12 hours and $1000 later, and ikea of pittsburgh has furnished most of my condo.

yeah, it’s only decent—not great—quality, but I don’t really care. it was a lot easier having everything picked out and shipped (they had a special going – $99 to columbus for up to 20 items) than dealing with getting each piece individually down the road.

the real trouble with ikea is that everything is just so damn cheap. and by that, I mean inexpensive. they price everything so low that you think you’re saving a ton (and you are, in most cases), so you get more. and more. eventually you’ll buy everything in the damn store if you aren’t too careful.

the latest ruling from the supreme court seems to indicate that they either hate homeowners or the middle class – but most likely both. after all, who better than a bunch of rich white people could decide that business takes priority over life? that’s all this is, really – an excuse to allow cities to raze homes and property in the name of “economic development”. in exchange for enough cash, local governments will have free reign to do almost anything. so long, public park… hello, super wal-mart.

what’s to keep the bulldozers from razing arthur dent’s house?

I have now officially joined the ranks of the suburbanites. even though I was living in the most suburban of suburbs before (UA), I was merely a tenant. but no more. yesterday, I closed on a condo in the equally-suburban dublin. with 20% down, my dreams of owning an RV will have to wait for a few more years.

a word of advice for anyone who’s considering doing the same: relocation companies suck. the previous owner was transferred out of town, and had a relocation company acting on her behalf. let me tell you, they’re complete idiots. 10,000 monkeys on 10,000 typewriters could do a better job. or maybe that’s what they were… it was hard to tell with all the poo they were flinging.

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amandrea.