Sunday, July 03, 2005

IKEA

I started my Ikea part time job last Thursday. It´s quite ok, I´m busy learning a lot of new things: Getting to know about the merchandise, the things we are selling and where they are in the shop; answering customers questions and directing them (as this is supposed to be a self-service shop), sometimes looking up the prizes in the computer, what things we have in stock and orders and when they will arrive if they are not in at the moment...

But, and now I´m maybe being too nasty...but I´ll just put it here regardless: One thing that has struck and amazed me at Ikea: It is that for about 50% of the young people working there this sentence would fit very well if printed on their polo shirts:


I sure hope I´ll not myself start growing horizontally as a result of working in that place... as the only direction I´d like to grow in at this stage in my life is upwards, mentally and spirtually!

Maybe she works at Ikea?

6 comments:

Johnny Newt said...

Being an American, we are quite used to fuller figures. i'm not sure why working at Ikea would add on extra weight, unless there is a calorie packed American McDonalds
next door !!! When traveling to Mainland China I am amazed by how fit everyone is, I'm so used to seeing nice hefty mid-western Americans wattle around.

Greta Björg said...

Yes, there is a hamburgeplace and a very nice icecream-shop as well.
Maybe it´s just me that has not noticed or realized before how alarmingly obese the younger generation of Icelanders is becoming.
But I remember that just the other day there were some figures in the paper that we are fast becoming even more obese than the Americans. We take up a lot of things from the USA culture, good and bad, sometimes so much so that we are in mockery called "The Little America".
Comes from being mid-way between America and Europe I guess. Some people think it´s all an influence from the US base at Keflavík, but I don´t think so, it´s just that the world is getting smaller with better ways of communication.

Arindam said...

*chuckles*

*can't stop*

so true. and here i am saying this after having put on a few kilos sitting at home over the last two months.

thanks greta. i better start moving around again.

Sadiq said...

Where is that consciousness about health? Feel sorry for the icelanders.

There is a nice saying, "There is a container which is worst in the whole universe when it is full, and that container is our stomach." So better not make it full. always keep some room inside. :)

Greta Björg said...

Even so, THIS is what keeps lots of people healthy in my country, even into an old age:
http://www.randburg.com/is/itr/

We have up to now, along with the Japanese, been the nation with the longest life-exspectancy in the world. But I´m quite concerned (along with Magnús Scheving of Lazy Town http://www.lazytown.com) that we will loose our place on that list in future if this development continues.

Greta Björg said...

The Japanese islanders eat a lot of FISH and seafood, and that´s what we islanders of Iceland used to do as well, but now it´s a lot of steaks, mayonese-sauce, hamburgers, french-fries and pizzas!