If you have known me for a long time or even a short moment, you know that directions are not something that come easily to me. Granted, I am a smart and independent girl, but for some reason I have never grasped the ability to understand which way to go if you mention north, east, south, or west. Pointing is more my style, but the recent influx of job interviews that comes with relocating has me forced into mastering the Portland/Metro freeways and side streets...and "uhh, just go that way," is clearly not getting me to my final destinations.
Enter my new best friend, Mapquest. Oh how I love the instant gratification of entering in an address that is terribly unfamiliar to me, only to have it laid out, turn by turn, for my navigating pleasure. They even have little colored signs by each direction step now, which is oh so beneficial to my visual learning skills. My passenger seat is constantly littered with printed sheets on how to get to my friend's houses, interviews, the grocery store two miles away (pathetic, I know). Printing the 'reverse route' is equally important so that I can always find the way back to my new place... seriously, that has been somewhat difficult without Mappie's help at time.
I think that it may be time to pay better attention. I am still getting used to going slower than 80 mph everywhere and if I drove the posted speed limit, I would probably be able to internally map where I am going, thus ending the enmeshed relationship that I have with Mapquest. But then some bad Oregon driver would rear end my car, and I don't want to deal with that. So I think we will stay good friends for a little while longer.
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Yeah, if you think that's cool...try GOOGLE's new mapping service (it even utilizes a browser version of its newly acquired KEYHOLE satellite image mapping utility). Also, Amazon's A9 search engine features scrollable street level images in select major cities as part of its mapping service. Kind of cool. They actually drove around in trucks mounted with multi angle cameras that took pictures every several yards as the vehicles systematically navigated city grids.
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