Recalculating...

When I drove down to California for the first time, seven years ago, all I had was my co-pilot Meagan, and a road atlas in which my dad highlighted the proper route, and circled main cities in which he thought I should get gas. Oh my how times have changed. The invention of the navigation system is amazing, although it will never be quite as accurate as that highlighted route. Sometimes, I think that in the long run, my navigation can actually be more debilitating than helpful. I rely on it so much, that I use it for some of the same locations weekly, and I don't think I have went a single day without using it since being in California. What this means, is that I'm not retaining the route, because I'm just doing whatever 'Andrew' tells me. Yep, I have a dude that gives me directions daily. Why? Because, I kept feeling like the girl was constantly nagging at me, or annoyed that she had to recalculate. 'Andrew' is just so much more understanding.

Relying on my navigation has caused me quite a few panicked moments. When Aaron was training me and one of the other sales reps, he drove the work truck to and from the hotel, and I was to drive separately and meet up with them at the different locations. This was all fine and dandy, until the day that the freeway I took to work everyday was closed, and I had no idea how to get to the warehouse any other way in order to meet up with them. So, I followed the detour off the adjoining freeway and tried to bring up the warehouse on my navigation, but then my navigation couldn't find me... 'You are not on a road...' Once it did find me, it kept telling me to get on an on-ramp that was blocked off and closed... 'Recalculating...' I figured out how to select detour on my phone, but it continued to route me to the next closed on-ramp... 'Recalculating...' So, there I am, in a location I know next to nothing about, at 4:20am... 'Recalculating...' And as I continued driving around in circles, trying to be found by my navigation, the gas light turned on. Awesome. I was lost, possibly in the ghetto (everything is a little more scary when it's dark outside), my navigation is refusing to get it's act together, and now I have to get gas. Luckily, while I was driving in circles for a good fifteen minutes, I drove by the same Chevron station multiple times. I didn't need my navigation to find that.

My new method of getting from Point A to Point B is; bring up the navigation, remember the directions it gives you, and then pay attention to all the landmarks while driving. This method has helped me greatly. Now, if the freeway is closed, I know exactly how to get to the warehouse, as well as most other cities on my route.