Step 3c: The Arrival Part 4

My last story about arriving is something that should be mundane, but resulted in a fear for my life.  So again, I feel compelled to share.

It has little to do with Melbourne and travel, so feel free to skip this one if that's where your interests align.  Actually, I think I'll be sure to do that at the beginning of each post, giving a brief summary so you can decide whether to read it or not.

Buying a mattress:

So yes, if you were wondering, I HAVE been sleeping on the floor in my sleeping bag.  It's actually been fine, I won't complain.  But, I am looking forward to a mattress.  How would one go about buying a mattress cheaply?  Gumtree my dear friend.  How would one find himself/herself in a super seedy place staring at a mattress with two dudes staring at you saying "it's a good mattress, no? Go ahead and try it out" in a room that couldn't have been bigger than 8'x8'?  Gumtree my dear friend.

Sure I knew ahead of time it was sketchy, how could I not?  I found the ad on Gumtree and called the lady, who told me she would text me (she actually said "send" and then hung up) the address...but not to arrive before 11:30am.  "Hmmm, that's strange" I thought to myself, "why would a legit business not provide their address or store hours?"  But, I needed a mattress and it was pretty cheap, comparatively, and they'd deliver it...so I went there at 11:30.  I have pictures of the area below.  Let's just say, when you have to call someone who then has to call someone else, to then pop out of a door that has no handle (seriously) to let you in, you begin to be thankful you didn't bring much cash and that you're wearing your running shoes...and then you go in anyway because you're me.

Two guys, roughly my age, let me in and bring me into a room where they have obviously set up the mattress while I was waiting outside for 5 minutes for them to open the door.  They shut both doors to the no-frills, white-wash room and stare at me.  Both stand at each door to keep it shut because not even the inside doors have handles (I didn't realize this at first and I thought they were preventing me from leaving), but it begs the question why those doors needed to be shut.  Continuing to stare at me, as if I should know that if two guys lead you to a bed in a warehouse that you should lay down and try it out, they finally break and say "it's a good mattress, no? best we've got."  Truly, I was thrilled to talk about the mattress because this setup could've gone so many worse ways.  Feel free to use your imagination (or not), but buying a mattress is probably the best possible end to this scenario.

I'm back home, not dead, and have a mattress...and all I had to do was briefly fear for my life and shell out some money while doing so.  Cheers!

PS...I. Must. See. This... http://www.cinemanova.com.au/catalogue/coming_soon/mfthe25threich