Being Clarice

"Is this Clarice? ..Well, hello Clarice!" is the world famous Dr. Lecter line in the film Hannibal.

Sometimes, when I think of my name in random moments, I can't seem to accept that I was named Clarice by my parents; by my mom (truly unbelievable!).

My mom said I was named after our neighbor named Mariz. That name sound surely "close" to my name, eh? If I wasn't named Clarice, I would probably have been named Casmer. Lol :P From mother-name-combined-with-father naming way of a kid. Cas - from my Dad's name Casto and Mer - from my mother's name Mercedes. Very clever right? Ew.

I'm so thankful for the Hannibal movie, it made me famous. Whenever I meet smart people, they greet me like Dr. Hannibal after introducing myself. It's the same way how I feel for having a 9/11 birthday.. Okay, I am taking that back, I am NOT at all thankful about the whole tragic event. It’s just that, somehow, people tend to remember my birth day.

Aside from Clarice played by Jodie Foster in Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal movie where Clarice was played by Julienne Moore, there are two more other American films that I know of where the name Clarice was used to a character.

First, Sleepless in Seattle, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Clarice is played by Amanda Maher (never heard of her) and she's a baby sitter in the movie.

Second, It Takes Two, starred by the young Olsen twins. Clarice is the twin's wicked-vain-crazy

Fiancée of their father.

I thought there are only few Clarice in this world when I was younger. But this though all comes to an end when:

• I was in grade 4, a girl named Clarice appeared on the scene.
• It was on my 2nd year in High School, when there was one more Clariss. Her name was spelled differently though.
• After graduating from college, the first time I applied for a job, I met “Clarice” while on long queue.
• When I crashed to a college friends' apartment here in Metro Manila, I met another Clarisse.
• On my first job, I have met another Clariz, from the HR department, one of the first people I met in the company.

On my bucket list? To know a person who named their kid after me. ;) Exciting!

I don’t know how many more Clarices are out there until I get to meet them. And when I do, I'll say -- Well, hello Clarice!