Shopping Mindset
After over 2 years of sleeping on futons on the floor, I snapped. It was fun the first 2 times when I was an exchange student. I was experiencing the culture first-hand, being truly Japanese (while my host family slept in Western beds, something I didn't question at the time). It was even all right for maybe the first 6 months I was teaching in Fukui. After that the adventure of sleeping on the floor gradually began to wane. In my old apartment my constant desire for a bed was cured because there wasn't space for a bed. You may think I'm joking; I'm not. If I pushed everything against the walls there was still barely room for me to do sit-ups. My new apartment is the polar opposite. What my old apartment was lacking, my new apartment is over-compensating for. I can't afford the amount of furniture it would take to fill this place up. My few pieces of furniture look lonely (perhaps in a Scandinavian-minimalistic sort of way, I'm hoping). And so between needing to fill space and not wanting to sleep on the floor I decided to purchase a bed. Considering how expensive beds are, and that I will use it every night for the rest of my stay in Japan, this is a serious purchase. I was in and out of the store in 15 minutes. I spent more time picking out yarn to make a scarf than I did picking out my bed. Absurd. I am happy with the bed I picked though. Delivery in 2 days. I can't wait. Perhaps I will write later about the joys of a mattress.