Vanity

Plates, that is. Vanity plates.

As I drive from here to there on my rounds around town, vanity plates present themselves to me like little puzzles meant to entertain and challenge. Some are no-brainers. Like VRRRM on a Corvette. Or SHUTTLE on a minivan. But others present more of a challenge. Like TBDBITL (OK, I know this one - but it would be a challenge for anyone not from central Ohio). Some are just personal and are not really meant for public deciphering.

I want to join the throes of those-who-advertise-who-they-are-on-cars!

The challenge is creating just the right message, using a combination of only 7 alphanumeric characters, to wear like a name tag wherever I go.

But in today’s world of text messages and Twitter updates, meant to communicate entire messages in 160 characters or fewer, it’s not that much of a stretch to consolidate further to 7 characters. A challenge, perhaps, but doable.

So, what type of plates do I want to display?

In my research (hey, observing plates whizzing past me as I drive counts as research!), I’ve noticed that vanity plates typically describe one of three attributes of the driver:

1. What You Do

BABY DOC
DAY TRDR
MAD PTTR
WRITER

2. Who You Are

MIMI
PEETS
BRIT MUM
HUMANS
MOM OF 3
KKECLP (initials of family members)

3. How You Think

VRRRM (onomatopoetic)
OUT A TYM (harried)
BIG WEEN (goofy)
HAD 2 HVT (honest)
DONT TCH (possessive)

Or sometimes it’s just an obscure or private reference...

HONIG (a term of affection in German, meaning “honey”)
TBDBITL (OK, I’ll tell you… The Best Damn Band In The Land, referring to the Ohio State marching band, of course!)

I've got a few ideas brewing, but no decision is made! Got any good ones?