public static function splitOnFirstAlpha($string)
	{
		$pieces = array();
		
		// if $string is not null
		if ($string !== null) {
			// if $string is actually a string
			if (is_string($string)) {
				// if the trimmed string isn't empty
				$string = trim($string);
				if ($string !== '') {
					$pieces = array_map('trim', preg_split('/(?=[a-zA-Z])/i', $string, 2));		
				} else {
					$pieces = array();
				}
			} else {
				throw new \InvalidArgumentException(
					__METHOD__."() expects parameter one to be a string"
				);
			}
		} else {
			throw new \BadMethodCallException(
				__METHOD__."() expects one parameter, a string"
			);
		}
		
		return $pieces; 
	}