Lani- I hear you on the direction. I really love the way you wove your personal obstacle with north south east west, and with your travels all the way to Europe … so much so that we get the sense of the progress, frustration, and perseverance. Bravo! 🙌🏼
Like you, I orientate actual proper maps to get my bearings - I have memories of doing an orienteering course when I was at school, so something appeared to stick!
My husband is great with directions and so we travel and on the occasion that we hire a car, he sorts the route and I sort the music. Map-reading and directions stress me out!
You’re lucky you learned a valuable skill earlier in life. And your husband! Sigh. I remember those days. It’s funny, I feel like most of the time, I’m with someone who isn’t too good at directions, but my friend Isobel has a good sense, and Liam is quick to whip out his phone!
I felt the pain of this, Lani. I've got lost in every continent I've lived in. It can be exhilarating or revelatory, like in the Douglas Adams quote. But usually it's just anxiety inducing, isn't it?
I’m not sure if I should admit that this makes me feel better! You know, I assumed you’d be good at this since you’re so well travelled. Here’s to the adventure! 🍻
Whenever I ask for directions (which happens a lot, albeit lately, the questions are more and more often directed toward a screen instead of a person) the answers I am most afraid of getting back involve words like "east/west/north/south" ... lol
Right! Head south on ... 😅I find those apps a little scary, especially when you're in the passenger seat of a taxi and you're wondering how much they're looking at their phone vs the road!
Oh, Bestie! Your resilience deserves an A+. I remember when I first moved to London, and a coworker offered to give me a ride home. She was pissed when I realised I had no idea how to get home (I took the bus to work). There was no such thing as Sat Nat or Google Maps. I have a good sense of direction, but I was so new to London, and I had no clue!! That poor woman's ears were bright red. She ended up dropping me at a nearby Tesco because I recognised it. It was so embarrassing!
Oh, wow. That's ROUGH. It's a kind of vulnerability that makes you feel so stupid. I hate it. In SE Asia, the locals hardly know street names, so everything is landmarks. And well, considering that some roads don't have street names, I get it. I've been fortunate enough to live near major landmarks like schools or temples. Now, knowing their names is a different story. 😉
Hahaha, totally! I lived in the UAE at a time when roads were still being made so directions were never straightforward. luckily I didn’t have to walk anywhere!
Bully for you for grabbing that tight turtleneck collar and showing it who's boss when you get lost. Been there, gotten lost, felt the panic, and ended up teaching myself how to get back to where I needed also, so this brought back all the uncomfortable memories. Here's to NOT losing our sense of direction wherever we are, my friend! 💜
Thanks, A. 🙏 Yeah, it needed to be done though. Big lesson in not relying upon your partner too much. My mom always warned me, but sometimes, oftentimes we need to learn these lessons ourselves!
This was so well done Lani and so poignant - if you haven't experienced what you describe here SO well, you couldn't understand the heart stopping panic. I have zero sense of direction. It's a kind of terrible dyslexia. Landmarks are helpful certainly but - how will I get to them?? I used to carry a binder in my car with my own, specially annotated notes. (Sat Nav then and now is not always my friend ...) I like that this ends triumphantly! And I must look into this map rotation asap ... Very, very reassured that I am in such esteemed company on this road we can't find lol
OMG. I giggled when you said you have zero sense of direction. You know, when you put these things out there, you really don't know how it's going to go. 😆 The struggle is real. 😆 But you can improve, thank god! Cheers, Sue! 🙏
I totally understand, Lani! I have a terrible sense of direction too, and I can't remember numbers. My husband is one of those folks who drives somewhere once and remembers the way years later... He also remembers my 'vital' numbers... I'm good with words!! I'm confident navigating the inner spaces. We all have our gifts.
And, like you, I do give good directions (because I need them 🤭)
Thank you for this insightful, brutally honest, and witty post 🙏 💕
Thank you, Veronika! Yes, you are good with words. What an understatement. 😅 But a lovely reminder that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. I used to switch my numbers and to an extent I still do, but I feel like I've gotten better as I've gotten older!
Love the Douglas Adams quote at the very end!
He’s the best!
Lani- I hear you on the direction. I really love the way you wove your personal obstacle with north south east west, and with your travels all the way to Europe … so much so that we get the sense of the progress, frustration, and perseverance. Bravo! 🙌🏼
Thanks, Thalia. That’s mighty kind of you to say! 😊
Like you, I orientate actual proper maps to get my bearings - I have memories of doing an orienteering course when I was at school, so something appeared to stick!
My husband is great with directions and so we travel and on the occasion that we hire a car, he sorts the route and I sort the music. Map-reading and directions stress me out!
You’re lucky you learned a valuable skill earlier in life. And your husband! Sigh. I remember those days. It’s funny, I feel like most of the time, I’m with someone who isn’t too good at directions, but my friend Isobel has a good sense, and Liam is quick to whip out his phone!
I felt the pain of this, Lani. I've got lost in every continent I've lived in. It can be exhilarating or revelatory, like in the Douglas Adams quote. But usually it's just anxiety inducing, isn't it?
I’m not sure if I should admit that this makes me feel better! You know, I assumed you’d be good at this since you’re so well travelled. Here’s to the adventure! 🍻
Whenever I ask for directions (which happens a lot, albeit lately, the questions are more and more often directed toward a screen instead of a person) the answers I am most afraid of getting back involve words like "east/west/north/south" ... lol
Right! Head south on ... 😅I find those apps a little scary, especially when you're in the passenger seat of a taxi and you're wondering how much they're looking at their phone vs the road!
Oh, Bestie! Your resilience deserves an A+. I remember when I first moved to London, and a coworker offered to give me a ride home. She was pissed when I realised I had no idea how to get home (I took the bus to work). There was no such thing as Sat Nat or Google Maps. I have a good sense of direction, but I was so new to London, and I had no clue!! That poor woman's ears were bright red. She ended up dropping me at a nearby Tesco because I recognised it. It was so embarrassing!
Oh, wow. That's ROUGH. It's a kind of vulnerability that makes you feel so stupid. I hate it. In SE Asia, the locals hardly know street names, so everything is landmarks. And well, considering that some roads don't have street names, I get it. I've been fortunate enough to live near major landmarks like schools or temples. Now, knowing their names is a different story. 😉
Hahaha, totally! I lived in the UAE at a time when roads were still being made so directions were never straightforward. luckily I didn’t have to walk anywhere!
Bully for you for grabbing that tight turtleneck collar and showing it who's boss when you get lost. Been there, gotten lost, felt the panic, and ended up teaching myself how to get back to where I needed also, so this brought back all the uncomfortable memories. Here's to NOT losing our sense of direction wherever we are, my friend! 💜
Thanks, A. 🙏 Yeah, it needed to be done though. Big lesson in not relying upon your partner too much. My mom always warned me, but sometimes, oftentimes we need to learn these lessons ourselves!
This was so well done Lani and so poignant - if you haven't experienced what you describe here SO well, you couldn't understand the heart stopping panic. I have zero sense of direction. It's a kind of terrible dyslexia. Landmarks are helpful certainly but - how will I get to them?? I used to carry a binder in my car with my own, specially annotated notes. (Sat Nav then and now is not always my friend ...) I like that this ends triumphantly! And I must look into this map rotation asap ... Very, very reassured that I am in such esteemed company on this road we can't find lol
OMG. I giggled when you said you have zero sense of direction. You know, when you put these things out there, you really don't know how it's going to go. 😆 The struggle is real. 😆 But you can improve, thank god! Cheers, Sue! 🙏
Also always teassured hearing about a fellow Anxiety sufferer lol - in a camaraderie kind of way!
😂😂
I totally understand, Lani! I have a terrible sense of direction too, and I can't remember numbers. My husband is one of those folks who drives somewhere once and remembers the way years later... He also remembers my 'vital' numbers... I'm good with words!! I'm confident navigating the inner spaces. We all have our gifts.
And, like you, I do give good directions (because I need them 🤭)
Thank you for this insightful, brutally honest, and witty post 🙏 💕
Thank you, Veronika! Yes, you are good with words. What an understatement. 😅 But a lovely reminder that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. I used to switch my numbers and to an extent I still do, but I feel like I've gotten better as I've gotten older!