Number Five is Alive

So I've had my Roomba now for about a year now, and my how our relationship has grown. I call him Zach and Rich says I spend more time watching him vacuum the floors than I would if I just vacuumed the floors myself, the old-fashioned way. While this may be technically true, I can't say that he fully understands the complex relationship between me and my robot.

I watch his work like one would admire an artiste painting a portrait. Me: "You're really 'on' today, Zach. I'm loving you're work" OR "Oh Zach, you missed a spot, silly robot" OR "Zach -- I told you, don't go in the closet - how many times do I have to tell you!!". Sometimes I lose my temper with him, but I know deep down that he understands. After all, I care for him when his bins need to be emptied. When his batteries are low, I re-charge him. And even when his left wheel was failing, I gave him a new one.

Sometimes -- in the middle of the night -- I imagine that he's standing at the bedroom door with his lights flashing, watching us sleep (ok, not really -- that would be really creepy, right? Heh).

On a completely unrelated note, big ups to two books that made me laugh out loud this year, that's Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster and When you are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. I guarantee you much laughter with these books. Enjoy.