It's no secret. I'm terrible, as in really, really, really, really, really (did I mention really?) bad with directions. I remember hearing a story about Albert Einstein. Genius he may've been, but he was also quite absent-minded and often got lost on his way home because he couldn't remember which house was his. So his wife painted their door red, and he always made it home after that. No I'm not nearly as bad as Al. Granted I'm also nowhere even close to a fraction of his geniusness. But like I said, I'm really bad with directions.
About a year after I got my driver's license I remember heading down to Paramus, NJ (roughly about 30 minutes from where we used to live) to meet a friend at a comic book convention. We were selling off a lot of our collection and actually made a killing at the show. At the end of the day, we packed up and he went his way and I went mine. I got in my car and proceeded to the Garden State Parkway going... South. Now even if you're from Dallas, Knoxville, Miami or wherever, you probably realize that New York is NORTH of New Jersey no matter how you slice it. I quickly realized my mistake and kept going, hoping to see a U-Turn sign or a GSP North sign. Which of course I didn't see. Had I merely gotten off at one of the next exits and turned around I would've been fine. But no, I was too nervous to get off, so I kept going. For like 30 or 40 more minutes. Finally I had enough and got off and pulled into a hotel I think. I got on the phone and called my dad in a panic. He was actually really good at calming me down, then laughed at how far I was, then explained how to get home. I found my way back onto the highway going NORTH and about 2 hours or so later, I finally pulled into the driveway, claiming I'd never leave my house again.
If you ask my wife, however, she'll tell you that story is nothing. Then she'll proceed to tell you the following encounter which I hereby claim to be 100% false. But I'll share it anyways because it is actually somewhat believable. We were both in San Francisco on vacation years ago. At one point we were down all the way by the ocean. I don't recall why but she asked me what direction a certain building was. I wasn't sure, so she turned my head and pointed at the Ocean and said, "Andrew, that's the ocean. It's west." Then she turned my head completely around and pointed to the exact opposite direction and asked what direction that was. "South," I muttered. I'll stop there because it's so obvious she made the whole thing up. Though I do have faint memories of her pointing to the ocean and asking me what direction the opposite one was, followed by tremendous laughing. Sigh.
Anyways, that's secretly part of why I married her. Unlike me, she is amazing with directions. She is fearless on the road in terms of finding her way and will just jump in and go, letting the roads take her where they may. Basically she has real good "road smarts." Better than any GPS I could find. And when she's really in a bind (usually related to parts of NJ or down in Manhattan), she'll pull out the big guns and call her dad who knows every back road/shortcut in the tri-state area I think.
So what's the morale of today's story? Easy. Never get in a car with me if you don't know where you're going.
COUPON TIME:
All this talk about GPS' has me going to hunt down a slew of great deals on one of this holiday's hottest item. So here's a list of specific sales for GPS units or more general coupons for stores that carry them (and other electronics.
Save Up To $50 on select GPS at RadioShack.com
Valid through: November 30, 2007
Save $100 on a TomTom ONE GPS at RadioShack.com
Valid through: December 1, 2007
Use Google Checkout and get:
$10 off orders over $100 at CompUSA
Discount is automatic when you use Google Checkout.
Valid through: December 17, 2007
Minimum order amounts are before shipping and tax. Limit one per person per store, some exceptions may apply. Cannot be combined with other Google Checkout promotions. Offer available until December 17, 2007, unless otherwise noted and subject to change. Please see store website for more details.
$100 off TomTom ONE XL GPS receiver & Free Shipping at BestBuy.com
Valid through: December 1, 2007
$100 off TomTom ONE XL-S GPS receiver & Free Shipping at BestBuy.com
Valid through: December 1, 2007
New Google Checkout Users get:
$10 off an order of $10 or more at Buy.com
Discount is automatic when you use Google Checkout for the very first time.
Valid through: Unknown
This coupon CAN be combined with other coupon offers! Limit one per buyer only. $10 bonus will be applied to your first purchase of $10 or more (before shipping & tax) from participating stores. Cannot be combined with other Google Checkout promotions.
NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY:
$5 off a purchase of $100+ at Buy.com
Use the above link to activate coupon.
Valid through: December 31, 2007 11:59pm PT
NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY:
$10 off a purchase of $200+ at Buy.com
Use the above link to activate coupon.
Valid through: December 31, 2007 11:59pm PT
3 Responses to “Get Lost”
Ummm...this was pretty hard to read knowing that I'm just as bad at directions..lol...only thing is, I don't drive (I suck that badly) and ummm...I can even get lost walking somewhere. Which I always just think of as good exercise. Scary, I know. I've inherited this trait from my mother who can get lost driving to the corner store and then call you to let you know she's out on the highway lost somewhere. lol.
Hope you're having a great day Andrew!
Haha! It must just be us rats, Andrew. I have a terrible sense of direction as well. I get lost all the time - sometimes even in my own city!
Hah! I think Tish may be on to something. Maybe it is a "rat" thing. At least your direction problems make me feel better about mine. Heh!