It's a zoo in here - what?

My husband, my stepdaughter and I went to Ikea on Saturday with the goal of getting some things for her room that would help her get organized for homework, make the space her own, etc.. We knew that the economy was recovering because Hiway 77 was backed up for cars to flow into the "Squallor of America" ramps... it looked better going into Ikea as we found a reasonably close parking spot. They all must have carpooled.

We walked into the doors of Ikea and it seemed like a normal amount of customer traffic... took the escalator up and WHAM... it was like a suburban, stroller pushing, multigeneration family convention! People everywhere, wandering around, loosing each other and their kids, trying to figure out how this doo-dad worked, or if that foldy couchy thing would fit in the spare room.

We ventured in, since you can't find your way out without going through the whole dang store now.... and persevered. At some point early on, somebody in my party (maybe it was me?) said "it's like a zoo in here!".

Really, a zoo? Where the animals are in cages to protect them from the visitors, in nice, orderly groupings, with beautiful habitats to keep everyone calm. Yes, every once in a while the visitors cram into the zoo, so it's busy, but there is a general traffic pattern so that things keep moving.

Ikea felt less like a zoo and more like a free for all after a natural disaster... I've decided to eliminate the metaphor (or is a simile) from my vocabulary - it's just not fair to professional zoo managers and their inhabitants. Next time I go to a chaotic, packed with people event of some kind, I will now say "it's like a Saturday afternoon in Ikea here"... much more accurate.