I took the GPS today because when I mentioned to Dawg that I never do he told me to take it just in case.
And it sat in the seat next to me or under my seat while I drove myself to: the laundromat, the gas station, the grocery store, the back way home (Park Lane South!), the perfect spot directly in front of our building.
I know that’s not many places, but for me it’s a major accomplishment. I went a different way to the laundromat than I ever have before because I wanted to test my knowledge of the roads, and I got there just fine. I then went to the grocery store from the completely opposite direction than I’ve ever gone before. I’m learning. It feels good. And it makes me really appreciate how easy it was for me to get pretty much anywhere in Vermont.
October 7th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Hey, we have friends who live on Park Lane South. Nice area.
October 7th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Nice!
I can’t wait til you get your New Yawk accent.
:)
October 7th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
That’s awesome! Makes life so much easier…glad to hear you’re settling in!
October 7th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Yay, Poppy!
When I first moved here, I used to drive around all the time with the phone book in my car. Apparently back then, phone books still had maps inside. (Apparently back then I also still used a phone book for telephone numbers.) Life before the Internet was a strange, foreign place. Anyway, what I wouldn’t have given for magical, yet-unheard-of GPS back then!
October 7th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
I was driving home from the airport the other day and took the way that is NOT on the GPS but is infinitely BETTER, and all of a sudden realized that I actually know where I’m going around this place. It was pretty cool.
And? I walked back to the hotel from Times Square on Sunday without checking the map. I was pretty freaking pumped about that.
All that to say – I get how cool it is to realize you’re picking up new information and solving real life problems. GO YOU!
October 7th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
You’re becoming a New Yorker!
October 7th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
You’re well on your way to being a full-fledged cabbie….
October 7th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I thought it was illegal to drive in NY like it’s illegal to fill up your own gas tank in NJ.
I mean, how are the cabs supposed to survive if greedy, selfish rich people like YOU drive themselves around all day, lah-di-dah!???
:)
October 7th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Yay for driving without maps/gps! I’ve lived in this same state since birth (and we’re smaller than some major cities from what I’ve been told), and there’s a lot of places where I still get lost, much to my family’s amusement.
October 7th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
BEE-bzzt, yes, very beautiful, much more beautiful than the street I normally take to backtrack home and miss the parking spots directly in front of the apartment!
Sybil, people who don’t know Vermont accents often mistake my accent for a New York State accent, so I’m halfway there!
Tug, yes, it’s a relief to know I’m not going to get lost for the rest of my life just trying to go to the laundromat.
Stef, I keep picturing you looking down at the book and up at the road and having mini epiphanies. *giggle*
Britt, awwwww, thank you.
Finn, slooooooowly, but surely!
Noelle,
at least then I’ll have a job! And it would explain my crazy driving habits. 
Wah, simple solution: I’m a cabbie!
Crystal, oops.
I have no sense of direction so the only reason I knew my way around Vermont was because of landmarks.
October 8th, 2008 at 2:12 am
Hm, you’re quick with this. I’m still learning the routes in the city I’ve lived in all of my life.
(On bicycle, I don’t drive)
October 9th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Creature, that’s weird to me. Why has it taken so long to learn them?
October 9th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I don’t get out much… much less on my own. And when I do, I don’t stray often.
October 11th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Finally, you are writing about laundromats. Thanks for keeping your promise. I think you should find some time to write about ironing boards and poor tippers in Chinese restaurants.