December 27, 2010 | 10:23 am

A New Sofa, Crying in Public, the Magic of a Slipcover & Loving Justin Bieber

Posted by Ilana Angel

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Justin Bieber

I woke up this past weekend hating my sofa.  It’s a great sofa, in great shape, and there is no reason I should hate it.  I bought it because I loved it, but for some reason I could not stand it this weekend.  I felt a need to change up my place and decided the thing that needed to go was the couch.

Sunday was the day I was going to partake in the Canadian custom of shopping on Boxing Day, and go find myself a new couch.  Boxing Day is the day after Christmas and in Canada it’s the biggest shopping day of the year. It’s our day after Thanksgiving shopping equivalent.

I got in touch with my inner Canadian and started my search for a new couch.  Bad idea.  I went to 5 different stores and sat on what feels like a thousand couches.  I could not find one I loved.  In each store I managed to narrow it down to my two favorites but in the end could not take the plunge.

It became overwhelming.  I was simply incapable of making a decision.  One store would be understandable, but it happened in every store I went to, and it all came to a grinding halt at Living Spaces.  I was being helped by a lovely man we’ll call “Hector”.  He really invested time in my couch.

We walked around, sat, reclined, chatted, and were about to close the deal when it happened.  I started crying.  It had been a trying day, I was tired, my son is away, it’s the holidays, who knows exactly why I started crying, but I did, and in the poor Hector was trapped.

I am crying, over a couch, and Hector is consoling me, letting me know that in the grand scheme of things, a couch is not a big a deal.  He went from a furniture salesman to a therapist in about 10 seconds flat.  I spent time on a couch, with a stranger, got some therapy, but still no couch.

I am certain I was the topic of conversation at Living Spaces for the rest of the day.  They might possibly still be talking about the crazy lady who started crying over a couch, right now.  Mock if you must people, but buying a couch is hard and should be done alone!

It’s comical how the most mundane tasks can trigger things.  The act of buying a sofa, by myself, was exhausting.  I should have taken a girlfriend with me to help out because in the end it was a lonely experience and there was nobody there to help make a decision.

I had Hector of course, but he was just a nice guy, looking to a sale, and every question was answered with “whatever will make you happy”.  Under any other circumstances, a great answer, but when buying a sofa, a chick needs direction, not unwavering support.

I thanked Hector for being so lovely and left without a couch.  I got in the car, turned on the radio, and there was Justin Bieber.  The song was “Pray” and I loved it.  I immediately went to iTunes and downloaded the song.  It was then that I caught it.  Without warning, I got Bieber fever.

He is talented and once he cuts his ridiculous hair he will be cute.  I listened to a lot of his songs and this kid can sing. I found myself being proud of him.  As a single mom, seeing a young man who is being raised by a single mom, I find I not only like his music, but I’m routing for him.

I felt better after spending time with Justin so I decided to try one more store for a couch.  In the end, I got a really great slipcover.  Who knew a slipcover was all I needed to love my couch again?  It looks great.  It’s like a brand new couch, but I can go back whenever I want.

It was a trying day.  I missed my kid, was traumatized by shopping, fell in love with Justin Bieber, and found joy in the simplicity of a slipcover.  The sun is finally out in Los Angeles, and everything is ok.  My son will be home in five days and my living room looks fabulous.

I am going to swing by Living Spaces and drop off a gift to Hector.  I will come home, sit on my “new” couch and wonder if my picture is up in the staff lounge with a warning to avoid eye contact with me.  Even the worst day comes to an end so just keep the faith.