Are Men Threatened by Your Success? Come to Washington, D.C.

Contributed by Sally Lee

188655575_6a4b61f48a_m.jpg

This piece is in response to “The H-Bomb,” an article by Erin Abrams which was published on The Glass Hammer a few months ago. The basic argument of the piece was that smart, successful women with high-powered and high-earning jobs (in this case, graduates of Harvard Law School), had a hard time meeting men who were not threatened or intimidated by their professional status and income (hence, the H-Bomb).

To those women in New York and other large cities who have felt it necessary to apologize for their hard-earned success because of the insecure men that they encounter, I have a suggestion. Move to Washington D.C., a city where there are plenty of men who actually like and even expect a woman to be educated, successful, and have lots of money. It seems, at least according to an unscientific poll conducted by this observer and her female friends, that there are plenty of men on the D.C. dating market who have visions of quitting their jobs, being provided with a weekly allowance, and having all the time in the world to play golf!

Honestly, not all men are like that in D.C., but there are some sad yet funny stories to share regarding the dating woes of women in our nation’s capital regarding these types of men. For example, I once dated a guy who said to me, “If I quit my job for six months and try to find myself, you’d be able to support me, right?” I wasn’t sure if he was serious, particularly because we were on a third date, so I replied, “I don’t understand the question.” He answered in an exasperated tone, “You know what I mean. If I decide that this job isn’t for me, you’d be able to take care of me until I found something else, because you make enough money, right?”

Read more

/by

Craft to Heal:Taking Time Out to Pursue a Hobby Can Have Benefits for Your Body and Soul

Contributed by Nancy Monson

Time heals all wounds. But until time kicks in, what do you do while you’re waiting? How do you relieve stress and decompress from everyday pressures? How do you ease the pain, distract your mind, soothe your soul? If you’re like me (and a whole lot of celebrities, it seems), you craft.

I’ve been a crafter for as long as I can remember. I quilt. I sew. I collage. I paint. I make wreaths. I design note cards. I love to create something out of nothing and put my personal stamp on it. I love the process, and I love the product. The creative arts, my crafts, keep my hands, heart and mind busy, and sometimes I think they’re the only things that keep me sane. And I’m not alone. In fact, the creative arts have historically been used as unique forms of expression, communication and release. Now, in the twenty-first century, these arts have been elevated from mere crafts to important components of healing therapies for people with illnesses, both physical and psychological. Patients with cancer, for instance, are encouraged to paint, to visualize their bodies fighting off malignant cells and to pour their thoughts and emotions into journals.
But the best news is that you don’t have to be ill to benefit.

“We’re now finding that crafts are beneficial for healthy people, too,” says Gail McMeekin, M.S.W., author of the inspiring books The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women and The Power of Positive Choices. “Thanks to their ability to tune you into yourself and your feelings, crafts clearly have physical, psychological and spiritual powers.” Adds Diane Ericson, a California fabric artist, teacher and pattern designer, “Crafts are a way of valuing yourself and giving to yourself. They allow you to express what’s inside.”

Read more

/by

Blowing Off Steam with Yoga

Is work making you want to punch someone? I found a cure to release the office- related stress and help your head from exploding…it’s called Bikram Yoga. After the very first class, I felt ready to take on the world.

I went through a phase where I was at the gym every day, even on Sunday. I discovered the benefits of exercise during the break-up of my first serious relationship. I found an activity that could help me release all that pent-up energy. I became addicted to that one hour of me time…and there was that business about losing weight.

The hour I spent at the gym stayed constant as I switched jobs and found a new boyfriend. I bought the latest issue of People or Us Weekly, climbed on to the treadmill and worked my worries away.

Read more

/by

Passions, Part 1: Skydiving

,

skydiver.jpegThis new series of articles, called “Passions,” is not a cheesy soap opera on day-time television. Rather, it explores what young successful professional women do when they are not working, and sheds some light on the hobbies and interests that they are passionate about.

Think that only a crazy person would jump out of an airplane at 13,500 feet and free fall towards the ground before your parachute opens? Well it might be a little crazy, but its also incredibly fun, at least according to the skydivers I talked to.

I have always been curious about skydiving, as I’m a pretty adventurous person and it seems like the last frontier in extreme sports. I’ve tried bungee jumping, hang gliding and parasailing, but something about skydiving whispers in my ear, “that stuff is all for wimps! Try jumping out of a plane!” I have tried to sign up for skydiving lessons in various countries and at different times in my life, but somehow, it hasn’t happened yet.

Then, I had dinner with my friend Joanna, who had just been skydiving the week before. She has been twice, and completely loved the experience. “It’s the rush of a lifetime,” she said excitedly. “It’s the closest you will ever get to flying.” She describes the experience of jumping out of a plane as both terrifying and incredible, and says that she would go back tomorrow if she didn’t have to go to work.

Read more

/by

A Lesson from the New York Marathon…

radbabyap0411_468×743.jpgHooray for Paula Radcliffe! “I definitely feel stronger after my pregnancy,” the champion marathon runner said, after she sprinted to victory in the final stages of last Sunday’s gruelling 26.2 mile race.

Paula’s fought her way back from bitter failure (Athens Olympics 2004, when stomach problems felled her) and injury (spinal stress fractures and a foot injury in 2006), and she only gave birth to her daughter Isla in January of this year. “I never thought having a baby would be the end of my career,” she grinned as she cuddled Isla after the finish line. She’s a world-beater and a woman of inspiration.

I didn’t think that running a marathon after raising four children would be the re-start of my career, either. However, I ran the New York Marathon in 2000 – in rather more than double Paula’s time of 2:23:09. I ran the race to prove to myself that you aren’t washed up past your mid-thirties, and the law of unintended consequences meant that apart from developing some calf muscles that a body builder would envy, I unexpectedly fell into a new career.

Read more

/by

Best Shoes for Work: High Heels Category

In this second installment of The Glass Hammer “Best Of … Series,” we build on our popular piece about the Best Work Flats to bring you an advanced segment: the Best Work High Heels. This category is substantially trickier than flats, because flats are (almost) always comfy, while heels rarely are. Thus, these three styles are winners because they rate high in both the style and comfort categories.

Here, we feature basic black, as that’s the most useful color for a pump, but the styles here come in a range of colors and textures.

  1. The Carma Pump – Cole Haan – $275

carma-pump-cole-haan.jpg

This Cole Haan shoe is designed with Nike Air technology, including hidden air pockets in the soles and special cushioning in the heels. While you probably couldn’t play a decent game of basketball in them, they certainly hold up to a full day running around the office. These shoes have the added benefit of coming in low, medium and high heels, so you can adjust to your comfort level. This shoe also comes in black, brown, navy, taupe and patent. We also like the sexier, sleeker cousin to the Carma, this season’s Fiona, which gets a slightly higher style and slightly lower comfort rating.

Read more

/by

Intrepid Women Series, Part 2: Trapeze School

trapeze2.jpgtrapeze-pic.jpg

How many times has this happened? You’ve had a super-stressful day at work: phones ringing off the hook, boss yelling in your face, long on hours and short on appreciation. You lean back, close your eyes for a minute. You picture yourself letting go and flying through the air, weightless and unburdened. Soaring like a bird, looking down on your office building, which suddenly looks tiny. After a few deep breaths, you are refreshed, ready to finish up that report in time to have it in your boss’s inbox by 8:00 am.

While its possible that you are a bit less mental than me, and don’t often engage in this fantasy as frequently or at work, every girl has dreamed of flying at least once. So, you can imagine my childlike glee when I learned that I could fulfill my lifelong dream by enrolling in a lesson at New York’s Trapeze School. Along the West Side Highway in downtown Manhattan’s Hudson River Park, the trapeze school operates outdoors in the summer and under a big-top tent when it gets colder.

Read more

/by

The Best Work Shoes – Flats Category

The best work shoe is a topic often discussed with reverence among circles of professional women. All of my friends are on an almost messianic quest to find the work shoe that is comfortable yet stylish, affordable yet durable.

Though these choices are hotly contested, the following are the top three contenders for Best Work Shoe in the World in the Flats category:

  1. french-sole.bmpFrench Soles, Helium Flat. Standing the test of time, French Soles are the original ballerina flat, and have been around in relatively the same form since 1978. Extremely comfortable, with a cushioned sole, the sides come up higher than your normal flat. This may provide additional support, or prove irritating to the ankle bone, depending on the shape of your foot. These shoes come in a virtually unlimited array of styles and colors, but we love the Helium model, with its Chanel look-alike quilting and adorable bow. This model comes in black, bronze, silver, gold, and brown, and is available in leather, suede and patent. Prices start from $225.

Read more

/by

Intrepid Women: A Power Lunch at Peter Luger’s

steak.jpgThe Intrepid Woman Explorer series is designed to bring our readers a close-up and personal view of some activities and elements of business culture that have been historically male-dominated.

So I thought, what better way to kick off the series than a review of my recent dining experience at Peter Luger’s, the legendary Brooklyn steakhouse that has defined the experience of power lunches and expense account dinners in New York for over 120 years.

Read more

/by

Golf for the Girls? Is Golf Interesting or Boring?


Nicki Gilmour invites you to Golf Lessons with a Pro +Wine

Chelsea Piers, NYC

10th October 2007, 6.30pm -8pm then drinks.

It is always great to get out of the office and pretend to be working. Doesn’t it seem that way when people are out playing golf? “doing deals” -working on their tans I think is what really happens. Nice excuse, especially if it is strutting around Palm Beach.

The other day I went to Connecticut with a friend to do some Kayaking on the Sound and there was a beautiful green course with old guys on it. No women. In the bar after, lots of men enjoying fine seafood and wine. No women.

I have decided to investigate this further by getting a group of fun women together to hit a few balls and drink wine, we can truly decide if golf is boring or if we are just being told that to keep us off the course.

Want to join the experiment? Contact me directly nicki@glasshammer2.wpengine.com

After hitting a few balls and hopefully not decapitating anyone in the process we will have a few drinks at the bar.

If it goes well we may actually go to a golf course and practice a bit so that next Spring when invited to a business golf affair we won’t be totally embarrassed and maybe, just maybe we can beat the boys at their own game.

/by