What's in a word...

Anyone who knows me halfway well knows that I like everything in its place. Clutter and crap annoy me to no end.

So, I've been living in my apartment for two months. For the first 2 weeks, when I thought it was a temporary arrangement, I literally had all of my boxes stacked against a wall of the bedroom and only the essentials unpacked. ANNOYING.

When Leah offered to let me stay permanently, I jumped for joy. And then I unpacked everything in 2.3 seconds. The problem? I moved from a one bedroom all to myself, to a 2 bedroom that was already fully furnished. So...not enough space. After utilizing every nook & cranny to the best of my ability, and taking a couple of runs to Goodwill to get rid of a few things from my already sparse collection of possessions (try moving a billion times and see how much stuff you have left), I was left with just my school stuff and desk supplies stacked in a corner.

Two months later, I have had ENOUGH of the school crap in the corner.

I decided to get a desk. Then I decided I didn't have enough space for a desk. Then I decided a bookshelf would do, a tall one. I also had a Pier One gift card begging to be used.

Armed with my iPhone and Jesse, I set out to Pier One. I searched "Pier 1" and drove to the closest one ("Bell Street Pier 1"), which was supposedly right next to the Art Institute, where I worked for a brief stint. However, not so brief that I would have missed a Pier One right next door.

When we arrived at "Bell Street Pier 1," we found...nothing. An old building down by the water that was most definitely NOT Pier One. Jesse called the phone number listed, and a woman with a thick accent who apparently didn't speak much English answered. She'd never heard of Pier 1; however, we could park in the garage she works at for only a billion dollars per hour.

I drove about two more blocks when it hit me. The iPhone had literally taken me to Pier 1. As in a fishing pier. There are 66 piers along the Seattle downtown waterfront and that's exactly where we were, at Pier 1.

Note to self and others who live in a city with any type of water coast: It is critical to list the word "Imports" when searching for Pier 1 Imports.