Ode to a Green Sofa
In college, I bought my first piece of furniture. I no longer recall the year, but I was living in The Studio at the time so I'm pretty sure it was my first senior year. The furniture in question was a green loveseat that was owned by a girl named Carrie who was dating one my fraternity brothers. If I recall correctly her mom had bought her the loveseat, and she decided she didn't like it. I bought it for some long forgotten amount of money (slightly more than $100, I think), and two of my fraternity brothers helped me carry it from Clarke Tower to the fraternity house.
The loveseat was close to new because Carrie had only had it for a few months. I moved it from room to room in the fraternity house. Then I graduated, never (I thought) to return. My sister went on Junior Year Abroad at the same time, so one of the Phi Kaps took it for a year. It definitely took some damage living in the fraternity house, but Febreze works wonders. At the end of that year it went in my sister's apartment. I was unexpectedly back in Cleveland, so when tigerlily_blue graduated it went into my apartment. From there it traveled to two more apartments before ending up in my house. Dings and dents began to accumulate; it was not a high quality loveseat to begin with so the wooden frame began taking damage from too many trips up and stairs while being twisted through doorways, and people jumping on it, and people passing out on it. The legs no longer stayed on, so if you picked it up they fell off. My sister brought back a blanket from Peru that matched the loveseat and masked the worst of the damage, and it was still very comfortable.
Once it was in my house it started taking dog damage. Tulip's long nails shredded some of the pillows. When Hamlet arrived he actively tried to dig in it. Ellie peed on it once when she was visiting and got excited during a particularly vigorous wrestling session. We used a lot of Febreze that time around. Finally the cushions more or less exploded, but it hardly mattered as it had broken down enough to be uncomfortable. It survived largely due to inertia, and the simple fact that I almost never sit in my living room in the first place.
Finally, tonight it was time. darlox came over and helped me convey it to the curb for one final trip. Maybe one of the trash pickers will claim it tonight, but it is so beaten up and damaged that I suspect that the garbagemen will find it there tomorrow morning and take it to its final resting place. It's ok - I had it for about 13 years, and I'm pretty sure I paid less than $1/month for the privilege of sitting on a comfortable seat. That loveseat owes me nothing.
A funny postscript: a few months after I purchased it, Carrie back and asked if she could buy it back. Apparently her mother was pissed that she'd sold the new loveseat she'd been given. Her loss.
The loveseat was close to new because Carrie had only had it for a few months. I moved it from room to room in the fraternity house. Then I graduated, never (I thought) to return. My sister went on Junior Year Abroad at the same time, so one of the Phi Kaps took it for a year. It definitely took some damage living in the fraternity house, but Febreze works wonders. At the end of that year it went in my sister's apartment. I was unexpectedly back in Cleveland, so when tigerlily_blue graduated it went into my apartment. From there it traveled to two more apartments before ending up in my house. Dings and dents began to accumulate; it was not a high quality loveseat to begin with so the wooden frame began taking damage from too many trips up and stairs while being twisted through doorways, and people jumping on it, and people passing out on it. The legs no longer stayed on, so if you picked it up they fell off. My sister brought back a blanket from Peru that matched the loveseat and masked the worst of the damage, and it was still very comfortable.
Once it was in my house it started taking dog damage. Tulip's long nails shredded some of the pillows. When Hamlet arrived he actively tried to dig in it. Ellie peed on it once when she was visiting and got excited during a particularly vigorous wrestling session. We used a lot of Febreze that time around. Finally the cushions more or less exploded, but it hardly mattered as it had broken down enough to be uncomfortable. It survived largely due to inertia, and the simple fact that I almost never sit in my living room in the first place.
Finally, tonight it was time. darlox came over and helped me convey it to the curb for one final trip. Maybe one of the trash pickers will claim it tonight, but it is so beaten up and damaged that I suspect that the garbagemen will find it there tomorrow morning and take it to its final resting place. It's ok - I had it for about 13 years, and I'm pretty sure I paid less than $1/month for the privilege of sitting on a comfortable seat. That loveseat owes me nothing.
A funny postscript: a few months after I purchased it, Carrie back and asked if she could buy it back. Apparently her mother was pissed that she'd sold the new loveseat she'd been given. Her loss.