Congrats on finishing your course and the challenge!

SheWhoMustNotBeNamed JCU HellYeah mavie Anek NancyTree - Thank you all. You are the best, all of you! (:
CaptainCanuck - The course leader said something along the lines of: "As new leaders you have to understand that being in charge of the new generations is different. Millennials and Gen Z are much more aware of their rights, while the previous generation was much more work oriented and valued their work output more." He kept repeating this and I just got the feeling like they're preparing us for those "spoiled" millennials and gen Z because apparently we're so lazy they have to include this in a leadership course. His comments also included observations that boomers apparently had no problems doing extra work or work overtime. I kept listening to this and I'm sitting there, all jaded, burnt out from this contract, angry because me and my friends have done nothing but slaved our asses off since September. Of course, my anxious over-hyped adhd brain that's running on avocado toast was like SOURCE PLEASE??? And I decided to speak up. I'm sorry but firstly, I'm a part of that generation, and secondly, the future workers and "leaders" are also a part of that generation. I mentioned that the salaries haven't changed in more than 10 years and if they have, they are worse now. There used to be a clause that with each contract you'd get a bit more money so that people would stay. That doesn't exist anymore. They've cut a ton of good positions, they're making lower-paid positions take on their previous responsibilities. Yes, maybe we really don't want to work overtime if it's unpaid and if you have no perspectives, no way to get promoted. Also, the salaries are not compatible with the inflation rates. My salary 10 years ago in my country would by me a nice apartment. Now I'll barely be able to afford rent. My parents generation had affordable housing in my country, we don't have that. My grandparents generation were literally given apartments by the state if you were employed - which were most people. My generation can't afford those same apartments because they're too expensive. I'll give you another example. My family member bought off a flat in our capital, it's a 4-bedroom beautiful vintage apartment, high ceilings, I'd say around 70 square meters with a balcony. We're talking luxury here. He bought it in the early 90s for a price of around 15k EUR. That same apartment is now valued at 500k EUR. If he doesn't renovate it. And most of the people my age have the exact same problems, we're all stuck regardless of our positions, level of education, country of residence. Not to mention the fact that many of us have a side job, so that we can afford stuff. That means that I can't stay after my shift at my first job, because I have to run to my second job. I know people like that and a few years ago I had that exact situation. And I think that some things have changed for the better - harassment issues have been addressed, discrimination is frowned upon, I'd say that is a positive change. I don't think boomers enjoyed working in a toxic environment and I think it really depends on who you ask if it was better or worse. I like to speak with older people here to see how it used to be like. Guess what? Guys (mostly white, the higher you get in our company, the whiter it gets) think it's changed for the worse, now they can't even compliment a girl (not true all. And not all of them are like that, for the record but I have met a couple of gems). Girls think it's better now. They used to be absolutely powerless when it came to harassment and some of the stories I've heard made my stomach turn. I'm glad and thankful that other people had those battles so that I don't have to. I hate the divide that people are trying to create between the generations. Yes, there are certain differences but at the end of the day we all face the same challenges. And if I'm not mistaken, people now work MORE anyway, 9-5 is is starting to look more like a 7-7. You're expected to be on call. Our own company expects you to answer work related questions when you're on vacation. They will call you, email you, whatever, doesn't matter you're on your UNPAID vacation, you need to tell us this, you need to tell us that. So maybe the company can re-think how they view us and treat us if they want us to build a working relationship with them. Did I mention that there is a massive labor shortage happening here and they're wondering why? Idk, guys, maybe you should offer us more avocado toast. Not to mention that all departments have to cover for the labor shortage. Are we getting more pay for more work? Guess. (:


Progress Report

Fri - 4/29
Professional Development: yes - having a big headache because of work stress
Reading: no
Meditating: no
Early Bird: no - one day that I can sleep in (:
Training:
Stiff Neck

Sat - 4/30
Professional Development: yes - having a big headache because of work stress, fucking again
Reading: no
Meditating: yes. I went on an outer deck and stared at the night sky for about 15 minutes. It was nice
Early Bird: oh yes!
Training:
Stiff Neck

Sun - 5/1
Professional Development: yes - worked on my CV (it's almost done!)
Reading: yes - dived back into that interesting book
Meditating: yes
Early Bird: kind of
Training:
30/30 Day 19
Classic Warmup
1-Minute Plank Day 16
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 1 Day 42; Lvl 2 Day 41; Lvl 3 Day 40
Post-Cardio Cooldown

Mon - 5/2
Professional Development: yes - had an escalation with a colleague, need to solve it tomorrow
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes
Early Bird: kind of
Training:
Ran an angry 5k on a treadmill (rolling hills incline). Bested my time: 32 mins 56 sec. I almost reached that 30 mins mark but I started really overheating during my last 600-500m. I got the feeling that something will happen (it's not that I got light headed or anything, just my body got SUPER hot all of a sudden) and I decided to slow down. As soon as I slowed down, I started feeling better. Has anything similar happened to anyone else?

Tue - 5/3
Professional Development: yes - solved it & also f*ck that guy
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes
Early Bird: yes
Training:
30/30 Day 20

Wed - 5/4
Professional Development: yes - didn't solve it, I'm being pushed into sh*t
Reading: yes
Meditating: no
Early Bird: yes
Training:
Stiff Neck

Thu - 5/5
No comment. I did stiff neck.

Fri - 5/6
Professional Development: FUCK MY LIFE
Reading: yes
Meditating: no
Early Bird: yes
Training:
Swimming in Aruba (: the day was wonderful until I came back on board. Hence my prof. development comment.

Sat - 5/7
Professional Development: I'm currently attending my last development course. That's fun.
Reading: yes
Meditating: no
Early Bird: yes
Training:
30/30 Day 21
Classic Warmup
1-Minute Plank Day 17
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 1 Day 43; Lvl 2 Day 42; Lvl 3 Day 41
Post-Cardio Cooldown - DONE

Sun - 5/8
Professional Development: Did bills & taxes, yay!
Reading: yes
Meditating: no
Early Bird: yes
Training:
30/30 Day 22
Classic Warmup
1-Minute Plank Day 18
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 1 Day 44; Lvl 2 Day 43; Lvl 3 Day 42

Mon - 5/9
Professional Development: Did a shooting for a social media campaign. The most I've enjoyed my work in a long time.
Reading: no
Meditating: no
Early Bird: yes
Training:
Stiff Neck - DONE

Streak: 33 days

I have a month to go. We'll see if I make it, that situation with my coworker made me consider handing in a letter of resignation. I'll give it a couple of days to see where this takes me but yeah, that's on the table. My self-respect & mental health are worth more than any paycheck.

I have an interesting vantage point, because I have been in the workforce for about 20 years and I probably have about 20 years more to go. So I am about at halfway through my professional life. I have seen 65 year olds with work ethics that put 18 year olds to shame. I have seen 18 year olds with work ethics that put other 18 year olds to shame. Everyone is their own person with a hundred different things that motivates them, so it is always strange for me to hear "this person is doing this because they are born in year X." I am reminded when we do training for people with disabilities, we are told "always put the person first" so instead of "blind person" we say "person with vision problems." Strange though that this doesn't apply to age or the years in which people are born. I think that this is what is lost when just referring to people from a generation with a wide sweep of characteristics. A 65 year old working hard might be doing so to put a grandchild through university. An 18 year old working hard might be doing the same thing for themselves. The end goals are (mostly) the same but end up being obfuscated by age.

So sorry to hear about your work difficulties

Congrats on run and your challenges!

Congrats on the 5k PR!

Yeah grats on your PB!

Congrats on the PB!
And I totally get what you mean some things have changed for the better but some have changed for the worse. Unfortunately, there is a long long way to go.
Anyway, you ade doing a great job, keep it up

CaptainCanuck - yes, I agree, it totally depends on the person. I do believe that the generation in which we are born does shape us but not in the simple thing = good / thing = bad way. And like I said, intergenerational is not good, we should all work together.

JCU Silent Wolf Montserrat SheWhoMustNotBeNamed - thank you all! (: Hello, Montserrat, nice to meet you!

Zenchan - Unfortunately I am still on working on board so my workout space and timing are very limited. Thank you for your reply and hello, welcome, good to meet you! (:

Progress Report

Tue - 5/10
Professional Development: yes - finished the last of my courses. At this point I have done 5 development trainings, which is basically everything that was available to me.
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes
Early Bird: YES
Training:
30/30 Day 23
Classic Warmup
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 1 Day 45
Confessor Lvl 3
1-minute Plank Day 19
Light Stretching

Wed - 5/11
Professional Development: yes
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes
Early Bird: yes
Training:
30/30 Day 24

Thu - 5/12
Professional Development: yes
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes (1/50)
Early Bird: yes
Training:
Classic Warmup
1-minute Plank Day 20
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 2 Day 44; Lvl 3 Day 43

Fri - 5/13
Professional Development: yes
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes (2/50)
Early Bird: yes
Training:
30/30 Day 25
Classic Warmup - DONE
1-minute Plank Day 21
Unbound

Sat - 5/14
Professional Development: yes - longest day ever
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes (3/50)
Early Bird: yes
Training:
Power Switch

Sun - 5/15
Professional Development: yes
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes (4/50)
Early Bird: yes
Training:
Power Switch

Mon - 5/16
Professional Development: yes - updated my CV, finally! I still have to re-do my visuals and add links to it but it's a start
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes (5/50)
Early Bird: yes
Training:
30/30 Day 26
2-minute Warmup
1-minute Plank Day 22
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 1 Day 46; Lvl 2 Day 45; Lvl 3 Day 44
Unbound

Tue - 5/17
Professional Development: yes - Sent my CV to a recruiting agency
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes (6/50)
Early Bird: yes
Training:
Power Switch - DONE

Wed - 5/18
Professional Development: yes - Applied to 1 job, got 2 job offers from a recruiting agency - not too stoked about one (still a little bit better than what I have now, have to check out the other one)
Reading: yes
Meditating: yes (7/50)
Early Bird: no
Training:
30/30 Day 27
2-minute Warmup
1-minute Plank Day 23
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 1 Day 47; Lvl 2 Day 46; Lvl 3 Day 45
Unbound

Thu - 5/19
Professional Development: yes - sent out 5 job applications
Reading: no
Meditating: yes (8/50)
Early Bird: yes
Training:
30/30 Day 28
2-minute Warmup
1-minute Plank Day 24
60 Days of Cardio Lvl 1 Day 48; Lvl 2 Day 47; Lvl 3 Day 46
Unbound - DONE

Fri - 5/20
Professional Development: yes
Reading: no
Meditating: yes (9/50)
Early Bird: no
Training:
Energizer

Streak: 44 days

For some reason I am no longer able to edit my first page content. Does anyone have any idea? I get this error message when I try to save my updates.

Congrats on everything you've done recently!

I hope your job searching goes well, too!

Congrats on everything and good luck with your career

2022 Monthly Update Dump Post

January update:
This won't be a 2022 resolution list but more of an updated goals post. I still work on the ship, life is messy, dynamic and interesting. I will continue focusing on strength training with some additional cardio. Basically, I want to better myself in every aspect. I expect work to get a little less crazy, which will allow me to go back to bettering myself professionally - something I've attempted doing last year but didn't have the opportunity to do so. I still need to figure out what my exact goals are and where I'm headed, so for now, I'll be sticking with my new and updated workout plan and just go with the flow. However, I will actively think about what is it that I want and how I'll achieve this. 2021 introduced a couple of new factors into my life which changed me and I need to put this puzzle together, I guess.

February update:
Finally I'm starting to form some sort of a plan to advance my career. There are 3 directions I can take and I'm not quite sure which it will be, so I think I'll branch out and see where life takes me. At least I'm seeing some prospects for the future. Training wise, I'm trying to find the perfect level of strictness towards myself - if I don't feel like working out super hard on a given day, I won't; but I will do at least an easy workout. Just to keep a streak going. This seems to be working out best for me. This is also the month when I'm starting to focus more on my nutrition and try eating cleaner, healthier. I'm trying to lose some fat and that will take time and dedication, there's no way around it.

March update:
I entered March with a little case of runner's knee. My primary goal is to rehabilitate my knees. I've also started tracking my calories. I see that I'm making healthier choices. In terms of my professional development, I'll add some goals here, I think this will motivate me.

April update:
I'm newly promoted and also very very over-worked due to labor shortage. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, however, I am not satisfied with my working conditions and my "new" salary, which is very very similar to my old one. Unfortunately, my work load & my responsibilities have not increased by a little but by A LOT! I am taking this opportunity to gain experience as a senior staff member and as part of middle management, my contract lasts until June. I will work on finding a new job. I've basically achieved the top promotion within my department, there is literally no where for me to move. And I want more for myself, I finally realized my worth (it took me a long time to get here). So, the goal for April is to start sending out job applications. And to balance my fitness somehow with the work load. There have been days when I've barely been able to do one workout because I didn't have time or I was just wiped out during break time.

May update:
I just need to survive this f*ckng month. Also, I ran a very angry 5k and bested my time. On treadmill.

Despite the trouble you face at work it's great fun to read your writings about it. I like the way you are on fire and i'm sure you find great ways for yourself and wish you all the best for everything you want to achieve. You got this!

As my contract is finally coming to an end and my first page is getting a bit crowded, I've decided to create my first achievement dump post. This is everything I've done during 2022 until the almost-end of my contract. I don't think I'll be adding anything significant in the next 3 days and if I will, I'll just edit this post. Going home will be a sort of a clean slate for me.

Completed in 2022 until the end of this work contract

Workouts:
2-Minute Warmup
2-Minute Workout
Balance & Coordination
​​ Better Sleep Yoga
​ Classic Warmup
​ Five Rites
​​ Footwork
​ Hand Workout
​​ Hips & Glutes Stretch
​ Lower Back Chair Edition
​​ Man Down
​ Movie Night
​ Office Boxer
​ Office Push-Ups
​ Origami
​ Post-Cardio Cooldown
​ Power Switch
​ Quick Warmup
​ Stiff Neck
​ Stress Buster
​ The Final Bell
​ Unbound
​ Universal Warmup

Programs:
Back and Core Program
​ Baseline - all levels
​​ Hal Higdon's 5K training: Walkers
​ Hal Higdon's ​Beginning Runner's Guide - 30/30 Plan

Challenges:
10.000 Half-Jacks
​ 50 Squats a Day
​ Cardio HIIT Challenge
​ Easy Abs​ Challenge
​ Easy Arms Challenge​ ​
​ Flexibility Challenge
​ Knee Push-Ups Challenge
​ Posture Challenge
​ Walking Challenge​

Personal Challenges:
​​ Run a sub 35 min 5k - treadmill
​ Fighter Training Plan - 6 weeks
​ Guardian training plan​ - 5 weeks
​ Read 10 books

Completed Events:
Flexibility Week

Professional Development:
​ Got promoted
​ Completed a leadership course
​ Completed a second leadership course
​ Completed a third leadership course
​ Completed a leadership training
​ Completed a second leadership training
​ Updated CV
​ Sent CV to recruiting agency
​ Sent 5 job applications
​ Landed an interview

Also, I've met some absolutely wonderful people this contract and I feel the need to put it out there. People like this give me faith in this world.

JCU SheWhoMustNotBeNamed mavie -

Wow that is an impressive list of accomplishments! You should be proud! Great job!