What are you doing today?

[Pumbaa]

Ikea is on my shit list at the moment. Ordered a nightstand for my daughter for pickup at the Charlotte store. Was confirmed in stock. Got there to pick it up, not in stock. Now the only reason I was picking it up was because my daughter tried to order it to be delivered and they wanted like $200 to ship a $50 nightstand. No.

So I made them refund me and left. I then got on the Ikea site and was able to order it for delivery for $14.95. WTH?

Can’t speak for the weird place you’re living in, and I know it doesn’t help you at all but I can assure you that it wouldn’t have happened here. Ikea routines and logistics simply wouldn’t allow it. Sad to hear things like that differ.

 

[lizkat]

Ikea is on my shit list at the moment. Ordered a nightstand for my daughter for pickup at the Charlotte store. Was confirmed in stock. Got there to pick it up, not in stock. Now the only reason I was picking it up was because my daughter tried to order it to be delivered and they wanted like $200 to ship a $50 nightstand. No.

So I made them refund me and left. I then got on the Ikea site and was able to order it for delivery for $14.95. WTH?

Wait, so if you're a girl, Ikea wants $200 to ship something and otherwise it's fifteen bucks?

Maybe women haven't come as far as the erstwhile Virginia Slims cigarettes ad used to suggest.

 

[Alli]

Cross county adventure to visit the only Ikea accessible to me through public transit that possibly had a certain cable available (out of stock online too). Managed to get there and got the very last one, despite massive commuter train delays due to “an incident”. Slight detour on the way home for a tasty churrasco palta.

Overall a good day. As most days are.

Here I am, jealous again. I complain it’s a two hour/three state drive to get to an Apple store, but it’s a six hour drive to get to the closest IKEA. I love IKEA.

 

[lizkat]

Here I am, jealous again. I complain it’s a two hour/three state drive to get to an Apple store, but it’s a six hour drive to get to the closest IKEA. I love IKEA.

I could certainly have used an IKEA when I first bought my place up here since at that time it was a weekend residence. I eventually had to avail myself of an Ames store (that chain now long defunct) about ten miles away.

However, sometimes it does pay to be operating in a tiny village where everyone knows your business: my sister and bro-in-law were sweet and had secretly arranged with the realtor to surprise me on the day of my house purchase closure, so that when I walked in after meeting with the lawyers, I was greeted by a place that contained kitchen and bath linens (yeah and TP and paper towels), a made-up bed, a nightstand and lamp, and in the kitchen some basic utensils including a coffee pot and coffee mugs plus a pound tin of ground coffee and some nondairy creamer.

An IKEA outlet was an option in precisely the wrong direction, somewhere back near Paramus, NJ. Didn't take me long to start frequenting local estate sales up here for alternatives that in general sufficed for my purposes and blessedly required no assembly short of maybe sticking a matchbook under the short leg of a table.

 

[DT]

@JayMysteri0

The little G came home with these today from the school book fair, specifically the item on the right

 

[ouimetnick]

Here I am, jealous again. I complain it’s a two hour/three state drive to get to an Apple store, but it’s a six hour drive to get to the closest IKEA. I love IKEA.

Dang, I was bummed when the 10 minute drive to the Apple Store in Peabody turned into a 17 minute drive when that Apple Store moved to Lynnfield. The closest IKEA store is about an hour away. I went once with friend and her mom. If they were closer, I'd probably check them out again and actually own something from them.

 

[Alli]

An IKEA outlet was an option in precisely the wrong direction, somewhere back near Paramus, NJ.

I remember that one. Used to pass it every day on my way to/from work.

 

[DT]

Paging @Alli ... at the grocery today

 

[DT]

And speaking of seasonal things at the grocery, really? REALLY? It's not even November yet!

 

[Alli]

Paging @Alli ... at the grocery today

View attachment 8959

And speaking of seasonal things at the grocery, really? REALLY? It's not even November yet!

View attachment 8961

Now THAT I can go for!!!

 

[DT]

Now THAT I can go for!!!

Hahaha, I skipped the beer, even we get overwhelmed with pumpkin stuff, heck we still have 5 beers from those two 4-packs of Southern Tier I bought a month or so ago (and they're as good as it gets).

The 'nog was tempting, but just too early, I don't want to anger the Krampus

 

[Pumbaa]

Attaching this for @Alli , to counter the pumpkins.

Tried to take the self-driving bus from this stop on my way back but no luck, it never showed up. No biggie. Would have been fun, though. The weather was awesome so I didn’t mind waiting outside for a while.

 

[lizkat]

Tried to take the self-driving bus from this stop on my way back but no luck, it never showed up. No biggie. Would have been fun, though. The weather was awesome so I didn’t mind waiting outside for a while.

A self-driving bus that doesn't show up? Sounds like they have an algorithm that made it through the beta test for realism.

 

[JamesMike]

I arrived safe and sound in Nairobi, not sure how long I will be here, there has been a bit of trouble in Ethiopia between the government and the UN. At least I should be able to pick-up some beans!

 

[Pumbaa]

A self-driving bus that doesn't show up? Sounds like they have an algorithm that made it through the beta test for realism.

They became self-aware and refused to serve the man any longer.

Nah, more likely they stopped the current phase of testing early and forgot to remove the schedule for the stop (valid through September) from the website. October now and the stop can’t be found online anymore. Seems like the next phase will actually do away with schedules and stops and instead let people in the area use an app to request a ride.

 

[DT]

Oh, that's reminds me, my Ikea story ...

I had gotten semi-obsessed with hitting up the one in the PA area that we pass (from FL) on the way up/down to Wife's folks place. This was before there was any online ordering/shipping or stores in my area, I was aware of the products, quality, etc., it wasn't the pursuit of some exotic product, I was just into it

Some setup: headed back home to FL, late start, a winter storm too, at the time we were in my GS300, roomy 4-door sedan, but it was already packed up for travel, plus all the additional Xmas stuff coming back with us ...

We stop, knock around the store, it's fun, I load up a cart with small-ish items, that are at least smaller than the available space. Then we stumble on these two amazing rugs, very ... large ... rugs. I'm like, I am getting these home, we buy them.

I criss cross them in the rear seating area, sticking out of the opposite window, it looked like fishing outriggers.

And we set out, and the snow starts ...

Well, we only get about 3 hours into the drive, we're running the heater full blast, but the 10-12" open rear windows are still making things cool, and I can't see, and the snow gets __serious__.

We pull over at a super nice hotel, unload the rugs, a few things, hahaha, wow, the next morning the car is almost completely covered in a mound of snow. We free the car, load up the rugs, I manage some reorganization that let's us close the windows

As far as I know, we made it home ...

 

[Pumbaa]

We pull over at a super nice hotel, unload the rugs, a few things, hahaha, wow, the next morning the car is almost completely covered in a mound of snow.

I’m sure the staff at super nice hotels are used to all kinds of eccentric guests and peculiar adaptations of the rooms. Not sure though if that extends to guests bringing their own rugs and stuff from Ikea.

We free the car, load up the rugs, I manage some reorganization that let's us close the windows

Tetris provided us with useful skills, for sure.

 

[DT]

I’m sure the staff at super nice hotels are used to all kinds of eccentric guests and peculiar adaptations of the rooms. Not sure though if that extends to guests bringing their own rugs and stuff from Ikea.


Tetris provided us with useful skills, for sure.

It was like I worked for the mob ... yeah, you know, 'cuz I don't ...

 

[DT]

Oh, and the final pic of my grocery store trilogy:

... and yes, OMG, it's good, got a Boar's Head salami with white wine, a nice cream havarti, meat+cheese+mustard

 

[lizkat]

Well, we only get about 3 hours into the drive, we're running the heater full blast, but the 10-12" open rear windows are still making things cool, and I can't see, and the snow gets __serious__.

Hilarious tale.... but only in retrospect, eh?

Only thing I ever heard that topped that kinda thing was a friend whose ageing SUV one summer developed a habit of randomly opening and closing the rear windows of the vehicle whenever it started raining. This back when weather forecasting was more art than science so planning a shopping excursion or trip to visit family downstate became more of a dice roll than if she'd been driving a horse and buggy.