Everyone here knows about my love-hate relationship with IKEA. I never saw one until I moved here. At first, I fell in love with the way one could furnish a room for just a few thousand Hong Kong dollars, with things that, while not the most beautiful furnishings I've ever seen, were not hideously ugly, either. Oh, and they deliver, which is huge when you take public transport and live on the 20th floor.
Alas, my love has quickly turned to hate. For one thing, our closest location, in Causeway Bay, means that it's not possible to go there without encountering massive crowds. One Saturday afternoon, while fighting Christmas shoppers, I learned what it was like to be a grain of sand going through the neck of an hourglass. Immediately after that visit, I vowed I would never go there on a weekend again.
In addition, I hate the new furniture smell, and the complex ordering method (what happened to online ordering?). Hate the poor clerk-to-customer ratio. The in-store music sets my teeth on edge. But most of all, I hate the way all customers must follow a narrow path through each department and each floor, like cattle forced to walk down a chute to the slaughterhouse. We definitely need more furniture, however, so despite my feelings, our flat is going end up looking like an IKEA catalog after all.
Apparently, I am not the only person who feels this strongly about IKEA. I accidentally discovered that there are several musicians who have written songs about it. Just typing the word into iTunes brings up the following, among others:
- Can't Get Out (of IKEA) by RL5
- I Wanna Go to IKEA by 59Grandmas
- NASA, SETI, IKEA, & Me by Dr. Universalis
- No, We Are Not Naming Our Kids After IKEA Products by Satin Gum
- Date With IKEA by Pavement (though I don't think this song is actually about the store)
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