No more Ikea

On Saturday, I went to Ikea and bought some furniture. Specifically, I got a oak butcher-block-topped sideboard item with drawers and a trestle shelf for my kitchen ~ and a bed. A very inexpensive Ikea bed, a minimalist platform.

The items were delivered around noon today. I spent nearly 4 hours putting the sideboard together. Many of the predrilled holes were not big enough. My shoulder started aching, my palm bloomed with stigmata. But I got it together, and it's fine, except for a small ding on the rear left-hand corner (which I can't say was incurred before or after I received the package).

Despite my aching everything, I decided to proceed with the bed. I got the frame's four sides screwed together, and then commenced to attach the plates on the bottom corners into which the bed legs screw. Immediately, I notice a challenge. No holes. So, I figure, holes are under the verneer. I position the plates and commence to drive the screws. Except it's extremely hard going. I wonder whether it's just this corner. I position the other three plates and commence to drive those screws. Same problem.

After an hour of major physical effort, I finally give up in frustration. I call Ikea. I will spare you the details of my conversations with these people. You may be grateful now. I go up and up the supervisory chain.

Long story short: they are sending someone here tomorrow afternoon to assess the situation and either a) use powertools to finish the assembly or b) remove the detritus and ensure I get my money back. In the meantime, my bedroom is filled with half-constructed bedframe, and this evening I'll be sleeping on a mattress on the floor crammed into the remaining floorspace by the door. Until I upped the supervisory ante twice, they expected me to put up with that situation for at least TWO MORE NIGHTS.

NOT a happy camper.

In future, the only 'requires assembly' items I will ever purchase from Ikea are bookshelves. I'm waaay to old for this shit. Given the amount of time I've wasted on this already, it would have been well worth my while to buy regular furniture at twice the price and call it a day.

[Update: Two nice young men showed up the next day with powertools and finished putting the bed together in about ten minutes. Both agreed vehemently with me that the design was appallingly bad, that normal humans without mechanical assistance would not be able to complete the task, and that the instruction booklet for this particular bed was especially inscrutable in a couple of places.

I now have a comfortable bed, raised off the floor (!) for the first time in a decade and a half, and only some very stiff muscles and a gouge on on my left index finger to show for my troubles.

Verdict: Ikea product, not so great. Ikea employees, rock. I feel a letter coming on.]

Stringsong

I now inflict on those of you who choose to hear it, my kinda movie-soundtrack mood music created in GarageBand. It's in AAC format [3:12 second, 2.7 MB file], playable via QuickTime or iTunes.

ASL

On the up side, I've just finished my first week of ASL class, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Our teacher is terrific ~ lively, engaging, and clear. My brain is creaking to keep up, but I quite like the sensation.

It's good to be learning something new again.

Purging but still not purged

I've been working my ass off, getting rid of stuff. I've made terrific progress. But I still have a tremendous amount left to do.

And I'm still really sad. I miss what I thought I might have with Andrew.

Food for Interactive Design Thought

There's a mathematical equation, aptly named Fitts's Law, that describes how easy it is to acquire and hit a target based on distance from the target and size of the target.

I learned this from the fabulous website/blog Mind Hacks.

I did the math

And, alas, it doesn't make much sense for me to buy the Mac mini.

I'd want a 80 GB drive. I'd want a Gig of RAM (which God knows I wouldn't buy from Apple, where it costs over $400). I'd want the SuperDrive. I'd want Airport. And I'd want to use my 17" Cinema Display, which means I'd need to get a DVI to ACD adapter.

When all is said and done, I'd be paying over $800 (and that's without the RAM), for a G4 system that while, admittedly, faster than the one I have currently by a factor of at least 2 still wouldn't carry me comfortably for the next several years. Nope, when push comes to shove, I'd be better off hawking my complete Cube package, together with the display, and getting myself a G5 iMac. Yeah, the 20" one. You gotta problem with that?

So, I wait. Which is good. I wait until Tiger is out ~ by which time I hope to have truly gainful employment and even some spare cash ~ and thereby get the upgraded operating system and iLife suite without having to pay extra for them.

In the meantime, I may just go ahead and get an iPod shuffle anyway. :D

Mac Fever

Yes, I am totally a geek Apple fan-girl. I am breathless with anticipation over tomorrow's Macworld keynote by Steve Jobs. Which will NOT be webcast or available via satellite live this year. (FEH! I wrote an annoyed note to Investor Relations.)

Having utterly saturated myself in rumors, I don't know whether to expect to be wowed or disappointed. I think I can safely say, however, that I will get nothing useful done tomorrow until after 3 pm. And quite possibly not even then.

Yes, I have no life.
Pity me.

Brain Stretch

Starting on the 18th, I'll be taking American Sign Languages classes from Arlington County. The session is relatively short, two classes a week for five weeks, but it should be enough time for me to get a flavor for it and see if I want to do more. If I like it, I'll probably continue on to part 2, which begins in March, and thereafter perhaps go to study at Gallaudet (which is the Big Leagues in deaf circles).

I have this vague idea that I might be good at sign language, and that I might enjoy being an interpreter. So this is just by way of dipping a toe in.

Besides, it's high time that I learned something new ~ my brain has been getting cobwebby from disuse. I'm also curious to find out whether my language knack will extend into this entirely different medium.

Goodbye, Beetle, someday soon.

I took my car in to be serviced today. The window mechanism on the passenger side failed completely, and the wretched "check engine" light was on again. And the window toggles aren't working properly.

This afternoon I got the repair estimate.

Ohmigod. I may faint.

The check engine light entails TWO problems, both of them hideously expensive. And although the window collapse has been fixed under extended warrenty, busted window switches aren't covered. I mean, you ought to have working mechanisms, right?, but it's okay to have NO WAY TO ACCESS THEM. How much sense does THAT make?

I'm skipping the window switches (I can still open the windows from the driver's side).

But it's going to cost me OVER A THOUSAND DOLLARS to get my car back.

That's the last straw. I'm going to be selling it. I'll see if I can manage without a car for awhile. If not, I'll buy myself a nice little 10-year-warrantied Hyundai for cheap. Because honestly, I refuse to throw any more money into this thing.

2005 Reasons for Happiness

That's my wish for each of you this New Year!

I don't generally go in for Resolutions, so I'm not going to make any here. But I certainly hope that 2005 will feature employment and restoration of my running equipment, and I'm quite prepared to do my part in both endeavors.

If I could get a mended heart too, that would be good.