What's in a name? Frustration.

So I didn't change my name when I got married.  This has been a fairly constant battle with all sorts of entities, including governmental and various family members (generally not close ones).  Somehow, however, when we moved to Lewisham Road, it got sorted out with the various agencies we owe money to on a regular basis (water, electric, council tax, etc.).  I'm guessing this is mostly because I did all the work with the letting agent, so they used my name, and dumped Adam's on there as an afterthought.  They also handled most of the initial paperwork (including trying to change the energy provider without our--or our landlords'--permission, which really pissed me off), so it got sent off correctly to said agencies (Yorkshire Water managed to royally screw up both our names, but they were nice and fixed them promptly).  Miracle of miracles, something went right.

I find the whole thing ironic, of course, because prior to getting married, I was known everywhere by my maiden name.  Thus, it should be easier to not change it than change it, but whatever.  And while I know my friends' married names (those who changed their names), I still think of them--and often refer to them out of convenience--by their maiden names as well.  I guess we'll see what happens in the States, where I more truly existed than I did here, at least prior to March 2010, when I arrived with my marriage visa in hand.  In the States, not only did I not legally change my name, which is--at least in the State of Oregon--easy to do on a marriage license, since it provides a list of choices for each party (Weidmann, Barrett, Weidmann-Barrett, Barrett-Weidmann), but I effectively confirmed my maiden name.  A sidenote: if you don't want one of the choices that the computer provides for you, you must go before a judge to legally change your name, even if you're changing it because you're getting married, which is the only way to legally change your name if it's not via marriage (friends who wanted to combine their last names--Merriam and Foxsomething--to Merrifoxes had to do this).

Digressions aside, right now my decision is biting me in the butt (note Adam's laughter. Jackass).  This is because I'm applying for some open positions at his work, and nepotism being what it is, it would probably help to have Adam's last name.  Alternately, having a section on the application form* that asks "do you know anyone who is or has been employed by ____" would also be useful.  But I can't work it into the cover letter, nor anywhere on the application form.  So instead--and to be fair, I would have asked him to do this anyway--my dear hubby is whoring my name around as best he can, in the hopes that perhaps I'll actually land an interview.

So apparently I can't win for losing.  Or lose for winning.  Either way.  Oh well, here's hoping for the best.

*I hate application forms.  Just accept a CV and a cover letter.  Being unable to determine suitable candidates from a CV and page of text but somehow able to pick them out via an application form shows a distinct lack of initiative and intelligence in my mind.