FitBit Craze

          Everyone these days seems to have a FitBit or a similar device to help them count their steps, count the number of stairs they climb, monitor their sleep, or whatever.  Fitbit seems to be leading the pack among the people who I know and I have one on my wrist most days as well.  My husband keeps his tracker on his wallet in his pocket.  Both seem to work fairly well on counting the steps but there are definitely some bugs in the counting.

          I went to the wrist one after losing the clip-on type twice.  I prefer the clip-on because it counts stairs and the wrist one does not.  Also, should you forget to wear it on a day when you are particularly busy walking about places, you're just out of luck.  You can add your steps for an additional workout but it won't show up in the "comparison with friends" charts which is great fun to see what you are doing versus your friends with the same devices.  And I have yet to find a way to input stairs climbed without the clip-on Fitbit.

          This past weekend, my husband and I were together 72 hours, walking the same places, stopping the same times, stopping in the same places, walking basically almost exactly the same and yet I had over 2000 additional steps over his recorded Fitbit.  Wow, I must have danced my way to the toilet the one time I went in a public place because it certainly wasn't 1000 steps to walk through the door and into a stall and back out again!  amazing.  I have also discovered that some of my crafts tend to add additional steps.  When I am hammering some jewellery, each swing of the hammer gets me an additional step.  isn't that amazing that I could go 10,000 steps in a day when I have only walked downstairs, around the house, and out to my workshop and back.  That one particularly irritates my hubby when I have so many more steps than he does in a week yet I haven't gone anywhere.

          I was less than impressed with the sleep function.  I had tried it on my previous Fitbit and it was rather ridiculous in its estimation of my sleep patterns.  On the nights when I slept only on my back because I had a cat on top of me, I got a full 7 hours of sleep without waking once.  Amazing since I got up to go to the bathroom twice and repositioned the cat about 4 times.  And on the nights when I didn't have a cat on top of me and was able to turn over several times, I would "wake" about 76 times during the night.  So I am either totally rested or totally screwed.  I gave up on the sleep function. 

          So with everyone using their Fitbits to stay in shape, to make their goals, to track their sleep and to monitor their calories, I just have a OMG, do you really believe it is so accurate as to build your health and welfare and life around its software and counting?    I wear mine because it is just fun to see how far I've gone in a day.  It is not my physical fitness guru.  It's just a tool to be used with common sense.  yep, common sense.  

Frikkin Fire Drills and False Alarms

I am probably doomed to perish in a fire.  Gosh I certainly hope not but it definitely could be a possibility.  I have no idea how fast a fire moves or how long you can manage before the smoke overcomes you.  AND unfortunately, I have been in SOOOO Many dang frikkin fire drills and alarms that I have become inured to their importance.   

Maybe 10 years ago or so, twice, (different hotels, different states, different cats, different times), I was in a hotel with my daughter's cat and with my two cats..  Someone pulled the fire alarm when I was with my daughters cat and it was during the day so I was able to quickly grab him and stuff him in a carrier.  BUT on my way out the door, I also grabbed my computer and my purse.  Went outside and sat on the bench in front of the door until the fire department came and cleared the alarm.  The second time with cats, I was on the fourth floor and it was the middle of the night.  The cats were sleeping on the bed with me when someone pulled the alarm.  The noise is so loud and tumultuous and ear splitting plus a bright red light whirling in the room that the cats immediate dove for cover under the KING SIZED BED.   I was not leaving without my cats (although I know that one is supposed to do so but my cats are family!).  Took me probably 5 minutes to corral them and get them stuffed into a carrier and that involved throwing the mattress and springs onto the floor so I could reach them under the bed.  This alarm truly terrified me at the time because it was the middle of the night.  I do remember I called the front desk and they assured me they were looking into the matter but I had best vacate my room.  Again, I grabbed my computer and purse and trotted down the flights of stairs and shivered in the cold morning air because I had forgotten to put on a jacket.  At least I was sleeping in pajamas at the time.

Of course both of these were alarms and not drills but still, I didn't get out as fast as I could, I took my time to get my cats and my most important possessions.  My bad.  One other fire alarm was in Singapore.  No cats at the time but we lived on the 33rd floor.  That is a LONG way down the stairs.  Probably took us 15 minutes or more as people were coming out on each floor to join the procession plus some flats had stored their bicycles and grills and such on the stairs.  They bad!   Plus my hubby wanted to stop on the floors where we had friends and made sure they were not in their apartments but we figured they were ahead of us on the stairs.  This is the ONLY time there was actually a reason for the alarm being pulled and it was some of our friends where the wife had caught a skillet on fire and there was a lot of smoke in their apartment but her husband had put out the small stove fire before the alarm was pulled.  She ran and pulled the alarm because she was a nutter.


And one time in the Science Museum in London.  We're on the top floor when there is a fire alarm.  This was mid winter when it was actually quite cold.  By the time we reached the ground floor, personnel was stationed at all stairs and they would not let anyone retrieve their coats so I'm outside in 2 degree C weather, with a wind, and no coat.  AND they had to wait for the fire brigade to come and clear the alarm before we could go back inside to get our coats.   I no longer check my coat when I go somewhere unless it is just a jacket that I could do without for an hour or so.


In a very crowded theatre watching We Will Rock You.  In the middle of a song, the performers stopped singing and left the stage.  OMG.  Then the "Safety Curtain" descends and we had never seen that happen before.  No one in the audience knew what was happening so everyone just sat there for maybe 2 or 3 minutes.  There was no smoke or heat or alarms.  Finally staff opened all the exit doors and started shouting for people to leave the theatre.  A disgruntled employee had pulled an alarm backstage but we never heard it at all.  So out into the cold (with my coat this time) and wait for the fire brigade again to come and clear the theatre and 45 minutes later, we get back in to see the rest of the show.  


There have been a couple of other hotels where the alarms have been pulled and I have exited at my leisure, making sure I have my important stuff.  And there have been drills, so many drills.  Work place drills, hotel drills, restaurant drills, gym drills, store drills and others.  Usually there is a sign or an employee will mention that a drill is being held at such and such a time and please cooperate and exit as quickly as possible.   Never any smoke, never any heat, never any problem with calmly getting up and walking out with my stuff.  apparently my stuff is quite important to me!


Yesterday I was in an unannounced drill and it was only a partial drill at that!  I was at the gym and you might recall that I hate going to the gym.  Any excuse not to go.  But I was there and walking fast on the treadmill and watching Chuck on my iPod.  I think I heard something going off but I wasn't paying any attention as I was focused on Chuck and his cornucopia of problems with being a secret computer nerd spy.   Suddenly a lady jumps up on the treadmill next to me and taps me which was quite startling but she shouts "Fire Alarm".  I took out my earplugs and yep, it was going off quite loudly.  I think I didn't pay any attention to it because the music is usually way too loud so I must turn up my iPod as well.  I "emergency stopped" the treadmill, gathered my iPod and walked out.  People are leaving the gym and walking down the stairs but I detoured into the ladies locker room and got my purse and my coat and my keys.  Yep, stuff is definitely important to me.  But no smoke, no fire, no shouting, no running.  Some poor ladies are in the shower, some are half dressed, some are totally nude, and they are not really hurrying so I meandered out as well and when I got to the front of the hotel where my gym is located, it appeared that the only people involved in the drill were the people at the gym and the people at Starbucks and the pub.  There wasn't a single person out there who I would have counted as a hotel guest or hotel staff.  No housekeepers, who have a distinctive uniform or front desk staff who also have a distinctive uniform.   Everyone was dressed in gym attire or swimsuits and surely, at the time of day that this happened, one would have expected to get some executives over for lunch in their suits, or at least one or two hotels guests dressed nicer than sweaty T-shirts and trainers.   And it was a drill because no fire brigade showed up to check the alarm.  Once outside, it was less than 3 minutes before we were allowed back inside.  The Starbucks staff appeared to be the only employees outside with the gym attendees.    The end run of this drill was that I went back in to get my gym bag and then went home to do my errands. Didn't even want to take a shower there in case they figured we hadn't responded quickly enough and wanted to do it again.  


So I have become lackadaisical with fire alarms and fire drills.  No experience with the real thing - thank goodness - but then that gives me no frame of reference for how much time I really do have to get out.   I am probably doomed.