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Ikea and the crushing fatalism

There's nothing like a Sunday afternoon trip to Ikea to reinforce the notion that humanity is, truly, doomed.

The moment we walked into the place, the dank stench of wet humanity overpowered us. I mean, when you get that many people together in one place on a rainy, humid day, what do you expect? Nasty. Didn't help that we'd just eaten. I nearly "redecorated" a PoƤng right there on the spot.

Now one thing that Americans definitely take for granted is their wide open spaces and their vast tracts of personal space. I've written before about the discomfort I felt in China at the lack of personal space. The thing is, when you've already found what you're looking for and just want to make a beeline for the register, these hordes can be quite frustrating. Not really because there's so many, but rather that they're all sauntering about aimlessly. It's like the airport tango; sometimes you have to dance around people. Inevitably, when there are enough people, you gotta get a little close to dance. I have to chuckle at Americans' discomfort at getting this close. Maybe it says something about their attitude towards other countries too...

All this aside, one has to be left wondering why people buy some of that stuff. I mean, when you first get out of school maybe that stuff seems like a pretty cool deal, but honestly. It just ain't that good. Pretty devoid of character, and not really constructed that well either. Cheap though... I guess that goes for something.

So after all this criticism, you may be wondering what I was doing there. No, not furniture. Just wine glasses. Someone had turned me onto the fact that they sell wine glasses for 4 bucks a half dozen. Perfect for a wine tasting party... so I guess there are uses for Ikea. Just gotta remember never to go on a weekend!

PGP Signed Entry

Comments

I discovered the wine glasses as well. Last year they had champagne flutes for $.25 each. And I bought a bunch of wine glasses for a party--three parties and they have paid for themselves!

The glassware is an excellent deal. Also, I find that their napkins are also higher quality and cheaper than typical disposable napkins. Generally the furniture is pretty poor excepting their desk systems which are okay. We also have a couple of inexpensive dressers which are decently well-made. The best thing at Ikea is the large Expedit bookshelf, which is one of the best deals in book storage possible. Don't expect to be able to move it ever, but for the money it is really an excellent amount of space in a not-too ugly form. I own two and almost bought three.

Yeah, there are some pieces of furniture at Ikea that are okay. I probably shouldn't have made all those overarching generalizations in my rant... but hey man, it was just nasty. I mean, I have an Ikea desk as well, so I can't be too snobbish about the whole thing!

Another great place to go for cheap glassware if you have one nearby is World Market. They've also got some great foodstuffs from the UK and cheap decorative items for the home.

As for Ikea, there's a great song by Jonathan Coulton that's an ode to Ikea. Some really great lines and personification of furniture with its own name. "Billy the bookcase says hello" and whatnot.