must be the drugs

[kaigou]

Went to Ikea yesterday (and again today to return & get what we'd not gotten yesterday). CP and I pretty much bled the place quite nicely, piling up various kitchen implements we've been needing, and picking up a few that we only realized we needed once we saw the item in place -- ooh, a cutting broad board that laps the edge of the countertop! ooh, a shorter bar for hanging all the tea stuff by the coffee maker! ooh, two carrying trays that would be perfect for table linens! -- and so on.

A'course, this was despite the oh-so-not-helpful Ikea yellow-shirts. There seems to be a general sort of not-really-getting-it to the local folks, both the sellers and the buyers: I saw so many folks looking absolutely baffled as they wandered through, not sure whether that was a display or could be picked up and taken and what was this about self-serve and full-serve and where the hell is the bathroom? And the yellow-shirts themselves seemed to swing between minding their own business and putting stuff away (as opposed to being totally aware of folks in their section and right there with a helpful tip) versus standing around looking bored out of their empty skulls. Self-serve does not mean no-serve.

In other news, a rejection on Plastic Forks:

Thank you for submitting ... but we've decided not to accept it for publication. There's a lovely delicacy to the magic here, but the narrative feels a little heavy on the protagonist's introspection and emotion, without fully pulling me in to the story.

See, now that's my opinion of a good rejection: it tells me why. I'll have to reread it again with an eye towards the criticism, see what I can clear out, then. When I get something like this -- not just "we're not interested, good luck with your life" but "here's what kept us from saying yes" -- I always have the immediate urge to send a thank-you note. I've no idea whether that's appropriate. Would that just count as random, annoying spam? Because I am grateful; it gives me a handle on how to get better.

Anyone got any ideas?

...and now, I return to the world of staining shelves and boxes, putting a new desk together (yay!), and mantling the kitchen cabinets for over the fridge. Note to self, however: that two-in-one stain & poly deal? Not so with the greatness, although it's a nice idea. Or maybe it's me that's not down with the knack: it keeps streaking, puddling, and being sticky too fast, and it's not even that hot out.

I sanded another piece and tried the stain instead, and then remembered why I dislike 90% of all stains: you wipe ten minutes later and either it's so thick and uneven you might as well toss the piece, or it all comes right off and you're left with wood no darker than you'd begun.

Someday, I swear, I will get the knack of this -- without having to do eight coats of stain until it's the color I want. Sigh.

Comments

[mikkeneko.livejournal.com]

From what I remember from reading that publisher's blog, a thank you note would probably be appropriate and appreciated as long as it remained tasteful and didn't turn into an open-ended attempt at validation vampirism, which I can't conceive of as coming from you. :)