Ikea

Unfortunately, not all of our furniture survived the trek West. The tall Walmart bookcases were a total loss meaning that a combined 12ft of vertical book storage was no longer available. This was a major problem as Andy and I have successfully collected enough books to start our own library. (It would be a strange library as there would only be three main sections. Science and Math, Social Work and Child Welfare, and Religion.) As space is at a premium and we want to avoid getting a storage unit we decided we needed to buy some new bookcases. We ruled out Walmart (for obvious reasons) and decided to head to Ikea to see if we could find something that would work for us.
Ikea on a Southern California Saturday is not for the faint of heart! This is the first store that I have been to that hands out maps, pencils, and has large arrows painted on the floor to help guide their customers.This is good because being on the Ikea sales floors can be somewhat disorienting.

After thoroughly examining our options we headed to the check out with the materials for a 6ft tall birch wood bookcase with a double glass door closure and new rug. Andy headed off to fetch the car and left me to checkout. The bookcase materials rang up easily, but there was no bar code to be found anywhere on the rug, so the salesclerk asked me where I found the rug , I replied "over by the other rugs near a wall" after realizing that this was the best description I was going to be able to give, she decided it would be best to take the packaging off the rug and find the tag for the model number so she could ring it up. Of course I had loaded it in my cart just backwards of the way it needed to be so myself and the salesclerk had to pull it out of the cart and turn it around.

Bookshelf: finished product

 It was at this point, buying this rug turned into a huge production eventually involving three other people. The second person appeared because I was holding up the line and again  I was asked where I found the rug, I provided a similar reply as I had given the first girl. This was not a satisfactory answer for her so she tried to help me, by saying things like, "was it closer to the kitchen area or closer to the textiles?" Me: "I honestly could not tell you, this is my first time coming here." After both girls unsuccessfully tried to jog my memory (it was all a blur to me) the first girl discovered  the model number on the rug itself was invalid and therefore in the eyes of the store the rug did not exist, so again I was asked where I found the rug. (These people were acting like I had come across the rug from a secret rug portal and stealthily slipped in my cart so I could annoy them with my attempt to buy it.) Eventually, Girl1 and Girl2 required the assistance of a manager, which was accomplished via walkie- talkie.

As the three of them discussed the situation, I looked behind me to see a long line of unhappy looking people. I felt like I should say something like, "I am sorry, I had no idea that this would happen when I selected this rug, I am not a rug diva, nor do I require special treatment, but before I buy this rug, I really need to know how much it costs, you understand right?" But I didn't say anything, I just stood there feeling weird. Eventually, the person on the walkie talkie came back with a modified model number  and a PRICE for the rug. The price for the rug was less than I had anticipated so I happily swiped my credit card and completed the transaction.  As I was leaving, I felt like I should turn around, take a bow, lift the rug over my head like a prized trophy, and thank everyone involved for their patience and understanding, but instead I headed to the car where Andy was waiting wondering what happened to me.

The Rug in Question

Things like this never happen to him.