Every year at around this time I do a quick sweep of family finances, which often involves working with a new Japanese financial firm, which means I get a quick object lesson in kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/fal…
Today's example is a Kafkaesque nightmare.
Today's example is a Kafkaesque nightmare.
System A: "Please enter your first and last name in a total of less than 8 characters. If you need more, we'll abbreviate for you."
System B: "Please enter your first and last name in a total of less than 8 characters. If you need more, abbreviate your first name."
System B: "Please enter your first and last name in a total of less than 8 characters. If you need more, abbreviate your first name."
Me: "McKenzie is, in fact, 8 characters."
System B: "Your first name can't be blank."
"McKenzie P."
"You foreigners suck at math."
"McKenzi P"
"One more time."
"McKenz P"
"OK now give me that in roman characters."
"McKenz P"
"You included insufficient vowels. Try again."
System B: "Your first name can't be blank."
"McKenzie P."
"You foreigners suck at math."
"McKenzi P"
"One more time."
"McKenz P"
"OK now give me that in roman characters."
"McKenz P"
"You included insufficient vowels. Try again."
One of these years I might have to incorporate a Japanese LLC (合同会社 technically) just to deal with this.
Step 1: Register [Patio11 G.K.] (G.K. = LLC here)
Step 2: Hello bank / insurance / government agency I need the corporate version of this form.
Step 3: It works.
Step 1: Register [Patio11 G.K.] (G.K. = LLC here)
Step 2: Hello bank / insurance / government agency I need the corporate version of this form.
Step 3: It works.
*sigh* I forgot that my name has to be on all sorts of paperwork for Ruriko and the kids and, while corporate persons do get lots of leeway in how they spell their names, they can't marry natural persons yet. Drats, foiled again.
"Why don't you just change your name?" Aside from the "I already have one perfectly good name and a Japanese transliteration of it which, in a just world, would actually work" that buys me a new genre of "Oh that can't possibly ACTUALLY be your name" tweet, for rest of life.
