GPS Irony
It seems that in inheriting a lot of my father's intelligence and rationality I also got his utter lack of a sense of direction. I get lost even when I have clearly printed instructions in front of me, and it can be a cause of significant stress. I hate being lost. Thus I was utterly delighted when my dad got me a GPS unit for my car for my birthday -- the same model he has. ;-)
The last time I got lost, I set out from the site of an appointment in Woodinville with a nice set of directions. Somehow I ended up driving through the hills of a high-end rural residential area, in the dark, in the rain, knowing that wherever I was headed wasn't where I'd intended to go. I managed to re-trace my steps back to a place with multiple street signs and tried a different route, calling my mother (whose gaming stats for "Area Knowledge" would be at the top of the scale) once I could give her street names. She confirmed that I was at last headed in the right direction -- but it clearly was not the route that my directions had laid out.
Last night I was driving south after my shopping trip and had the GPS on just for kicks. I didn't need help getting home, but it's fun to watch the route unfold. I usually take 405 south to 520, and was surprised when the GPS instructed me to get off 405 at the Monroe exit instead. I wasn't in any particular hurry, so I said, "What the heck" and followed the instructions.
The GPS ended up routing me through Woodinville, onto the exact same route I should have taken several weeks ago.
I'm going to need to check the settings on the unit. I see no advantage to driving around on dark rural highways when I could be doing a straight shot down the freeway.
But it was an amusing turn of events.
The last time I got lost, I set out from the site of an appointment in Woodinville with a nice set of directions. Somehow I ended up driving through the hills of a high-end rural residential area, in the dark, in the rain, knowing that wherever I was headed wasn't where I'd intended to go. I managed to re-trace my steps back to a place with multiple street signs and tried a different route, calling my mother (whose gaming stats for "Area Knowledge" would be at the top of the scale) once I could give her street names. She confirmed that I was at last headed in the right direction -- but it clearly was not the route that my directions had laid out.
Last night I was driving south after my shopping trip and had the GPS on just for kicks. I didn't need help getting home, but it's fun to watch the route unfold. I usually take 405 south to 520, and was surprised when the GPS instructed me to get off 405 at the Monroe exit instead. I wasn't in any particular hurry, so I said, "What the heck" and followed the instructions.
The GPS ended up routing me through Woodinville, onto the exact same route I should have taken several weeks ago.
I'm going to need to check the settings on the unit. I see no advantage to driving around on dark rural highways when I could be doing a straight shot down the freeway.
But it was an amusing turn of events.