Who's name is that on your cup?

This is something I wrote seasons ago. I can let it go, but it's something I'm a bit finicky about and it continues to happen often enough for me to notice.  Like today. Short of ranting, let me re-post this edited version from my other web space.

A brother of mine gives the name Richard when he orders coffee at Starbucks. It's not his name -- in fact, far from it.  Apart from privacy issues (like not wanting his name to be shouted out in a public place), he uses it because his name is often misspelled or mistaken for another "off" name. Richard is safe, I guess.


I have had to deal with this problem since childhood, especially when identifying myself on the phone. I know I'm not alone.  A friend of mine was once called Gandhi, another Pray. Often times now it happens with Baristas -- even when I spell out my name.  Are they too distracted or too tired?  Is the combination of piped-in music and the whir of coffee machines forcing them to lipread?  Or are our names just so exotic-sounding? 

Not that it bothers me, but it happens a lot, and for whatever reason, it deserves to be part of a top 5 for me.  Here are the different names I've had written on my cup and shouted out by Barista's:

I spelled it out, and they still got it wrong.

1. Mixie.  Maybe I look like a hybrid.
2. Misty/Missy.  I should practice making my "t"'s more resounding.
3. Mincee, Mensy, Menchi.  Don't ask me where the "n" came from, and let's not even get to the "ch"
4. Trixie, Bixcie, Pitsie. Peachy! Hmmm.
5. Mitsy/Mizzy/Mitcie. Almost right. Just a little bit more.  Maybe next time.

Maybe I should try using Sharon.