hm...we may be brothers in personality, diabase...although anyone that's made my acquaintance recently wouldn't think so...i'm currently giving menacelessness a try. i'll let you know how it works out...
yeah, really, who gets to IKEA in time for breakfast?
Their kitchen utensils rock, and yes, the couches still suck pretty hard.
lars hits exactly on what I mean, that there's something disposable about the culture of IKEA. I'm just speculating that it's because of the cheapness, but it could be other than, or more than, that. The only piece of IKEA furniture I own that I feel is really for sure worth moving is one that I've customized myself. The bf and I got an expedit in the largest size, got some corrugated plastic from the local plastic shop, cut the plastic into squares that fit exactly in the expedit cubes, and used those to turn it into a semi-solid bookshelf/wall/screen that created an impromptu hallway so that guests can use our bathroom without seeing our messy bedroom. We added three FAS lamps to the top to light out hallway. Now that we've hacked the EXPEDIT thoroughly, it's a piece of furniture that really does something for me and is worth moving.
Friends and family, in case you have not heard, new California laws will go into effect on July 1, 2007. Make sure you read the last one. Beware when driving...
1. Carpool lane - 1st time $1068.50 starting 7/1/07 (The $271 posted on the highway is old). Don't do it again because 2nd time is going to be double. 3rd time triple, and 4th time license suspended.
2. Incorrect lane change - $380. Don't cross the lane on solid lines and/or intersections.
3. Block intersection - $485
4. Driving on the shoulder - $450
5. Cell phone use in the construction zone. - Double fine as of
07/01/07. Cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.
6. Passengers over 18 not in their seat belts - both passengers and
drivers get tickets .
7. Speeders can only drive 3 miles above the limit. (no more 10% of posted speed limit grace)
8. DUI = JAIL (Stays on your driving record for 10 years!)
9. As of 07/01/07 cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.
Ticket is $285. They will be looking for this like crazy - easy money for police department.
the cell phone no hands rule should be law everywhere. we had some numbnut take out part of the shrubbery and a street sign in front of our office a few months back (oh and also he ran the light and hit someone) because he was watching a dvd! wtf???
"STOP INTERACTING WITH ME OR I WILL HAVE YOU REMOVED."
hahahahhahah. that's awesome. so matter of fact. not "stop talking to me" or "leave me alone" but "stop interacting with me..." hilarious.
re: cell phone while driving - I support that law 100%. most people suck at driving anyway...compound that with driving while using one hand or neck for cell phone...bad news.
otherwise, damn, those are some serious fines. a grand for a carpool lane violation!
if they just worked out a way for our gps systems to integrate with an autopilot system to drive us all to work and avoid other cars and use no gas then we'd have it made. we could read books and listen to music and dust the dashboard and be so MUCH more productive!!
Steven, I believe that's called public transportation. You should look into it.
I would love it if people actually follow that law... I swear that 90% of the assholes that have nearly made a turn right into me have been on their cell phones. Unfortunately the other 10% were busses, and I don't know what to do about that other than keep calling the transit people and complaining about their drivers.
techno, I tried, but it's in too damned tight a space! All I could get in the viewfinder was maybe 1/4 of it at a time.
i've been had.
i have to send the corrections to all the people i've sent the e mail and tell them sorry people it is just a rumor (tina, julie and brian). i thought i was doing a great service by warning my friends. sorry TC and thanks wk.
larrrrrrrrrrryyyyyy!!!!
What I enjoy about IKEA is the unpretentiousness of its goods. Yes, they aren't very durable; but they are not priced or billed or in anyway advertised as such. They are what they are, and they are designed well for their price range. West Elm is much more expensive and not one bit better built; same goes for cb2, where I was recently shocked to note that the majority of their merchandise was literally falling apart on the store floor despite prices double those of IKEA. Not to be a big defender of a stupid store or anything...
I would like to say that I am seriously enjoying "How I met your Mother", some show I've never heard of before. a) neil patrick harris has great comedic timing and facial expressions and b) one of the characters is an architect, and a totally convincing one!!! :)
I haven't seen a sitcom that I've actually laughed at in ages. This is great!
with laws like that again I'm happy to live in the islands. There is no car pool lane, driving with the cell phone is permitted because we the police are likely to be using theirs and won't see you.
yeah i really wish that TV was not an hour too early here in the central time zone... it makes ZERO sense and only means that i miss every single prime-time show.
ran into Tk earlier today and he says Hi!. It's his first day on the new job and it seems to be going swell... just means that he'll be falling behind on his archinect quota.
re Ikea, tarjette and other big boxes: why are more retailers not following 'evil' chain's lead on LEED???? you'd think they would all jump on the bandwagon after all the published info stating that daylighting and the other leed credits greatly improved each stores bottom line - so don't they like making $$$$ ????
few weeks ago was talking with a consultant working for the lil' retailer from the twin cities who said that they: 'pay less & expect more' from their design teams - never heard this complaint about that store from Arkansas.
So why don't ikeas have skylights? I like their attempt to only use certified wood and reduce packaging.
uh, the store from arkansas has a design team?! shocker.
The IKEAs have been consolidating into a smaller footprint and using multi-level stores (3-4 storeys) so I have a feeling things are moving in the right direction. Have yet to see that in a Target or Walmart.
On another note--Netflix has finally started offering instant download movies on your computer. Been waiting for that!!
There's a couple of multi-level Target and Home Depot stores, but they tend to be in urban areas where density is high and land is at a premium. I haven't seen one in a suburban or exurban location, though.
The Home Depot on 23rd in Manhattan is impressive. By that I mean, you are used to walking into this cavernous, often messy and chaotic space, and the 23rd street location is almost zen in comparison, and definitely a lot prettier. And they used an existing building. Are there any Targets that have gone into urban settings like this?
There's a Target store on Roosevelt Road in the South Loop that's two stories of retail space built atop two or three stories of parking, but it's a fairly nondescript precast building in a barren no-mans-land of railroad yards and viaducts. The interior of the store is your standard-issue Target, with the exception of large elevators and those escalator things like they have at IKEA that carry your shopping cart from one floor to another. Not really comparable to the Home Depot on 23rd, which I agree is a very nice store.
That whole area of Manhattan is an interesting study in how suburban big-box retailers can successfully be integrated into the urban fabric. Just around the corner on Sixth Avenue is a Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Staples, Container Store, and a couple other big boxes whose names I forget. Almost all of them are located within existing buildings and have huge windows facing the sidewalk... None of them seem to be hurting for business, and the local mom-and-pop retailers in the area don't seem to be any worse off. I used to work just a couple blocks away, and the street life in that area seems pretty healthy.
There's another multi-level Target on Addison not far from the Kennedy Expressway... Very similar to the one on Roosevelt, except that the parking garage is behind the store instead of under it.
at home we only have mega & price mart. They are just big boxes with huge pavements out front for parking (high water table & culture is blamed for lack of underground parking). They are just standard designs in most instances but they have cool air conditioning - difficult to describe but they are just big flexible plastic tubes that are connected to fans, really nifty
Four days left at the office, five days left in Chicago. I'm excited about moving on to greener pastures, but the whole process is incredibly stressful. Hopefully by this time next week I'll be settled into dorm life at Columbia and much more relaxed... Looks like I'll even have a few days next week to catch up on sleep, chill out on campus, and do some wandering around the city before the summer studio officially starts.
I've been working on my resume and a prototype cover letter in preparation for my job search... Anybody feel like taking a look at them and offering their candid feedback? Send me an email, as they contain some personal information that I'd prefer not to post online for the whole world to see.
so many of us are embarking on huge life-changing moves and it's as scary as it is thrilling! It started to feel really real today as I posted a whole bunch of stuff I'm selling on craigslist last night.
man, this whole job thing really gets in the way of important stuff...like packing..and cleaning...and seeing friends and family.
there is a two story Target on Sepulveda in the Valley (Van Nuys?). though it is a "heavily populated area" -it's LA- most of the other Targets in equally dense areas are single storey sprawling box stores. It's really nice to have integrated parking and a less ostentatious footprint.
That just reminded me...I am so use to just "popping into Target" when i need something and doing these big shops (you know when you buy the 36 pack of tp and paper towels) Targets are never more than 10 minutes away from you in So. Cal.
Anyway...what do you do when you don't have a car? Live in a more Urban environment? Do you have to schlep out to the 'burbs just to buy a trash can?
I think this is going to be a big life style change. I think the great thing about not having a car is that you think carefully about what you buy because you have to carry it back to your apartment.
At least in NYC, you have the corner bodega that contains almost all of life's necessities within a 500-square-foot space. You also have your neighborhood grocery stores that, while nothing like Safeway or Kroger, usually have a decent selection. I can usually carry everything by hand, but there have been times I've been tempted to get one of those collapsible "granny carts" to haul stuff back from the store.
For times when you need to make a major shopping trip, you can always get a taxi or sign up for a car-sharing service such as Zipcar. There's a big suburban-style Target store in the Bronx, and it always has a long line of taxis waiting out front to take people (and their goods) back home.
In Philly, you have the Fresh Grocer almost right on the Penn campus, which is a very nice grocery store with a pretty cool design. I think there's also a Target store in South Philly, and you shouldn't have any trouble bumming a ride off somebody if you need to make a trip there.
For some reason I don't equate IKEA to Target or Walmart. Maybe because it's Swedish. So is IKEA seen as "disposable" worldwide or just here in the states? It seems to me that what we see as disposable could be considered good, basic furniture elsewhere. I'm still in my IKEA phase, so yes, my home is a shrine to all things black, white, and swedish, and all of it is still in very good condition even having been moved a few times. Or maybe I just have poor taste.
Over the past two years I've managed to upgrade my living room from IKEA to Crate & Barrel (with a touch of Herman Miller), but my bedroom is still thoroughly IKEA. The bed, dresser, and night stands are all the same line and same finishes, so it looks pretty good.
I don't think ikea caught on to be such a necessity in Europe as it is here.
LiG...I'm sure I'll just get use to it- it's just a completely different way of living/ thinking than it is in SoCal. I think fresh grocer is one block from my apartment (I'll be on 40th+chestnut and I think it's on walnut) so that will be convenient. It will be a great change for me- I am sure I will be less frivolous in considering my purchases.
No granny cart though! Ok, i know I say that now...
Rationalist- will this be your first time too without a car?
I think philly car share will be a lifesaver- it's such an awesome idea! All the convenience of a car and none of the hassle. I probably spent $500++ on my car per month (considering payment, gas, maintenance, ins.). Even if i use the car share a few times a month- I still save a ton of money.
I am resisting the urge to get a vespa. I guess i don't need one...
now, this will also be my first time living in snow...eek!
Thread Central
hm...we may be brothers in personality, diabase...although anyone that's made my acquaintance recently wouldn't think so...i'm currently giving menacelessness a try. i'll let you know how it works out...
yeah, really, who gets to IKEA in time for breakfast?
Their kitchen utensils rock, and yes, the couches still suck pretty hard.
lars hits exactly on what I mean, that there's something disposable about the culture of IKEA. I'm just speculating that it's because of the cheapness, but it could be other than, or more than, that. The only piece of IKEA furniture I own that I feel is really for sure worth moving is one that I've customized myself. The bf and I got an expedit in the largest size, got some corrugated plastic from the local plastic shop, cut the plastic into squares that fit exactly in the expedit cubes, and used those to turn it into a semi-solid bookshelf/wall/screen that created an impromptu hallway so that guests can use our bathroom without seeing our messy bedroom. We added three FAS lamps to the top to light out hallway. Now that we've hacked the EXPEDIT thoroughly, it's a piece of furniture that really does something for me and is worth moving.
rationalist do you have a picture of it? Love to see that HACK!
Ladies this is the only IKEA item that will be travelling with me, when i pick up my ass and leave.
AP... menace... WHAT???
Well, some people even think I am menacing. larslarson may have seen me in action at work. "STOP INTERACTING WITH ME OR I WILL HAVE YOU REMOVED."
oops that sounds sexist. It should read Ladies and Gentlemen...
that's alot of boxes...I second the flat packing namby
Friends and family, in case you have not heard, new California laws will go into effect on July 1, 2007. Make sure you read the last one. Beware when driving...
1. Carpool lane - 1st time $1068.50 starting 7/1/07 (The $271 posted on the highway is old). Don't do it again because 2nd time is going to be double. 3rd time triple, and 4th time license suspended.
2. Incorrect lane change - $380. Don't cross the lane on solid lines and/or intersections.
3. Block intersection - $485
4. Driving on the shoulder - $450
5. Cell phone use in the construction zone. - Double fine as of
07/01/07. Cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.
6. Passengers over 18 not in their seat belts - both passengers and
drivers get tickets .
7. Speeders can only drive 3 miles above the limit. (no more 10% of posted speed limit grace)
8. DUI = JAIL (Stays on your driving record for 10 years!)
9. As of 07/01/07 cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.
Ticket is $285. They will be looking for this like crazy - easy money for police department.
the cell phone no hands rule should be law everywhere. we had some numbnut take out part of the shrubbery and a street sign in front of our office a few months back (oh and also he ran the light and hit someone) because he was watching a dvd! wtf???
how many of those boxes are love letters namby???
hahahahhahah. that's awesome. so matter of fact. not "stop talking to me" or "leave me alone" but "stop interacting with me..." hilarious.
re: cell phone while driving - I support that law 100%. most people suck at driving anyway...compound that with driving while using one hand or neck for cell phone...bad news.
otherwise, damn, those are some serious fines. a grand for a carpool lane violation!
if they just worked out a way for our gps systems to integrate with an autopilot system to drive us all to work and avoid other cars and use no gas then we'd have it made. we could read books and listen to music and dust the dashboard and be so MUCH more productive!!
Steven, I believe that's called public transportation. You should look into it.
I would love it if people actually follow that law... I swear that 90% of the assholes that have nearly made a turn right into me have been on their cell phones. Unfortunately the other 10% were busses, and I don't know what to do about that other than keep calling the transit people and complaining about their drivers.
techno, I tried, but it's in too damned tight a space! All I could get in the viewfinder was maybe 1/4 of it at a time.
Steven, they have something like that...it's called the train.
gezackly.
damn, that's twice...vado beats me to the cell phone comment and now rationalist with public transit...
Sorry Orhan, but that business about the new driving laws is false.
Snopes
I checked because I was going to pass it on to my friends....but then I found that page, which corrects the claims line by line.
thank god it's false...because i love driving drunk in the carpool lane while talking on my cell phone!
I see two amazon.com boxes in namby's collection.
i've been had.
i have to send the corrections to all the people i've sent the e mail and tell them sorry people it is just a rumor (tina, julie and brian). i thought i was doing a great service by warning my friends. sorry TC and thanks wk.
larrrrrrrrrrryyyyyy!!!!
What I enjoy about IKEA is the unpretentiousness of its goods. Yes, they aren't very durable; but they are not priced or billed or in anyway advertised as such. They are what they are, and they are designed well for their price range. West Elm is much more expensive and not one bit better built; same goes for cb2, where I was recently shocked to note that the majority of their merchandise was literally falling apart on the store floor despite prices double those of IKEA. Not to be a big defender of a stupid store or anything...
I would like to say that I am seriously enjoying "How I met your Mother", some show I've never heard of before. a) neil patrick harris has great comedic timing and facial expressions and b) one of the characters is an architect, and a totally convincing one!!! :)
I haven't seen a sitcom that I've actually laughed at in ages. This is great!
with laws like that again I'm happy to live in the islands. There is no car pool lane, driving with the cell phone is permitted because we the police are likely to be using theirs and won't see you.
myriam I was watching it too- fab show
yeah i really wish that TV was not an hour too early here in the central time zone... it makes ZERO sense and only means that i miss every single prime-time show.
all roads lead to Interstate 115
ran into Tk earlier today and he says Hi!. It's his first day on the new job and it seems to be going swell... just means that he'll be falling behind on his archinect quota.
re Ikea, tarjette and other big boxes: why are more retailers not following 'evil' chain's lead on LEED???? you'd think they would all jump on the bandwagon after all the published info stating that daylighting and the other leed credits greatly improved each stores bottom line - so don't they like making $$$$ ????
few weeks ago was talking with a consultant working for the lil' retailer from the twin cities who said that they: 'pay less & expect more' from their design teams - never heard this complaint about that store from Arkansas.
So why don't ikeas have skylights? I like their attempt to only use certified wood and reduce packaging.
uh, the store from arkansas has a design team?! shocker.
The IKEAs have been consolidating into a smaller footprint and using multi-level stores (3-4 storeys) so I have a feeling things are moving in the right direction. Have yet to see that in a Target or Walmart.
On another note--Netflix has finally started offering instant download movies on your computer. Been waiting for that!!
There's a couple of multi-level Target and Home Depot stores, but they tend to be in urban areas where density is high and land is at a premium. I haven't seen one in a suburban or exurban location, though.
The Home Depot on 23rd in Manhattan is impressive. By that I mean, you are used to walking into this cavernous, often messy and chaotic space, and the 23rd street location is almost zen in comparison, and definitely a lot prettier. And they used an existing building. Are there any Targets that have gone into urban settings like this?
Actually there is a multi-level Target around here somewhere but it isn't on my train so I haven't been to it yet. (Right, LiG?)
I was far more impressed by the amazing IKEA shopping cart elevator thingy.
There's a Target store on Roosevelt Road in the South Loop that's two stories of retail space built atop two or three stories of parking, but it's a fairly nondescript precast building in a barren no-mans-land of railroad yards and viaducts. The interior of the store is your standard-issue Target, with the exception of large elevators and those escalator things like they have at IKEA that carry your shopping cart from one floor to another. Not really comparable to the Home Depot on 23rd, which I agree is a very nice store.
That whole area of Manhattan is an interesting study in how suburban big-box retailers can successfully be integrated into the urban fabric. Just around the corner on Sixth Avenue is a Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Staples, Container Store, and a couple other big boxes whose names I forget. Almost all of them are located within existing buildings and have huge windows facing the sidewalk... None of them seem to be hurting for business, and the local mom-and-pop retailers in the area don't seem to be any worse off. I used to work just a couple blocks away, and the street life in that area seems pretty healthy.
There's another multi-level Target on Addison not far from the Kennedy Expressway... Very similar to the one on Roosevelt, except that the parking garage is behind the store instead of under it.
i think i'm infatuated with with someone in cleveland...someone who's initials are mb...ooh
THAT's the one I'm thinking of, thanks.
puddles you're so cute.
at home we only have mega & price mart. They are just big boxes with huge pavements out front for parking (high water table & culture is blamed for lack of underground parking). They are just standard designs in most instances but they have cool air conditioning - difficult to describe but they are just big flexible plastic tubes that are connected to fans, really nifty
Four days left at the office, five days left in Chicago. I'm excited about moving on to greener pastures, but the whole process is incredibly stressful. Hopefully by this time next week I'll be settled into dorm life at Columbia and much more relaxed... Looks like I'll even have a few days next week to catch up on sleep, chill out on campus, and do some wandering around the city before the summer studio officially starts.
I've been working on my resume and a prototype cover letter in preparation for my job search... Anybody feel like taking a look at them and offering their candid feedback? Send me an email, as they contain some personal information that I'd prefer not to post online for the whole world to see.
LiG- this is getting real!!!!
so many of us are embarking on huge life-changing moves and it's as scary as it is thrilling! It started to feel really real today as I posted a whole bunch of stuff I'm selling on craigslist last night.
man, this whole job thing really gets in the way of important stuff...like packing..and cleaning...and seeing friends and family.
there is a two-story target in atlanta...
there is a two-story publix in miami beach...
there is a target built on top of a wild oats in tampa...
none of these are in particularly high density areas...
there is a two story Target on Sepulveda in the Valley (Van Nuys?). though it is a "heavily populated area" -it's LA- most of the other Targets in equally dense areas are single storey sprawling box stores. It's really nice to have integrated parking and a less ostentatious footprint.
That just reminded me...I am so use to just "popping into Target" when i need something and doing these big shops (you know when you buy the 36 pack of tp and paper towels) Targets are never more than 10 minutes away from you in So. Cal.
Anyway...what do you do when you don't have a car? Live in a more Urban environment? Do you have to schlep out to the 'burbs just to buy a trash can?
I think this is going to be a big life style change. I think the great thing about not having a car is that you think carefully about what you buy because you have to carry it back to your apartment.
At least in NYC, you have the corner bodega that contains almost all of life's necessities within a 500-square-foot space. You also have your neighborhood grocery stores that, while nothing like Safeway or Kroger, usually have a decent selection. I can usually carry everything by hand, but there have been times I've been tempted to get one of those collapsible "granny carts" to haul stuff back from the store.
For times when you need to make a major shopping trip, you can always get a taxi or sign up for a car-sharing service such as Zipcar. There's a big suburban-style Target store in the Bronx, and it always has a long line of taxis waiting out front to take people (and their goods) back home.
In Philly, you have the Fresh Grocer almost right on the Penn campus, which is a very nice grocery store with a pretty cool design. I think there's also a Target store in South Philly, and you shouldn't have any trouble bumming a ride off somebody if you need to make a trip there.
For some reason I don't equate IKEA to Target or Walmart. Maybe because it's Swedish. So is IKEA seen as "disposable" worldwide or just here in the states? It seems to me that what we see as disposable could be considered good, basic furniture elsewhere. I'm still in my IKEA phase, so yes, my home is a shrine to all things black, white, and swedish, and all of it is still in very good condition even having been moved a few times. Or maybe I just have poor taste.
[b] fifty four weeks left [\b]
Over the past two years I've managed to upgrade my living room from IKEA to Crate & Barrel (with a touch of Herman Miller), but my bedroom is still thoroughly IKEA. The bed, dresser, and night stands are all the same line and same finishes, so it looks pretty good.
Oopsy, somebody should have previewed first.
I'm down with IKEA beds. I have been comfortably sleeping on one for many years and love it.
my furniture =
hodge podge
+
DIY
+
a touch of family hand-me-down
\ /
|
O
I don't think ikea caught on to be such a necessity in Europe as it is here.
LiG...I'm sure I'll just get use to it- it's just a completely different way of living/ thinking than it is in SoCal. I think fresh grocer is one block from my apartment (I'll be on 40th+chestnut and I think it's on walnut) so that will be convenient. It will be a great change for me- I am sure I will be less frivolous in considering my purchases.
No granny cart though! Ok, i know I say that now...
WhatToDo where are you moving to? I'm losing track of everyone.
WhatToDo- I'm also giving up car, and figure I'll get a FlexCar membership for the rare necessities like furniture shopping gardening store trips.
here's your sign - Philly- yay!
Rationalist- will this be your first time too without a car?
I think philly car share will be a lifesaver- it's such an awesome idea! All the convenience of a car and none of the hassle. I probably spent $500++ on my car per month (considering payment, gas, maintenance, ins.). Even if i use the car share a few times a month- I still save a ton of money.
I am resisting the urge to get a vespa. I guess i don't need one...
now, this will also be my first time living in snow...eek!
just wait for your parents to visit. they will want to take you shopping. load up their car with all the stuff you don't really need anyway.
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