I decided to make an afternoon of going to the Swedish home furnishings superstore IKEA, to get some new bedding. Although I rented my room as furnished and that usually includes bed linen, I was provided with a rather annoying set of mismatched sheets that are too small for the bed. So I set off on the SkyTrain for the IKEA store in Coquitlam. I had gotten directions from the IKEA website as to which station to get off at and then the bus number to take. Well, I got off at the right station, but after finding the right bus stop I discovered the bus I needed doesn't go past that station any more, according to the timetable that a bus driver found for me. A bit stumped, as there didn't appear to be anything else of interest nearby, I thought 'Oh well, at least I've taken the train someplace new. If I head back now my train ticket will be valid for the return journey so I might as well go back.' So I crossed over to the other side of the station, jumped on the next train heading back, and as we pulled away I looked out the window and saw the IKEA store just a short distance away! Laughing at myself, I got off at the next stop, crossed to the other side of that station, and went back again! It looked to be only about 5 minutes walk away.
Well. Exiting the station I joined an 8-lane highway on a narrow strip of sidewalk right next to the traffic lanes, and I'm thinking, yeah this is not really pedestrian-friendly, but it'll be my little urban adventure, so I set off unpeturbed (seeing as I have an interest in assessing the quality of provisions for pedestrians). About 100m more and I'm walking across some kind of major interchange, traffic under me, traffic next to me, exits, on-ramps, and trucks rushing past with big blasts of air blowing my hair in all directions. The fact that there was one (just one) other pedestrian, a woman a short distance ahead, gave me courage and I continued along behind her. She walked quickly though and I had to run a couple of times to catch the same pedestrian signals (where they existed). I felt a little like Alice following the white rabbit, a little like Bill Bryson when he tried to get to K mart in the vehicle-dominated town of Waynesboro, a little like Uncle Travelling Matt from Fraggle Rock, and a little like an idiot. But still enjoying the challenge. To get to IKEA, I had to head away from it, cross several roads, come to a dead-end where the footpath simply stopped, double back and then make my way through an industrial area with no sidewalks at all, just gravel and puddles. Every now and then I would get a glimpse of the blue and yellow oasis of IKEA but actually getting to it was the hard part. Oh yeah, to make it all that much more fun, it had started to rain.
Are you getting the message yet that people are simply not supposed to walk to IKEA? Finally I reached the store and even then it was unwelcoming for pedestrians. I seemed to be at the 'back-side' and I had to cross another road with no pedestrian crossing and go through a carpark to reach the entrance. Then it was straight to their cafe for a restorative piece of chocolate cake! I think I earned it! What I had thought would be a 5 min walk turned into a 20 min exhaust fume-filled drama.
After traipsing through several departments, deliberately going the opposite direction to the arrows on the floor (I am a rebellious pedestrian, aren't I?), I made it to the bedding area and was overwhelmed with choice. I finally chose a quilt (duvet) cover and inner, a mattress protector (to put some distance between me and the old mattress), and sheets, all for just over $100.
Then I felt the need to leave a.s.a.p. before getting distracted by all sorts of cool stuff they have there. Just to reinforce the 'pedestrians are not welcome here' theme, all the exit signs read "Exit to parking lots". Where do people exit who might want to walk or take transit?
Anyway, I had spied a bus stop near the entry and rather than battle my way back through the traffic, I thought I'd give that a go. I sat down and a voice said, "I hope this doesn't offend you?" and I look up to see a man in a fluoro orange hat in a wheelchair with a fluoro orange flag, indicating the joint he was smoking. I said it didn't bother me so then we started a conversation about the medicinal use of marijuana, including different ways to take it (I didn't know you could get capsules??). Turns out he was building a log home about 30 years ago and as he felled the very last tree he needed, it landed on him and crushed his legs and he's been in the wheelchair, in pain, ever since. He was very cheerful though and we also talked about how there's no point in getting upset about things you can't change. He changed careers and now runs a business sharpening things - knives etc. He gave me his business card and said if I ever needed anything at all, to give him a call. It was a pleasant, if somewhat bizarre encounter, as we waited for the bus which was about half an hour later than the posted schedule said. And you know, I should have just walked back, because we got stuck in rush hour traffic that crawled along.
When I paid my bus fare I forgot that they have an integrated system where you use the same ticket for buses and trains, and I'd only paid for one section, when I should have paid for two. I realised this on the bus, but when I joined the throng of people exiting the bus and pouring into the SkyTrain station, I forgot and got straight on the train. Then I remembered again as I read the notice about an instant $150 fine for fare-dodgers or people with inadequate fares. In all the trips I have taken on the SkyTrain, today was the first day I've seen the transit police out checking tickets. Lots of them. Today. So I was sitting there slightly nervous the whole way back. I suppose I could have gotten off and bought another ticket but it seemed like too much hassle to give up my seat and drag my two big IKEA bags off the train and then wait for the next one, plus part of me wanted to see if I could get away with it! And I did ;-)
That's not quite the end of the story. I made it home and opened all the bags to check everything fitted before washing and drying it all so that I could have an actual proper set of bed linen to sleep in tonight. Well, I managed to buy two fitted sheets, instead of one flat and one fitted! Ha ha, silly me! And I decided the quilt cover I picked out actually looks rather hideous so that's got to go back too.
Here I am with my still-mismatched sheets, holding the fluoro orange business card of my new friend Clarence.
Almost forgot about the job situation! Pat the temp agency woman finally called back to tell me I didn't get the position I interviewed for last week even though they liked me because they had to go with someone from an agency they have a contract with. So why didn't Pat or the woman who interviewed me think about that before, huh? I know she didn't make this up because she'd previously explained that the client usually uses another agency. I actually don't mind, because if they'd offered it to me I would have been in a tricky situation because I have two interviews on Friday and I'm really keen on one of those positions.
So that's the rather long story of my urban adventure. I hope you enjoyed it :-)
Positions applied for: still 23. Interviews: still 1. Job offers: still 0.
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