roomba

i bought a roomba recently, the robotic vacuum cleaner. i've been thinking about getting one for my mom because she's getting old. the apartment i'm staying in shreveport is carpeted, to my dismay, although i had little room for options since i was confined to finding a place that offered a 3-month lease. i was going back and forth about buying a vacuum cleaner. it's just so wasteful since i only need it for a short period. i could ask around the office to see if i could borrow from someone, but it's a difficult task if you're kind of antisocial. (while waiting for people to see a comedy show, i saw a couple of coworkers. instead of saying hi, i immediately pulled my cell phone up to my face and thanked my friend for picking up the phone. my dear, dear friend stayed on the phone with me until the people i was meeting showed up.)

i began a small hunt for a cheap, small vacuum cleaner, and while wandering around best buy, i saw a roomba. a friend of mine, who's into the latest gadgets, raved about her roomba. it had already occurred to me that it's a perfect for my mom, if it's not difficult to use. so i checked out the irobot website and ordered the simplest version with only one button that says "clean". i figured my mom can handle that. if its performance is satisfactory during my stay in this carpeted place, then my mom can have it when i leave.

i've used it twice, and i now understand why my friend was so crazy about it. it's so cute, like some little creature who does a chore for you instead of tearing into your food supply and shitting all over the place. when you start it up, it does a little tune, "do do do do". it then proceeds to roam around the room, bumping into walls and furniture as it sucks up dirt and whatever else carpet hides. (i hate carpet because i feel like it hides the dirt and whatever gross stuff settles on the floor.) i became engrossed, watching it as it moves around seemingly randomly. it's like watching a baby stumble about, learning its way in the world. but its bumping around is how it learns the shape of the room and will know to go over the entire space at least once, doing a thorough cleaning. amazing what good technology can do. i still hate carpet though. (the roomba apparently also works on hard floors too...)