Today was spent sitting at home chillin' like a (lazy) villain doing whatever comes to mind.
My body decided sleep was more important so I pretty much missed out on Free Comic Book Day (#FCBD), but I shall live. And I also checked out my friend's comic book store online, and she looks mad busy, so she's doing just fine. (Shout out to Illusive Comics & Games and Isle of Gamers).
What has been happening to me lately? Let's see...
Work has been busy and only slightly stressful (well, give or take some stress).
Energy levels are still rollercoastering about. Not happy about that, but I seem to be fine when my mind is kept active. My body seems to follow my mind so that's a good thing.
Been mentally writing a lot which is a good thing though I'd like it to be more of an actual writing thing versus all up in my noodle. The desk is helping though it's not really a desk yet.
[insert IKEA drama here]
Let me start off by saying I LOVE IKEA. Maybe it's the OCD-ness within me or the set up or all the cool things about it, but I frakkin LOVE IKEA. I've visited many a time, bought various things from there, and have never had a bad time with the actual business.
Until recently.
I live in a studio apartment. My previous 'home' was a room I was renting, and the room didn't have enough space for a desk. The desk I had prior did not survive moving or storage so it had to be sacrificed to the scrap gods, so I've been wanting a new desk SO much. The studio is still a work-in-progress, so all my laptop usage has been done sitting on my bed since I had no table or anything. It wasn't good on my back so laptop time was a bit on the limited side.
I had an IKEA gift card just itching to be used, so I went one weekend to the store and walked about trying to decide which desk I wanted. I walked about - I love walking all around without taking shortcuts... I consider it exercise in a sense - and checked out all the desk/table options available and took pics of every one that I liked, and by the end of the trip, I was tired and had decided on the one that I had wanted.
Right when you get to the top of the escalator and first step onto the beginning of the showroom floor, there is a kitchen setup of which I found several things I liked... one of them being a table that had two trestle legs which provided extra storage beneath with a long table top to lay across them. (I also found a desk chair that would greatly support my lower back and be perfect with the desk I had chosen, but there were none available when I got to the stock area). I left the store with the two legs and tabletop - as well as some candles I found on clearance - and after some turmoil in getting them into my car (terrible time to realize the backseat doesn't fold down), I made it home.
It took a few days to have time to put stuff together. By the time I get out of work doesn't leave me a lot of daylight or time to make noise for assembly. By the following weekend, I got cracking. I made the legs with little effort but the big challenge was going to get the tabletop on.
The tabletop is white on top (to match the legs), and thick corkboard below... and the pre-drilled holes did not match the legs which I thought odd. Also the tabletop didn't come with its own instructions - only the legs. And the pieces left over were supposed to join the top to the legs... but I didn't see how.
So another trip to IKEA was called for. I grabbed the spare parts, the directions (which are only in pictures), and headed back to the store for assistance. There was an option for phone help, but most times I'm better with being instructionally shown than told. First stop once I got there was to the display table. I was thinking if I could see how they attached the tabletop to the legs then I wouldn't have to bother anyone. When I got to the table, I noticed one of the legs was slightly off (meaning not perpendicular to the tabletop). There was nothing actually on the table so in thinking I knew how the top was joined to the legs, I lifted the top and found it was only joined at one corner. I then knelt down to that corner and couldn't figure what the frak had happened.
Plan B - go the warehouse and ask for help.
This time around I was tired, frustrated, and lacked any real patience to deal with the mass of people that usually occupied IKEA space. So I took advantage of all the shortcuts, and was downstairs and in the warehouse in no time. There are a couple computer kiosks with employees answering questions and a marked off line with a sign that says "line starts here" which I stood in and was cut off by other customers who were just milling about the terminals waiting for the next available employee. I remember them noticing me in line AFTER they stepped up and were being helped, and the looks on their faces were like "oh shit, there was a line?" Nevertheless, they had been waiting there for a lot longer before I even got there so I let it go.
Eventually it was my turn, and when I updated the employee on my issue, he told me that the tabletop I had didn't go with the legs I bought. Of course my next question was - referring to the display upstairs - why would the display show it put altogether if they didn't fit together.
Pay attention to this part, okay?
Basically he told me - being extremely apologetic about the whole thing - was that the company hires an interior designer to make all the rooms, etc, and they are supposed to use pieces that actually fit together, but on occasion they do some extra DIY'ing to make a setup/item. Now when they do that, they are supposed to make a note or mark on the tag that tells you "this piece is made up of these items" that they did extra stuff to make these pieces fit together.
And he also admitted that they don't always do that.
I told him that a customer is going to assume if they see a piece assembled that all those pieces will fit together with the kits included. He was really sorry, and I didn't hold him personally responsible since it wasn't really his fault. So then I asked for assistance in trying to find a way to join the top to the legs. He suggested wood screws, and that if I needed any extra bits, I could go to returns/exchanges since they would have all the spare parts from the "AS-IS" section. I thanked him for his help and everything else he told me before heading to the returns/exchanges.
Dear gawd, it looked so sad over there. It looked like people wading through the river of lost souls. Just in the entryway were two people with their shopping carts. I stepped past them and saw three employees behind the counter helping people. Peering a little further, I saw all these other people sitting in chairs against the opposite wall from the help counter. On the wall near the entryway was a "Now Serving" sign with a number tag dispenser below it. The sign showed the number 41, and when I pulled the next number, it was about 20+ more.
I gave up and left.
***IKEA LESSON -- ALWAYS ASK ABOUT DISPLAYS BEFORE BUYING PIECES***
Across the street was a Home Depot. I ventured in there, and it took FOREVER to get someone to help me. I like to go into a store and look first before I ask for help. I had found the wood screws but wanted to ask for help with my desk. No employees in sight in the aisle I was in or in nearby aisles, I went to the cashier who was busy playing with her phone so when I came up to her, she looked at me like "Yeah?" When I asked her if I could get some help in hardware, she asked what aisle, and I looked back and wasn't sure which of the three aisles labeled "hardware" I came from. I picked one and told her, and when I heard her page, she sounded so not interested in me, my needs or being there at all. I waited... and waited... and waited... and left. I found two people - a man and a woman - in one aisle restocking paneling or something. I told him what happened with IKEA and said I was looking for any suggestions for the tabletop. He was really helpful and nice, and even the woman was helpful toward the end when she came by.
Not being crafty by any means, I left to run my other errands, and then put it out there to my friends via Facebook if any of my crafty friends had any suggestions for my desk, I'd greatly appreciate it. As it stands, I have the tabletop (still in its box) laying upside down atop the two legs acting as a temporary desk until I can find a way to truly fix my desk.
Which is where I'm writing you from right now.
I'm sitting on a fold out chair until I can get the desk chair (and floor mat) that I want. That's gonna have to wait until next payday.
In the meantime, I have really taken WAY too long, and most of it was my IKEA experience.
Yeah, I need to focus better... and now I need sleep. (I feel this post was lame, but oh well. Nowhere to go but up, right?)
Later my lovelies.
Have Goodness!
Rae
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