vivian76
03-28-2010, 12:38 AM
So last Friday, I had taken the day off work (just felt like I needed a break)... I ended up sleeping in, and lounging around in my pj's all day... I was having a real veg-out day. By early evening though, Vivian was demanding to go out, and I needed to pickup various kitchen and organizing things - so I decided that a trip to Ikea was in order.
So I got ready, and headed out... it was close to 8pm by the time I left home... perfect I thought... no one would be at Ikea at 8pm on a Friday night. :) After a short drive, I pull in to the parking lot... and it's full of cars! :eek: I park and have a minor freakout. "What are all these crazy people doing here at this time of night?" "Don't they have anything better to do?" I'm just imagining the store bursting at the seams with people. Now I don't mind being out in public, but a full Ikea... that's a bit daunting :sad:
I sat in my car for a good five minutes... wanting to leave, and yet determined to not go home empty handed without my stuff. I had to reason to myself - what was the difference between ten or twenty people seeing me versus a couple hundred? Not much I guess... considering I've never really had a bad experience in public...
I sat there watching people come and go from the store... blissfully unaware of the epic battle going on inside my head. After much debate, I came to the conclusion that I was being ridiculous, and to just go buy my stuff. So I did.
Now, if you've never been to an Ikea, it's an odd store... it isn't a big open box with aisles like a normal store... they're sort of setup like a maze, and you have to navigate your way through the entire store to get to the cashes and back out. (There are shortcuts... if you know them though)
So I made my way through the store, dodging carts and small children, jumping out of the way of strollers and determined seniors with canes, and picked up my stuff. And you know what? Nothing happened. I waited in the cash lines... the cashier didn't even blink. The whole time, I think I had maybe one double-take, a couple of smiles from women, and some men *may* have checked me out... and that was it. I was just another random crazy person in an Ikea on Friday night. I left that store feeling great. It might sound dumb, but I was really proud of myself.
I had faced my (possibly unreasonable) fears, and left the store with more confidence than I had when I went in.
Anyhow, just wanted to share that experience with you. :)
Vivian.
So I got ready, and headed out... it was close to 8pm by the time I left home... perfect I thought... no one would be at Ikea at 8pm on a Friday night. :) After a short drive, I pull in to the parking lot... and it's full of cars! :eek: I park and have a minor freakout. "What are all these crazy people doing here at this time of night?" "Don't they have anything better to do?" I'm just imagining the store bursting at the seams with people. Now I don't mind being out in public, but a full Ikea... that's a bit daunting :sad:
I sat in my car for a good five minutes... wanting to leave, and yet determined to not go home empty handed without my stuff. I had to reason to myself - what was the difference between ten or twenty people seeing me versus a couple hundred? Not much I guess... considering I've never really had a bad experience in public...
I sat there watching people come and go from the store... blissfully unaware of the epic battle going on inside my head. After much debate, I came to the conclusion that I was being ridiculous, and to just go buy my stuff. So I did.
Now, if you've never been to an Ikea, it's an odd store... it isn't a big open box with aisles like a normal store... they're sort of setup like a maze, and you have to navigate your way through the entire store to get to the cashes and back out. (There are shortcuts... if you know them though)
So I made my way through the store, dodging carts and small children, jumping out of the way of strollers and determined seniors with canes, and picked up my stuff. And you know what? Nothing happened. I waited in the cash lines... the cashier didn't even blink. The whole time, I think I had maybe one double-take, a couple of smiles from women, and some men *may* have checked me out... and that was it. I was just another random crazy person in an Ikea on Friday night. I left that store feeling great. It might sound dumb, but I was really proud of myself.
I had faced my (possibly unreasonable) fears, and left the store with more confidence than I had when I went in.
Anyhow, just wanted to share that experience with you. :)
Vivian.