I'm happy being me

I'm still trying to figure out what to say to people when the whole changing-last-name issue comes up in regard to my pending nuptials. (I'm getting tired of the word "wedding"). Sample conversation:

random person who clearly doesn't know me well: What will your name be after the wedding?
me: Laura Witt
rpwcdkmvw: Your fiance's last name is Witt?
me: No. I'm not changing my name.
rpwcdkmvw: why not?
me: The one I have right now still works.
rpwcdkmvw: What about your kids?
me: I don't have any kids.

Ok. While obviously, I'm hilarious, this gets pretty contentious pretty fast. And since this person doesn't know me well, I don't want to be too snarky.

So sample conversation #2:

random person who clearly doesn't know me well: What will your name be after the wedding?
me: Laura Witt. I'm not changing my name.
rpwcdkmvw: why not?
me: I think it comes from a long tradition of viewing women as property. And while, I know that Jimmy would never view me as property, the tradition still gives me the willies. I know a lot of women see it as a symbolic gesture of joining a new family and thats great for them. I think its a personal choice. For me, I'm always going to be a product of the Witt family, not the Stevenson family and I'm glad that Jimmy is comfortable enough in our relationship to not be threatened by the fact that our last names aren't the same. He know I love him and feel like his family but would never ask me to change something so fundamentally me as my name for sake of a tradition I'm uncomfortable with. And we both recognize the impracticality of hyphenation. So we're going to be married and committed and family, but in recognition of the fact that nothing changes about my history, life, experiences, or my relationship with my family when we get married, I'm keeping my name.
rpwcdkmvw: Wow, thats a really long explanation.
me: yeah, no kidding
rpwcdkmvw: What about your kids?
me: Well, kids aren't a given yet for us, but if we do choose to have them, we'll borrow a tradition from the Hispanic cultures and give them two last names. Or two middle names, however you want to look at it. Basically, the kids will have four names and informally they'll probably just go by their first and last ones. But, as they get old enough to choose what they want to be called, we'll support whatever they want. And since I prefer the aural aesthetics of Witt before Stevenson, it would Joe Bob Witt Stevenson, or whatever. And probably go by Joe Stevenson. Neither of us are so possessive that we care which name get used the most, but we both want both names on the birth certificate!
rpwcdkmvw: Oh I see. Well, I'm glad I ran into you on the way to work. I need to go eat lunch now.

So wordy, right? I need something short and sweet but not glib or harsh.

As soon as I figure out how to imbed videos, you will be treated to my favorite about Ms. Pacman. its amahzing.

Later Days,
Laura