Falling Down On My Exercise

I am mad at myself, because I got a three month gym membership and did well for a couple of weeks--exercising three or four times both weeks. I tend to lose weight easily and firm up pretty quickly, so I was excited when I looked in the mirror (OK, not too excited--still had quite a way to go) and I was getting looks again from men in the first time in a long time. However, I have not been to the gym in the last week or so. I guess I can't blame myself with my bar study, and the gym is not very convenient to my house. I will get right back on the wagon after the bar exam. I am also still considering diet pills. Or maybe that green tea weight loss plan I keep hearing about.

Grameen America Success: Obama Needs To Tap Muhammad Yunus

Photo from Grameen America Website

Being a Vanderbilt alum, I am certainly aware of Muhammad Yunus. He is an alum of Vanderbilt University too. He went back to his home country of Bangladesh after teaching in the U.S. for a while, and put his education in action, starting the business of microlending. He lends small amounts of money to people, mostly women, so they can start their own businesses and pull themselves out of poverty. They repay the loans promptly, and the success rate is phenomenal.

Today on CNN, I learned that Yunus has now started a Grameen America Bank. I was so proud to hear the anchors talk about him on TV. The last time I heard him speak at Vanderbilt, he mentioned that Grameen Bank might someday tackle the health insurance problem in the U.S. He was only partly joking. I think he should take a crack at it, because I know he could do it. Obama really needs his expertise in the White House.

http://www.grameenamerica.com/

Buying Franchises

I have often thought it would be fun to own your own little business. And if you buy a franchise, you not only have the benefit of owning your own business but the name recognition that comes with the already established brand. This is probably not an idea for me, but it would be a good idea for others. Even in this down economy, people still need services and such, and something like auto parts franchises might be such an opportunity. After all, people may put off buying a new car, but they will need to keep their current car running smoothly and looking nice.

Don't Nag An Unemployed Friend

What do you say to someone who has lost their job? Good advice in this article from msn.com:

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1763-Career-Growth-and-Change-Talking-to-a-Jobless-Friend/?sc_extcmp=JS_1763_msnbc&SiteId=cbmsnbchp41763&ArticleID=1763&gt1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=6040ff9f3df54801b2b2954c7d3c7007-287970489-J0-5

I Need A New Watch For The Bar Exam

Even though there will be clocks in the room in which I take the bar exam, they encourage you to bring your own watch. It is important to keep up with the time. For both the MBE and essay portions of the test, you are limited to a three hour block of time. Six essays in the morning three hour block, and three essays in the afternoon session. For the MBE, 100 multi-state questions in the morning three hour block and 100 in the afternoon three hour block. You need your own watch just in case the clocks in the room aren't working. You would think the school would have everything in working order, but I know from experience that is not the case. So I will go get a new watch. But I don't think they would want me to bring one of those talking watches. They get freaked out enough about cell phones going off!

Resume No-Nos

One of my good friends who had lost her job recently, maybe because of the bad economy, maybe not, has just found a job. I am thrilled! I was really worried about her, because jobs are basically nowhere to be seen, and she does not have a college degree. She also has lots of debt and no savings. Oy! But she found one just in the nick of time. She had to take a pay cut, but it is doable, and she is happy just to have a job. I am thrilled because I was afraid she might have to move back to her home state. A happy ending!

But for people who are job hunting, here is a reminder about some resume don'ts. It is always good to keep such info in mind.


http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1770-Cover-Letters-Resumes-10-R%c3%a9sum%c3%a9-Missteps-that-Hurt-Your-Job-Search/?sc_extcmp=JS_1770_home1&SiteId=cbmsnhp41770&ArticleID=1770&GT1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=d49f8fac29ae4ecdbc5a2e4f0f58a6e9-287933216-wz-6

Tools Of The Trade

Every business has its tools of trade. We have our pre-manufacturing tools and then our manufacturing tools. A lot of steps and tools along the way. Then we have our packing and shipping materials. Many times if an item doesn't fit a standard size box we have, we stuff the box with newspaper or packing peanuts. But sometimes clients want the boxes to fit their item snuggly, so we have to size the boxes to fit. For this, we use a box cutter. Something so simple as a box cutter makes the job for those in shipping so much easier!