Boy named sue...
in case you have been living under a rock for the eniriety of your life, i'll take the time to explain the title....Boy Named Sue: written by johnny cash, song about an absentee father who left home and named his son "sue" in an attempt to make him tough.now that we are all up to speed i feel that i share some struggles with this sue. not just in name but also being from Ga, we have a different accent, not just southern, its different...you Ga people know what im talking about (remember Ace from real world france?...he and my brother and i played varsity basketball together in highschool...remember his accent?...it was a Ga. accent, very distinct)
ok...so take my name (hansen, usually a last name, not given name) and my accent...put them together and i could pose a slight communication problem for some people...for example:
-paying a bill over the phone:
ever notice how most businesses make a concerted effort to hire people who dont have the best handle on the english language to receive the over the phone payments...it like they do it on purpose just so they can set you up on a draft plan..."lets hire abdulio to talk to our customers so that they will have to let us draft their bank accounts...they would rather shove bamboo shoots under their fingernails then to try to make an over the phone payment." and that is just with normal speaking people with normal names...imagine my frustration...
-ordering chinese food for pickup
there are only a few things in life that make me want to throw my phone through a wall...this is one of them..."sir, what chu lika orda" um, yeah, lemme get that uh...sweet and sour chicken, no wait...lemme get that seseme chicken, " chu lika sweet sour?", no, i want the seseme, "dat all?" um, does that come with an eggroll?, "no dat extra sir, chu lika egg roll?" it dont come with the lunch special?, "chu lika lunch special sir?" yeah, i guess, how much is that? "eggroll 1 dolla extra sir" ...no how much is the special with an eggroll? "chu lika lunch special sir? it 4 9 7" ...so that includes the eggroll?... "eggroll extra, chu lika eggroll, 1 dolla" ....yeah, whatever, thats fine...lemme get the seseme chicken lunch special with a eggroll... " k sir dat 7 95" ...what, i thought the eggroll is only a dollar... " chu order lagre, cost more" ...fine , that s fine...when do i pick it up?..." ten min, your name sir?" Hansen,... "Chanseey" ...no Hansen,... " Shanset?" ...no its HANSEN... "ok Pansent, you order ready in 10 minut bye bye" ....and at this point im just shaking and about to cry....this happens every time i order chinese food.
-the introduction
im a fairly outgoing person so i tend to meet new people with some regularity...all i say is Hey, Im Hansen...thats when the cutesy comments begin...oh i thought you said handsome, well are'nt you conceited...No actually im not, but i do appreciate your ability to come up with a quip that for some reason i have never heard before...thats amazing, how did you come up with that? very clever. or my favorite, "oh you mean like the group? Hanson? ...now which one are you....the tall one?, did you get your hair cut?" ....oh i see....you are making a reference to a pop group thats about 6 yrs. old...care to make any jokes about the movie titiantic while you are using old material....just a thought.
posted by hansen @ 10:28 AM
17 Comments:
I'm feeling your pain on the calling a company to make a payment. The always seem to have Rahim on the phone from India.....he sounds like not only does he have 1 but 5 accents and you can't understand a word he says. I'm like, "DANG IT, CAN I SPEAK TO SOMEONE WHO I CAN UNDERSTAND!!!!!" You have to explain everything to them and they're suppose to be helping you.
About the name. Sorry but I don't think you can put yourself in the same category as "Sue". Sue probably has issues. I actually like your name. It's fun for your friends to play with (Handsome, Hansy, etc.). Screw the Chinese!!!! I like your name my friend. It's their problem if they can't get it right. Just be ready to pick up your food under the alias of "Pansin".
We LOVE HANSOME.....UH....HANSON!!! And I'm NOT talking boy-band here!
OH YEAH, SINCE THE SPAMMER'S DON'T COUNT
1ST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hansen,... "Chanseey" ...no Hansen,... " Shanset?" ...no its HANSEN... "ok Pansent, you order ready in 10 minut bye bye" LOL!! Hansen, you kill me! I don't even try to speak real words when I'm on the phone with people like that I just spell them out pilot style...
hansen you sound like me man, the other day i was in the kitchen with Staceys dad and all of a sudden i hear him yelling "ENGLISH DOES ANYONE THERE SPEAK ENGLISH???" he was on the phone with delta airlines. i was about to die!
take the ladies advice and order from the menu next time...lol...love it!
classic post, and I loved it as usual. I know many people who run into this same problem. My husbands name is Ricky - not Richard or Rick, but Ricky. Why are people always trying to change your name?
erin, i am proud of it...i just wish that the chinese could understand me...one lady actualy gave me a menu when i picked it up and said, "next time, you know what you order before call me"
deb...you cant say nothing cause you have a nothern accent
brian...im glad you like my name, i like you too
leah...thats just rude
speaking of johnny cash...who else is excited about the new movie coming out called "walk the line"...i cant wait!
pay your bills online, tell the chinese your name is Bob and introduce yourself as the lead singer of an old 1990's pop band.
hansen
that is hilarous, reminds me of office space and the guy whos name is michael bolton.
just a side note many companies outsource there operator jobs to india thats why when i get habib i ask to speak to a supervisor who usually is american or has a better grasp of the english language.
Deb,
I can't say anything about going by your middle name since Adam is my middle name and I'm the III (BUT AT LEAST I HAVE A REASON TO GO BY MY MIDDLE NAME SINCE THERE WERE TWO "CARL"S BEFORE ME).
I had the opportunity to at least answer to my first name Carl thanks to my friends at EC. Most people there still call me Carl A. Don't know why, but call me "Carl" on the phone and I answer to it.
Also, now that I'm grown up, you actually have to use your first name with accounts and mortgages, etc. So now i just introduce myself to insurance people and banking people as "Carl Barrington."
The one thing that galls me though is when they ask "Is Carl spelled with a "C" or a "K"?" What the freak do you think? Do I sound freaking German? Do I spit on you when I talk to you? So NO, I spell that with a "C"! Sprechen-ze "Common Sense"?
in answer to your question, it was almost all white people, but i did see a couple Arabs and an Indian.
One of Bob Marley's sons opened up for U2, and let me tell you, the white people didn't really get into it (well some did, but they were all drunk).
deb: my parents gave me the name william hansen steck...but the name they decided to call me was hansen..."hence the title boy named sue" i did nt make up this name or decide to switch to hansen later on
carl: sometimes you do spit
deb: also i think we would all agree that there is some dialect i your tone
beaver: "why should i change my name, im not the one who sucks"
rory/stephen: maybe we should right a book together
We have a chinese reestaurant that delivers and this is a nightmare...trying to give them directions over the phone because there is no Mapquest. The best part of the whole thing, that keeps me placing those orders is that when they are leaving the house, they never turn their back to you, bow at the waste over and over and say "Tank you, Have a good DOW" repeatedly until you shut the door. It's awesome.
I feel your pain about the name thing-Katharina. It's not Katrina, it's not Katherine. Just sound it out, it's pretty simple.
ok girls, exchange a number or something, let stay on topic here...
and for the record i love my name and am very proud of it..just thought i needed raise the issue of different sounding names
is that nate marriner? and yes i have seen waiting and it is SO true, 50% restaurant and 50% wellons 3rd
SLACKER.....NEW POST! NEW POST!
i walk the line, i walk the line, i walk the line, i walk the line (man that guy was a genius :-) i kid - the movie gets two thumbs up
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