A short story…

Keith's Ramblings

for Friday Fictioneers

This a reworking of a piece I wrote a few years back following a trip to Ikea.  Hardly anyone read it then, so second time lucky – hopefully!

 

your-star.regular

 

Gosh, this is heavy. A few steps more, through the door, round the corner and drop it to the floor.  Hey, that sounds like a poem! 

Right, off with the packaging and I’m ready to go!

This looks simple. Twenty assorted screws, one allen key, ten bits of wood and in minutes I’ll have a Billy bookcase! 

Now, this one here, that one there.  No, that one there, this one here.  Ah, that goes…err…no …grrrrr!

Look, I’ve done it!  Yea!  Now to stand it upright.   Heeeeve-ho.  Wow, look at that! 

Oh, it’s upside down. 

I think I need a coffee break.

 

 

  • Did you know, the Billy bookcase is Ikea’s biggest selling item with over 60 million sold worldwide – two of which are in my apartment!

 

penny-gadd-shelvesThanks to Rochelle for hosting and to Penny Gadd for the photo.

Prod the frog to join in the fun!

white (1)ccc

 

79 thoughts on “A short story…”

  4. Iain Kelly Sep 4, 2019 / 19:54

    A well-known story – whole days have been lost after those quick trips to Ikea! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Keith's Ramblings Sep 5, 2019 / 10:13

      I’ve never had a ‘quick’ trip to Ikea – I spend ages buying things I don’t need and eating meatballs!

      Liked by 2 people

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      • Iain Kelly Sep 5, 2019 / 14:20

        Or getting lost in the maze they make you walk all the way round!

        Liked by 1 person

  5. bearmkwa Sep 4, 2019 / 21:01

    I felt like I was watching Hubby try to build a bookshelf… hahah! Silly man waited until I was napping to do it… Great Writing!

    Liked by 1 person

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      • bearmkwa Sep 5, 2019 / 19:12

        Yeh, he finished… woke me up with the hammer. Silly man. Love him, but sometimes he’s silly.

        Liked by 2 people

  8. Dale Sep 5, 2019 / 00:17

    Ah yes… the joys of assembling Ikea furniture!

    Too much fun with the frog, sir!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  10. hilarymb Sep 5, 2019 / 09:11

    Hi Keith – I enlist an engineer to ‘build’ these! So yes … as you say – though I think I’d go for something stronger!! Cheers Hilary

    Liked by 2 people

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  13. Russell Gayer Sep 5, 2019 / 22:14

    I assume you followed Step 1, Keith. – Throw away the instructions.
    That always makes it more challenging and fun.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  15. Nobbinmaug Sep 6, 2019 / 01:31

    Isn’t that always the way. Don’t follow the instructions and it comes out deformed. Follow the instructions and they’ll mislead you everytime.

    Liked by 2 people

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  16. draliman Sep 6, 2019 / 07:09

    These things always seem to take me five times longer to build than I think they should.

    Liked by 2 people

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  17. subroto Sep 6, 2019 / 09:50

    Ha! Ha! Sometimes I long for that unassembled life when I didn’t know what an Allen key was.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  18. Brenda's Thoughts Sep 6, 2019 / 09:53

    A fun story which I can certainly relate to. “No problem” it’ll be finished in a snap … hours later my husband rues the day he bought it. (haha)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
      • Keith's Ramblings Sep 6, 2019 / 10:19

        Some people who work in Ikea showrooms have to do this all day every day – imagine that. I spent ages putting Froggie together this week! Thanks, Brenda

        Liked by 2 people

  19. James McEwan Sep 6, 2019 / 10:51

    Do you read the instructions first or only after you get stuck?
    There is a new!! crowd game going on, where lots of teenagers play hide and seek in IKEA.
    They called the police in Edinburgh.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    • Keith's Ramblings Sep 6, 2019 / 15:45

      Afterwards, whether its furniture or a new electrical gadget! What a perfect place to play hide and seek – even I fancy a go at it!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  20. Colline Sep 6, 2019 / 11:49

    The experience my family and I have had building furniture from IKEA! Especially the bed frames and day beds.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • Keith's Ramblings Sep 6, 2019 / 15:47

      The bigger it is the more difficult it proves! Hopefully, you got your beds sorted by bedtime!

      Like

      Reply
      • Colline Sep 6, 2019 / 23:10

        We did – though we went to bed a lot later than usual! 😄

        Liked by 1 person

  22. Debbie D. Sep 6, 2019 / 18:33

    I’m laughing mightily, here. 😀 We have a couple of IKEA Billy bookcases and went through exactly what you described. It’s supposed to be simple, right? 😛 Cheers!

    Liked by 2 people

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  26. angietrafford Sep 7, 2019 / 13:53

    IKEA instructions are very much like that, look simple but are not at all! I am sure everyone has had this experience at least once.

    Liked by 2 people

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  28. granonine Sep 7, 2019 / 18:26

    Hilarious, and such a common experience! Glad you gave this one a re-run 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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  29. Mike Sep 7, 2019 / 23:15

    It is much quicker to build a bookcase with some bricks and a few planks, 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

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  31. Margaret Sep 8, 2019 / 05:50

    Sounds like fun. Upside down, eh??? Never mind – you do get used to it. 🙃

    Liked by 2 people

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  35. Laurie Bell Sep 10, 2019 / 21:42

    Hahahagah ! Great take on the prompt Keith, you would think they are easy to assemble but I dunno it’s super hard and why is there a screw left over! Argh not again !

    Liked by 1 person

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  36. Cathy Kennedy Oct 7, 2019 / 22:52

    Keith,

    I’m sure the assembly instructions were all wrong. It’s surprising how often we’ve run into that problem. Thankfully, DH has a keen sense of picking up what sounds correct and is able to make the adjustment before we blow too many fuses in our head trying to decipher our mix up. 😊

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