Why "Gesundheit"?

At some point, you've all probably heard some story about an English-speaking minister who went on a mission in Germany and said gesundheit to everyone they saw.  Whilst we English speakers use gesundheit interchangeably with bless you (despite secular tendencies), they do not mean the same thing. 

Google's dictionary tells us that this term is "used to wish good health to a person who has just sneezed".  There you have it.  Good health.

But why did I choose this as a business name?  Not just because I wish good health for my clients; there was a little bit of pressure involved.  If my instructor reads this, it's also a bit of a confession. ^^;

Yes, I use emoticons.  Heavily.

You see, I went through a two-year massage program at Rasmussen College in Green Bay, Wisconsin (program now defunct).  If I remember the experience correctly, we took three business classes.  The first one I took was a Business 101 class required of all students, the third an annoying thing I'd rather forget, and the most relevant was Business & Wellness, where we learned all about marketing massage and prepared for our certification exam.

Mid-quarter, one of our assignments was to design our business cards.  I hadn't been planning on working for a chain, but I hadn't planned on running my own business, either, so why would I need a business card?  For this week's assignment, I was planning on cashing in all of my good student points and saying, "Sorry, I got nothin'."  It wouldn't save me from a failing grade, but my dignitas might stay intact.

I couldn't even think of what to call my hypothetical business.  Everything has been done.  "Healing Hands", "Loving Touch", "I Knead You", and so forth.  I ran a few lame ideas by my husband, and he shrugged at the ones that didn't make him laugh.  Looking at my diploma, I asked, "How about 'gesundheit'?"  He nodded, agreeing that it had potential.

I pulled out the assignment criteria:
- Business name
- My name
- Certification
- Contact info
- Website (if you have one)
- Snappy Logo
- Snappy saying

The snappy snappy saying is supposed to sum up everything your business stands for.  While RELAX DAMMIT! provides generous space for other information, I couldn't see it being well-received.

Back to my original plan: cash in those good student points.  But being a good student (or, at least, being perceived as such), I started to feel guilty.  Sitting across from my husband a half hour before class, I flipped my macbook open and started filling in a business card template.

1) My name
2) My business name
3) E-mail for contact
4) Google Voice for phone number
5) Silly Saying
6) Website...

If the actual card was going to be pitiful, I needed a little extra flair.  It would be several months yet before I'd purchase gesundheitmassage.com.

Twenty-five minutes to class and closing.  Luckily, I resided within walking distance of the little commuter campus.

"I could just use twitter," I said aloud.

"I would.  Couldn't hurt," my husband replied.

If the snooty programmer approves, it's good enough for me. ❤

I played around with the lettering, working within the character limitations, and decided on gesundhtmassage.  This left me twenty minutes to print and stroll leisurely down to class.

Unfortunately, I knew my classmates would come in with actual business cards.  I saw that some of them had long since ordered theirs from Vista Print or some local shop.  I couldn't just bring in a flimsy print-out.  My only remaining option made me feel like I was back in kindergarten (another German word!).  I pulled out a couple label sheets and light blue construction paper, which I'd received from a friend who was working at a paper mill.  I later thanked her for sharing. 

My husband helped me cut my little art project out, and I had five minutes to rush to class, where I sat wishing that I'd just taken an F.  This feeling built as I watched my classmates pass their cards around.  My mouth was dry as I passed my cards out, which were received with admiration.

Say wut?

I heard terms like "good card stock" passing between my classmates as I moved through the rows (short trip; small class) and returned to my seat.

"So, why 'Gesundheit'?" one classmate asked, getting right down to business.

I told them that I'd finally finished my BA at UW-Green Bay for German and Humanistic Studies the previous October.  "It seemed suitable to incorporate that into my practice.  Gesundheit isn't just a word for sneezing.  It's referring to your health."