I'm so lost without you

I realize that many of you may think that I must be a navigational expert since I travel back and forth from Long Island, NY to rural Connecticut every week. I know this because of some of your comments.

Truth be told, I don't even know what direction I'm facing in most of the time.

Living on Long Island was easy. All the streets go east and west and north and south. The island is 20 miles by 80 miles. If you hit the water you've gone too far. No problem, just turn around.

And shopping, well, you could just about walk around the corner and get anything you need at a strip mall. And that doesn't mean strip as in 'bow-chicka-bow-bow'. It means strips of stores. I had to explain myself to you all because Capt's children were wide eyed the first time I told them I was taking them to a strip mall. Come to think of it, the boy was a bit disappointed when he learned he wasn't going to see what he thought he was.

Boys. Hmmmmm.

I am finding differences in some other things in CT as opposed to NY too. Take pizza for instance. In NY we ask for a pie. Here in CT no one knows what you are saying. Pies only have fruit in them. You can't ask for a slice either. They sell pizza by the size. And then they cut the round pizza into little squares....weird. And hero sandwiches are grinders. And, as my QFIL pointed out to me, in CT you don't get on a line, you get in a line.

Oh, the education I am getting. Knowledge is power.

Where was I going with all this? (See. I even get lost when I write.)

Oh yeah, my navigationally-challenged self.

Now that I live in a rural town, in order to get anywhere I must drive many miles. Many miles. And make lots of turns on windy roads. Roads that merge. And never end. And when I finally see a sign that makes sense, I'm already in Rhode Island or Boston.

I am afraid to go anywhere that I'm not absolutely sure how to get to and how to get back from.

You have to understand, there really aren't a lot of main highways around here, so it does get confusing for me.

Here's where I have been leading up to:

When I got here this weekend I got a very, very early birthday present from Capt. My birthday is in December. Maybe by the time my real birthday comes around he'll forget that he already got me something. Maybe I'll forget too.

Oh the possibilities!

This is what he got me.....a Tom-Tom.

It is amazing, yet freakish, at the same time.

It knows exactly where you are at all times and shows you very simply how to get anywhere. It is so easy to use and that's saying a lot because not only am I navigationally-challenged, I'm also electronically challenged. I just have to press the screen with my finger and point to the places I want to go.

And it shows you were the nearest restaurants are. And gas stations. And ice cream shops. And department stores. It also can let you know if there is traffic up ahead, though I haven't figured this feature out yet.

So a little while ago I went for a drive by myself without a care in the world. And when I got lost I just turned on TomTom and the oh so pleasant voice told me where to turn to get back home.

Capt always knows how to make my life easier.

Now they need to invent a devise that drives the car for me while I take a nap or do my nails. That would be really nice.