"Now I'm not admitting to anything, but I need your help because I think it's possible I MAY be a little confused as to where I am"

Read: "I'm lost"

That's right, it turned out that (yet again) following the advice of my dear hubby saved my hide. Or at least, my interview. I'm like a stereotypical guy when it comes to asking for directions. I don't like to do it ever and so I don't usually do it until it's almost too late. I'd usually rather drive myself in squiggles until I find something I recognize so I can later boast that I found my own way. Keep that in mind as you read this.

In normal traffic, it takes under an hour to get to Bellevue from my house.

 Normally, I plug in my gps, and turn the voice off until I need to know what exit to take, and then follow instructions. Except that recently, I get anywhere near Bellevue and all of a sudden, no gps.

Today, an hour before my interview, I missed my exit. No biggie, I thought, I'll just take the next one. But for some reason the "next" one was for 70th street in Kirkland. No biggie, I thought, I'll follow this to the next place where I can get back on I405. It didn't happen. After several uncertain turns and honked horns (sorry, if you were driving behind, next to, or in front of me today), I finally came across a street name I recognized: Redmond Way. I cross Redmond Way every time I go to my mentor's house. Follow this, I thought, and I certainly will find 405!

Not so, because I was following it in the wrong direction. Deciding (after quite a few miles) that this was the case, I took a few more sudden and uncertain turns before calling my darling husband.

"I need you to help me. I'm turning onto 180th from 90th in Kirkland and need to know what direction 405 is."
"Where does your gps say you are?"
"My gps is nonexistant at the moment."
"Okay, tell me where you are again?"
"I'm on 180th in Kirkland, I need to know what direction to go to get to 405."
"Wait, are you driving?"
"Yes, I'm trying to find 405."
"Find somewhere to pull over, I can't help you if you keep moving."
"~grumble~ okay"

Now, keep in mind, I'm not worried. I've got 45 minutes until my interview, I am certain that I know exactly where the building is because I studied the map before leaving, and I've only been driving around for 20 minutes, I couldn't possibly have gotten myself THAT lost. Right?

Nope.

In the process of trying to find somewhere to pull over that wouldn't charge me and was recognizable on a map (we've determined that chain stores on corners of main streets are the best place for me to stop if he's going to identify where I am and get me where I'm going) I get myself even more lost. I somehow end up in a right-turn only lane and before I know it I'm on WA520East. Fortunately, the next exit is just a short distance away and puts me out just two blocks from a 7/11 with a Chevron gas station. To give you a hint of how far off track I am, here's a picture. Point A is my destination. Point B is where I am at this point:

and keep in mind, the highlighted route is not the one I took, it's the fastest one I could have taken, were I intending to go from my actual destination to the general vicinity of where I ended up.

So I pull into this parking lot, and pull up my google map (which somehow can find me even though my navigation system run by google maps can't?) so I can tell my wonderful and patient husband where I am. At this point, I'm a little freaked, it's 30 minutes to my interview and I don't know how long it will take me to find my way.

Well, it didn't take long because my darling hubby has taught me how to read maps and I realized that if I followed the road I'd accidentally found (148th) north I would find Redmond Way, which I could then follow west and hit 405S with ease. So I did that, speeding the whole way, got a little turned around once I was in Bellevue but having already had one interview there and then having walked around there this weekend (maybe I'll tell that story later) with Jared in search of food between function sessions, I was able to quickly find my way to the office I was interviewing at. Somehow, I miraculously showed up with ten minutes to spare.

They took me in ten minutes early, interviewed me for ten minutes, and then I was on my way (watching someone else go in for an interview for the same position as I left).

So how was your Monday?