202601101757: The Ikea Ivar haters were right.

I started putting together the Ivar side panels today. Each panel has 2 vertical bars with 5 horizontal bars that connect them. Then there are pegs that go through both bars to lock them in place. It kind of looks like a ladder when you're done.

I broke 3 horizontal bars. Each one on a different side panel. The bars aren't really removable once you have them together, so I couldn't rearrange the unbroken parts to try to complete one of the broken panels. I'm also going to have to drill out some of the broken wood to try again.

I'm going to call Ikea support to ask if they can send some replacements. I checked the website to buy the individual pieces and there wasn't a separate part number like there usually is. The screws, the dowls, and washers literally all had separate part numbers which implies they could be purchased individually. All of the pieces except the one I need.

In the mean time, I'm going to finish as many shelves as I can. The apartment complex called to tell me the roofer is going to come work on the ceiling on Monday. I've got to get the house in order enough to make it easy to move things around if they need and enough that there's enough room for the pets to hang with me in the bedroom while the workers are here.

The kitchen is still filled with the dining room items while I build the shelves. We went to my partner's favorite breakfast joint. They were a huge fan of Waffle House, but there are none where we live now. Side note: if you haven't heard of the Waffle House index, look it up. It's hilarious.

We made a pitstop at Barnes and Nobel. My bestie sent me a gift card for Christmas. I got a German workbook and a book about useless language lexicon things. Think how ampersands came to be, histoy of pig latin, etc. My partner found a book of Biden quotes and, let me tell you, some of them are fucking hilarious. They all have a source listed to tell you where the compiler found them.

Tomorrow's goals are to finish the shelves, get the dining room stuff out fo the kitchen so it's usable again, put away the clean laundry that's hogging all of my bedroom space, toss half the couch, and make sure I have some idea what we're making for food this week. The couch was a large 'L' shaped thing my partner got it a couple years ago from a colleague who was moving. It's too big for the space and has a damaged section. Plus, I'm allergic to the pets and they have fully claimed the couch as their own. I use a camping chair when I want to hang in the living room. The plan is to give the animals their own hang out pads and get a new, smaller couch. We're going to toss the half with the damage to give us a little room until we get a replacement. Bye for now.

202601092024: I have no idea what I'm doing.

I don't know what I'm doing with this website really. I've been working on building the bones for the past month and I keep wanting to give up. It's such a superfluous use of time. I was so freaking motivated when I started. The world feeling like it's falling apart and me feeling like I can make a little difference with this goofy little site. I keep coming back despite the slipping resolve. Maybe it's my stubborness or maybe it's that little internal spark that just won't quit, but if nothing else, I'm going to finish setting up this site.

When I'm not working on this site or working my ass off at a job that doesn't value me, I'm learning German. I'm planning a trip to see family in Germany this year and I want to be able to understand a little of what's going on around me. I have about 6 months to learn what I can. I bought a lifetime subscription to Babbel years ago on impluse and I'm finally putting it to use. I'm also using Short Stories in German for Beginners by Olly Richards. Well... going to use. I've started the Babbel lessons, but the book felt a little overwhelming.

I'm also trying to get the flight stuff figured out. Passports, Global Pass, accommodations, and the like. I haven't travelled internationally as an adult and it's so stressful. You're completely responsible if you screw up something. My partner is coming with me and I'm the travelling guru out of the two of us, so there's two people who will suffer if it goes wrong.

I'm also trying to reorganize our house. Nobody tells you how to combine households with another human. You both have too many things because furnishing a house for one person requires so much. Furnishing a house for two people is nowhere close to double. Like, you only need one couch, chair, microwave, kitchen table, etc. between the both of you. Not to mention the junk you collect from all the hobbies. I just got several Ivar Ikea shelves, including the corner shelf they just brought back. I scheduled tomorrow to put those together. I tried to start putting together the side panels and it's a bitch. Apparently, Ikea used to sell the side panels already assembled and recently started selling them disassembled. The complaints are high. I think the rating is at, like, 2.6 stars out of 5. I have to agree with the crowd. I'm going to have to lug down the pieces to the bottom floor of my apartment complex so I can bang it together on concrete. I know I'll be happy when it's put together though.

I got a set of Souper Cubes this week. I'm collecting good freezable recipes to add to my collection. Cooking for a small family has never been easy. I'm hoping we can expand our options by using the cubes. I did try to de-influence myself before buying. I sat on it for awhile, too. Honestly, I think they might be a good investment. Besides the easy portion sizing, the space saving is what sold me. I saw a woman put 3 cups of soup in a 1 quart bag and it was still stackable. I'm terribly impulsive, but my stress about overspending keeps me in check. I do a ton of research before committing. I think it'll work out.

Next week roofers are coming to work on our ceiling. We live in a desert, but got a crazy freak storm over Christmas and New Years. The leaking started on Christmas Eve. The apartment complex has been sucking at the communication, but I can tell they're at least working on it on the back end. Roofers have been on the roof for the last week and someone came by to look at the damage earlier today. There's talk of crawling into attic crawl spaces and repainting. I want to have the house mostly in order before they start doing that, so it's imperative I have the shelves completed this weekend.

Maybe it was the word vomit or maybe it's because it's late at night, but I feel oddly inspired again. Tomorrow brings another day filled with impossible things that I will accomplish. Tschüss!