What's on your mind today?

[SteveS]

Sounds like you're just really normal to me, rlrose328.  I frequently desire a quiet place to be alone!  Pity that "married with children" lifestyle offers so little of this.  Its why I've become something of a night owl.  Sure, I'm tired the next day, but I do so enjoy a few hours of peace and quiet to do whatever I'd like....

Your son doesn't sound that different from me.  In my childhood, I was a good student, clarinet player, and hockey player.  I also read avidly, tried track & field (I was only really any good at 400m), tried baseball, did a very short drama stint, sucked at art but tried until it was clear I was hopeless, and finally couldn't figure out what I wanted to major in so I went into university as a physic major until I finally transfered to double-E my junior year and ended up as a software engineer/business owner.

My current fads and fascinations are many, and I frequently become obsessive with something only to abandon it a short time later.  I guess its just the way I'm wired.  For what its worth, I think you're doing the right thing - letting your child find his own way.  Sometimes this takes a long time!  I know its frustrating, and I know I frustrated my parents, but in the end the gift your are giving is freedom.  It is a very worthwhile gift, and of immense value!  I say  -- keep going with it.  But do try to find some alone time!  

[Tom62]

Hi rltrose328,

I like IKEA as well, especially their food department. Don't know if you get that in the States as well, but they have a wonderful shrimp paste that you can put on your bread. My wife and I are addicted to it. Furthermore my whole appartment is full of IKEA's Billy  bookshelves. They are so damn practical and very good value for the money.

Cheers, Tom

[Mister Joy]

Tom62 and rlrose... you're both mad... mad I say! The Bristol IKEA's 'restaurant', at least, has the bleak atmosphere of a prison dining hall. Most likely due to the cheap yellow plastic furniture, lino flooring and rows of hunched figures with trays shuffling about and looking forlorn. The delightfully oppressive, red and yellow "WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED, PLACE YOUR TRAY ON THE RACK AND RETURN TO YOUR SHOPPING" sign adds a nice thick layer of icing to the cake.

[SteveS]

Hey Mister Joy --- I don't know if you guys have K-Mart across the pond, but the ol' K-Mart Cafeteria has to be just as scary.  I can report, with some amount of pride, that I've never had the displeasure of eating in one.  Too gross.

[rlrose328]

SteveS, we do let him go his own way, even if it means having an obsession or hobby for 3 days.  And he's finally discovering reading can actually be fun, as long as it involves manga or dragons or something funny.  He's a joy, really... his smile can charm the wits right out of you.  We just don't see it very often.  

And I agree, the food area at K-Mart is depressingly disgusting.  However, I can honestly say I've eaten there a few times.  The one where my mom lives is really the only department store shopping in the area, so when Brendan was younger, that's where I'd go with him to just get out of the house for awhile.  Popcorn, bottled water or chips and the occasional corndog.  Cheap and the kid loves it.

Tom62, we LOVE the food at IKEA.  The first time we went there, we were like, "meatballs... yummy."  We're big fans of compressed and spherical meat products.  Wow... Hubby had to get two plates and made himself sick, but he LOVED 'em.  I got the shrimp salad sandwich and it was basic and yummy.  The breakfasts are $.99 and $1.99 and are so worth it.  Lots of good diner food, perfect for filling up and getting to the shopping.

We got the Lerberg shelf for my work/study space.  And we got the Traktor chair for the kid's study/craft space in his room.  

Mister Joy, it's a shame that the restaurant in Bristol is so bad.  The one in our IKEA is bright, brimming with color and excitement, many different types of tables and chairs in groups around the large area, plants, a family counter with to-go containers, a microwave, plates and utensils for kids.  The signage is almost invisible.  The sign just says, "help us help you by bussing your own tray," and that's in grey type on a dark blue wall that surrounds several of the tray carts, very inobtrusive.  The food is always fresh (looking, at least), it's always hot like it should be, the service has been friendly and attentive, like they actually want to be there.  Joe and I were discussing that just the other day when the gal at the registered seemed genuinely happy, a rarity in the trades these days.

If you don't like the restaurant, do you at least like the products and merchandise they sell?

[SteveS]

Hey rlrose - the K-Marts by you might be a significant step up from those by me.  In the vast Chicago suburbs, K-Marts have gone down hill.  I travel a decent amount, and sometimes in smaller towns across the country I'm pleasantly surprised by the quality of K-Marts or Walmarts.  By me these are mostly trashy --- but I think that's because there's so much competition here.  The only way they survive outside the large metropolis is to occupy the low-price rung.  This can attract "interesting" patrons who don't treat the store very well.  The end effect is the entire store suffers.  Around me, Targets are usually pretty nice, and I've had a snack a few times in the Target "cafeteria".  I'm certainly not a snob - but if you visited a local (to me) Target and a local K-Mart or Walmart, the difference is readily apparent!

[rlrose328]

SteveS, I'd say we share the same experience with KMart.  "Interesting" clientele is a nice way to put it.      In my experience, people just don't treat the store like they should.  It becomes a trash bin... dirty and unkempt.  And the employees rarely smile... the place is "just a job," unlike the experiences I have at Walmart (which I try desperately NOT to frequent) and Target.  KMart is definitely the bottom rung of retail, IMHO.

We have a Target here and it's very very nice.  It's about 4 years old now and it's still has clean and sparkly as the day it was built.  I usually have to use the restroom everytime we go (either me or the kid) and it's always very clean and that can be rare these days, too.  However, the Target in the town over from where my mom lives (central California, almost dead center of the state) is as disgusting as any KMart you'll find.  The KMart there went out of business years ago and I'm afraid that Target took its place.

My problem with Target is that we only find what we're looking for about 3 out of 10 visits.  They stopped carrying Pert, the shampoo we use.  I can't recall the last few things we were looking for, but we've left empty-handed many times.

[Tom62]

Tom62, we LOVE the food at IKEA.  The first time we went there, we were like, "meatballs... yummy."  We're big fans of compressed and spherical meat products.  Wow... Hubby had to get two plates and made himself sick, but he LOVED 'em.  I got the shrimp salad sandwich and it was basic and yummy.  The breakfasts are $.99 and $1.99 and are so worth it.  Lots of good diner food, perfect for filling up and getting to the shopping.

Guess what I always eat when I'm at IKEA, yes those fantastic meatballs (köttbullar), shrimp dishes and swedish applecake. From their food market I always buy cripbread (knackerbröt), the shrimp spread (don't know if they sell it in the USA) and sweets (I'm addicted to licorice).
Some IKEA restaurants are just like what Mister Joy described. Some of them are bad, while others are pretty dull. The one in my neighborhood is fine, but the one I've seen in France and Switzerland were very, very good. Many people only go the IKEA there for lunch (including business people).

[SteveS]

I can't recall the last few things we were looking for, but we've left empty-handed many times.

Shame that never seems to happen to my wife  

(okay, sorry, that was a cheap shot --- honestly, she's very frugal!)

[rlrose328]

Guess what I always eat when I'm at IKEA, yes those fantastic meatballs (köttbullar), shrimp dishes and swedish applecake. From their food market I always buy cripbread (knackerbröt), the shrimp spread (don't know if they sell it in the USA) and sweets (I'm addicted to licorice).
Some IKEA restaurants are just like what Mister Joy described. Some of them are bad, while others are pretty dull. The one in my neighborhood is fine, but the one I've seen in France and Switzerland were very, very good. Many people only go the IKEA there for lunch (including business people).

We love the meatballs, too.  We got there for breakfast and Joe had meatballs.  We shopped for a few hours and, well, we hit the caf for more meatballs before we left.  It's a ways away from us, so we also got a third order to go and had those for dinner last night with a salad.  YUM!  WE got the cookbook too so we can make some here.  Joe makes killer meatballs but that gravy they use... wow.

I haven't seen any shrimp spread here... is that refrigerated or just on a shelf?  I got some of the lingenberry jam (like they serve with the meatballs here) and I've had it on biscuits a few times.  SO TASTY!!!  I also got some cookies with chocolate hazelnut cream in the middle.  TWO are so rich, that's all I can do at a time!  

[rlrose328]

I can't recall the last few things we were looking for, but we've left empty-handed many times.

Shame that never seems to happen to my wife  :confused:

[Tom62]

I haven't seen any shrimp spread here... is that refrigerated or just on a shelf?  I got some of the lingenberry jam (like they serve with the meatballs here) and I've had it on biscuits a few times.  SO TASTY!!!  I also got some cookies with chocolate hazelnut cream in the middle.  TWO are so rich, that's all I can do at a time!  

The shrimp spread comes in a tube. It is delicious on crackers.

[rlrose328]

Nope, definitely haven't seen any of the shrimp paste in our IKEA.  Joe said he'd make deep fried sandwiches with it.  He tried to do that once with regular shrimp using a recipe, but it didn't turn out.  Ah well...  

[Mister Joy]

SteveS: Nope, no anythingmarts over here. I would say I'm grateful for that but then again we have Tescos Their slogan is every little helps but in order to make that more suitable you have to imagine it being whispered in your ear by Hannibal Lecter. They're pretty much the Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil, existing purely for the sake of being evil.

I do know what KMart's food is like though. The Black Death. I've been a couple of times: once as a kid when I lived in Seattle and again several years later while I was on holiday, that time just for the sake of it. I tend to do that whenever I'm in the States: mozy around random shops that we don't have back home just to see if I'm missing out on anything. I'm a bit envious of you for QFC (I think that's the right acronym - a supermarket for food and such) because they sell live lobsters, a stupidly large array of tobaccos and they do surprisingly good coffee - at least in the Seattle one. Actually that may well be the only one for all I know... but I'm assuming it's nation wide because if it isn't, it bloody well should be.

rlrose: Well the desk I'm typing at is from IKEA, I believe, so I'm fine with their actual merchandise yes. Durable and functional. There are better places to go for furniture though... charity shops are brilliant things, pour example. Also, they work for me because there are several within five minutes walk of my house and I'm generally too lazy to drive into the city unless I need to or I'm having a 'night on the town'. Bristol isn't exactly famed for its brilliant traffic either.

[SteveS]

Hey Mister Joy,

I do know what KMart's food is like though. The Black Death.

I'm a bit envious of you for QFC

I'm unfamiliar with QFC --- I guess we don't have those in the Chicago area.