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That Was Easy

4/17/2012

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Remember my Quest for a Desk?  Well.  I have been remiss in not updating you.

The desk arrived right on time and per our agreement. Su Casa is not the Cable Guy.  We agreed that they would show up on a Tuesday after 1PM.  Two delivery men arrived in uniform at 1:05, greeted by my flustered husband and "ferocious" puggle.  Daniel asked if they were scared of dogs.

"No," one replied, "especially not that one."  Daniel asked what he needed to do, and they said, "Just let us know where you want to set it up."  They pet the dog and followed Daniel to the office so he could show them. 

He said, "Is there anything you need me to do?"
 
"Not at all," they said.  They lugged the boxes up the stairs, assembled the desk, and set it up exactly where Daniel asked them to within 10 minutes.  They asked Daniel to check it out.  Since we hadn't sold the old desk yet, he asked them to place the new desk in the middle of the floor in our office.  Daniel would have to move it. They showed him how to disassemble it, wiped it down, and asked if he had any questions before taking all the boxes and trash with them and leaving. 

"I'm not saying this for your blog," Daniel said, "but this was probably the best delivery experience I've had with any company.  They were in and out in ten minutes, extremely professional and knew what they were doing.  And they didn't leave a mess behind. The only finger I lifted was to unlock the door."

I remembered another desk delivery from years ago, where I had to leave work to meet the delivery person at my townhouse and then had to coerce him to take the (200 lb desk) off the truck.  He proceeded to leave it in the parking lot.  Daniel had to meet me at home just to get the thing in the house.  This was not that. 
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Before - The old desk
I'll be honest - for a week or so, the desk just sat in the middle of our office/guest room.  Just sat there, lovely and unused.  Despite his best efforts, Daniel could not get our old desk sold. We had an unprecedented number of potential takers come to see it, hem and haw, then decide not to buy it.  My husband's salesmanship is legendary and has previously been touted here, so it's worth noting that he struggled to sell it.  Finally, after dropping the price a few times, on Easter weekend we got a taker.  He was serious.  He brought his wife and his truck. The girls and I waved good-bye from their bedroom window and I clapped with excitement as Daniel moved the new desk. 

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After
Now, as I type, I sit comfortably with the keyboard pulled out and, though my foot is tucked beneath me (making me not-so-ergonomically correct), I am not hunched over the desk.  I try not to touch it for fear of smudging its top.  But it is asthetically pleasing, more comfortable, and just a better fit.

Now if only I had that robin's egg blue chair to go with it, we'd be in business. 

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The Quest for a Desk

3/18/2012

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“I totally think you should do that,” Stephanie said, gesturing out the window.  We were having brunch at Teavolve in Fells Point to celebrate her new baby.  I looked at the sign, “Test It. Blog It. Win It,” it said, and bore the Su Casa logo. She explained it was a promotion Su Casa, purveyor of stylish (and gorgeous) furniture, was running in which bloggers could test a piece of furniture and write about it in the hopes of winning it.  As soon as I got home, I applied. 

I had been trolling online retailers and resellers for a new desk.  My baby business, Bendetto Creative, will soon be making a couple big purchases, namely a new computer and a new desk.  The one we have now is sturdy and in great shape (and available for sale, should you be interested; I’ll give you a bargain).  But it’s also enormous and just doesn’t work for not-so-enormous me.

Imagine my excitement when I learned one of my other babies, Smarter Ardor, had been chosen to participate!  So, today we got to go shopping in a beautiful store I have visited many times, but from which I have never bought anything.  We are only just deciding what we like, but we know it’s not the black Ikea furniture we purchased when we started out.  We are making efforts to seek out quality pieces now, one by one, as we need additional furniture.  We acquired a lovely distressed grey antique buffet late last year that is my current favorite piece of furniture. That is, at least until the desk arrives from Su Casa next week.

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We arrived at Su Casa on Bond Street in Fells Point, kids in tow,
pre-lunch and post-church this afternoon.  We were fully aware that this experience, with a two and a four-year-old, may not be fun. Even we questioned the timing of this outing.  However, we were comforted when we saw the kids’ section—a carpeted area in the corner of the store with plenty of soft toys at eye level.  The girls squealed with delight and ran to play. Other families with small children came in, and salespeople graciously mentioned the side entrance that features a ramp for easier stroller access. Seeing this welcoming attitude, I relaxed a bit.

Several salespeople greeted us, but in such a laidback manner that I wasn’t even sure they were salespeople. Daniel and I have different preferences when it comes to shopping experiences.  I don’t really like to be bothered until and unless I know what I want.  He prefers the VIP treatment.  I’ll fast-forward a bit for you and tell you we both walked away impressed today.

I had been instructed to behave like a “normal” shopper; not to give myself away.  Normal for me is wandering around like I am lost, then whipping around frequently to ensure my children have not broken anything or gone missing.  So that’s what I did.  I couldn’t find any desks, so I sought out Jhonelle Clarke, the salesperson who had approached me initially.  She showed me to a compact console table-type desk.  It was really cute and exactly the type of thing I might have liked prior to starting Bendetto. But now, visions of double monitors and drafts with redlines scattered about crowded the surface of that cute little desk in my mind.  So that one was out, and I tried to explain this to Jhonelle.

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Image originally featured on jmyko.com.
“How do you feel about glass tops?”  She asked.  I said I did not prefer them, because, though they look lovely in the store, I figure they would soon be covered with smudged fingerprints in a variety of sizes.  I said this, but then I sat down in front of the Vera desk.  It was a nice depth (25”)-- not as petite as the console, but not as unmanageable as our current desk.  It featured a pull out drawer with room for a keyboard and mouse and divided sections for essentials. At my current desk, there is no way for me to sit in an ergonomically correct fashion, because the desk is higher than my chair will adjust to, and the mouse is too far away.  Not only would this desk solve that problem; moving the keyboard to the shelf below would also enable me to keep whatever papers I needed close at hand as well.  Daniel and I talked all of this over while Jhonelle dutifully scoured catalogs for additional desk models.  She found another, a wood-topped desk in a gorgeous ash finish we both loved.  But I had just sold myself on the practicality of the pull out drawer, which this other desk didn’t feature.  Plus, the second desk she found was about double the price of the one I was sitting at.  And while this is not exactly real life, and we are now all about embracing quality pieces, it would be silly to pretend that cost is not a factor.

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We discussed all of this while Jhonelle quietly wrote up my papers, bringing them to me nonchalantly.  There was absolutely no pressure at all, which was delightful and not what I had been expecting, quite honestly.  When I started thinking about a chair to accompany the desk, and set my sights on the Valencia chair  (in a beautiful robin’s egg blue leather), Derek carried it from across the store for me so I could compare two (almost imperceptibly) different styles side by side.  Then he didn’t make me feel bad when I decided it would just be the desk today, thank you.  (Full disclosure: I have been talking about my love for that chair ever since we left).

When it came time for me to fill out the form for delivery and payment, I presented Jhonelle with my signed Test It. Blog It. Win It. agreement.  She smiled. “Did I fool you?” I asked. She said that I had. We proceeded to schedule the shipment, which can happen next week, since the desk is in stock.

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So my Su Casa experience, so far, has been quite positive!  After we left, happy kids still happy (though now sad to leave the “special store”), we ventured down the street to Brick Oven Pizza (BOP) for lunch. 

I now anxiously await the delivery of the desk (which will arrive at the convenient day and time of my choosing), and when I close my eyes I still see that robin’s egg blue chair.  Maybe we’ll be back sooner than planned.

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    About Me

    Christina | Virginia Beach
    Psuedo Yankee, city-loving former working mom of four finds herself home with the kids and transplanted to the somewhat Southern suburbs. Finding her feet while still attempting to harness the power of the passion of her youth for useful good.

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