Date: 2002-12-10 05:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] quadrivium.livejournal.com
Sorry. I have to. ;-)



Dr. Liverson I presume . ..

Re:

Date: 2002-12-11 03:49 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitanzi.livejournal.com
*GROAN* You just had to, didn't you? Oh well, looks like I got a doctorate out of it, at least!

In Search Of The First Name

Date: 2002-12-11 12:53 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
(With apologies to Ray Thomas)

Doctor Liverson, I presume,
Stepping out of commuting gloom
Into your cubicle.
What did you hear there?
Mangled names that made you glare?
Did you beat anyone?

I've heard mangl-ings galore.
I've heard first names big and small.
I've heard some names I've not heard before.

They're all mangling my first name.
They're all mangling my first name.
They're all mangling my first name...

Ann Onynous

[mood: sympathetic]
[music: a certain Moody Blues song]

Re: In Search Of The First Name

Date: 2002-12-11 03:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kitanzi.livejournal.com
That's fantastic, thanks! I can't place the tune, though?

Re: In Search Of The First Name

Date: 2002-12-11 04:39 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
"Doctor Livingstone, I Presume" by Ray Thomas. From the Moody Blues'
"In Search Of The Lost Chord" album. I'd be surprised if Doc doesn't have it.

Ann

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