charlestonsky

Mistaken Identity

Every once in a while, somebody mistakes me for someone, or something, I am not. Usually it's just a wrong number. About twice a month, I get a call from a random 803 area code number. Usually it's just somebody asking for a person with a name like T-money. I once replied to a caller with the wrong number, "Yeah, this is T-money. What you want?" But I never could manage to craft my way through much more fake conversation than that.

An old man named Brother Smith once left me a voice mail message apologizing for a disagreement between he and brother Williams. I'm not sure how, "Hey, This is Josh. Leave a message" didn't clue him in to the fact that he was leaving a message at the wrong number. Nonetheless, it was a moving apology.

Other times, random people have mistaken me for people they knew. It's always fun to see the look of embarrassment written on a stranger's face when you turn around after they mistake you for a friend or family. Not only have they created an awkward social situation, but they've also essentially admitted that they haven't been observant enough to discern a loved one from a random one.

Two or three times after the movie "Spider Man" came out, some elementary school children mistook me for Toby McGuire. I guess they couldn't tell one scrawny white kid from another.

But last night, while eating dinner with John B and Amber, I might have received the biggest backhanded complement of all. The Manager/Owner of The Crab Shack on Folly Beach credited me as the owner of a beautiful silver Porsche Carrera that was blocking some cars from exiting the parking lot behind the restaurant.

I guess that means I either looked like somebody who could afford a Porsche, or I looked like the biggest jerk in the restaurant.

 

posted by Josh M on 10:32 AM

6 comments:

Philip said...

Thanks for entertaining my bro (unless you are referring to some other John B, in which case, I'm stupid and not so appreciative after all.) Just curious, did you encourage or discourage him from his possible choice of professional school?
Jaime

Josh M said...

I'm not sure what you are asking here, but I'll go with it.

If you're asking if I recommended some school other than MUSC: no I didn't. I think it's a good clinical school, and they'll have a brand new clinical building built just before the class of 2011 would be ready to use it. MUSC's weakness is probably that it doesn't produce a lot of dental research.

If you're asking if we discussed the virtues of going to Med or Pharm instead of dental: it never came up. But I would expect either to be tempting: Med gets more respect. And Pharm is half the time, easier to get into, and doesn't require coordination.

mk said...

Ummmm. . . Just to stick up for the "easy" Pharm.D. programs for a minute:
1)My alma mater accepted ~125 students of over 1,000 applicants last year. They are telling students with a 90th percentile on the PCAT to re-take it for a better score.
2)Technically the Pre-Pharm program is only 2 years, most people go in with prior degrees these days, secondary to competition to get in. (That means total 8 years until graduation like everyone else.)
3)By 2010 pharmacy considering requiring a residency, which adds another 1-2 years.
4)As to the coordination, ask DK about his attempts at counting pills by fives with a tray and a cotton-pickin' stick.
Sorry. . . But I had to chime in after those comments!
(You're still my favorite dental student though!)

Josh M said...

Wow, it only took 48 minutes to get you stirred up.

Thanks for the unbiased Pharm input to match my equally unbiased opinion.

Josh M said...

PS, you're my favorite Pharmacist.

John, the other uncle said...

Dude, thanks for showing me around yet another place I should have visited while I lived down there. You can tell Jaime that I am definitely looking just at dental school now. Pharmacy was tempting for the reasons you said at THE PARTICULAR SCHOOL mentioned. If this other dude wants proof I'll introduce him to my roommate down there. This guy barely got his application in on time, took the PCAT after scores were due, scored below the 50th percentile on the PCAT, did not wear a suit to his interview, has only a BS degree , got accepted, and I have never witnessed him study. That's only 6 years for him. I know this must be disheartening for sirron when sirron has the same degree as him, it took sirron 8 years and a ton more money, and sirron is obiously more studious then him. The thing that really is a big deterrent for me is that I believe the pharmacy profession is headed for a serious crash with dominating insurance companies, 25 year patents, medicare part D, and the development of mail order prescriptions....for which I blame no one except the government and insurance companies. Not to mention customers who are convinced that you are the one ripping them off, when in reality you're making a 2% profit, and often times losing money on prescriptions.

PS. I am sure the fact that I still had my suit on had nothing to do with the fact that guy assumed one of us had a porsche. Although the story is better with this bit of info omitted, and I would have done the same. Oh, and Stewart says he's jealous. I think he misses you guys or something. I don't know.

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