Ijlal... A "splendid" hometown gal!

As I was gearing up for my 10,000th Uber trip on St. Patrick's day, I was excited about the possibility of having a passenger with a special name for that milestone event. I had already determined to commemorate that trip on the Ubernamez blog.

The unique person I was looking for actually popped up on trip number 9,999!

Please meet Ijlal.

Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Ijlal was a graduate of East High School. She is very familiar with MY hometown area in Western New York and attended nursing school at Genesee Community College in Batavia. This is the city of my birth!

She mentioned that she had been feeling a bit homesick and how nice it was to have a driver from "back home".

It was exciting for me, as well!

Ijlal and her husband moved to Fort Myers three years ago and she serves as a trauma nurse at Lee Memorial Hospital.

Her name (pronounced Ish-lal) has Muslim origins and means esteem, honor, grand, splendid and majestic.

What a great name to live up to!

Ijlal is an avid reader and will put aside television and video for several months just to focus on reading. From time to time special events, like "March Madness", interrupt her reading schedule.

She'll be putting down her books this week to cheer for the Syracuse Orange as they play Baylor in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.

It was a pleasure to have Ijlal, a "splendid" hometown gal, as a passenger and welcome her to the Ubernamez blog!

Go Orange!