My immediate family and some of my work colleagues call me Jen.
The majority of my friends and acquaintances call me Jenny.
I answer to both of these and don’t necessarily prefer one over the other.
Then there’s “everyone else”. And here’s a truth about “everyone else”: they do not like “Jenny” and insist on calling me by a name they decided they feel comfortable with, but also completely made up. And that name is Jennifer.
This list of “everyone else” is long and I could not begin to detail in this entry, but it includes and is not limited to: store owners, restaurant event managers, friend’s coworkers, some weird priest who thought he was being proper, some dumb bartender who thought he was being funny, random people at networking events who I have JUST introduced myself to as “Jenny”, potential employers who have my correct resume directly in front of them, the guy at the camera store who I dropped my D80 off with for a cleaning, former teachers (even after my mother sent a note to school because I cried about being called the wrong name – shut up I was in second grade) …. the list goes on and on.
Don’t believe me? I just got THIS piece of mail:
I’ve been a loyal client at this Copy Cop for TWO YEARS. And I never orally gave them my contact info that they could mess up or interpret – I gave them MY BUSINESS CARD WITH MY REAL NAME ON IT.
So just for the record, I’ll put it out there again: my name is not Jennifer. It is Jenny. Yes, that is my legal name. Yes, it says it on my birth certificate and license. I don’t care if you don’t like it or you think it’s weird. Too bad, it’s still my name.
Now get it right or pay the price.*
*I’m not sure what that “price” is … but you can probably bet on an eye roll and a foot stomp. **
**Another truth about me: I am precious when I’m angry.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
hey jennifer
this is hilarious, and even though i heard this shpeal before…its still cracks me up.
hah. thanks for the laugh right before i go to teach. i was in the mood to rip thier stupid freshman heads off….
You are precious all the time :)
I told a girl at the noodle place the other day my name and then when she swiped my credit card she looked at it and said, “Oh! You mean RYANNON”
Um, no, I do not mean RYANNON, my name is RHIannon.
SHEESH.
Bastards!
I get the same thing, people always call me Cynthia, even though its not my legal name.
Oh hai Jenny :)
My name is Sandra, not Alexandra as some people think *hehe*
People and their preconceived notions of nomenclature, sheesh.
As a “Bill” who is NOT a “William”, I sympathize fully with you all!
Chris calls you Jenn-ay whenever we are talking (joyously!) about you. He will not let the Forrest Gump references die.
Ha, my name is Jennifer, and lots of people I barely know insist on calling me Jenny for short. I’d prefer Jenn or Jennifer, but I can’t stand to be called Jenny, personally. Although I suppose it’s still better than people presuming my name is something else.
My dad has the same thing – his name is Joe and that’s how it is on his birth certificate, not Joseph. Back before caller ID, he used to use that as his way to suss out telemarketers; if they called and asked for Joseph he knew it was someone who didn’t know him!
hi madonna.
Quit yer bitchin.
Jenny…I have tagged you, sort of;-)