21 Wednesday Nov 2012
Posted in animals & pets, cats, home
[click to biggify]
We all know that Loki is a Big Boy, but I still do a double take when I see him and Luna together like this – check out the difference in head size! Of course size isn’t everything as Luna is far and away the more clever and cunning of the two, but there is also something to be said for being a clunky and lovable galoot. I sure wouldn’t mind being Loki for a day every now and then.
20 Tuesday Nov 2012
Posted in home
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[IKEA guys at work under the watchful eye of Loki]
I was looking forward to today with mixed emotions. First of all I was thrilled that IKEA finally agreed to send someone to fix the wonky drawers, but since their solution had been to replace the entire bed frame I wasn’t looking forward to having most of my morning/afternoon disrupted. Also, when I spoke to them last Friday the conversation went something like this…
IKEA: Based on the report we received it looks like we are going to have to replace the bed frame, and since you didn’t pay for installation you will have to pay for this now.
Me: I don’t think so… (there was more, much much more, to what I replied to this, as you can imagine)
[pause while I was put on hold]
IKEA: Okay, Ms Hennessey, we will bring you a new bed frame and install it for you, but first you will have to dismantle the original bed frame and have it ready to be removed.
Me: You know what? I don’t think so. I spent TWO DAYS putting that bed frame together and I am not about to take it apart because it’s flawed and you have to replace it. As it stands I am going to have to lose another day waiting for IKEA to show up and then who-knows-how-long while everything is dealt with. I have already lost enough time… (and quite a bit more in that vein)
[pause while I was put on hold]
IKEA: Don’t worry Ms Hennessey, on Tuesday we will bring a new bed frame, dismantle the old one and assemble the new one for you.
Me: At no extra charge?
IKEA: None at all.
But you know what? The two guys who showed up to do the work first came up to assess the situation. I told them about the “one screw” that seemed to be, well, screwing things up, and asked them if it wasn’t possible to just repair the existing frame. They said they’d give it a go.
Out came the power tools and soon they were tightening bits here and there (impossible to do with just an allen key and normal screwdriver!) but even after all that two of the drawers were still a bit tight. I told them that wouldn’t matter so much if they weren’t the two drawers I was going to use the most (by the foot of the bed). No problem. The guys flipped the bed frame over, slid in the drawers and asked if that would do. I said it seemed a much more reasonable solution than having to take the frame apart and install a whole new one. And they assured me that since the bed came with a two-year guarantee that if this repair job didn’t do the trick I could have the bed replaced at any time. So fine! I agreed to that though didn’t understand why I had to sign papers saying they’d replaced the bed when they hadn’t…
What an ordeal though! If I ever buy anything major like this from IKEA again I’m just going to pay for installation. Now I can finally properly enjoy my new bed. And fill up the drawers! 🙂
19 Monday Nov 2012
sexy beast, shadow and the greyhound
Today I did a bit of tidying up. My little laptop family may seem a bit excessive but anyone who has followed The Saga will know that Shadow was bought when Sexy Beast had to go to computer hospital and there was no way I could be without a working computer for over a month. In any case, SB was already getting a bit tired so it was probably time for an upgrade. When I got SB back I added some RAM and passed her on to Peter as his old HP (aka The Brick) had kicked the bucket. Likewise when I recently bought The Greyhound, Shadow became Peter’s work laptop. Except sometimes I still need all three. Like today.
First of all I needed some printing done, which can only be done on Shadow as I’ve lost the installation discs for my printer (can probably find it online but bleh…) and I also wanted to add some music to my iPod, which can only be done on Sexy Beast. The last one is more of An Issue than the printing. So if someone knows of an EASY way of moving my iTunes library over to The Greyhound, I’m all ears. It’s ridiculous that you can’t sync your iPod on more than one computer, for all kinds of obvious reasons.
But on the bright side I spent a good hour cleaning out old files from Shadow so that he should run a lot faster for Peter now. And t’s also given me a chance to update a lot of stuff on Sexy Beast that needed doing, not the least of which was installing the latest version of iTunes. So I am feeling quite accomplished in the way you feel after you’ve cleaned out some unruly closet space.
What did you do today?
14 Wednesday Nov 2012
Posted in home
…but is mostly okay, best to leave well enough alone?
That is the question. IKEA finally sent someone over to assess my complaint and he somehow got the drawers to slide in and out, albeit not smoothly, but he admitted defeat after trying to secure the one errant screw that has, well, screwed things up. So he took some photos and said he would send a report to HQ and they’d get back to me. But now what? The drawers are more or less working and, as long as I don’t move the bed, I doubt the unsecured board will shift again. I don’t know what else IKEA can offer, other than another base.
Meanwhile… I LOVE my new bed. The mattress is a combination of coils with a thick layer of latex on top. At first I thought it was too soft, but that is only when I sit on the edge of it. Actually lying down and sleeping on it is a dream. I also like that it’s smaller than the old king-size one and doesn’t take up the whole room, though it’s still roomy at 150 x 190 cms. And now that it’s cool enough for the duvet it’s a lovely cosy & comfy experience going to bed. Especially as the two young’uns have started joining me.
30 Tuesday Oct 2012
Posted in animals & pets, cats, home
