Annoying People

Why do people have to be so irritating? Seriously.

Yesterday I called Texas to inquire about Asa’s name change and what that would entail should we choose to do that. I spoke to a lady who was helpful, but yes…she was also the annoying one.

Our conversation went something like this…
Me: "Hi, I was calling because we are thinking about changing the way we spell our daughter’s name and I was wondering what a change like that would entail…how we would go about doing that and such.”
Lady: "How are you thinking of changing her name?"
Me: "Well, we are just changing the spelling of her name actually."
Lady: "How were you thinking of doing that?"
Me: "How? (I was genuinely confused...that is actually what I called her for…to see how to go about doing that) I’m not sure what you mean How?"
Lady: "What changes were you thinking of making? Would it change the pronunciation of the name?"
Me: "No, it would be pronounced the same way. Her name right now is spelled A-S-A. We would be changing it to E-I-S-S-A."
Lady: "Well, Ma’am, that would change the pronunciation."
Me: "Um, no we would be pronouncing it the same way."
Lady: "Well, E-I-S-S-A is pronounced 'ee-suh', not 'ay-suh.'"

At that point I was a little taken aback. And I actually verbalized what I was really thinking, “How are you the person to decide how that is pronounced?” I wasn’t trying to be rude, but I was truly, truly curious.

I told her that E-I-S-S-A is actually pronounced 'ay-suh' too, esp. here in Brasil, which is the reason we are thinking about changing it. She proceeded to tell me that, “Well, your daughter wasn’t born in Brasil.” Um, o.k., thanks for that bit of information. I wasn’t aware, since I was the one who actually pushed her out of my body. I’m glad that is cleared up for me though, where she was born.

Anyhow, it was just very annoying. Apparently if the name/spelling change is going to change the pronunciation it makes a difference…but only if the person is over a year old. Since Asa is only 10 months old, that bit of information doesn’t even apply.

I was still appalled. I thought about it all night. Seriously, there are tons of different spellings for tons of very different names. I actually brought up that point and said that it is the parents who are the one who say how to pronounce it. I mean, hasn’t everyone heard the story of Pajama (paj-uh-maw, accent on the paj part)? :) I mean, I should probably change the pronunciation of my name, per the "super pronunciation lady" from Texas. From now on you should probably call me 'mich-on' instead of 'mish-on.' Of course, that means that all the Michelles of the world will need to be called 'mich-ell' instead of 'mish-ell,' right?

If it were an issue for Asa (if she were older than 1), I would have to call back and argue (I’m pretty good at arguing a point in customer issues…sometimes I think I would’ve made a good lawyer). I stay calm and nice, but firm. But, basically it is asinine to so matter-of-factly say that E-I-S-S-A is pronounced ee-suh. Does that mean that weigh is pronounced wee…I don’t think it is. Is reign pronounced reen? Um, no. What about vein? Veen? I don’t think so, Tim.

Needless to say, if you can’t tell, I was annoyed. Did I mention that? It even annoyed Joel, but we just had to laugh about it and move on. Joel actually made a really funny joke about it which made me really laugh and feel not so perturbed. I can't actually share the joke, but it was funny, trust me.