Category: Women’s Issues

Body Transformation – Entry 3 (Day 18)

by Chanel Rose, posted in About Me, Fitness, General, My 2 Cents and Sadly No Coffee, Women's Issues

Last week was Thanksgiving.

Good news? Only gain 1 lb between three Thanksgiving meals. GO ME!

Bad news. Basically, I did not workout last week. Mostly because I didn’t want to do so. My excuses include 1) we were traveling 8 hours and I didn’t want to be stiff during the drive thus not being able to contribute causing hubs to drive the entire 8 hours, 2) my body was hurting in bad ways. I was having joint issues with my hips, knees, and ankles. Also, apparently I am experiencing something called “shin splints.” That’s the name my Facebook friends are calling my aching shin that feels like it is going to break.

So what have I done since Sunday, November 20th, 2016? Sunday, I walked 3 miles. Then came up with the “forget about it” plan described above. Thursday I did have a short post Thanksgiving Day meal walk. That was a little over a mile, but my pace was horrible due to pain in my legs plus slow walking companions. Though I shouldn’t blame them. My legs hurt at the time, so I would have been slow with or without the company. The company was nice. Also, I walked a mile last night at an okay pace.

Over the course of last week, I thought about how I wanted to change up my routine. Walking the five miles a day was nice. Experiencing it and telling people “I walk five miles everyday” brought great joy in my life. The problem though was that I couldn’t do much after that. The walk had to take place in the morning or else I wouldn’t be able to move the next day. After the walk, it was painful to get up and make lunch, go to the bathroom, etc.

My biggest problem was that even though I was in pain, I would be energized to do more.  Frequently throughout the day, I would get the urge to do kickboxing or some other similar aerobic exercise, but be completely unable to do it.

From the get go I wanted to have other parts to my workout aside from the five miles. The five miles were preventing me from doing other things though. So, over the last week I convinced my self to drop the five miles down to one mile and add in a 20 minute workout. Today was my first day with this new workout.

My workout today in time (h:m:s):

Crunches 00:02:23
Leg Raises 00:05:01
Push Ups 00:01:26
Squats 00:01:13
Star Jumps 00:02:41
Arm Extensions (3 lb weight) 00:04:11
Arm Curls (3 lb weight) 00:04:09
One Mile 00:22:23

The whole workout was about 43 minutes 43 seconds. Now of course, each activity was not completed in one go. Each was performed in 15, 20, or 30 second reps depending on my capability. For example, one round was 30 seconds of crunches, 30 of leg raises (one leg at a time), 20 of push ups, 15 of squats, 30 of star jumps, 30 of arm extensions, 30 of arm curls (approximate times). Then I would start again. I did as many rounds as I needed to complete 20 minutes. Did an extra rep of crunches and leg raises because I was just short the 20 minutes.

Between the stopping and going of turning apps on and off for my workout, it took a total of about an hour. After the mile, I timed my shower and getting dressed. Took me 27 minutes 14 second to undress, shower, blow dry my hair, dress, brush teeth, and put on makeup.

Why did I did I make a point to record overall times? To see how long it would take me to do this in the mornings before work. What I have decided is that I need an hour and a half for the workout (showering is part of the workout because without it my colleagues and customers would hate me). In addition to needing about 30 minutes for breakfast.

Therefore, if I have to be at work at, say 9:00, and it only takes 30 minutes to get to work, adding 15 minute cushion for unexpected delays I would need to get up about 6:00 each morning. Totally doable because I am a morning person, for the most part.

This is supposed to be a life style change. I don’t want this weight loss to be a one time event. I want to lose it to be healthier and be able to do more. That means it has to be a part of who I am. Which means I need to make time for it, and my preferred workout time is in the mornings anyhow.

Remember, your weight is a life style. Some of it isn’t up to you, but some of it is. Take control of what you can control. Diet and exercise are in your control. Do what you can, and as always consult your physician before making diet and exercise changes.

Happy Holidays!

Elementary School Fundraisers … Parents be careful how you handle them!

by Chanel Rose, posted in About Me, Economics, General, How to Contribute to Society, My 2 Cents and Sadly No Coffee, Personal Finance, Women's Issues

During elementary school, I had mixed feelings about the school fundraisers. On one hand, I thought they were fun and the items in the catalogs were cool… and the rewards were even cooler, but … I was never able to sell a lot for the fundraisers, so I hardly ever got any of the prizes. This was in part to the lack of support from my single father. After all, when a 7 year old lives out in the country, how can she be expected to sell much?

It has been over a year — almost two years — since I have graduated college. Wow! Time flies! It has been a little difficult on the job front. Don’t get me wrong. I have been working, but I have been having trouble finding something that empowers me… that feeds my passions. Why is that? Well, for one. For the longest time, I refused to work a sales job. The trouble with that is many companies use their sales reps to vet employees for “hire up” positions, some of which I want(ed).

Why was I putting off getting a jobs in sales if I wanted a hire position – or a different position – that require such experiences? It is because sales scare the crap out of me — as do people but that is a different issue. Over the last few weeks I have been contemplating  why it is that I have such an aversion to  sales. After much contemplation and following train reactions, I have come to the conclusion that … it is my father’s fault.

In the third grade, I really wanted to do better than in years past. Being 9 at the time, so of course I would need parental help. Now,  I don’t remember how I approached my father on the subject; however, I remember his response — almost verbatim. “You are going to school to learn. Not to be a salesman.”

Since then until now I have been opposed to a sales position. There are other factors that have a played a role, but that was the defining moment that pushed me flying down that path. The other factors just kept me there.

Now, my advice is not to ensure that your kid gets the top price during the fundraiser. My advice is to be careful how you address the situation. This is a great learning opportunity for your child. Don’t pass it up, and most definitely don’t teach him or her the wrong thing.

The American job market is predominately a sales market. Your child will be selling one thing or another to one person or another. A few weeks ago, I received the most outstanding advice from someone on the Leadership team of The Oklahoman Media Company (which I don’t remember verbatim) — You are all in customer service. You are all selling a service. Wheth you are interacting with a customer or a co-worker, put your best foot forward, do your best. 

No matter what your child grows up to be. She or he will be selling  their services. So during the school fundraiser, take the time to teach them some important skills about interacting with people, sharing information, and other skills involved with selling.

I am slowly but surely cover coming the challenges of my upbringing. My last day with BigWing (a brand of The OMC) will be November 27th, and I start my next career on November 30th. Going from an Admin Assistant to a Credit Consultant — Inbound Sales for Progrexion.

This move will be an outstanding experience and much personal and professional growth is in my near future.

Wish me luck!

My imperative – my command – is to ….

by Chanel Rose, posted in About Me, Women's Issues

My imperative – my command – is to work directly with individuals to help them overcome societal barriers by helping them find answers and increase their knowledge.

I seek to impact individuals or groups of individuals.

I am driven to ensure everyone has access to opportunity.

I uncover new information and develop insights.

It breaks my heart to know people go hungry. It breaks my heart to know that people sleep without shelter. It breaks my heart to know that people go without health care. What breaks my heart more is to hear people say that those people deserve it. No one deserves to be hungry. No one deserves to not have shelter. No one deserves to go without treatment. No one. Not the “good” people. Not the “bad” people. Not adults. Not children. No one deserves to be in poverty.

In the not too distant future no one will go hungry. No one will be without shelter. No one will be without healthcare. This is an idealized view of the near future. Some may say that this is unrealistic and unachievable. However, nothing is impossible if we work together to build the perfect society. What matters is not that we achieve this within our lifetime, but that we continuously work toward it.

Business Women and the Challenges for Minorities in the Business World — Commentary on an Article

by Chanel Rose, posted in Business Ethics, My 2 Cents and Sadly No Coffee, Women's Issues

Fundraising While Female: Women Entrepreneurs and VCs On How to Bridge The Gender Gap by Clare O’Connor a Forbes Staff member

This article has a some great advice. My favorite is if you have no idea what you would do if someone wrote you a million dollar check, it is too early to fundraise. My least favorite is “Look for ways to be unimpeachably good,” said by Sarah Kunst.

This advice upsets me, not because it is ‘wrong,’ but because it is true. An old saying, [insert minority group here] have to work twice as hard as white men to be seen half as good. This is a sad reality. Now before you get your panties in a bunch, we all understand that the ratio is not 4:1 (twice for half). However, minorities are hardly ever seen as the equal of the non-minority for equal work.

Once I spoke out about this inequality in a college class and the instructor had the audacity to tell me that there wasn’t a discrepancy between the pay of men and women and when asking for a raise I should bring up the fact that I am a woman and use that to my advantage. HELLO!

If I have to blackmail my employer for a pay raise by crying sexism in order to get the raise, the gender gap still exists… or I am a poor employee. We as a society should not have use our minority status in order to get equal footing. However, until we can get equal footing without it, inequality will remain a problem.

To eliminate the whitewash, each minority group has its own disadvantages, and if you are part of multiple minority groups, the issues compound. Are you a female? Strike! Are you anything but white? Strike! Are you a foreigner? Strike! Do you have an accent ? Strike! Are you not a citizen? Strike!

There are so many things that  can be held against you. Our society needs to recognize this so that we can overcome it. The good news is that there are many people who have. We have many social scientists that recognize that we all have bias and have discovered ways we can overcome our own bias. The bad news is that there are many people who refuse to recognize their own bias.

It is disturbing that minorities have to work harder and be better to be recognized as equals, competitors, and such.

What advice gets your panties in bunch? What do you think can be done to eliminate bias and discrimination?