They Stopped Making Algot

Another strange coronavirus effect affected us this weekend, and I am quite surprised by it.

You see, as we have moved to working at home all the time now, and being that our incomes have been cut in half by me being laid off, we have undertaken a project of updating our living room, to make a learning space for our daughter, and updating the home office. To complete this project, we were using items from the Algot system from Ikea. We had used Algot years ago for our living room to create book shelves, and a standing desk. Now, we wanted to repurpose those shelves, while leaving the original brackets in the wall. We had been planning this transition for two months, ordered the supplies from Ikea, and were ready to execute this weekend.

On Saturday, when we went to switch out the shelves in the living room, to install them in the office, the brackets in the living room gave way, and became loose from the wall, to the point that we no longer felt safe that the shelves could hold any weight. With a quick look online, we found what could solve this problem which was a support rail, but oddly there were only three rails left in all of the Tri-State area. We quickly got in the car and raced to the local Ikea to get the rails, only to learn two details; one, they were sold out, and two is that Ikea had discontinued the Algot system.

I cannot put into words how absolutely disappointed we felt. Our entire plan had gone to shit, and if we wanted to continue, we would have to use a new shelving system because nothing at Ikea was compatible with Algot. It was like every setback we had ever experienced in our entire life was wrapped up in this one situation, and we just felt like giving up on life. Sunday was a full-on mope festival of just not caring about anything.

And at the same time, I can fully admit that out reaction to this is, also, fully stupid.

The wife and I have had real tragedy and real setbacks in our life together. We know what honest disappointment is, and logically, this isn’t one of them.

But why were we feeling this way?

It was because we wanted to have control of just one little thing in our life, right now. Just one tiny thing, like, putting shelves together, and making a learning station for the kid, and making the office functional. To conceive a plan, execute it, and check it off the list, all the while, enjoying that feeling of accomplishment by completing a task.

Because in the coronavirus world, we have nothing; no control, no ability to change out comes, no way to steer the ship in a direction we want. It’s not irrational to have the reaction that we did. I know full well that in the next day, we will come up with some idea that will accomplish the goals we want for the apartment. But, I was just so taken aback by the feeling of disappointment, in losing the last shred of control in my life that I thought I had.

(Say, don’t forget to like this post, or share it, or leave a comment. I got bills to pay, you know.)