July 7, 2010

Since I moved out of The Village into West Broadway a few months ago I've honestly been a bit more concerned than I usually would be about walking home. I live on a very nice, quiet street, but there's something to be said for the comfort that living in one of the busiest neighborhoods offers; there were always oodles of people around at any time of night, which made me feel safe. I love my quiet street and cute apartment, but I honestly get a bit nervous walking home sometimes when it's just me and the old elm trees.

That being said, it was a pleasant surprise when I received a cute personal alarm from ila security in the mail yesterday.
It's called the ila Dusk, and it basically looks like something you'd use on your car (but with a super cute pattern); it's a little rectangle of plastic with a chain on the end that, when pulled out, emits a super high-pitched noise that sounds like a woman screaming. The sound is 130dB which (according to Wikipedia) is enough to cause hearing damage and it louder than an ambulance siren. It shocked the hell out of me when I pulled out the chain, and I was expecting it! Basically it's a shock mechanism in case you're attacked, which in gives you time to run or call for help while your attacker is stunned.

I've been messing around with it for a while now and had it in my purse all day while I was at work and then running errands afterward to try and see how easily the chain would come out -let's get serious, I wouldn't carry around something that might start shrieking when I drop my bag on the ground- and you definitely need to give the chain a strong yank in order to pull it out, which reassured me that it won't interrupt a dinner conversation or scare someone on the bus at random.

It's funny that I received this when I did because I was chatting with a female co-worker about my age about staying safe in the downtown area and she was saying that she was trying to get her hands on some mace or something. Honestly I feel a lot more confident (and safe) carrying something that can't be used against me, such as mace or a knife or anything like that. Plus it's pretty cheap, I looked into it and they're about £19.50 which is $30, so what is there to say no to?

Obviously I hope that nothing ever happens to me (or you!) but it's always good to have a little extra help in case a bad situation arises, don't you think?