May/095
Red Tape
Today I found out that my name is actually Maria Diaz-CRUZ. I did not know this because everything I have ever done has been without the hyphen. When I was naturalized as a citizen (I wasn't born here), my mom signed my name as Diaz-Cruz.
Somehow all of this fell through the cracks when getting my CA ID card and my US passport. Today, at the New Jersey DMV, while attempting to get state ID and a permit so I can drive and have something resembling a life while I get my shit together, I was not allowed to get either because my INS certificate has this Diaz-Cruz name. The employees there said I didn't have enough proof of ID and looked at me like I had two heads when I said I freelanced and did not have insurance (no insurance card).
So my mom calls and asks how the DMV trip went. I explain this whole Diaz-Cruz thing and she says "Oh yeah. That is your legal name." I had no idea how to respond to this; I have NEVER gone by this hyphenated name. I should have noticed when I got this INS certificate in 2003 (which was another enormous ordeal that I will talk about another time) but you know, I didn't. So, it's just as much my fault. Do not consumerist-comment me about it, please.
The moral of the story is: read your government documents carefully. And don't lose your social security card. And don't expect a trip to the DMV to ever occur without a tear or two.
May 7th, 2009
How strange! Do you still feel like you? Will you have to go by MD-C?
May 7th, 2009
Wow. I don’t even know who are you anymore. Are you going to start using the real name for professional purposes?
May 7th, 2009
Urgh! Hyphenated names, ew! I’d sort it out and then change it all back to what you know. But what a shock that must have been!
May 7th, 2009
I will always be MD! And it costs $380 dollars to get your name changed on the certificate for the INS so I’m just going to attempt to get a replacement social security card. I’ll deal with the INS later.
But ugh, I’m a new woman now, yall.
May 11th, 2009
Dude, maybe you should just make a fresh new identity? That’s what I would do if my name turned out to really be like, Jane Smith-Jones or something. Just make a whole new SSN, bank accounts, etc. I saw this on Lifetime once. We can do this. And make a podcast about it.