Directionally challenged

Without my car.

I am venturing into the city this weekend to spend time with family. Next month, I'm spending a whole week there. New York is such a great place to go and visit. I used to despise going there, and to some extent I still do. It's the people there I'm going to see that make it worth it. Hien just started a new job, so I can't rely on her to help me navigate around the city. I am so spoiled with my car, finding my way around NYC is a complete pain in the ass.

Thank God for my smart phone. Honestly, how do people survive without smart phones?! Is it totally sick and corrupt that we all so so electronically dependent? Maybe not. I mean Harry Potter depends on his wand for everything right? A wand would be way more useful to me personally, but the closest I can get to magic is my smart phone with it's zillions of apps. I am going to be brave and try to grasp the concept of NYC transit without having to cab it everywhere.

How dumb are the streets of New York? There I freaking said it! When you get off the subway, how do you know which way is ascending in street number or descending? YOU DON'T UNLESS YOU WALK THE WRONG WAY. How annoying?! I am NOT LAZY WALKING by any means, I just think the whole thing is retarded. Can't they make little signs that point right for 8th and left for 7th?! I'm just saying. I had to download a compass app on my phone also, because Google likes to give me directions via compass direction. Whatever.

Hien told me to download embark NYC, but I personally like Hot Stop. It gives you directions just like your car gps does. I can also save it on my phone, because the subway system doesn't have service. I'd rather not get lost. I realize that there are only two directions you can go; uptown and downtown. So I'm not super worried about that, it's just what trains to get on. Although everyone is really nice in terms of giving directions, I just get confused really easily. My mission this weekend is to work on mastering the art of navigation in the city. If I can get this down, my fear of getting lost there won't be so big. And I won't have to take a cab everywhere, they kind of a pain anyways.

Marissa is starting her job tomorrow, and I'm really excited for her! Since Hien won't be able to meet me after work (she has other plans), I'm going to try to get together with Marissa! My sister and Marissa are both in Queens, so I'm not too worried about the commute. It'll be nice to explore the city a little bit with Marissa. Even though we don't want to spend too much money there, I'm sure there are tons of things to do! I'll let you all know how I make out, wish me luck!