I can't believe how much money I can spend in one day

You know how everyone always says they don't know how they could run out of money if they won the lottery? Here's how: go to IKEA. Apparently their stuff is "cheap", but I managed to walk out of there $1200 poorer and I didn't even fill up the van. Add that to the amount I spent on a new bed and you can imagine how I feel right now. Save money or sleep on something soft? A tough choice. Good thing I have that salary coming soon.

But at least now my apartment will look like I actually have taste. No, wait, I said that wrong. It will look like I bought the same sense of taste as every other young graduate who respects money enough to shop at IKEA, but not enough to skip the shopping entirely.

Here's the downside of living in a townhome (yes, my apartment is a townhome too, it's just bigger): there are a lot of stairs. And I carried all that IKEA wood up those stairs. To give you an idea: by the time I was done moving anything, I was wearing just a tshirt (and pants, come on) and had the windows open to the 30-some degree weather. And I was still feeling a bit hot. At least assembly was relaxing! I was able to build two lamps and a chair before I realized that everything else needs a screwdriver and my tools are in a truck somewhere in the US or outlying territories. So I guess I'll go buy a screwdriver today...I haven't seen any hardware stores around, though. Come to think of it, I've been driving around a lot and I've only seen a couple big-box stores. Hooray! But now how will I use my Home Depot and Best Buy gift cards?

After giving up on any further assembly, I went home and cooked for the first time as a Redmond resident. It was pasta. Surprised?