But it's my signature!

I have an issue with the last 3 letters of my name... u-n-n which in cursive involves WAAAAYY to many humps and I end up acting an extra when I'm not paying much attention! LOL! Oh well! Other than that its pretty neat. My A always looks like a star when i have to sign my middle initial.

And I tend to write in cursive if I'm taking notes out of a book or something. It just seems faster to me.

Mine is an N followed by squiggles.

Originally Posted by lil maggie

Makes me wonder if there is any correlation between messy/neat handwriting (even just with sigs) and keeping a messy/neat apt or house?
I have a neat signature and handwriting.

BTW, I agree that it's ridiculous that people give you static over your signature. I was thinking who cares as long as it's signed? But then, it does make it easier for someone to copy it.

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Ooops! In MY case it is! <hanging head in shame> and just like Jake it is never the same way twice. I taught myself to scribble as I thought my sig looked "cool" that way and NOW if I try to write it so people can read it I can't remember how to spell my name! <giggle>

Mine may not be totally legible, but the letters are all there. I developed it over time...add a loop here, the middle initial blends into the last name. I do have a different "signature" that I use on business correspondence that can be read more easily. My husband's is completely illegible, cursive E and what looks like some random loops. But it is consistent random loops, so I guess that's what really matters. Then again, his writing in general is pretty illegible. Sometimes HE can't even read what he wrote!

My signature has changed a bit. I tried to sign my mortgage closing papers nicely. Now I just sign my credit card slips and whatnot with my initials a certain way. I used to try and sign things nicely, but it took too much effort to do all the time Watching Rob sign things rubbed off on me. He's got the R, then some squiggles, then a G and some squiggles.

I always mean well when I start my signature, but by the third letter I've grown so impatient with the proceedings, it just evolves into a spastic loss of muscle control.

^ Too funny!!

mines like a spider has crawled aacross the page mainly because i have a lot of "curly" letters and its pretty much impossible to forge

My official signature has evolved over the years from something legible that anyone could conceivably copy with relative ease to something, while recognizable, would be difficult to effectively copy. I think it's important to have a signature that makes it reasonably easy to distinguish documents you signed vs. possibly forged documents.

No one signs their name the exact same way every time but people have writing "habits" with their letters, that they're typically of a certain size and with certain characteristics, and with your signature, certain letters are always going to look reasonably the same with reasonably the same spacing. Mine has evolved into my first and middle initial and the first 4 letters of my last name legible, the last 2 a squiggle, leaning slightly left or straight up and down.

The way I look at it is if documents require a legible signature, they have a space for you to print your name and a space for your official signature. On business letters, you should type your name and title and leave a space for your signature between your closing and typed name and title.

I don't think anyone has ever given me the stink eye and certainly no one has ever said anything to me about the way I sign my name, but I don't think I'd be bothered if they did, and there wouldn't be any room for discussion. My signature is my signature. I'm a notary and sign documents all day long, it's my official signature of record with the state. It's the way I sign contracts. It's the way I sign and endorse checks. Forget about it if someone at the DMV had the nerve to say something about the way I sign my name, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones!

I remember my 1st grade teacher gave me flack about how I hold writing utensils though. I don't remember how she tried to get me to hold pencils, just that it never stuck. My pinky, ring and middle fingers "brace" my hand and the pen rests on my middle finger, my thumb and index fingers guiding the pen(cil).

Originally Posted by cazlee

I remember my 1st grade teacher gave me flack about how I hold writing utensils though. I don't remember how she tried to get me to hold pencils, just that it never stuck. My pinky, ring and middle fingers "brace" my hand and the pen rests on my middle finger, my thumb and index fingers guiding the pen(cil).

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I thought that was how everyone held a pencil? Unless you're curling your hand up, too?
I hold pens and pencils the exact way you described, the only exception being when I'm shading something or if my hand is hurting I'll using my middle finger to help guide the pen/pencil, too.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I thought that was how everyone held a pencil? Unless you're curling your hand up, too?
I hold pens and pencils the exact way you described, the only exception being when I'm shading something or if my hand is hurting I'll using my middle finger to help guide the pen/pencil, too.

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Like the way lefties write? I've been known to occasionally write like a lefty, but that's usually because what I'm writing on doesn't have enough room on it, OR I'm actually writing with my left hand. My writing looks like a doctors scribble on a prescription pad no matter which hand I write with, but I'm right dominant. I don't curl my wrist like that though. I was fiddling around with different ways to write legibly holding the utensil differently, I think the way she tried to get me to write was resting the pencil on my index finger, guiding with thumb, knuckles up/palm down, which I can't possibly comprehend how anyone would find that comfortable.

I realized my better half signs his name similar to mine, but he leaves out his middle initial. I think alot people just get annoyed with signing their name, especially if they're signing documents regularly, and signatures just evolve into something that can be written comfortably and quickly. It'll be interesting when we get married and I have to figure out how to sign a new last name LOL!

My father in law, a rather sage attorney, told me once why his signature was so squiggly...he said if he just wrote his name anyone could just mimic it, his way was more "unpredictable".

I found that after years of signing for wire transfers & forms, my signature de-volved into an S with a squiggle. It now looks nothing like the one on my driver's licence (which dates from 17 years or so ago )

One of the advantages I have over most people is that I still write cursive and since nobody else seems to do it anymore they wouldn't know how to forge my signature.

Seriously, my writing is very much like what I was taught in school and I've had many people comment on my "beautiful hand writing". At one job I was in, they would ask me to write the names on the envelopes for the bonuses to the employees each Christmas. I love having a signature that folks can read.

Anyone could read my signature. I have always written my signature just like I would write my name on a piece of paper in school. I have a long last name too, and I get all the letters in, though by the end of my last name anyone can tell I am sick of signing lol.

Nobody should be able to give you a hard time about the way you sign your name. I work at a pizza place and I get alot of people who's signatures just look like something a 2 year old scribbled on paper. I get some who's signature is just a squiggly O or something, and I don't say anything, I just laugh and say "Nice scribble!". They laugh back, and they leave. I could never have the nerve to tell someone their signature needs to be redone or that what theyre writing isnt their signature. I don't know these people and I don't know how they write, so I keep my mouth closed.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

One of the advantages I have over most people is that I still write cursive and since nobody else seems to do it anymore they wouldn't know how to forge my signature.

Seriously, my writing is very much like what I was taught in school and I've had many people comment on my "beautiful hand writing". At one job I was in, they would ask me to write the names on the envelopes for the bonuses to the employees each Christmas. I love having a signature that folks can read.

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I still write checks out in cursive, so I can write it. But it was never comfortable to me - too loopy.
I can also do calligraphy, as I had to learn that in a couple of art classes. Though you really can't get the beauty of that with using a regular pen or pencil. You need a proper pen and ink. I always find it funny when people say I write like a guy or that my writing isn't very nice - none of these people know calligraphy.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I still write checks out in cursive, so I can write it. But it was never comfortable to me - too loopy.
I can also do calligraphy, as I had to learn that in a couple of art classes. Though you really can't get the beauty of that with using a regular pen or pencil. You need a proper pen and ink. I always find it funny when people say I write like a guy or that my writing isn't very nice - none of these people know calligraphy.

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That's funny actually. I have really nice hand-writing but when I took calligraphy I just couldn't get it to look as nice as some of the other students - go figure!

Originally Posted by Willowy

I've been told that no matter WHAT your signature looks like, it's your signature and it doesn't matter. You could make an X and it would still be your signature. So I don't know why everyone's bothering you

. Seems like a dumb thing to harass someone about. As long as the other stuff you write is legible or you type.

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I went a long time with no signature. So what? Then I decided since we now have Cat Central I was no longer going to make siggies with my cats. Then I started making KatKwiz siggies. Now it's this. It will be different again some day. Maybe nothing again.

Originally Posted by cazlee

I remember my 1st grade teacher gave me flack about how I hold writing utensils though. I don't remember how she tried to get me to hold pencils, just that it never stuck. My pinky, ring and middle fingers "brace" my hand and the pen rests on my middle finger, my thumb and index fingers guiding the pen(cil).

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Haha, my brother writes "funny", too. He holds his writing utensil oddly and forms his letters upside down and backwards (according to the way I write). We were homeschooled so nobody ever bugged him about it and he still writes that way. He did quit a correspondence school once because the correspondence teacher gave him grief about writing in all caps. I say, as long as it's legible, who cares?

Originally Posted by Persi & Alley

I went a long time with no signature. So what? Then I decided since we now have Cat Central I was no longer going to make siggies with my cats. Then I started making KatKwiz siggies. Now it's this. It will be different again some day. Maybe nothing again.

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Hehe, not that kind of signature! The way you sign your name. When I first clicked on this thread I thought it was about siggies, too.