The alternate planet in Costa Mesa called IKEA

Tonight, after work, I had my first encounter with the wonders of IKEA.
Foreign name...foreign planet.

I am both thoroughly in love, and thoroughly frightened of IKEA. It started simply enough. I teach the winterguard at Tesoro high school. The show this year calls for 4 different styles of cheap chairs. I had heard about the great, cheap furniture at IKEA, so I headed over.

I never realized just how big the store actually is until I exited the 405. It truly is gargantuan. I walked in, up the escalator, and started my journey. Everything I have heard about IKEA is true. CHEAP ASS FURNITURE...it's amazing. I now know how I am going to actually be able to afford furnishings when I move out of the abyss which is my parents house. I easily found 8 different styles of chairs that would work for my needs. I noticed however, that buying these chairs would be alot harder than it seems. It's not like you can just pick up the chairs where you see them. Each piece of furniture has a tag in both English and Swedish explaining where to find it in the ginormous warehouse on the first level. Section, row and aisle were all easily (or so it seems) explained on the tag. I went downstairs to find the chairs, and quickly realized that IKEA had outsmarted me (not hard to do, I know, but luckily I have booster parents to buy the chairs for me) and I started to wander around the sale section. HOLY HELL that stuff is cheap! I got 200 tealight candles, a new feather duster and a magazine organizing rack for 4.97! DOES IT GET BETTER?!?!?!

One other thing. THANK GOD for the signs hanging from the ceiling pointing you towards the cash registers and exits, or I would have NEVER made it out of the monsterous belly of the Costa Mesa IKEA.