how shopping for a couch sucks

so, along with a new apartment, i figured it'd be great if i also bought a new couch. that's a pretty big thing. the couch is the focal point of a room. i mean, usually it's the biggest thing, and it's where your eyes immediately goes to. your couch is your first impression, so you better get it right.

big pressure. and i'm not spending more than $800 for it.

i've been doing some research, and i realized that modernism is in. and what modernism means is squares and rectangles. everything is angular. and, to be honest, everything kinda looks the same. i don't know why one couch costs $1500 and the other costs $1800, but that's really what i was looking at.

here's a quick aside: i was researching couches and where to go to buy one. it's not like there's a furniture district. so i found a place in the marina where their corporate motto was "affordable luxury" - which in the marina meant that the couches cost between $3500 and $5000 - and i don't know what the difference was other than the name on the tag. but that's what the marina is all about. that's why i don't live there.

anyways, i went all around, from soma to van ness to geary to union square to the castro and eventually to hayes valley, which is an up-and-coming hip part of town with a bunch of boutiques. and that's where i saw a sign that completely blew me away on so many levels: on a nice couch were three pillows beside a sign that said, and i'm paraphrasing, "buy the debut of these pillows - never before seen - $125 each".

i need to break this down.

1. pillows costing $125 aren't pillows. i don't know what you would call them, but they ain't pillows. not for $125.
2. how do you chronicle the world debut of a pillow? is there a ceremony? is there a centerfold in "pillow monthly"?
3. is the idea that these pillows are debuting supposed to impress someone? who, exactly? and why would it? would you brag about it? when would that luster wear off?

that's the world i've been dealing with in the past two days. couple that with my opinion that modernism is really plain and characterless, well, it became clear that whole movement really wasn't for me - and i'm sure as hell not gonna overpay for it.

anyways, i think i found a couch. it's hand crafted from egypt and it looks a little antiquey. it's definitely gots some personality - and i found it on valencia in the mission, which has definitely loads of character to spare. and for $699, it ain't gonna kill me.

but we'll see. let me sleep on it for something i plan on sleeping on.