S/CHEREYL

We've had a case of indecisiveness like this in the past, i.e. covering your bases with a creative use of both C and S, but this cashier's handwriting takes some other creative liberties.  Notice how the Y loops through the second E.  I would almost dare to say that there's a phantom R in there, which would actually make it S/CHERERYL.

S/CHEREYL

I'm not a handwriting expert, but I am super assistant--so from an efficiency standpoint, this cashier is a time waster. They lifted the pen a total of five times to write my name: 1 and 2) between and after the C and the S (and which came first the C or the S?) 3); after the R; 4) after the second E; and 5) after the Y.  Also was the second E an afterthought and squeezed in between the R and the Y?

I'm feeling generous this morning because Los Angeles has finally cooled down after 3 or 4 days of blazing heat.  We broke an all-time record on Monday--113F/45C.  I'll give S/CHEREYL plus one (+1) style points for giving me another new and unique spelling of my name, but don't expect anymore because sitting on the fence with the C/S is just cheating.

UPDATE:  I just found out via #trending topics on Twitter that today is National Coffee Day--and they still couldn't spell my name correctly.

PROJECT: DECIPHER

No, that's not a title of a new SciFi movie. As promised in my last post, here's a special interpretative/collaborative post. When I got this beverage a couple of days ago, I knew it was mine because I was the only person there who ordered an iced latte, but you wouldn't know it from the writing on the side of the cup.  I had a couple of theories as to what it said:  Sherl, Shurl or even Cherl--if that loopy first letter is a C--but I just wasn't sure. So I decided to ask for a little help from my friends (via Facebook, of course)--

What do you think?

--everyone was pretty much as puzzled as I was, but here are a couple of alternate interpretations: "Sherlu! That's short for Cheryl-Lue" - John; and "I think they were trying to call you sherbet" - Susan.

But as much as I like those two ciphers, I'm going with "PHERLI" as suggested by my friend Todd because you just can't deny that first letter looking like a P. So I declare Pherli to be the second recipient of the LEFT FIELD award.  Say hello to Mr. Ted Williams and thanks for playing!

So far to the left...

not even in the ballpark!

SHEROL

After having a dead battery AND getting locked out of my car last night (long story), I really needed some instant gratification java this morning. When I walked into my local Starbucks, I recognized several of the clerks, so I thought we might get some kind of repeat today, but...

SHEROL

Though this is a variation on the SHERAL/SH@ROL/SHARROL theme, we haven't seen this exact spelling yet. Because the writing is clear and legible and because the venti Americano managed to power me through my entire day without droopy eyelids, I'm giving a very generous plus two (+2) style points.  Stay tuned.  In the next couple of days I'll catch up with a couple of guest posts and a very special interpretative/collaborative post.

CHERLY - He doesn't know how to spell his mother's name

This past Sunday, I felt for sure this science experiment was coming to an abrupt end. I walked into my local Starbucks late afternoon to get a little icy pick-me-up before I headed out for my weekend adventure. When I ordered my venti iced Americano, the cashier exclaimed, "oh, that's my mother's name!"  My brain responded, "oh well...." [insert cartoon wah-wah sound here]  However, I saw him pause and look quizzically at the cup.  He then added, "my mother would be really pissed if I spelled her name wrong."

CHERLY

Well folks, looks like Sonny Boy's momma is not going to be so proud of him for this.  She got stretch marks for you and you don't spell her name correctly?  Shame on you!  Your mom's name is not Cher-Lee, which is how this would be pronounced.   Also your R looks very much like a V.  So once again, here's a close, but NO CIGAR for Cherly -- and here comes the cheesy picture of Lieutenant Starbuck:

NO CIGAR

Please note that the Sheryl Crow "100 Miles to Memphis" CDs appear to be SOLD OUT, so I'm guessing this will lessen my chances for HALF-BINGOs for awhile.

SHAROL with a triangle for the A

I'm going to call this entry our first duplicate, though graphically it may be a bit of a stretch. As with SH@ROL, there is an unique flair going on with the A. In fact, I'm relatively sure it was the same cashier -- so at least she's consistent in her incorrectness.  While this A looks a bit more like a triangle (or perhaps she's promoting pyramid power), while the other is more of an at-sign, I'm going to chalk up the differences to hot vs. cold cup.  I would guess it's a bit slippery to actually write on those cold cups.  Also note the two loops on the O, which makes it look like a little lasso from the roper R trying to snare the runaway L.

SHAROL

I want to thank everyone for the overwhelmingly positive response to this silly little blog last month.  I may not be doing as many updates this month, as I'm in need of a research budget to continue this highly technical and sophisticated experiment.  Before starting this quest, I treated myself to a coffee maybe once or twice a week.  However, I became a tad obsessed in the month of August, and therefore was over-caffeinated.  I tend not to be a creature of habit in my beverage/food consumption either, but Starbucks presents unique opportunities to have my name mangled.