Emi's Journal

I don't know how long it takes to figure out all the little odds-and-ends of a place when you move in. Especially when that place is an RV. But I like to think I have at least a general understanding of my trailer. What things are, what they do, where they're located, and why. Even how to fix things if I need to (basic things), or make improvements where I see fit. But every now and then I'm reminded that there's still something to learn.
 

The mystery started the very day I moved into the trailer. We were putting the slides out. My living room slide had a plug coming out of it. At first I thought it was power for putting the slide out, as they're electric slides. Nope. Running power to the slide? Nope. Lights worked without it plugged in. So what was this plug for???

I shrugged it off and jammed the cord next to the couch, by where it came out of the wall. Out of sight out of mind, right? Right.

A month or two later I discovered that the outlet on the wall behind my couch didn't work. You see where this is going, don't you? Well, out of sight out of mind. I didn't make the connection. I figured the outlet was bad. Or something. I mean, there was power to the lamp three inches above it! So it should be wired in just fine. But it didn't work. Oh well, there's one on the other side of the couch. No big deal.

Yesterday I fiddled with the outlet a little, to see how it was set up. Pulled the cover off, made no major discoveries as my knowledge of electrical wiring is pretty much non-existant, decided I didn't care again, and went on my way.

Last night, just as I was about to fall asleep, I got it. I almost jumped out of bed. The plug makes the outlet work! But I decided not to get up and check, since I was just about to fall asleep….. But in the morning I tested my theory and indeed it worked.

Mystery solved. It only took me 4.5 months to figure it out…

So… Living in an RV, you learn a lot of stuff. It's an experience for sure, and a lifestyle. And as temperatures drop, I'm learning how to live in an RV in sub-freezing temperatures. Granted, these are the Willamette Valley's subfreezing temperatures, which I have yet to see drop below 0ºF (though I have seen single digits). As it turns out, RVs are seldom made for cold-weather use, so it's a learning experience none the less.

So I have taken measures to keep things warmer, and I have given in to the need to use heat. When I lived in Corvallis I never used heat. Well, there was a couple times. Like when it dropped into the single digits, and my mom called and told me to turn on my heat. Then I turned it on for a like a half hour, and then I turned it off again. A couple times like that. But I was mostly too cheap to use heat. Being as cheap as I am, I don't use much heat. My thermostat is set to 55ºF. However, every now and then I kick it up to take the edge off. And this led to my discovery that I have dubbed Emi's Law of Thermodynamics.

Emi's Law states this: a given temperature is colder in the evening than it is in the morning. So my 55ºF is colder at night than it is in the morning. Or the temperature I discovered this with, 60º.

You see, sometimes I kick the thermostat up in the morning and it'll get up to around 60º. This usually co-incides with days I take morning showers (I usually take night showers so I can sleep longer…). On those days, 60º seems perfectly warm and cozy. Or at least not all that cold.

On nice days my trailer gets up to 60º all by itself, or maybe just holds in the heat if I kicked the thermostat up before…. But for whatever reason, 60º in the evening always seems really cold! And it may have been that very morning when 60º felt perfectly comfortable.

Thus, Emi's Law of Thermodynamics was born.