Ice

I thought when I got married my life would get a lot easier on Mondays. No more having to spell my name my name slowly at the airport, car rental, hotel, etc. I was pretty used to it and had a whole spiel: "B, as in 'boy,' A (pause to make sure they write it down), L, A, Z like 'zebra,' E." Once I got married I thought it would be easy- who doesn't know how to spell "Ice?" Common word, one syllable, no ambiguity...or so I thought.

As soon as I got my ID changed I learned that "Ice" is not much easier for people. They don't want to believe it is actually a last name, and they really don't like to start words with the letter "I." They would much rather it start with a consonant and their finger will hesitate over the "I" key as they start to type. They want it to be almost anything but Ice- Rice, Tice, Bice. I usually have to spell it, repeat it, and nod yes when they ask, "Really, Ice?" Oh well. At least they don't mispronounce it once they get it!

The plus side of this is that the name is very memorable. Most of the time once someone gets it, they remember it from then on, so most of the LAX Avis counter and the South Bay Marriott knows me on sight!