So many choices

I've got a real humdinger.
I've been thinking about how I should go about changing my name, now that I'm married.

The thing is, the problem is totally solved for me in France. Here, you are always classified under your maiden name, and there is a space for your married name on all national ID cards. So although I have changed my last name on my bank card and my sécu, I don't really need to do anything else, and guess what? No one here cares (much to the dismay of the H).

Now what I need to do is change all my documents in the U.S. It's true that I didn't really think about it here in France, and I was totally ready to take H's last name, but then that whole problem was very easily solved, and all I had to do was change my passport with my new last name.

Except I've been pondering over it all for awhile now (perhaps this is the problem?) and now I'm not so sure I want to drop my last name. I mean, the H has a very nice last name that goes well with my first name, but as I was thinking about it all, I realized that since I'm an only child, and a girl, I'm pretty much the last one in the family that bears my last name! Then I started getting all panicky and stuff, and thought maybe I should keep my last name somehow.

I researched a little on the web, and found this site which details all the different options one has. I am leaning towards using my last name as my middle name, seeing as I don't have a middle name; this way I can still keep my last name. But then I was thinking that maybe I should hyphenate my name, but that just seems very complicated. I might like to keep my last name to use professionally but I'm not sure yet seeing as I am currently unemployed. So basically I am torn between hyphenating my last names, or using my last name as my middle name.

Anyway, I need to figure it out once and for all by Monday, as I have to stop by the US Embassy to drop off H's passport and my letter of explication for the I-864, and I figured that since I was heading over there, I might as well just drop off my passport application (I unfortunately have to pay $67 for a brand new passport despite the fact that I only renewed it in April 2006, because for some reason, the passport people refuse to amend a current passport unless it is less than one year old. Damn you, passport people!) I've been putting it all off for awhile, mostly because I had this new haircut a few months ago that I did not like, but I feel that my hair has grown out enough sufficiently that I should look ok in my passport picture (H thinks I'm being superficial, but hey, that passport picture is going to be there for 10 YEARS! And, I work in fashion, so I am by default a superficial and materialistic person).

Oh, and I just remembered while writing about the passport agency people, I had wanted to register as a Democrat so I could vote in the NYC Democratic Primaries and thus cast my vote for Barack Obama. (I'm currently not registered with any party, but am a registered NYC voter). So I called up the NYC Voting Board or whatever it's officially called, like, back in May 2007 to register as a Democrat and they said it would be too late to register my party affiliation to vote in the primaries. Apparently in NYC, you are supposed to register your party affiliation (if you want to vote in the presidential primaries) ONE YEAR IN ADVANCE. So I was all, "Well, when are the presidential primaries?" and the guy put me on hold then came back and was all "Well, it hasn't been decided yet, but it's most likely going to be in early 2008, so it's too late to register for the Democratic party for the presidential primaries". I was like, "Say what?" and then I called back a week later and spoke to a different person who told me the same thing. So I resigned myself to not being able to vote for Barack (sorry, but I just do not like Hillary) and the fact that I would have no way to help influence the future. (I was pretty upset about it and I think I even moped/fumed for at least a week). But then today I was on the NYC Voter website and it says that the deadline to register to vote or to change affiliations for the presidential primaries was OCTOBER 2007!!!!!! DAMN IT!!!!!

Well, at least Barack did well in Iowa and I'm hoping he will do well in New Hampshire and on Super Tuesday (which, coincidentally, is on my 30th birthday!). It's very odd that I am totally rooting for Barack because usually I am quite apathetic when it comes to politics and I really couldn't care less about it all.