What's in a name?

I would say that, on average, 8 out of 10 of my e-mails begin with "Dear Marcie"...and it pisses me off to no end. I mean, seriously. They send the email to macie @_________, really, did you not get that you spelled my name Macie and then Marcie. It's like people cannot believe that my name could possibly be Macie - because that is like the store! Oh my god...can you imagine what would happen then???!!! "You mean Macie, like the store?" My response: "Yep. Just with an i-e at the end..." Their answer: "Oh, wow. I have NEVER heard that before!" My thoughts: Oh, really...I couldn't tell by your shriek of shock, My words: "Oh, really? Awesome. So, what is your name...something super cool like Sarah or Melissa?" (Okay, so maybe I don't say that but you get the point).

So, emails are undoubtedly bad, but it's so much worse when people say it out loud. Work examples include a hand-written thank you note addressed to the proper name on the envelope, and inside above the three paragraphs explaining how awesome I am and how great it was to meet me, sits, "Dear Marcie," It just ruins the entire note. Or, and this is my personal favorite, in my work birthday card from my coworkers...two (count them, TWO!) Marcies. Really? Our office has 15 employees...really? You can't learn 15 names of people you sit less than 20 feet from at the longest point.

Oh, and another thing: A notice to all you spell check systems out there...Macie and Schreibman are real words, spelled correctly. So deal with it. And, a notice to all you key chain vendors out there: it would be nice to see Macie on just one California license plate key chain or one light-up Vegas dice. It would be nice.