Jennifer "Jennifer Myszkowski" Myszkowski
Damien brought this story to my attention, which I'm sure will entertain you.
As a person with a name that has many popular nicknames, I can relate to this lady's frustration. While she takes it a bit too far, I understand her pain.
I have given up trying to insist that people call me Jennifer. What I started doing is referring to myself only as Jennifer Myszkowski. If people try to shorten Jennifer Myszkowski, they will end up with Jennifer. Or JMysz. Both of these are fine things to call me. I have many colleagues who call me JM as well. I like all of these. I just hate Jen - and especially Jenn - as Damien was so kind to point out.
Damien and I met at work a long time ago. I can't remember if the fellow this coming story is about was there when Damien was there, but perhaps our other colleagues may recognize this story (if, indeed, they read this blog).
There was a fellow whose name was Michael. Naturally, people called him Mike. He would reply, "ULL!" Then he'd look up all casual-like, "What?"
It was so annoying that I vowed I'd never, ever reply to Jen with, "IFFER!" I didn't want to be that guy. I just make it my business to make sure everyone around me knows what I prefer to be called. Some even take it upon themselves to politely tell people, "Jennifer prefers to be called Jennifer."
Now if anyone has any ideas about how I can get a lady at work to stop calling me Julie, I'm all ears. One day she came up to me and started telling me how great I looked, what amazing weight loss, etc. I assured her I was not thinner - in fact I was fatter - but thanked her just the same. She said, "But Julie, you look great!"
How do you tell a lady who is layering on the flattery that she just called you the wrong name? I didn't know how. I went directly to my team and told them what happened and asked them what I should have done and they all told me I did the right thing and it would resolve over time. Now we're about six months into the Julie-athon. I thought that after I won the award in my department and cried in front of everyone that it would be done - I mean, my bosslady gave a speech about how great I am and kept calling me Jennifer right in front of her! No dice.
On the bright side, at least she's not calling me Jenn.
As a person with a name that has many popular nicknames, I can relate to this lady's frustration. While she takes it a bit too far, I understand her pain.
I have given up trying to insist that people call me Jennifer. What I started doing is referring to myself only as Jennifer Myszkowski. If people try to shorten Jennifer Myszkowski, they will end up with Jennifer. Or JMysz. Both of these are fine things to call me. I have many colleagues who call me JM as well. I like all of these. I just hate Jen - and especially Jenn - as Damien was so kind to point out.
Damien and I met at work a long time ago. I can't remember if the fellow this coming story is about was there when Damien was there, but perhaps our other colleagues may recognize this story (if, indeed, they read this blog).
There was a fellow whose name was Michael. Naturally, people called him Mike. He would reply, "ULL!"
It was so annoying that I vowed I'd never, ever reply to Jen with, "IFFER!" I didn't want to be that guy. I just make it my business to make sure everyone around me knows what I prefer to be called. Some even take it upon themselves to politely tell people, "Jennifer prefers to be called Jennifer."
Now if anyone has any ideas about how I can get a lady at work to stop calling me Julie, I'm all ears. One day she came up to me and started telling me how great I looked, what amazing weight loss, etc. I assured her I was not thinner - in fact I was fatter - but thanked her just the same. She said, "But Julie, you look great!"
How do you tell a lady who is layering on the flattery that she just called you the wrong name? I didn't know how. I went directly to my team and told them what happened and asked them what I should have done and they all told me I did the right thing and it would resolve over time. Now we're about six months into the Julie-athon. I thought that after I won the award in my department and cried in front of everyone that it would be done - I mean, my bosslady gave a speech about how great I am and kept calling me Jennifer right in front of her! No dice.
On the bright side, at least she's not calling me Jenn.
Labels: extreme jennifer myszkowski-ness, work
posted by Jennifer Myszkowski at
9:11 PM
4 Comments:
Dear Jennifer,
If you've corrected her once and she's continuing with "Julie", it will never stop.
Here's how it's gone with me:
Me: Hi, my name's Kathleen.
Them: Hi Kathy.
Me: I prefer not to be called Kathy.
Them: What would you like to be called?
I don't have the time or sanity to continue to correct the repeat offenders, and during my moderate amount of time her on earth, I've found that everyone can be an aggressor/violator/annoying moron but if the aggrieved tries to set them straight then the aggrieved becomes the heavy.
Aggrieved: "Please stop doing that."
Violator: "Hey, woa, chill out, you don't have to bite my head off."
Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get away from the person calling them chick, chickey, chick-k-k, chica, ken, kenny, c-ken, kenny-chick.
I don't understand how the world works.
Kathleen Mary-Theresa Kanz
And that might be the problem, because I didn't correct her. I didn't know how since she was layering on the flattery when it happened. I was afraid it would become awkward. If I only realized how awkward it would become over time, I would have risked it in that moment. Alas.
I'd say give it a shot, do it when it's just you and her.
What a surprise, I can love my fellow woman and man. Good luck, I'll hope for the best.
kkkkkk
Yesterday she called me Jen, which I feel like is a small victory.
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