Mansplanation

Mansplanation

There’s no better thing to explain first than what a mansplanation is.  The verb to mansplain is where someone (usually a man) explains something to someone else (usually a woman but apparently not a requirement) after the man assumes the explanation is needed without first confirming the forced education is required.  Mansplanations are commonly based on opinion and the man’s view of how things work. (Notice the work knowledge was not used)

See, you’ve just been mansplained.  I didn’t ask if you ever heard of the term and I created my own definition that’s close to the official definition.  See how slick it is! It’s almost as handy as throwing in made-up statistics like the 37% of people make up numbers to support their point.

Utilities

What do I mean by ‘Utilities’ in the camping world?  They are the same utilities as in Sticks & Bricks Homes (aka a normal house or apartment) which are the basic services of water, electric, and sewer.  These are generally taken for granted in sticks and bricks housing, unless they’re interrupted (those in a utility don’t have to imagine how cranky people get when the power goes out) or when the bill comes due.  In an RV, they’re a major consideration in deciding which campground or campsite to use because campgrounds and campsites can be categorized by:

• Which services are provided;
• How they’re provided, and;
• Whether they’re charged separately or not (like electricity).

The options range from all are provided on each site and included in the camp fee, (very common in the RV parks) to none of them of them are provided in the camp area at all (National Forests tend to be this way).  An example is some state parks provide electric on the site, and the water and sewer are provided at a single point somewhere else in the campground.  In this case, the length of stay at the site depends on how much fresh water the RV can carry-in and how much black/grey water (aka sewer water) the RV can hold.

The more Linda and I can or are willing to be self-sufficient, the more options we have for campsites. It’s surprising how many immediate life actions and decisions are impacted by this situation.  The burden I have with my limited memory capability, is remembering which utility or utilities should be conserved and the cascade effect on other decisions.  As an example, let’s say we have electric and water, while sewer is a dumpsite in the campground.  This means we want to limit the amount of water going down the drain to avoid dealing with sewer water for as long as possible.  One thought chain is – Limit water down the drain > limit the dishes washed > have meals with fewer pots and dishes > plan the meals for those days > buy the food and ingredients needed for those meals.  Keep in mind that every time we move, the situation could be different.

This is an example of why you might want to go somewhere where the utilities aren’t provided.