Rob's Rumpus Room

Roomba.

Mayumi and I have been talking about a roomba for about 2 months now. We have been looking for ways to decrease our workload at home and give us more time with the baby, and with each other. Last Friday night I was going to buy a roomba at Target. We went there and did a little shopping, then I head on over to the vacuum aisle with a jaunty walk and a screaming kid. Scan scan scan. Hey! They are all gone. No more roomba at the Target, I lament as I wrent my clothes in the anguish of my heart.

During last week I visited the Irobot store several times looking at roomba. I pondered how I could achieve this sexy little guy locally. Then I promptly forgot about it.

I was a good husband last week. I did laundry; I cooked great meals, and Friday, oh Friday. I left work early and instead of playing some games when I got home, I convinced George to head on over to Lowes with me to get some groceries for dinner that night. I made a (pardon my humble opinion) awesome pot of spaghetti and meat sauce, garlic bread, brochette, and salad. Don’t discount that salad just because its last, it ROCKED TOO. This was after I vacuumed the house, did laundry, and cleaned the bedroom. So George and Kimi come over and we have dinner, then go to Mayumi’s favorite asian market and buy a lot of stuff. What a happy day. I get some good daddy time off Sat so I go to Best Buy to buy some virgin mobile phones. After walking the store I see it. Roomba! I have a choice of the fire-engine-red $150 puppy or the $250 “discovery”. The main difference seems to be that the discovery has more buttons, and will go recharge itself if it gets tired. I get the cheap one.

I sneak it inside and get it on the charger and spend the next 7 hours in anticipation of exciting the wife. Time passes. Dinner is eaten, baby sleeps, surprise is sprung. I tell Mayumi I’ll vacuum. I walk downstairs and emerge with the roomba fully charged. Place it on the floor, and for the next hour we watch it and giggle as it makes its crazy path across the floor. Upon completion I remove the dust-bin and gasp. There has to be 6 cubic inches of cat fur in there. After a recharge it does the same thing upstairs with similar results.

This thing has some cool path finding, especially when its in a tight space and looks to be stuck, it never got lost in such a manner as to give up. It doesn’t have the strongest vacuum on the market, but it does pick up most stuff. This morning before leaving for work, I plopped the little girl down and left her to her work as I went off to my work.
When I get home, the living room will be freshly vacuumed, which gives the added bonus of meaning that the room is also straightened up. I spend the time to clean up, roomba takes care of the vacuuming up. Fair deal I’d say.

Posted by Rob at November 15, 2004 10:56 AM