Sunday, October 12, 2008

Feeling like a rat in a maze

I don't know if you live in an area that have blocks or that have sub-divisions. Chicago itself is made up of blocks. It is not hard to navigate because no matter what street you go down, it will eventually go to a main street. It is not that way here in sub-division land. We have little clusters of communities with main streets bordering the outside of these sub-divisions. Some sub-divisions are so large that it will literally stretch through several main streets and will be made up of several city blocks. In the last couple of days, I have gotten turned around in a maze of sub-division streets. I was not really lost because I knew where the main streets were but they could not be reached by the streets that I was on. Many sub-division streets dead-end in cul-de-sacs. You can see beyond the sub-division to where you want to be but you cannot reach it because sub-divisions have just so many entrances/exits to get in and out. There is a lot of construction going on now in my area. Some streets are closed off completely. They do not put signs up for detours around here. So, I have had to turn into sub-division side streets and wind in and out and up and down until I can find one of the entrances to get out. I feel exhausted and get a deja vous feeling that I have gone down that same street before. Yes, you do lose track of where you are and could possibly be lost in the maze for some time. I guess if I stopped and asked a dweller of sub-division then I could get out sooner. What fun is in that though? I do have my guy moments and won't ask for directions. I could use my iPhone GPS but it would take all the fun and anxiety out of it. Yesterday, I decided that I needed a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts. I went down one of the main streets I use on a daily basis. Well, the thing was closed. I went off on a side street into a sub-division. I wound up and down and all around while looking at the back of the Dunkin Donuts building. I could not get to it because there was no exit out of that sub-division. I must have wound around for at least 6 or 7 more minutes before I found a way out. It was just one strip mall away from the Dunkin Donuts. I have never worked so hard for a cup of coffee. I wonder if other people do this? What do people who are older who may become disoriented more easily? It happened to me again today! The street I normally go down because of construction was blocked for a neighborhood thing (the nerve!), so I went down another side street trying to get around the activity so I could get to the main street where I needed to be. Well, that didn't work. I went all around and wound up back by my house about 1/2 mile away. I just gave up and decided I didn't need that taco (which I had a huge craving for) and just went home to make myself something to eat.


I am done now. I am avoiding writing my paper which is due this Wednesday. I am so not feeling it. It is only 1/4 written. Wish it was as easy as writing in my blog.

2 comments:

Sandy said...

I know how you feel, but then we only live a few miles apart. Once, I got out of the car and cut through someone's yard when I couldn't figure out how to get to the block I wanted to be on. Have you ever thought you were headed one place and came out way farther (and in another direction) than where you thought you would be. It's particularly frustrating if you are in a hurry!

Hope this sinus thing clears up for you. Feel better and get to work on that paper!

Anonymous said...

I feel your pain. Years ago I got lost in a wooded area behind a subdivision in Arlington, TX. It took me 2 hours to get out and find my way! Needless to say, I never went to that area again!

Katina