"What's in a name?"

This week my fiance and I passed a milestone. It is now less than 50 days till our wedding day.

April will mark the beginning of our married life together, and more personally, my last weeks as an Orozco.

I should mention, Emmett and I have been together for several years. In fact, our wedding day will make six. We have lived together for nearly five of those years. We have shared our desires, fears, hopes and our worst days.

We have also shared countless laughs, drinks, meals, travels, a bed, clothes, and a toothbrush on occasion...

One thing we haven't shared is a name.

Now that we are "making it official" I have a decision to make. What becomes of my name?

Several months ago I thought I would just hyphenate and, in fact, heard predictions from friends that I'm probably a "hyphenator." In the past week or so, I have had trouble committing to it. It sounds so egalitarian. It's too politically correct. So modern. Unromantic.

That's when I began to explore my other options. What if I didn't change my name at all? After all, my husband isn't changing his. My name is fiercely Spanish. Marta Cecilia Orozco. It's well-rounded. It evokes worldliness. It's feminine but not childish. It looks great on my degree and my business cards. I am proud to carry it. But then, keeping it seems petulant; I'm just lashing against patriarchy and a marriage shouldn't begin that way. My husband is a man, but he isn't The Man.

Then, of course, there's the most popular and traditional choice. Just taking his name would make me Marta Cecilia Fikus. It would simultaneously shed my heritage and, ironically, make mine the most Polish sounding name since Emmett's grandparents' who emigrated from Poland in WWII.  Fikus is a rare name, and knowing Emmett and his brothers the way I do, I would be honored to be a member of that club. As one brother puts it, the more Fikus in the world, the better. But, I have to say, I wouldn't agree the less Orozco in the world, the better.

There have been other avenues of discussion- changing my middle name, dropping my middle name; dear Emmett even volunteered to hyphenate to match my preference. In the end, I must remember that no person has ever preserved their identity or their heritage through their name alone. We are more than what we are called, and I'm not likely going to stop being a proud Mestiza woman because my name sounds like I came from the Old World. Just like becoming a wife won't cause me to eschew my burgeoning herbalism practice. The same way joining another (awesome) band of brothers doesn't weaken my relationship with my brothers.

So, perhaps my confusion kicked in because I resent being predictable but my choice has been made. I'm simply going to add that beautiful, unique, Polish surname to my own beautiful, unique, Spanish surname. The sound they make together just works.


Orozco-Fikus

It's us. It tells our story. It mirrors the union we are making- two becoming one.

Rejection

If you are denied a job on any given day -

Do not go to Buffalo Exchange with a bag of old coats in hopes that they'll take them for store credit.

It's guaranteed to make you feel like... a bag of old coats.

Blood Bank

Today I:

Had a preliminary meeting with a staffing service and
Took care of some banking business

Had some yerba mate!

Expectation and Pressure

I have decided that the herbal lists will now resume as follows:

I will share one herbal preparation that I take or prepare every day.

I will share one accomplishment of note. I will share two tomorrow and increase by one until I guess I feel like a whole person and not just a shadow of one.

Today's accomplisment
Today I booked three interviews


Today's Herbs
Today I took some cranberry juice

Day to Day

I have gotten interest before from friends and family about my services, and I have never really followed up. Lupus, menopause, eczema, energy production, weight loss...

Well now, Nu Era Botanicals is officially taking clients!

Patience

When I interview for jobs, which it seems, is all I do...

I am sure to use the expression, "meet people where they are."

[I'm almost positive I heard this from Dr. Franklin. He had a lot of real world, Southern advice. "You're allowed to have one vice. Chocolate and sex don't count." "Don't tell people they can't have something. Just tell them the things they need to have, and that they can then have whatever it is they want. Odds are they'll feel fulfilled with first and won't even go to those chips or that pop."]

I have to remember to meet myself where I am.

I am not an expert job-seeker. I am not even a great candidate on paper. I am fighting against my own experience (mostly a lack thereof).

When I come across those positions where I feel like I NEED this in my life, this would be so fulfilling, it's hard not to feel a real loss when it doesn't come through. And to this day, none have.

Is there a more active role I could take to make them see that I can do this work?

Do I show up, shake a hand? Introduce myself as one of the dozen (or hundred) faceless online applicants? Is that a nuisance? Is it expected?

Either way, I guess I'll be doing this for a long time, so I'll have to answer those questions myself.

Nu Era

As a day-to-day, being an herbalist requires that I wear many different hats. I have to be the professional who knows my craft, a counselor with boundless empathy, and a tireless researcher, but I also have to be fundamentally counter-culture.

What I mean by fundamentally counter-culture is that the work I do runs contrary to the way society and the economy are designed to be most efficient (and frankly, exploitative). The success of my endeavor and my craft is not measured by the financial means I "contribute to society." Nu Era is truly linked to a vast web of grassroots movements whose purpose is to usher in an age of wealth determined by health, and not material goods. After all, what use is financial security if we aren't secure in our well-being. Like they say, you can't take it with you when you go...

While I would love to be able to support my family and create a sustaining business from my herbalism, it is NOT the goal. The goal is to be an accurate and efficient resource for healing, first aid, family care, and personal fulfillment.

I'm not a prophesier. I don't ascribe to 2012 fantasies about the world's end. I don't think that a collapse of the current markets and societies will beckon a new age. I don't think it's the "dawning of the age of Aquarius." But I do think that a graceful transition from big banks, big pharma, and big agriculture to micro-economies, holistic health, and local, organic whole-food sourcing is a fight worth fighting. And individuals will drive this change! I want to be one of those individuals.

That is what Nu Era means to me. I hope that the clients I serve also have an eye on a brighter future for themselves and all those who will come after us. And, of course, she who we all came from-- the Earth.