Fitness Trackers, Telling Time and Moving Forward

It doesn’t take much to make me happy. $32.00 to be precise. That’s what my new Fitfort Tracker watch cost which is considerably less that the Fitbit tracker it replaced that is selling for $149.00 unless you can find one on sale. The Fitfort finally came from Amazon---their two day, prime shipping went out the window during the pandemic---and I didn’t expect much for the price, but I was happily surprised at how easy it was to pair with my cell phone and to calibrate the blood pressure mode against my cuff style monitor. Once that was done, it’s shocking how easy and accurate it is to take your blood pressure through-out the day. Three touches to the screen and I know that my blood pressure, at this very moment, is 124/82. My internist will be pleased. Every time I’d go in for my by-annuals he’d grab my wrist and check the data on my old Fitbit until I finally got smart and printed him a readout of a week’s worth of information. Not sure if I can do that with this watch but it has functions I haven’t even begun to explore like a camera mode. Why would anyone want a camera mode on a watch unless you're a secret CIA agent like my ultra-ego likes to pretend?

What took me the longest to do with this tracker is to figure out how to tell time. One of the three time face choices showed a 15 over a 30 which confused the heck out of me. It wasn’t until a day later, looking at the faces again with one showing a 10 over 08 that it finally dawned on me that it was saying 10:08 and the 15 over 30 had to be military time. Duh! I’d rather have a digital style face or an old fashioned dial style but unlike Fitbit, the Fitfort doesn’t have those choices. At least the numbers are big enough to read without my glasses in the middle of the night. Fitbits sleep mode is much better which gives your rem, deep, light and awake time in percentages but I get too obsessed with sleep tracking so the lesser quality dashboard readings are probably good for me, will help break me of my obsession. The only other thing I like better with Fitbit is their very active user’s message board where you can get answers to just about anything. Fitfort doesn’t have a website or message board but for an extra $5.00 you can get a phone number that supposedly gives you 24/7 help. I paid it but don’t think I’ll ever need it. 

Back in the '90s my husband and I were kind of---what should I say---enamored with watches. Mine are mostly cheapies with plastic bands and faces featuring Monopoly, Gone with the Wind, Mona Lisa, Van Gogh, a paint palette and on and on with arty-farty themes. My husband had a lot of cartoon characters his favorites being Snoopy and Mickey Mouse. His tastes in watches ran from those you got out of cereal boxes back in the day to what I’d call expensive in the $300 range. I gave away his favorite watch after he died to the son-we-wish-we-had. But the others I’m getting close to listing on e-Bay, mostly grouped up and sold in lots minus a few to include individually in junk drawer lots. I really enjoy selling junk drawer lots. I do them by theme---World’s Fairs, Cowboys and Indians, radio premiums, auto related just a name a few I’ve put together. I’ve seen people list mystery boxes of stuff on e-Bay and I wish I knew who buys them and if they are happy with their surprise purchases. Not that I have an interesting selling or buying stuff that way, I'm just curious to know who spends $50 to $200 on something only described as "could be electronics, coins, toys or brand names things." No photos, no indication of how large the boxes are or if its new or used stuff.

I often wonder what I’ll collect once my display boxes and showcases are bare. I’d like to think I’ll just collect memories but I know I can’t hold on to them without visual clues to help pin the experience in my brain. Ya, I have day planners and blog posts to help me remember but I’m more visual than cerebral. If I didn’t know better I’d think I’ve got some Native American blood in my veins because I go through life metaphorically picking up peddles and feathers for the leather pouch I wear around my neck---souvenirs of the places I’ve been. My husband’s passion for collecting was more straight forward. He started out trying to buy back his childhood that two tornadoes, ten years apart, took away and dumped all over the county.

On the pandemic front: My lawn care service showed up and my yard looks great. I was able to score a 12 roll package of toilet paper, the first I’ve found since mid-March. And I’ve got an appointment to get my haircut June 1^st plus a house cleaning appointment the last week of May. That same week I’ve got a rescheduled eye doctor appointment lined up. The only other reschedules I’m waiting on are for a dental appointment, an infusion treatment for my bones, oil change appointment, a vet check and teeth cleaning for Levi and a guy to paint a ceiling. All of which will probably get backed up into July. I also got an email from the continuum care campus where construction has resumed. They’re going to have a new timeline figured out in a couple of weeks which will go a long way towards setting my world right again. And I’ve been shopping face masks online since it’s going to be the “fashion” accessory of the summer. Roll with the punches, isn't that what they say? Roll then get back up and start punching back. ©