I'm currently in Georgetown. I just had a barista ask for my name, then ask me to repeat it, then create a completely new spelling. "MADILLAN." After YEARS of seeing the most creative efforts of the coffee industry, this 20-something-year-old still managed to impress me. But hey, i get it. My name is quite a handful. MADELEINE MCILHERAN doesn’t exactly sound like the name of a lullaby. Unfortunately, after having recorded this completely original name in sharpie on a plastic cup, he then thought to ask me how it was spelled. Luckily I have this part of the usual exchange down. "That's close enough." (I will miss seeing the correct spelling of my name regularly.)
Professional writer based in Austin, TX