While You're Making Other Plans...: My Own Worst Enemy

Have you ever had one of those days?

Yesterday I got an invitation to be in Dark Moon Books' brand new 'Horror Writers Directory', and I was all excited to be included. It's kind of silly, since they only invited me because I have a story published with them, but it's also my only story in hard print as yet. I'm hardly a sought-after author, known far and wide! But today I was trying to get together the information for my Author's Page in the directory.
One of the things they ask for is 'Contact Info'. Now, people can get in touch with me through my website without having my email address. The same with this blog. But I wanted to give them an email address as well, something so that other writers in the Directory, if they felt so inclined, could get in touch with me easily, without the added step of coming here or to my website.
When I began writing seriously I read about what to do nowadays to be a writer, and one of the things they said was to get a professional sounding email address. It's hard for a publisher or editor to take you seriously if they are seeing your submissions coming from Sexxybunny@Hotmail.com or something like that. They suggested buying a .com so you could have an email like [your name]@[your name].com. An alternative, they suggested, was to get a [your name]@Gmail.com, as that is free but still looks more professional than many of the Hotmail nicknames out there.

Eventually I plan to buy my own .com, but for now if its free, its for me. So I sat down today and tried to get [my name]@Gmail.com. When I checked to see if it was available, it was a no-go. I tried different combinations: first name first, last name first, with a middle initial, with my middle name... all got the same answer. 'Not Available'. I checked my email Contact Book and discovered that my grandfather had taken a Gmail address with our 1st two initials and the last name (yes, I am 'Rob the Third', which sounds grand, a little like 'Thurston Howel the Third', until you see my bank account. Then, not so much.).

Well, I thought. That's it, that has to be the problem! That so-and-so got an email address too much like what I want and I can't get mine now!
It made no sense, though. When I suggested my full name, all spelled out, it refused that but suggested back my full name with a 3 after it.
What the %$#? The whole thing spelled out isn't different enough from just the first two initials, but you add a 3 and it's all good? That's just stupid!
I came to the conclusion that the second Rob, the Rob-as-yet-unaccounted-for (this would be my Dad, for those of you playing along at home), had registered the full name as his email address. I checked the Contact Book again, but there was no sign of an email like that in his information.
Son of a %$#!! One of them must have registered the full name in some form with Gmail.com and just never used it!

I tried different combinations, I tried every combo I could think of, but to no avail. My only option was to throw numbers into the address, like [My Name13]@Gmail.com, but every time I did that it looked more and more like one of those MooseDangle6969@Hotmail addresses. I kept coming back to some so-and-so registering the address and never even using it. Curses were muttered, then spoken aloud. Horrible words like poop, and crap, and son-of-a-gun!

(Hey, Handsome read yesterday's entry because it was about him. He might read this one too, so work with me on this, okay?)

I looked at the web page in front of me, and noticed for the first time that right next to my proposed email address there was a button for 'Can't Remember Pasword?' I clicked on it just for the hell of it. I was informed that an email was being sent to my alternate email address, sending me a link that would allow me to change the password on this address.
Okay, I thought. At least the #$%* who took this name from me will be notified that someone tried to change his password. Maybe I'll find out which one it was!

Suddenly, my email popper went off, informing me that I had a new email in my box.
I stared at it.
I opened my email program, and there, in my inbox, was an email from Gmail.com. Apparently someone was trying to change the password to my Gmail address, [My name with middle initial] @Gmail.com.
Well.
Apparently, the #$%* who registered the address I wanted and just never even used it was... me.
I changed the password and logged into the name in Gmail. Yup, there it was, all new and shiny and mine. I added it into the information for the Horror Writers Directory, and soon I'll be using it sort of professionally for writing.