Laughing. Almost. Too. Hard. To. Type.
Aug. 21st, 2008 01:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
truepennySo, I'm a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
So is my mom.
Many years ago, Phi Beta Kappa, as an organization, decided that my mom and I are the same person (I think something went squirrelly when I informed them of my name change upon getting married, but I've never been sure). I called to explain that, no, we were two different people, thank you (There was a pause, and then the customer service woman said, in tones of deepest disapprobation, "That's just a stupid mistake," which may be the best response I have ever gotten from someone who has to answer phones for a living.), and there for a while we were, in fact, two different people. But then Mercury went into retrograde or something, and we became one person again. I decided life is too short to bother with nonsense like this, especially as neither Mom nor I is what you might call an active member of the organization, so I let it slide. Mom doesn't care, I don't care, Phi Beta Kappa is confused.
I just went and got the mail, and found the inevitable culmination of this state of affairs: a certificate congratulating me on my fiftieth anniversary of membership in Phi Beta Kappa.
This would ordinarily just be mildly annoying, but the fact that Phi Beta Kappa is a honors organization with an exceptionally lofty and self-congratulatory self-image makes it so funny that I may never stop smirking.
Also? Dear Phi Beta Kappa, what's with this "Mrs." nonsense? That's DOCTOR Monette to you.
Congratulations, Mom.
So is my mom.
Many years ago, Phi Beta Kappa, as an organization, decided that my mom and I are the same person (I think something went squirrelly when I informed them of my name change upon getting married, but I've never been sure). I called to explain that, no, we were two different people, thank you (There was a pause, and then the customer service woman said, in tones of deepest disapprobation, "That's just a stupid mistake," which may be the best response I have ever gotten from someone who has to answer phones for a living.), and there for a while we were, in fact, two different people. But then Mercury went into retrograde or something, and we became one person again. I decided life is too short to bother with nonsense like this, especially as neither Mom nor I is what you might call an active member of the organization, so I let it slide. Mom doesn't care, I don't care, Phi Beta Kappa is confused.
I just went and got the mail, and found the inevitable culmination of this state of affairs: a certificate congratulating me on my fiftieth anniversary of membership in Phi Beta Kappa.
This would ordinarily just be mildly annoying, but the fact that Phi Beta Kappa is a honors organization with an exceptionally lofty and self-congratulatory self-image makes it so funny that I may never stop smirking.
Also? Dear Phi Beta Kappa, what's with this "Mrs." nonsense? That's DOCTOR Monette to you.
Congratulations, Mom.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-22 02:19 pm (UTC)This leads to No End Of Trouble with various official people, who simply cannot fathom it could be true. "No, that's really his birthday." "No, I didn't make a mistake filling out the form." "Seriously, could we please move him In to the triage now? Because his birthday is Right There. If it makes you feel better, you can pretend mine is a different day."