Tuesday, May 09, 2006

To S@le or not to S@le?

Besides “Have you got your dress yet?” and “Have you picked a reception place?” the question “Will you be Kelly S?” is right up there when it comes to wedding-related interrogation.

I have put much thought into this, and try as I might, that Seinfeld episode always comes to mind. It’s haunting, really: Jerry is waiting for some woman named Susan Chang at a Chinese restaurant. The lady shows up, and he is stunned to find that the Chang-lady is, in fact, WHITE. Jerry is indignant; he feels betrayed by the woman who wanted to pass herself off as Chinese.

So I ask myself: If somebody is expecting a Kelly S, will they feel indignant and betrayed when they see me, with my black hair and Asian nose, walk into the room? Will I be accused/judged for trying to pass myself off as WHITE? I may as well change my whole name to “SHANIQUA S,” if I really want to play with people’s minds.

I have dreamed all my life for the moment when I, Kelly, would FINALLY rid myself of my lame last name. And as I approach this glorious day, I find myself surrounded by doubt and confusion. Kelly C-S? Kelly C S? Kelly S?

So now I’m taking a poll. I cannot guarantee that your vote will actually count (because in the end I’ll just do whatever I please), but I’d like to see how people feel about this very important issue.

11 comments:

Drive by Commenter said...

What's in a name, really?

A rose by any other name is still a rose.

Anonymous said...

First off, the drive by commenter is an F person...

Secondly, both of our last names suck so maybe we should just come up with a new one...

Cat said...

Having changed my name... I do miss it, no matter which how much I hated it...

Now, having said that, you are in the US (the Melting Pot of the world)... so no need to feel like you're deceiving people if you take the Sale last name.

Anonymous said...

Dude, do whatever the hell you want! Do what makes you feel most like yourself.

Your friends and intelligent strangers won't think twice about whatever you decide to do and everyone else doesn't matter. There will always be ignorant people because we all haven't been blessed with the same level of inherent subconsious openness, acceptance and high level of intelligence. People who don't get it we can just feel sorry for, since it must be a daily struggle to be dense.

Anonymous said...

I find it amuse when somebody completely misses the point of a posting. :)

Anonymous said...

Did I miss a point...?

Anonymous said...

I like Kelly Chow-Sale or Kelly Chow Sale. Keep Chow in there somewhere b/c you prob will miss it. I've had Prater for 29 years - I have to keep it in the mix as it's just as much a apart of my name as Tarah is, ya know... Feels weird to just get rid of it completely, for me anyways. :)

However, a guy I work with changed his last name when he got married -he and his wife picked a family name and went with that. I thought that was a cool idea. Or you could make up a new one. Now you should have a poll for new last names. ;)

Tarah, Urban Fashion Network said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
David said...

If you MUST change your name (I'm partial to just keeping Chow,) I vote for Tim and Kelly Diesel.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, pick a different last name. Maybe based on a Monsters of Rock band, like Tim & Kelly Winger, Tim & Kelly Warrant or Tim & Kelly Whitesnake. Why the hell did all those bands have names starting with "W"?

Anonymous said...

i got 3 things to say:

1. it's lots of work to change your name, court is easy, then the credit card, phone, bank, bills...

2. i do like david's idea: Tim and Kelly Diesel. Good one!

3. i am the asian nose with white last name. for the last 6 years, it seems fine. none looks me weird, at least not in front of my face. One gal friend told me she decided to change her last name because she doesn't want others think she is a stepmom.