A Rose By Any Other Name Is Still A Rose (AHEM!) :)

I have come to the conclusion that people will always get my name wrong. Early signs came in JC when my tutor called out "Pamela" and stared at me for the longest time, wondering why I didn't respond. When the real Pamela responded, my tutor stared at me in amazement and said I had such a "Pamela" face. I didn't know what to make of that comment.

Next up on the favourites list is the name Vanessa. Now this is a name that pastors favour. One of my pastors in Singapore called me that by mistake and so did dear Pastor Cheng Lai. Of course by now, Pastor Cheng Lai has learnt that I am not Vanessa but some funny variation of "Malaysia" :)

And speaking of Malaysia, someone came up to me at work yesterday and asked, "You are Malaysia right?". I took a quick glance down to see if I was wearing my name tag (or if I was wearing the wrong one) and then looked up and nodded. I'd given up. I respond to "Malaysia" and "Muhleeeza" now. Yes, I have a colleague who actually calls me Muhleeeza (emphasis is on the "eee").

But the all-time favourite name I've been called is.... MICHELLE!!! A colleague came into the room the other day and went, "Michelle, do you know if there's a colour printer here?" I looked at her for a while, waiting for her to realise her mistake, then gave up and pointed her to the colour printer. A few seconds later, she started laughing in embarrassment and went, "oh sorry, it's 'Melissa' right?", to which I laughed along and said, "YES". After she was done with the printer, she got up to leave and went, "Thanks Michelle".

The number of times I've been called Michelle is unbelievable. Recounting every single incident would take too much time. I used to wonder why people would call me Michelle instead of Melissa. It's like a global conspiracy. But I've come to accept it. Michelle is fine. Vanessa is fine. Pamela is fine. It grates my nerves though, when people call me Malaysia. I'm not that big ok!

Oh, and if you want a tip on what to call me, I'd say "Your royal highness" is rather pleasing to the ear ;)