the surname

When I first got married, I quickly changed all of my identification to reflect my married name.

Now that we're separating, it's become an issue.

Do I keep my married name? Or do I change?

Changing over was a pain in the backside in the first place.

Not only did I organize my passport, medicare card, driver's licence, it also affected my insurances, phone plans etc.

The only thing stopping me from changing back to my maiden name is the fact that in less than 2 years, I had organized a passport change, and had to reapply to the Vietnamese Embassy for a 5 year visa. That in itself was a painful process.

To have to do that again would drive me insane.

If I don't plan to go back to Vietnam in the next 4 years, I think it should be okay but if I do, I would once again be inconvenienced having to re-apply again after changing back to my maiden name. All of this would once again cost me time and money.

I'm also hesitant in requesting another Visa from the Vietnamese government as that would mean 3 visas in less than 2 years. I'm sure that's a red flag somewhere.

I also do not fancy waiting in queues at the Post Office to get a new passport or a new medicare card. In fact, lining up at VicRoads isn't exactly appetising either.

In fact, just getting my marriage certificate was a traumatising experience in itself. I waited 1.5hrs in a long line of people who also decided they wanted some legal documentation as well- I can only imagine what its going to be like waiting at VicRoads/Medicare/Bank etc etc.

And so, from a working/social media perspective- I still use my maiden name. 

Legally- for now, I have kept my married name.

That will do for now