There are two big
buildings just west of the freeway at Point of the Mountain. Both are
surrounded by quite a bit of land. Both are places most men work very hard to
avoid entering. Both require very specific steps to get out of. One is the
State Prison. The other is Ikea.
Last week I went on a date to Ikea – and, yes, shopping
together at Ikea is the true test of any relationship. It started well, because
we started at the Café. He’d NEVER been to Ikea before (gasp! – I know,
right???) The meatballs were heavenly. And after lunch, we shopped – at least
for a little bit. About halfway through the top floor, he needed to leave – so
we headed for the exit. Easier said than done. Just like the Hotel California,
“You can check-out any time you like, but you can never leave.”
I knew that there
were some “cut-thrus” on the upper floor. But once you finish the top floor,
you can only go down to the lower level shopping area – which makes you meander
through the entire place before leaving. The escalator only goes up. The
elevator only goes up – there isn’t even a down button. So I took his arm and
rushed him through the dishes, the pillows, the lighting, the bedding, the
baskets, the boxes, and finally the plants – end in sight. But as we got to
that end, he was rather disappointed to see that there was still a HUGE section
of the warehouse ahead of us. But eventually we made it out of there – no trail
of breadcrumbs left behind, at least not this time.
And today, yes I went to Ikea again. No date this time, a
girlfriend who needed to get a few things. We met for dinner – more meatballs.
We caught up on all the happenings in our lives, and because Ikea is HUGE, we
had plenty of time for visiting. We looked at sofa beds. We looked at linens.
We shopped for silverware. We perused kitchen tables. And we meandered slowly –
no shortcuts, no rushing – just lovely laid-back browsing.
Yes, I’ll be going
back again – and soon too. I’ll go home and measure one more time, and then,
Shopping List in-hand, I will be back for a few larger purchases. (Thank
heavens I drive a truck!)
So if you haven’t ever been to Ikea (gasp!), you should go.
Stop at the Café and have some wonderful Swedish meatballs [Ikea is a Swedish
company]. Heck, they even have a Child Drop-Off Zone so parents can shop
leisurely without the little ones – and the little ones have a wonderful time
in the Play Zone too.
But do be careful who you go to Ikea with – it is definitely
a make-or-break a relationship kindof a place!
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