So I went to renew my driver's license and was told that the Registry's computer couldn't handle my multisyllabic, hyphenated last name and that I'd have to work with the Social Security Administration to change my moniker or figure out which one the U.S. government will know and tax me by.

To be clear, this isn't a limitation on the license itself. No, there's plenty of room on the little laminated card for what I was requesting. Instead, it was the computer system that ran out of space. Apparently, if your last name is longer than, say, 17 letters, something's gotta give. And it isn't the Registry's computer.

Memories of Y2K-related issues ran through my head as I was standing in line. Of course, this isn't nearly as serious as the Y2K problem could have been. But it's certainly quite vexing for, I'm guessing, millions of women and quite a few men who take their wives' names in addition to their own.

The Registry employee who was, um, helping me leaned over and said, "Don't feel bad. I've been married three times, and I can't get the system to put all my names on there, either. And just be grateful you're not Indian--we have to shorten their last names all the time."

I swear I'm not making any of this up.

I could understand the issue if this were circa 1953 and June Cleaver, newly decked out in black leather and a Mohawk, marched into the driver's license bureau and demanded her maiden name be added to Ward's moniker. Back then, nobody did such a thing.

But, hey, it's 2006. And surely I'm not the only person to have gotten married in, let us say, advanced middle age. I still use my maiden name for business and go by my husband's name for everything else. Especially when traveling with the kids--using different surnames on airplane tickets tends to make the Homeland Security guys very unhappy. And it's been a bit unhinging to have those little intimate talks in the side room with armed, unhappy people each time we travel together. (Happy vacation, kids! Pay no attention to that large man with the pistol!)

After 10 years of marriage, I thought the time had come to add my husband's name to my driver's license. After all, it was renewal time anyway. Well, the Registry didn't think it was a swell plan the first time I tried, so off I went to the Social Security office with approximately 947 pieces of documentation, my mother, and my dog to prove my "new" identity. Then back to Registry for the second time.

The upshot: The surname on my license is now 16 letters long (my maiden and married names all smooshed into one). I'm looking forward to more of those little chats with the Homeland Security folks. I dare them to try to pronounce my name.

Have you run into inefficient or downright stupid computer-system issues lately? Please share below.