The Lamp Story

While hubby was in China we would talk on Skype. He usually sat in the same spot and in his room/suite there was always this crazy clock/lamp in the background. He even sent me some pictures of it after he first moved into the room.

It was the craziest/coolest thing. Garish and loud, but it was also unique. I loved it! They were buying him so many gifts that I joked that he should tell them that his wife loved the lamp and maybe they would buy me one. More and more we joked about getting the lamp.

I finally told him that if he could find one to try and get it.

His last day, in China, he asked someone to take him out to find the lamp. They went to a small mall that just sold lamps. There were about 11 shops and everyone sold nothing but varieties of lighting. He went to eight shops before finding out that the lamp in his hotel was a three year old style and that there was a "newer" version. He called me at 3:00AM, our time, to see if I still wanted it and naturally I said yes.

So, the lamp make sit back to the States, but I never thought about how it would make the 23 hour flight and get through luggage checking etc. Not only did he have three large pieces of luggage, but he came home with two VERY large boxes! He had put twine through the tops so he could wrangle them through the airports. The lampshade was so large that it had its own box!

Amazingly the shade made it here unscathed, but we will have to get a new table top. The glass was broken into many pieces. United may reimburse hubby. I think we are going to get Plexiglas. Safer. More so than the crazy Chinese wiring! Since there are no regulations there they just all hang out the bottom of the lamp. It is cheaper than even anything sent here.

Of course the directions were only in Chinese, but hubby knows how that kind of stuff works. After we both had cocktails and bought a transformer it was ready to light! I never even thought about the electricity difference!! Not only did I have to buy a transformer, but another plug to plug the lamp in to and then plug in to the transformer!!

I never thought about all the differences and problems we would come across, but I do love it and love the effort that the hubby put forth to make it all possible! I adore my tacky, kitschy Chinese lamp.