IKEA in Athens amusing me for some reason.

They are testing the fire alarm. I may go mad.

We have no IKEA in my state

Us neither. I'm perpetuating the myth that I will go to Houston for a weekend of shopping at stores that are there but not here - Ikea, REI, um, there are probably more than that, but those would probably take all my money.

I have IKEA overkill. There is one about 20 miles away in a northern burb, and then another about 40 minutes away in a DC burb.

I haven't been there in ages. But then, I don't really have room for any more furniture or stuff. As it is, I have a stack of books on the floor (horrors! well, at least to clean around) because I'm out of bookshelves and have no where to put any.

I have to drive to Houston for IKEA, too, -t. Since they have the nursery furniture we want, I've been planning to do so for a while, but I have to finalize buying a new car first.

IKEA trips with me are the stuff of legend. Getting to and from the one here wasn't bad, but it's packed full of people because it's new and novel, and me with my New Mexican ideas about personal space...I have a fight-or-flight reaction that is almost painful and leaves me shaking and exhausted about an hour in. And just to walk through the store takes 2.5 hours.

But then there's the time we tried to find the IKEA in Kuala Lumpur (probably still there after the tsunami). We'd heard it was sort of in a certain sector, so just started driving that way. Didn't find it. Pulled into a gas station and asked a Chinese Malaysian for the "new IKEA." He said, "Oh yes!" and gave us detailed directions. We followed them and ended up at a new mall, which had no IKEA. Took us a second to realize the name of the mall was "The Atria" which probably sounded like "IKEA" with the confluence of accents. We asked a few people in the mall about the IKEA, without much hope (could've been on the other side of the city by now) and then left, tails between our legs. But lo! As we are exiting the top level of the parking garage, we can see over the buildings to a large blue-and-yellow square monstrosity!

So we found it after all.

Then there was the time in Los Angeles where my roommate and I went to IKEA. In my Miata.

I have a fight-or-flight reaction that is almost painful and leaves me shaking and exhausted about an hour in. And just to walk through the store takes 2.5 hours.

Yes, this. I end up wandering around, ready to murder someone unless I can find the goddamned! exit!

Right, so, beer and Mexican food plans lasted until midnight, and I must be getting on in years, because I need to be dead now.

Well, okay, not quite dead, but I do need a nap.

We should meet for Swedish metballs sometime, hayden.

I need a nap, but I didn't have beer and Mexican food, alas. Had my usual trouble dropping off to sleep exacerbated by someone calling my cell phone at 11pm (hang up, number I didn't recognize) and my insane cat deciding to yowl up a storm in the wee hours.

Full of gronk.

We should meet for Swedish metballs sometime, hayden.

Sounds like a plan. We could get Dana to meet us and show us how to find the exit.

Sad news--the radio just announced that Jerry Orbach (Lenny Briscoe on L&O, amongst many other roles) has died from prostate cancer.