ikea

the newest ikea store opened here in phoenix, az this past week. they were doing a promotional thing, offering all the items on the front of their catalog to the first person in line. d and i were thinking of going the night before to see what our chances were. we're in dire need of a bed as we're currently sleeping on a king-sized mattress on the floor. some dumbass beat us to it, though. he showed up w/a tent exactly one week before the grand opening. ass. i really wanted that bed.
so, we went yesterday and it was mother fucking packed. i mean it was ridiculous. i had no idea. we were hearded through the store like a pack of wild animals, led by arrows painted on the floor, dead set on buying buying buying. light walls, shaggy rugs, convertable futons, mattress pads, bamboo sticks, wicker baskets... i could go on and on. but for the most part the stuff looked a lot like target on steroids. it was all very orwellian, if you want to know that truth. i mean, sure, ikea provides trendy furniture for decent prices, but now everyone wants them, and there goes trendy. like a couple of tools, we bought a rug, a wicker basket and a candle. yeah, are we just as bad as everyone else if we know we're just as bad as everyone else? perhaps. perhaps not.

i still don't know about this dream job in memphis. i'm sick of waiting, but i don't anticipate anything happening before christmas, now. in my business, no one moves during "peak". that's company-speak for the busiest, most hectic, most migraine-inducing time of year. happy holidays!

my birthday was last month and d and i are still getting stuff for the house using the money i got as an excuse. it's great. today we developed some digital pics we've taken during our time here in phoenix and framed them as wall art (something i've felt we've been lacking for quite some time). we lined up the photos in the kitchen gallery-style and we're very pleased. a personal touch in a classy way. did i mention we've been ikea-ized. it's on the brain.

i just watched the trailer for "life aquatic w/steve zissou" coming out on christmas day. i can't wait. the combination of christmas, bill murray, a wes anderson film and the love of my life when it's cold outside couldn't be more exciting. and if i get alice munro's new book, "runaway" for christmas that morning my life will be playing out exactly as i've planned.

but i suppose i should be thinking of thanksgiving first. last year was our first year here in phoenix away from our families and friends. we still haven't made any friends here outside of work, but a good friend of ours from memphis might be spending the holiday w/us this year. that'd be fantastic. last year we made the best turkey we've ever had, cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries cooked in champagne, and dressing from bread i broke up myself not from a box and it was amazing. fucking amazing. it was so good. we were so excited about cooking it that we started immediately after i got home from work that night and ate at roughly 2am. we didn't even have a kitchen table yet, so we ate on the couch and fell asleep shortly after. sound sad? it wasn't. christmas was sad. i don't remember why we really didn't go all out w/that dinner and we ate at jack in the box i think, but this year we'll be better prepared. i think we were a little depressed about not having anyone to share with. i guess we're used to it now. that and we know we're on our way back home. we're planning to be back in february or march of next year, so we can go ahead and make the best of the rest of our time here. i sound like the eternal optimist. i am.