When Technology complicates things

Technology that are fun and entertaining usually works fine; on the other hand technology that are designed for work often don't work or create unnecessary stress, worries and problems for people.

Why is that? Possibly because designing technology for work is boring and hard.

I can name quite a few examples of how technology has failed me and go on a rant about how I can't fix it so I contact those in charge to deal with it.  Most of the time I don't know if the technology got fixed or if it's never fixed and people just have to work around it.

It's frustrating really and a waste of time because if the technology work, I wouldn't have to contact those people in charge to resolve the problem. *Sigh*

Marketing 101 - Non-Difficult Customer Complaint

This month, maybe because it's Halloween, I feel like I've been tricked by local advertisers many times.  First, I could not locate an on-sale junk food item. Second, a boot camp free demo class I was looking forward to was canceled.  Lastly, a sales item that I thought was a deal was not a deal because I was expecting better quality so I could not make a purchase.

In the first situation (aka junk food situation), either I went to the store too late and other shoppers have hogged the sales item I was looking for or the franchise owner took them all away from the shelve.  I could not price match at a sistering store and the other store that was not related at all did not carry such brand.

In the second situation, I was told that no one registered for the free demo.  To that, I say "your advertising poster with your contact information was too small and it did not indicate that registration was a requirement at all".  I wasted gas traveling to your boot camp.  Anyways, extremely disappointed because nothing boot camp like was set up at all.  I have attended and completed at least one free one (1) hour boot camp demo, it was fun and registration was pretty much on the spot!

In the final situation, I was disappointed as soon as I touched the product and just left the store because I only had twenty (20) minutes to shop, I was heading to the canceled boot camp demo. I only shopped for five (5) minutes.

My 2017 Halloween Costume

Tagged Doll

Elite Spartan vs. Spartan

Being part of the Spartan network (just join their email list), I received their email notifying its readers of their call for 2018 Team Canada Spartan Applications.  I thought it would be fun to write up an application and submit it but decided to only complete the first half of the task but not the second half.  As in, I am going to write an application and not submit it.  Just from reading the cover letter alone, I know I am not what they are looking for already.  On top of that, Spartan Race is a popular event so I am pretty sure they will receive a lot of applications from qualified contenders.

I would be very qualified to be  Team Canada Spartan's Mascot.  It would be nice to complete a Spartan Sprint while dressed as a Spartan Logo.  Imagine the Spartan Logo rolling to the finish line.

I AM AN AVERAGE SPARTAN

This is a writing on how I do not meet the minimum requirements to be the 2018 Team Canada Spartan.

According to the Team Canada Guidelines, its objective is to find a Spartan in Canada who is most capable of achieving success at the highest level of international competition and promote the Spartan Brand.  First, I do not know the Spartan Brand well enough.  Second, I am incapable of achieving success at the highest level of international competition.

I shall not be considered for nominations on the following basis:

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
(i)   cannot finish in the top 3 aggregate spots in elite women/men unless only three contenders are in the elite heat;
(ii)  may not be able to compete in, and finish at least five of nine Spartan Races in Canada;
(iii) will not place at an international Spartan event;
(iv)  will not place at Spartan National Championships; and
(v)   will have to complete too many burpees due to failure in obstacles requiring skills like the spear throw.

SOCIAL REQUIREMENTS AND TECHNOLOGY KNOW-HOW
(vi)   anti-social, weirdo behaviour
(vii)  weak social media presence, in fact, borderline anti-social media mentality
(viii) daily user of blogs, scarcely post on instagram, does not even have Facebook installed on a mobile device, never understood Twitter or Snap Chat, etc...
(ix)   less than 750 followers in all social media accounts

It's nice to not meet the minimum requirement so I don't have to think about how I can write an interesting one (1) page essay demonstrating that I meet the minimum requirements and what else I can bring to the Spartan Brand aside from meeting the minimum requirements that many people cannot meet.

If there was a call for the Spartan Race Mascot, I am assuming I would only have to submit a five (5) sentences paragraph.  My five sentences would be something like this:

I would like to be the 2018 Spartan Race Mascot because I enjoy completing Spartan Races or trying my best to complete Spartan Races.  If each Spartan Race Mascot requires a nickname, I will be called "Aroo!!!".  To me, Spartan Race is a time I have set aside for myself to see how I am doing and see how other Spartans are doing!  AROO!!!

I don't know if that was five sentence but yeah.

My First Condo - Computer Sketch

Sketch Technology: courtesy of MS Paint.
Artist: Yours truly.
Hardware: Mouse, Keyboard

Artist's comment:  I began my sketch with the view of the entrance to my first condo from the stairways leading up to my floor.  The sketched door will be the final gate and door I have to go through in order to enter my home. 

Upon completing the front view sketch, I proceeded to work on the outside view to illustrate the open space parking lot concept.

Finally, I proceeded with the Aerial view to demonstrate how space was used effectively and efficiently in an area leading up to a mountain.

There are obviously more residential buildings and businesses in the area but I didn't have enough space on my canvas.

This picture would have been extremely crowded if I was to include everything I remembered on such a small canvas.  It was a great neighbourhood.  Very complicated for a child to navigate without guidance but once you are there for a while, it's pretty awesome!

If I were to draw the entire area as I remembered I would need a pretty big canvas.

I hope you like my sketch! Enjoy!

A place called Home

Recently, someone asked me, "roommates"?  The answer would be a definite no because I have enjoyed the privacy of living with family only for the longest time possible.

I have lived with a roommate once but it did not live up to all the perks I heard about.  Anyhow, I left my roommate abruptly and unannounced.  I just disappeared after getting all paperwork sorted out.  According to rumours, my roommate did not miss me but she did realize I was a better roommate when compared to others.

My journey to learn the value of the privacy of having your own home began in my first home which was a humble condo.  But I do not remember such humble beginnings, because soon after my birth we moved to another condo complete with a shared paved rooftop backyard where I got to let my dogs out and feed pigeons.  It was also a lot of fun climbing the stairs of our small rise condominium building.  The real rooftop would have been the tenth floor of the building.  We had elevators too, each equipped with a big manual heavy door that opened outwards.  It was a very fun building and the layout of it provided a lot of privacy for its residents.  To top it off it was right next to a mountain!!!!  I loved my first home.

My first home in Canada is a single dwelling home and I love it a lot too.  I have always wanted my own tree.  This one came with at least four!  I have thought about building a tree house on my favourite maple tree for the longest time.  It never happened but I am sort of glad we just let it be. It's easier to climb it now. 

Anyhow, when I think about my neighbours - sorry incomplete thought.  If you look at a community as a house then your neighbours are your roommates.

I've noticed the trend that as I grow older, my home provides me with more and more privacy.  If I revisit all my previous homes, the amount of space on a piece of land my family occupies grows as time passes.

This is my reality and my future will always be a dream.  Let's just say I'm in a dreamy mood.

Cracking Nuts

It is now fall and I have been diligently cleaning up our backyard much like our friendly neighbourhood squirrels.  As part of the clean-up, I have to pick up all fallen things like leaves, branches and nuts.  You see, our neighbours have Walnut trees so their nuts fall into our backyard all the time.

This morning, we tried to crack a Walnut open and it was impossible that's when I realize not only are squirrels armed with strong arms, they are also armed with strong teeth.  How impressive!

With that said though, our human teeth are capable of cracking a peach nut.  During Spartan Race this year, after finishing my peach, I did not want to spit out the peach nut containing the peach seed.  During a climb, my teeth cracked the nut opened.  It was my first time seeing a peach seed.  I threw it into the mountain hoping a peach tree will one day protrude out of the mountain.

Stay Strong

October 10 is the World Mental Health Day and also the passing of the late Amanda Todd.

The Second Sunday following Labour Day is the annual Terry Fox Run, the first Terry Fox Run was on September 13, 1981.  The late Terry Fox passed away on June 28, 1981.

All of the above information is courtesy of Wikipedia.  If any of the above information is incorrect in any way, please contact Wikipedia and not this author.

If you have been following my blog, you know that I do not like mobile devices, like cell phones.  In fact, at times, they are as dangerous as a gun.  Do we need a cell phone registry like the gun registry?  Yesterday, while thinking about the late Amanda Todd, I thought the onus on safe usage of mobile devices, like cell phones, should fall on vendors and distributors of such devices.

I know that Telus offers classes to its customers on how to use their cell phones.  I have never attended such classes because I am cheap so I am not a Telus customer.  It will be interesting if there is a safety component to such classes.  I believe it will be a good recap to parents as well on the risks and safety concerns of misuse of communication devices.

That was one thought I had while thinking about the late Amanda Todd.  Another idea I thought of was celebrating the life of Amanda Todd, much like how we celebrate the life of Terry Fox every year by way of an annual run.  Terry Fox ran the Marathon of Hope and we remember him with the annual Terry Fox Run.

Amanda Todd told her story.  If I was to organize an annual event in memory of her, I would like to host such event on a day that falls on her favourite season.  The participants (ie. storytellers) would have to be between the ages of 11 to 17.  The donors and attendees will obviously be the participants' parents and friends.  With that said, I guess if I were to name the event it might be named "Amanda Todd Tales".

Anyhow, obviously I have to contact Amanda Todd's mother Carol for proper permission if I were to attempt to organize such an event.  Just a thought, for now anyways.

I will stay strong. Always.

A moment of clarity

Two days ago, I wrote about not knowing what to do with all my new free time, worrying about people confusing me while I still need some time to think and finally not wanting to waste time.

I don't know why but last night I suddenly know what I want to spend time on.  Hopefully, I won't be discouraged when I look into it.

People have questions because they are curious about their world.  I have some questions that I don't think anyone can give me a proper answer so I want to study a question.  My own question.  Yes, so most likely I'll return to my University and take one course to do a thesis or independent study.

When I was an undergrad student, I never even considered taking such courses because I had no real question I was curious about.  On top of that, I made no connections with professors and the likes so I knew looking for a supervisor would have been a real challenge.

With that said though, at least I have the foundation from my post-seconday study to take on such projects when I am ready to.  I just need a little/brief refresher.  It would be exciting to study my own question because I will learn a lot during the process and be more confident in any of my future endeavours.

Going back to school as a mature student with some life experiences is nice because I am doing it for myself not because I am suppose to.

Hopefully, I'll have time to take one other optional course so I can work on a recreational project simultaneously with my more serious project.

So yeah. Happy Monday!

Teddy Bear 2

The 93' Teddy Bear never arrived at my local Costco so I'll just stick with these two existing household Teddys instead.

Just a little change

I don't like big changes but it happens.  For example, a major change in my life about a year ago was being unemployed. It was a big change because I had so much times on my hands.  A full-time employment life plus long commute is pretty normal.

It's been a year and I am no longer rushing to find a job or going for more training or education.  In fact, for the past year, I felt like society's mentality to rush, compete and achieve is putting unnecessary stress on people.

I am not a genius but I am smart, capable and not lazy.  I am not trying to judge anyone but it's hard to hide genuine reactions.  That's why I have always found it hard to be around catty people.

Anyhow, little changes.  Aside from not wasting 10 hours of my day everyday traveling to worry and solve other people's problems, I didn't change my habits too much.  I continued with exercising and eating healthy.  I attended to things I have been neglecting while I was working and I started to remember how life was like when all I had to worry about was myself and my family.

Lastly, just let mom be mom and dad be dad.  Mom wants to give me a facial, I say yes. Dad wants me to eat something I don't like to eat, I eat it anyways.

With that said, hopefully I find a right place of employment eventually or maybe I can start calling myself an entrepreneur by opening a lemonade stall on my driveway.

Crushes

Crushes in general is a very fun topic.  It gets less fun as you get older though or maybe I am not at that age yet where the fun in discussion returns.

Having a crush was a lot of fun in Grade 1 when the whole class was making fun of me and my crush.  I was pretty sure he liked me too.  Doesn't matter, I was so adorable so many boys were crushing on me in Grade 1.  I was so cute that an elderly old man put a grocery bag over my head while I was waiting for my mom at the check out area.  No worries though, I was cute but I sense danger so I removed the grocery bag immediately and glared at this old man.  He left me alone.  My mom never knew.

Unfortunately, my grade one crush and I were separated in grade two so the story ended.  The last boy that left an impression on me before I moved to Canada presented me with two gifts.  A pencil case and a photo frame.  Initially, the pencil case was his but I liked it so much and asked if I could have it.  I think he gave me the photo frame as a farewell gift.  It was very thoughtful of him.

After moving to Canada, language problems, cultural problems, no school uniform problems so I was called a hick.  Pretty sure nobody was crushing on me and vice versa.

Finally high school!  Long story short, didn't get any better.  In fact, I was the girl one group would talk negatively about whenever a new student arrives.  I still had crushes but nobody ever knew who such person was and how long I was crushing on them for.  I don't even have to imagine myself ending up with my crush because it would never happen.

After that, it's even harder to have a crush now.  When people tell me to take the initiative, I am really at a loss.  I am walking around with the following assumptions as a grown woman:

1.  All men are take
Or
2.  They are not interested

It saves a lot of time and heartache.

Teddy Bear

My parents never bought me a Teddy Bear therefore I am going to buy myself the biggest Teddy Bear available to the masses.  That's right, I am buying the 93" Bear!

From the advertisement I've seen, it's well design and made.  I will examine the said bear some more in store to see if it's worth the moolah~

If it is I will be bringing it home in a grand fashion!

It is available at a warehouse store, if I was decorating the store, I would have put a bear at every aisle at all sorts of levels so people can see the variety of poses it can do and the amounts of fun you can have with a gigantic stuff animal.

Anyways, it's pretty much sold in my head already.  I am waiting for the store to open to grab and go.

Still a dream. May be it will be sold out when I get there lol!

Sunday I might post a photo montage or sketch of the bear.

Snapchat should be banned exclamation mark

I have never used snapchat or looked into it.  I believe it is an application that allows users to chat with other snapchat users and send photos/videos which will disappear very quickly (maybe within 24 hours).

I think the photo/video component of it is not good.  I have no clue what types of photos kids are sending to each other because they know the photo/video will disappear very quickly.

All these communicative applications are really making it harder to be a teenager.  Thank god, I didn't have a cell phone when I was in high school!

Templates

Have you ever really spend the time to read a template?  I have.

I spent many years drafting from templates.  In my last few months of serious employment, while drafting, I re-read them for the first time ever.  I was in tears because I started wondering what the original writer was thinking when that person penned the template.

I have worked with so many templates by that point that I was not sure if I might have read this one before or if it was even how the first person wrote it.

It was really well written.  I was sobbing uncontrollably, the next day I never saw the co-op post-secondary placement student in my office again.

Work life can be a very lonely one but you are never really alone.

Playback fail

Yesterday was a Saturday, I had a very playful day hence the late posting.

Anyhow, I experienced Playback theatre for the first time ever.  In my opinion it was a fail because, initially, none of the audience wanted to participate at all.

I was not the hero to volunteer to be the first one to provide a story in my life for the actors/actress to play with.

Why did they fail?  (1) Every sample they gave, and they gave five, felt heavy.  Some were negative.  (2) The host don't know how to handle a cricket crowd.

A major annoyance about the host is that she interrupts.  She interrupted me as I was giving them the material, which was personal and important to me.  I could've say what I wanted to say better, if I was not interrupted.

Anyways, it felt like school again when the teacher asks students to read outloud for the whole class and no one wants to read.  Well, someone had to read.

The host should've known when to stop asking for another person to participate.

I went twice as a result.  Both experiences were important to me and I really disliked the host's interruptions.  I disliked it so much that I almost said the host was probing, she wasn't but she was asking questions that were not important.  I was clear and concise. I did not care who played me in my scene.  Whoever wanted to play me could have told me before the improv. 

Going back to the five (5) horrific samples, the demonstrators were all very vague with what they are saying and the host never interrupted the demonstrators.  Why is it that when a participant is participating, you are interrupting?  The host interrupted someone who was speaking loudly and clearly but not someone who was unclear and rambling.  I might have been more free with my experience if the host didn't interrupt me. I wanted to see what the actors/actress heard from what I was saying and how they would play it.  It would have been perfectly fine without a host holding two microphones.

Another critial fail was not explaining what playback theatre is before demonstrating it or stating what it is again after demonstrating it.  I might have missed the first explanation but if I was confused after the demonstrations, I would have paid attention to the  explanation immediately following the demonstration.  They  demonstrated it five times and I was confused.  Or maybe I got it. I don't know. It was that bad!

Anyhow, luckily they had a few nice audiences.  Imagine if no one helped them at all and someone starts playing the cricket sound on their mobile device everytime the host asks for participation.

If I was the host and had an audience they had today.  I would have asked if anyone had questions or required clarifications.  I know I would have asked questions for clarification if no one else asked.  I just couldn't jump in to participate after like five (5) vague but heavy subjects.

After the questions and clarifications I would have given people time to think about a time they want to share.  After that, I would ask them to shorten it in their mind.  Finally, I will ask if anyone wants to volunteer and see their playback!

I honestly did not want to see that group playing a playback for me from their five (5) demonstrations alone.  It was really bad.

Anyhow, valient effort by that group which I am not naming or promoting at all.

I know what you did last summer

This Friday the 13 happens to land on the month of October.  A favourite past time of mine was going to sleepovers.  Slumber Party!  This one time during a Slumber Party, we happened to catch the rerun of "I know what you did last summer 2"!  I think it was 2 anyway.  Boy, was it scary @_@!

While exhausting myself today during my doesn't make sense no purpose whatsoever training, I thought about the movie very briefly and how all old people were young adults and teenagers once.  I forgot how the movie ended, I just remember it was scary and something BAD happened last summer and the characters in the story were investigating or trying to recall what happened last summer.  Anyways, it was very confusing.

Watching fictitious movies and making deductions while watching such movie is fun but today I thought I can see how whatever happened last summer can ruin lifelong friendships.

Imagine this...

You and your lifelong best pals are all in your 40s, your kids grew up playing together and stuff (with and without adults' supervisions).  You and your pals were always very adventurous, naturally, your kids are just as adventurous.  Anyways, unfortunately, while your kid failed while trying to pull the same sort of stunt that you pulled off as a child and ended up in a major accident causing major bodily harm to your pals' kids.  Two or more generations of friendships could be ruined.

This October, be careful while trying to have fun!

Happy Halloween!

Companion

Some nights, I would think how great it would be to go out on an evening drive with a companion or to take an evening walk with a companion.  I have done the latter by myself quite a few times this year but I always think about some really ancient law that basically set a public curfew.  That's why I wish I had a companion so that I would be more courageous and stay out longer.

Last night has been one of those nights, it also doesn't help that my physical pain is keeping me up.  I want to see the doctor but the receptionist always makes me feel like the doctor has no time and that because I am not dying I am not a priority.  I will just wait for my late annual check up. Hopefully by then my body may have heal itself.

In the meantime, I am doing whatever I can to make my body feel better.  If I had a companion such person could help me.  I probably held a hard cover book for too long yesterday and irritated my body again.  It's sad when your body is injured and something as simple as reading a book can cause you pain.

As I watch my parents age, I am fearful when they are gone.  I am truly on my own for the first time ever when both of them are gone. 

Watching them is funny, they get into the most heated non-sense arguments but they always help each other out.

With that said they are not as nimble as when they were younger but they are still very healthy.  I am thankful for that.

Being thrown off

This Friday is not so leisurely for me because I have to work. 

Yesterday, I went to a job fair.  During the group activities, I couldn't think probably because most of us were thinking out loud.  In otherwords, we were discussing before I even have a moment to think.

One of the scenarios we read was something along the line of so and so is engaging in certain unacceptable activities and rumours have started.  What would your strategy be to deal with this situation.

The fastest person in the group immediately said talk to the person in question but keep in mind that they could lie.  I was so thrown off. 

I would talk to the person and hope that the person would talk to me so I know what is going on.  How can I know what to do when I am left in the dark?

Anyhow I think my group might have immediately jumped to their worse case scenarios immediately upon reading the potential situations.

I guess, being a girl, we use our fists to solve problem less.  Although girls may be a reason boys get into fights.

Anyhow, my group thought so far ahead in their plannings and strategies that I just had to run with whatever they were saying and contribute whatever I can.  Clearly, their imagined scenarios were at least slightly different from mine.

If I was a bull

If I was an animator, I would create an animation called "If I was a Bull.."

Over the weekend, I went to the Markham Fair and watched my first cowboy, rodeo, blah blah blah typed show.

"If I was a Bull.." think Dreamwork's movie "Spirit" the something stallion", think [insert studio] "Babe" that type of story.

If I was a Bull is obviously a working title and the protagonist is obviously a Bull.  Like many other family friendly animated animal movies, we start off with the birth of the Bull in a farm setting with no lyrics music and no human dialogues.  We see lots of warm, lovely scenes as the Bull grows up in a loving farm with the Bull narrating.

Now we transition to the Bull's first day of rodeo training which the Bull has been looking forward to.  Black Screen.  The Bull has fainted from a karate chop to the neck from its owner.  "What a weak little Bull" said the owner.

[Bull's training scenes and storyline to be written]

Bull first day at the show, Bull narrating proudly that he is performing in his first show. Whenever Bull manages to run away from the Bull catcher (aka cowboy), he proudly narrates that he ran away and whenever he is captured, he narrates that he skillfully let them capture him.

[storylines to be written]

Bull lost count of his days as a performing Bull, Bull narrating that he is now a hot commodity.  He is the Bull to beat.  No one can ride him, at least according to our Bull, the narrator!  Then for the first time ever, someone rode him until he fainted.

[more storylines to be written]

[ending to be written]

Other important characters: Bull's rival, the Angry Bull (which was actually the Bull to beat) - the antagonist, the McSteamy Horse Twins - hated by all Bulls.

Yes

Today, I chopped down a few tree trunks.  It felt great because I was able to complete what I set out to complete.

It's nice to be able to do things for yourself.  Anytime you are unable to complete something, you are at the mercy of another person.

Whenever I receive a no, I just have to think about all the time I said yes to myself then I don't feel so bad.

Markham Fair - October 1, 2017

I watched a Rodeo Tour show in Markham Fair over the weekend and also saw the photo exhibit of Horse at work.  One image from the photo exhibit was very impressive, it was a photo of a bunch of horses pulling a floating device over a large body of water.  That photo was black and white and probably taken more than 100 years ago.

The image was so powerful because only the heads of the horses were above water. They were either walking or swimming across a large body of water.  The photo I saw was taken shortly after they have left shore so I have no clue how far those horses traveled and pulled the floating device in water for.

While watching the Rodeo Tour show, I started pondering.  As I watched an amateur bull rider (they ride horses instead), try to stay on a horse while the horse was trying to kick the amatuer off, I started wondering how do they train for such things? and then I started wondering if they start training in a swimming pool.  After that, I started wondering if they can have the horse riding/bull riding part of the show done in a gigantic swimming pool instead of a sandy, soily track.  Then I started thinking maybe they have this type of bull riding show in water too and that's called "Dolphin Riding".

After watching the Rodeo Tour show, I am left wondering, if you could do an entire Ram Rodeo show at the deep end of a gigantic swimming pool.

Fire drills

I was a volunteer fire warden for my ex-office.  At first, I didn't really attend to my duties because, let's face it, everyone has practiced fire drills at some point in their life and it is very rare to have fire in a safe community.  No one takes fire drills seriously, at least not at the last building where I worked full-time.  Everyone is just waiting for the fire drill to be over so that we can go back to work.

Near the end of my employment, I had a feeling that I was leaving soon and wanted to pass on my useful knowledge to the students of the office.  I didn't attend the fire warden training for nothing.  The same content was covered every year.  The first fire warden training was the best we had a live presentation.  In my last year of work, they have changed that to video or voice conference training which sucked.

I was excited about my first fire warden training, I thought I would get to socialize with fellow office building mates.  Well, my building was not very social everyone just sat at their chair and listened.  Sad to say, I was fully concentrated towards the presentation with such a serious crowd but I learned a lot and here is what I shared with the students before my employment ended:

1.  There are at least two (2) stairwells in my building
2.  Crossover floors appear every five (5) flights of stairs and are clearly labeled.  In other words, if one stairwell is blocked off you can go to the other stairwell on a crossover floor.  That is what a crossover floor is for.
3.  Protect the most fragile parts of your body like the palm of your hands. (ie. do not feel doorknobs with the palm of your hand)
4.  Do not discard your shoes, even if they are heels.
5.  Practice walking the stairwells from time to time

I gave the students a very interactive presentation, I started the presentation at the door of my office, asked fun questions and showed them the closest stairwell to my ex-office and got them to try the elevator and etc because they are never present during a scheduled fire drill (either their placement hasn't started or has ended).

I also told the students that "in case of a fire drill, everyone rushes to the elevator or don't show up for work".

This concludes my report as a volunteer fire warden.  I would also like to point out that scheduled fire drills don't work.  We have announcement posters posted a week in advance informing us of the date and time of the scheduled fire drill.

Everyone likes to stand in front of the building instead of walking to their designated "safe" area.  If the building was really burning, I have no clue where people will actually evacuate to.

A great question to ask at the beginning of your presentation is "What do you do in the event of a fire".  The quick to answer student said, "stop, drop, and roll".  I responded with "good try, but you are not on fire yet so you open the door and leave".

I'm off to Markham Fair

I already did my chores before Sunday so yeah.