Sunday, January 27, 2008 - Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Alamogordo NM
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Hopping from gotcha to gotcha
Maybe, maybe not. As long as my TP gotcha had me at Wal-Mart yesterday anyway, I thought I'd see if I could find an upgrade for the cheapo hand held vacuum I've been unhappy with. There wasn't much to choose from but I picked up a little Dirt Devil Power Reach that looks like it will do the trick. It looks to be more powerful, easier to empty, and more versatile than the cheap little thing I've been using. So far so good. I gave it a test run when I got back to the park and it works pretty well with good suction and the hepa filter catches the dust instead of letting half of it blow on through like my old cheapo vacuum. The crevice tool could have a longer hose but I think it will be ok as a tradeoff I can work with.
So here's the gotcha
When I went to Amazon.com to get the links to put this paragraph together I found the consumer reviews there almost universally pan the Power Reach. Gotcha - I should have read the reviews first.
But then again what do I care? My needs are different from those of the average consumer who seems to be largely unhappy with the short hose for the wand and a lack of power to the rotating brush. Aside from those shortcomings, which I think I can live with, the thing seems to be pretty well built and there is little on the market to choose from in the handheld vacuum category these days that is not cordless. I don't think I want a cordless vacuum for the RV.
Night camp
Site 8 - Oliver Lee Memorial State Park, Alamogordo NM
- Verizon cell phone service - good signal
- Verizon EVDO service - very good signal and access speed ( I have to qualify this - during my January 2008 visit the signal and access speed was excellent - in January 2009 it was practically non-existent during the day and slow at night with unpredictable short periods of excellent access)
- Go to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park website
- Go to Oliver Lee Memorial State Park on my Nightcamps map
- Check the weather here
Relive Your Traumas
I suppose you have to relive your traumas in a way that is somewhat controlled and contained in order to move on from them. Some things you can walk quickly away from and never look back and other things bid you look again and again until you see something of the truth of them. I believe you have to let yourself remember and relive, that you have to find a way to settle with your past because you and it are always going to occupy the same headspace - you cannot separate yourself from anything you have ever done or seen or thought. You have to be able to look at the elements of the past without flinching and I believe that sometimes takes a few kicks at the cat. Or it does for me, anyway. It doesn't change anything - but it makes it easier to be comfortable in my skin.
Living Art - Photography and Stories By Catherine Jamieson