What's in my name?

The short answer is a short "a." Feel free to stop reading now if you'd like as there are no pictures in this post to look forward to.

Today, I went to Noodles & Co for lunch (sponsor us please!). It's one of those places where you order and give them your name. Then they try their best not to butcher it when your food is ready. So, I gave them my real name, "Mazen," and waited to see what variation would come back. Usually, I get MAY-zen or MAH-zen and the occasional Megan because my G's sound like Z's. Today it was MAH-zeen (like magazine without the "ag") and the guy asked me, "Did I get it right?" I corrected him and he promised to get it right next time. I've decided to hold him to it. So, I'm creating this post for Noodles & Co Food Distributor and his peers at Starbucks* and Jamba Juice:

My name is pronounced Mazen with an "a" like the first one in cannonball or the second one in brastrap (technically bra strap is 2 words but unsurprisingly it was the first word i could think of). It's not MAY-zen with the long "a" in amazing, although my lady readers can continue to call me amazin'. And worst of all, it's not MAH-zen with the "a" in Jamba. For some reason, this pronunciation annoys me to no end.

*By the way, I debated my editor Tall Paul about whether Starbucks actually uses your name when filling your order. I don't think they do, but he insists. Sound off in the comments and settle this master debate.