alexist

Very slow weekend. I'm bored. Can't think of anything to do (already did grocery shopping, unexciting as that is). I have a nice pile of dishes that I wish would wash themselves. Ugh.

We ended up going to IKEA--needed a filing cabinet, and some furniture inspiration. We'd actually not wanted to buy new furniture, because our medium-term plan is still emigration, and why buy something you're only going to have to sell for half of what you paid? But events have conspired against us.

We need:
1) A new sofa and armchair: our current ones are knackered. I don't just mean they look knackered, I mean the springs are going or gone.
2) A new bed. Our current one isn't knackered, but it is too small. It's a 4'6" double. Neither of us gets a great night's sleep as it is, and with a bump, it's either going to be a new bed or Neil sleeps on the sofa. We've agreed that it's going to be a new bed. ;)

The bed we're definitely not buying until we've found a new flat, because that will determine whether we can get a superking (6', US King) or not, which is what we really want. And we're not buying that at IKEA because their sizes are non-standard (they do 140 and 160 instead of 135 and 150cm).

The sofa we probably won't buy just yet either (easier to just dump old one when we move) but we thought it was worth a look. We failed to be inspired. I think the trouble is we don't really know exactly what we want, other than "3 seater" and "comfy". A sofa bed is tempting but would probably be more than we'd want to spend and would likely only be a 2-seater.

Speaking of flats, we've got to start hunting for a new one soon. This will be fun :/ We're only renting (this place needs some work before we can sell it anyway) but we're still somewhat demanding. For example, it's either got to be ground floor or have a lift, because getting a pram up and down steps will be a nightmare. (It's difficult enough managing luggage in ours, which has a steep flight of steps up to the entrance.) Ah well... at least we're not wedded to living in a particular area, which will help!

how dumb are you to head-butt someone, in extra time of the World Cup final?!

What a way to end a career--on a red card.

I was rooting for France, in large part because I thought it would be a wonderful end to Zidane's career, but if they lose because of this they'll deserve it. :(

Browsing rightmove.co.uk. It's SO annoying when you see a flat, looks nice, good price... then you see "2nd floor".

Heaven knows when we'll go anyway: we have to fit it around Neil's intensive schedule of sport-watching ;)

(PS, unrelated: Damn you Italy!)

Something must be buggered, Virgin's website is telling me that a return Premium Economy fare, including taxes, for the end of August is £583.

(Not planning to go, my mother was just asking me how much it would be, and I was curious about PE versus non-discounted economy. A fully flexible Economy ticket is £860. At these prices, cheaper to buy PE and use fewer miles to upgrade!)

(oh, damn, APEX PE fares are non-upgradeable anyway...)

(hmm! N class Economy fare = £263! Not seen it that cheap in a LONG time. at that price, the taxes are bigger than the fare!)