OUR HOSTS: 

Corinne Foxx - @corinnefoxx

Natalie McMillan - @nataliemcm and @shopnataliemcmillan 

What we're drinking: David Hill Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 

TOPIC: 

Women are more than twice as likely to experience fear walking or jogging in their own neighborhood at night, allowing maintenance workers inside their home alone and taking the garbage out alone at night. Today, we’re talking about why that is and ways to protect yourself in any situation. We share our top apps and products for personal safety, best practices in home security, and advice that we got from a female cop on how to stay safe in public. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why most women are more fearful than men when it comes to personal safety
• Trusting your instincts 
• Apps that you can download to feel safer in public 
• The best personal defense tools to carry with you 
• What we use for home safety systems 
• Why you should always do a test run of your personal safety devices

RESOURCES MENTIONED: 

• Noonlight App 
• Strava App 
• Be Safe App 
• Keychain whistle 
• Birdie Personal Alarm
• eAlarm Plus Personal Alarm  
• Flare bracelet  
• Keychain striking weapon
• Honey Comb hairbrush concealed dagger  
• Taser 
• Pepper spray 
• Ring video doorbell 

END OF THE SHOW: 

Corinne and Natalie introduce Hottie of the Week: Jason Momoa 

WINE RATING:

David Hill Estate Reserve Pinot Noir  = 8 / Jason Momoa

WRAP UP:

To wrap up the episode, we play Fuck, Marry, Kill. Corinne asks Nat to choose between the Powerpuff Girls and Nat gives Corinne the option between Hollywood’s hottest skinny, white, tattooed guys: Travis Barker, Machine Gun Kelly, and Pete Davidson. 

We have a brand new newsletter for our Am I community. You can sign up for the newsletter on our website: amidoingthisrightpod.com

You can email us for episode ideas or Random Advice: amidoingthisrightpod@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @amidoingthisrightpod 

Don't forget to rate and review the podcast! It really helps us grow!

[00:00:08] Natalie McMillan: And I'm Natalie McMillan.

[00:00:19] Natalie McMillan: And each week we cover a new topic and we drink a new bottle of wine.

We have to be safe out in these streets. And so your girl has an anxiety disorder. I think everyone's trying to get me.

[00:00:53] Corinne Foxx: to look at also I love true crime and so.

[00:00:57] Corinne Foxx: of a new thing for you? Well, I grew up on true crime. My mom is like my, all my mom watched was, uh, it was TV. No, it was not curvy.

It wasn't, it was before it was ID. It was the, um, what was the name of the

[00:01:11] Corinne Foxx: CRI Waze or something called, like, it was like evidence, TV. It was like all the true crime, all. Uh, husband's going rewind. I no,

[00:01:23] Corinne Foxx: it called? You have to look it up now.

It was, they changed it to ID, but it used to be, um, it's where forensic files was on. Yes,

[00:01:31] Corinne Foxx: court TV.

True,

[00:02:08] Natalie McMillan: my mom was all up in and around court TV every single day. Nancy grace was on court. TV.

[00:02:25] Natalie McMillan: now?

We're drinking the David Hill. Reserve peanut new war. And it's from Williamette Oregon. I love Oregon Pino.

[00:02:36] Natalie McMillan: faith with this one. I'm going to pour myself a little glass, Corinne porters. I also probably, I just ate a lollipop. So this might on the first go not be smart, but we're going to find out might be a little off.

Okay, but I have a little surprise. The surprise for you. Surprise. Surprise the surprise. Okay.

[00:03:08] Natalie McMillan: I know. And I thought, oh, I should give him to her now, but then. It would ruin this. You

She recommended, but then I went to go get them and they were sold out. I

[00:03:27] Corinne Foxx: them where. Yeah. So I got the everything, but the bagel, potato chips, which I'm not going to lie. We're average, maybe below average, they were a four out of, out of 10. Oh

That's why I got them. So you can try it on air

[00:03:47] Natalie McMillan: this though. Well, ASM are though. Oh, that was good. Yeah. In my ears. I was like, Ooh. Oh my God, are those not the best? Oh, this is going to be a problem. Oh, I go through like three bags a week.

I'm not even kidding

[00:04:08] Natalie McMillan: peppery Pirate's booty, but more luxurious.

[00:04:22] Natalie McMillan: I don't want Nancy grace knowing my name. Let's just say that. There we go. Well, basically every single day. Live with fear, not paralyzing all the time, but it's always there. It's omnipresent. Whether you're walking out of work in the dark, or you're asking a friend to watch your drink, we all know some personal safety tips, but we figured it's time to brush up on them.

Maybe even learn a couple of new ones. Okay. Yeah.

anywhere

Cause you know, people like to steal French bulldogs. Oh yeah. If people come up, if they get even a little closer, I grabbed the pepper spray and look at them straight in the face. Like I will pepper spray your ass. I feel

And I always feel bad because I feel like the guy walking can see me and he's like, I think he's like, man, I'm not going to do anything. Yeah, well, not even

[00:05:28] Corinne Foxx: trusted. So let your guard down ladies. So we like to start a lot of our episodes with some facts. So here's one, here's a fact so strongly.

Under privileged women. Those with relatively little education and older women are most likely to feel afraid to go out in the daytime. Wow. This is interesting young educated, urban women, students who have never been married and do not live with a partner are more afraid to go out at night. But. Those women are precisely the women that are likely to do so because they're young and they want to go out, but they're also the most afraid to go out at night.

So 60 days to fireball, right? What's also interesting is that 68.6% of women are afraid to go by certain streets. You know, I won't go down that one, but I'll go down this one. And then 69.4% are afraid to be in places with few people, nonetheless, to go out. At night alone. Oh,

[00:06:35] Corinne Foxx: Hell no, I can barely like if I have to go to the grocery store at night, I can barely get from the grocery store to my

[00:06:45] Corinne Foxx: night. I've never went at night, but if I, if I had to, I'd be afraid about the 30 seconds in between my car and

You just never know what's going to happen. Yeah. Another little fact here that women fear everyday life scenarios, more than men and are more likely to express quote unquote, great fear of certain scenarios like sexual assault, physical attack, and mugging. According to a new study, they're also more than twice as likely to experience fear walking or jogging in their own neighborhood at night, allowing maintenance workers inside their home alone and taking the garbage out.

Uh,

Convinced I'm going to be murdered. Oh,

[00:08:10] Corinne Foxx: Yeah, well, I mean, it's pretty obvious. Women are more likely than men to be domestically abused. So if they're hurt by the men that they love, they're afraid that strangers could hurt them. But it makes sense. It makes sense. And there's other reasons too, women are scared any crime could lead to rape. So the fear of sexual assault is shadowing.

Every other fear and men are not nearly as likely to be raped as women are, women are physically weaker than men and women. You know, they can't fight off an attacker, especially as they get older. And also we've been socialized to be afraid. All the things that parents tell their children, socializes, that they should be, feel responsible for their own safety.

And yeah, we socialize girls to be terrified and we socialize boys to be tough. Wow. That's very true. That's all. According to Jody lane, who is a university of Florida sociology professor. Hm.

But we're just smaller. We're just smaller people. I mean, a lot, you know, of course men can build more muscle, but there's some women out there that you and I could take down a mother like that. You know what I

That personal safety. It's self defense defense. My self defense class, because I do think I'm strong, but I wouldn't know what to do, but I mean, I will say there's times, sometimes me and Joe read. And I say, okay, like really try hard, like grab me. And I'm going to try to get out of this. And I can't, it's tough, you know, I really try, but guess if I had adrenaline pumping, maybe it could have more force and maybe I'm like, I don't want to actually hurt him, but I'm like, I sometimes will pin me and I'm like,

So this just reminds me, my friend, Casey. She was here this weekend and she was talking about having what she calls quote unquote, big girl privilege because she's six feet tall and she was like, I am never like men do not try to push it. Because they're not going to try to fight a six foot tall woman like jacked.

Yeah.

[00:10:22] Natalie McMillan: instructor. Yeah.

[00:10:30] Natalie McMillan: safety? Okay. Okay. Well, according to east Tennessee university.edu, You know, number one, reduce or eliminate opportunities that may make you a target to increase awareness in the places you're most comfortable.

You can let your guard down when you're most comfortable. Okay. Three, trust your instincts, regardless of feeling embarrassed. I do that all the time. That's sort of like that. If you're going through and you feel bad. You've got your pepper spray out. Oh yeah. Don't feel embarrassed. I feel bad. That's true.

And then four prepare your schedule daily with safety in mind.

[00:11:17] Natalie McMillan: to the store. Daylight,

[00:11:26] Natalie McMillan: safety?

Okay. Well, these actually came from the Catholic university of America. That sounds like a Colt, another.edu. It sounds like a gold though, but they've got great tips. Okay. So first tip, stay alert, competent and aware of your surroundings. Walk purposefully, and make eye contact with people around you. Trust your instincts.

[00:11:58] Natalie McMillan: to me. I think it's a combo though of you're walking with purpose and you're looking them dead in the face.

[00:12:05] Natalie McMillan: I see you. And also if a cop were to ask me what you look like, I know. Okay. Next tip. Avoid alleys shortcuts and vacant lots. Stick to well lit busy streets. Make sense. Walk with a companion whenever possible. Avoid displaying large amounts of cash. So use ATM's during daylight hours only.

I could be better about that. And if you are being followed abruptly changed directions, stay in a well lit area and seek safety in a public building. Oh wow. That's smart. Yeah. Go into the nearest

That was smart. Yeah. I was like, I followed

[00:13:00] Corinne Foxx: about that. Yeah, Gary. Well, there's a few apps that you guys can have as well that can help your personal safety one.

Yeah. So the. Safety apps are simple to use in a panic situation. And noon light is literally as simple as you get. It's like one button. So yeah, all you have to do is press your finger on the screen. If you feel unsafe at, after you lift your finger, the app will wait 10 seconds for you to enter a pin number in case it was like a false alarm.

And if you don't enter the pin noon, light will first attempt to contact you over the phone. And if you don't answer, the company will then contact the. Authorities and direct them to your location. So basically like when I take Archie out at night, when Joe isn't over, I am holding noon, light down the whole time.

Totally PS. But if someone were to run up on me, I would release it. And then in 10 seconds they would send a pin to the police. Like, this is exactly where she is. But sometimes they accidentally release it and I forget to put the pin in and they'll text me like, are you okay? What's going on? We're sending someone like, stay safe.

Oh shit, sorry. Hi. Sorry. I'm good. But you do have to pay for that service because there is someone like 24 7. Yeah. But. It really makes me feel safe. So

So you might even have it already in order already use it, but there's a helpful feature on it called beacon that shares your real time location with anyone you choose along with what time you started your activity, how long you've been acting. And your phone's battery percentage, which is super cool.

And if you set up a check-in time with your chosen friend, they'll know when it's time to get worried, so they can also share your GPS with the, that was good

[00:14:56] Natalie McMillan: Well, we don't know.

We can't even, we can't even get into that

If you hit SOS now, you don't want to hit that. You know,

[00:15:34] Corinne Foxx: Um, the app also shares your location with friends and lets them use GPS to track your journey. And finally, there is a useful fake call feature that gets your phone to call you, which would just be helpful on a bad day.

Yes,

[00:15:56] Corinne Foxx: so that one's called be safe, be safe, but along with apps, you can also have alarms on your person

So for one. Very basic, but there are a little, there are whistle key chains that you can get, you can get them at like sporting goods stores or just even on Amazon. There's a ton of options. You can just pop one of those on your key chain. They are allowed

[00:16:29] Natalie McMillan: I think I said one time, it's like rose from what did she, she goes

on her little slab of whatever she's on the door. There's also personal alarms. So there is one called birdie. I have that one, which is basically just this little thing. You can connect it to your keys and. Pop it open it screams extremely loud and light.

Like if, uh, like actually it was walking in my neighborhood in a coyote, walked down the street with. That's crazy. I know. And so like how to approach my person. I went up pop that thing. It would've been so loud. It would have startled. It

should you ever find yourself in danger? So you can send your location in a text of five friends. You can receive a call that acts as your perfect way out of a sketchy situation, or it will connect you with 9 1, 1 direct blame. We love that. Yeah. And it's got the little built-in alarm. That is a real multi-use fan, but let's talk about defense.

Like, let's say we've pulled the alarm,

Do. Stab somebody literally stab somebody and it can also be used to break a window in your car. Okay. So like, I don't know, like it, should you plunge into a lake? You could yeah. Pop it open. Or

[00:18:27] Corinne Foxx: love that. Another thing that you can get is the honeycomb hairbrush, concealed dagger.

You guys were trying to make you guys for again, CIA

[00:18:42] Corinne Foxx: So it has an innocuous appearance of like a simple hairbrush, but the fully functional brush also acts as a sheath that conceals an eight inch dagger and rather than use metal, it is made from stiff nylon and fiberglass composite.

So it isn't sharp like a blade, but it's actually at least. Wow. No, that these are not legal in all 50 states. So you have to really look it up before some of these things that aren't legal. I, yeah. You have to look up like your states.

They might

[00:19:21] Natalie McMillan: that's why I say easy and legal way to carry protection without having to carry an actual weapon. When unlike a gun taser products can be easily purchased online. They're designed to incapacitate and attacker without causing permanent damage. So that is a way to offer an effective alternative to lethal force.

So

[00:19:42] Natalie McMillan: off. I just want to stop them. If you don't want to rip out the dagger from your hairbrush, you just want him to go down. That could be for you also pepper spray. A one second blast of pepper spray will render an individual incapacitated for 15 minutes to over an hour. Oh wow.

[00:20:03] Natalie McMillan: Yes, we've all got to have pepper spray. It's actually an inflammatory agent that will kick in immediately. It will induce coughing, choking nausea. It will dilate the capillaries of the eyes causing temporary blindness. Gosh, isn't that crazy? So unlike guns and firearms with strict.

Gun laws, pepper spray is legal in all 50 states. However, there are some regulations on what types of peppers break can be used, the strength of the spray and the size of the actual canister. So, you know, yeah. Keep, keep an eye on that. Also you can test it. You got to just give it a little test experts.

Believe that you should test it every 90 to 180 days. I've had mine for like five

[00:20:48] Natalie McMillan: Maybe you should get a new one. So they do have expiration dates. Oh shit. Mine's expired. So it says you may need to replace them every 12 to 18 months. Oh yeah. Yeah. Your girl needs a new

Yeah, I had. Go out on a balcony with me. I did not pepper spray

[00:21:05] Corinne Foxx: No, we just, we just sprayed it off the balcony to make sure it even came out. Yeah. I don't know. Maybe there's water in there. Who knows? But no, I did not spray Joe, but I did have him like test it with me. Yeah.

And that's what you should do. Yeah. And what about Macy's? I'm the same

[00:21:37] Corinne Foxx: like bath salts, like those people, like who like lift up cars, like you can't take them down.

Sometimes they have like superheroes.

[00:21:54] Corinne Foxx: spray ladies.

[00:22:00] Corinne Foxx: What about our home? Yes. So you also need to wire your home for your personal safety.

You can get indoor cameras that stream to your phone. So one of the first home security features that many people install is security cameras and wild, old fashioned security cameras did their job well enough these days we prefer. Smart security cameras, which allow you to monitor your home right from your smart book.

So I have a little camera and I love to see what's going on outside on the balcony. Oh, aha. And if I like hear a little noise, sometimes I get scared and I'm like, okay, nothing's happening?

For

[00:23:06] Natalie McMillan: Yeah. The night vision is actually very good. Okay. The other thing you can do is a full DIY home security system. So if you're thinking, installing a security system, a DIY option can let you adjust it to your needs without overspending.

I only need like two sliding glass doors things and the video one, I don't need the whole package. Right.

[00:23:37] Corinne Foxx: room. And a lot of these like online security brands, like allow you to pick and choose what you.

You can monitor it yourself, or you can pay a monthly fee if you want somebody else to monitor a professional there's sliding door security bars for your patio. So sliding doors are known for having mediocre locks. And if you're worried about someone being. Open years from the outside, you might want to invest in a security bar.

So these are affordable products that are installed behind the door, that slides. And when you close the door, you simply put the bar up to prevent it from being opened.

And then last thing that you can get, and there's a million things, but this is the last one we'll talk about is a reinforcement lock for added protection. So if you can't install a deadbolt on your door, you might be looking for a way to further secure the entry of your home. And a reinforcement lock is definitely the way to go.

These inexpensive and highly rated locks are easy to install and they're designed to resist up to. 800 pounds of forest. So basically no one's getting in unless you want them to. Um, and I've seen those on Tik TOK too. A lot of girls who live alone well, like at these reinforcement locks for their doors on top of their locks.

Wow. Okay. So what about some general tips about all of these products and services that we keep talking about?

SOS sort

[00:25:45] Natalie McMillan: it.

Yeah. That's cool. The other general tip and it seems obvious. It's just something to really focus on is to have it ready. So whatever type of product you're using, it's only gonna work if it's quickly accessible. So if you're on a solo jog, you're walking home alone at night, or you're navigating a dark parking lot, have your device in hand.

Cause you know, you don't want to be digging through your purse. Like, oh, some guy comes out from behind a Bush. You need to immediately. Tase

[00:26:23] Natalie McMillan: What are they? The,

[00:26:28] Natalie McMillan: Yes. So this was kind of fun.

So a lady cup has these tips for

So do not comply. And instead runaway screaming, it is much more likely that they will just move on to an easier target. That makes sense. They don't wanna go down for murder. No. And, um, But even if they did, if you get in the car, they're going to murder you on the street, they're gonna murder you at some other place.

So you might as well risk and shot there. Got a chance. Just take it. Never go to a second. Location is number one. Another thing is while driving, this was something interest. Never pull over. If someone driving alongside soup points to your car, pretending something is wrong. So if this happens, drive to the nearest well-lit and populated gas station and look the car over yourself or ask the attendant, but believe it or not many women have fallen.

Fearing that there were like cars going to spontaneously like explode in the middle of the road, which is not likely. So some guys like, Hey, pull over. I'll help you. No, no, no. Nick now explode before

Calling the badge number. You do not have to open your door if they're like get out of the vehicle. Ma'am you do not have to, unless you're like, let me call your badge in first, because that's another ruse that men do really? Yes, because you can easily get the

[00:28:07] Natalie McMillan: Fucked up. All right.

Another tip. Always lock your doors while driving. We read several cases where an attacker simply walks up to a woman's car while she's at a traffic light and jumps in with gun and or knife drawn.

The guy gets in her car from the other. Grabs her phone and, and leaves, but I mean layman, but, and she was like, my back was turned she's like, and I was there for like, it looks like a long time, but it's literally. 30 seconds. Yeah. You know, put it she's like I was putting in your zip code where your credit card, it takes it.

And he just popped in, grabbed it and left. But imagine if you sat in there and she'd got in and she didn't know he was behind her, you know? Yes. It's

[00:28:59] Corinne Foxx: possible to even lock your cars when you're getting gas.

So they could just be like, you know what, I'm going to go ahead and don't post a picture of your keys because there is a thing now where people can take, they can like screenshot. If you put like, oh, new house, key, whatever they can screenshot at 3d printers.

And I thought, nah,

[00:29:44] Corinne Foxx: lots. We've talked about parking

You know, when they always say, do you need help out to your car? And we were like, Yes, sir. Yes, I do. I actually do a lot of women are abducted from, or even raped in parking lots.

[00:30:14] Natalie McMillan: your app. You're going to have your. You're going to be alert.

You're going to look people in the eyes. Yeah. You're going to have a hairbrush that, Hey, just kidding. I'm going to stab you in the neck. Yeah,

Jogs runs safely and securely. Yeah. And, uh, yeah, catch us in these streets, catch us in these

[00:30:47] Corinne Foxx: Um, so now let's circle back on the wine. We've been drinking this episode and intro or YT of the week. All right.

[00:30:59] Corinne Foxx: Oregon.

Okay. And are, how do you have the weekends

[00:31:13] Corinne Foxx: we escorted to my car by Jason, but I

Oh yeah. Like, so,

[00:31:32] Natalie McMillan: I personally would give it a Mamoa.

[00:31:39] Natalie McMillan: It's okay. That's why I said I personally, you know, I just live and breathe for a Willamette valley, Pinos.

The thing,

all right. This is the part of the episode where we play a little wrap-up game and this week we're playing. Fuck Mary . Mary Kay. It's been awhile. Do you want

[00:32:24] Corinne Foxx: I'll go first. Okay. So my fuck marry. Cal is bringing us back to our childhood.

Oh, it's not, I didn't choose it though.

[00:32:40] Natalie McMillan: buttercup. Okay. So bubbles was the green one,

[00:32:56] Natalie McMillan: But the green, she was my girl.

Okay. So I'm killing bubbles. I just going to kill bubbles cause like.

[00:33:07] Natalie McMillan: baby. She was a little whiny baby and like, Could she really like do much for me? I don't think so. Okay. So buttercup while she is my number one gal, I don't think she'd make a good long-term partner. I agree.

She had anger issues. She had anger issues. So I'm just going to, we're going to fuck. We're going to two different. Could you read it for buttercup? Yeah. And then, so I will marry blossom because blossom was just lovely.

[00:33:34] Natalie McMillan: leader of the group she was, and I need somebody like that to keep me in line.

So what are you doing that you'd be kept in line? Well, I just need somebody to like, you know, cause I can be all kinds of ADHD, very ADHD brain. And I need somebody to be like, Hey, yo, we're looking at this. You know what I mean? Yeah. I think Boston would do that for you. Yeah. So I'm going to marry her. Fun.

Okay. So mine is skinny, white tattooed boys. Oh, wow. I feel like you should be answering this. Well, you know, there's, these are the three of the fucking decades. I know Travis Barker machine gun Kelly, Pete Davidson. I

[00:34:16] Natalie McMillan: Okay. Okay. I get, but I'm annoyed with them though.

So I don't

[00:34:27] Natalie McMillan: the skinny tattoo tattooed white boys over the. I

[00:34:35] Natalie McMillan: it is. Karen and I are manifesting being in the same room as him just to like, feel the energy.

Yeah. It's

The women of a woman in Hollywood are under his trance. So w we have to have luck and we have to know what it is. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So that's off the table now. I there's no way Mary machine gun Kelly. I

[00:35:13] Corinne Foxx: Uh, but you have to, but I have to, so I would marry Travis. I would definitely, definitely fuck Pete Davidson.

And then I'd have to cut machine gun Kelly. I would agree on all three, just for his, uh, engagement ring

[00:35:37] Corinne Foxx: I just, I think he's a really nice guy though.

Sure. Super nice guy. He still must be killed. He must be killed in this scenario and this

[00:35:48] Corinne Foxx: All right. You guys, well, we have a newsletter. If you don't want to say. If you don't want to whiz, if you don't want to miss an episode, you can sign up on, am I doing this right?

pod.com also air we're bringing back random advice. Yes, we promise we'll actually do it. Yeah. We're going to do it really excited. You guys have been writing in, um, if you have something going on in your personal or professional life, you can email us at, am I doing this right pod@gmail.com or you can DM us at, am I doing this right pod on, on Instagram and.

So much we'll be back next week with another episode.