Friday, July 18, 2003
Grab a seat
Physical State: aligned back
Mental State: sharp
Music: The Daily Show w/ Claire Kember - s/t
Fashion sense: white shirt, tan shorts
Sore back sore butt. So I finally said ok that's it, I sit in this crappy chair a lot and I've had it. So I pushed it over there and was determined to find something more suitable that wouldn't kill me. Ok so here's the thing. The chair that I had was many years old and the bolts that hold in the arms actually started to lift up through the seat (what do you want for $100 from Ikea). I'm not sure why they made the seat so thin on this model (they've since changed a lot of things on it but the seat is still thin). So I decided that I'm not quite in the tax bracket to afford a Herman Miller Aeron (although they have to be the Mercedes-Benz of office chairs), so I have to look for something stylish yet affordable. Of course me being the Ikea whore that I am I immediately wanted to find a chair that would rival this piece of crap that I've sat on for nigh 7 years or so. They owed me in a sense. So back to the Swedish supermarket I went. I went in search of the Verksam (how do they come up with the names) which seemed to be the Honda Civic of office chairs, suitable and more affordable than the all leather high back executive chairs yet still having great features and comfort. So I go to my Etobicoke local location. Totally sold out, not one in the place. Seems I'm not the only one who prefers this model (which is encouraging). Then I had an idea. There are not one but 3 locations in the downtown Toronto area alone so I'll try another (seems that I'm not the only Ikea fan in the T-Dot). Now at the one I used to go to regularly in my university days (which was the only one in Toronto for a long time) I'd always check out the "As-Is" area for some "scratched and dented" bargain after all who doesn't like a bargain right? So there it was, a Verksam that was about half the regular price with some white painted numbers on the underside (classifying it as damaged). So I'm thinking, hmm this chair is for my ass not my eyes and I'm going to save $125, SOLD! So now my back and my seat are thanking me. I know I can hear all the comments that I'm some Fight Club flunkie. Hey I'm a little broke. One day I will be able to afford to shop at Up Country and Roche-Bobois. But as Meredith Ochs of WFMU so rightly put it, us "downwardly mobile" types have to make the most of what we got (sometimes we don't have a choice frankly). In a somewhat related vein for a take on the Toronto working poor scenario check out this article from last week's Eye newspaper here.
