makeste | Adventures from my boring life!

A.K.A. THE REQUESTS FROM THIS MEME... PART ONE!

Okay, first request! From

betterinorange: How about...you post about the last mundane thing you did that went awry? :')

I like this request because I immediately knew exactly what incident to post about. XD

So a couple of weeks ago, I took my car (a '99 Corolla, just to give you a better sense of exactly how boring I am) to the DMV to get inspected. The DMV is about a 15-minute drive from where I live, and fortunately (some might even say miraculously, given that it was the end of the month), there was pretty much no line at the inspection facility, so things moved along pretty fast! I was a little nervous that the car might not pass, since my check engine light had been acting up for the last month or so (an incident which culminated in the light simply clicking itself back off one day with no prompting whatsoever. LIKE MAGIC. My car is magic!!), but fortunately everything went well and I got a shiny new sticker on my windshield. Success!

OR SO I THOUGHT. Now here's the thing about the DMV; in addition to the inspection facility, it also features a driver testing course, so when you pull in to get to the inspection facility, you have to circle all the way around this huge, winding lot for what seems like ages before you actually get there. And once your car passes inspection and you hop back in again, you wind up having to exit at a completely different and mysterious place from where you drove in.

Here's the other thing about the DMV; I have been there before. Numerous times! And this was at least the third or fourth time I've gotten my car inspected there. What I'm trying to say is that there is no reason whatsoever why I should have suddenly gotten disoriented when exiting the lot.

...you can see where this is going.

I should also note that there were at least two guys who clearly worked at the inspection facility on break in the parking lot. Perfectly nice-looking people whom I could have easily asked for directions at the point when I realized that I stupidly didn't know whether or not to turn left or right onto the street (this was a long, out-of-the-way back street, I should add, with no clear landmarks to orient myself with). But, well, you know. That would have required actual social skills and an ability to admit my ignorance to a complete stranger! PERISH THE THOUGHT.

I got lost. XD

This is how lost I got: for at least 45 minutes afterward, I drove around through town after town trying to locate a familiar highway (for those who have never been to Jersey, the state contains approximately a billion different highways, twisting and turning and interlocking with each other in to form an unholy labyrinth, navigable only by those who have traveled these paths for at least 50 years, or those who possess the mythical device known as a "GPS"). Within the first five minutes my sense of direction was completely shot to hell (WHICH WAY IS NORTH??!), and I was too afraid to turn onto any of the highways I didn't know out of fear that I'd only misplace myself further. It was not scary or even frustrating so much as just plain embarrassing. (You might also use the word "sad" to describe it, but please only do so behind my back; I would like to retain some dignity.)

Finally, I spotted a series of signs leading to the Garden State Parkway, much to my relief (there's an old joke that you can't get lost in NJ so long as you know how to get back to the Parkway, and it's actually true, sob). I followed the signs, got on the highway, and drove for another 20-odd minutes or so before finally arriving back at home.

So yeah, "mundane thing you did that went awry"... pretty sure this qualifies. XD

Other requests to come! I'm thinking I'll probably do one a day until I get to them all.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

fffff Ouch D= Glad you got home okay. It would have just been better to ask for directions though XD But if it makes you feel better, I have no sense of direction either!

It would have just been better to ask for directions though XD

IT TOTALLY WOULD HAVE. "Excuse me, do you know how to get to the Parkway or Rt 17 from here?" Would have been the easiest thing in the world, but I just get really stupid about these kinds of things. I hate bothering people. >_>

I am glad I'm not alone when it comes to lacking directional sense, though. XD *yaaaay, failbuddies?*

Aww, I feel you about no wanting to bother people. I don't like being a nuisance D= But then there are time when it's like, "No, nope, they're not gonna be as bothered as I would be if I don't say something." This would have been one of those times XD

Failbuddies lolol

Yeah, I do realize it was pretty stupid of me not to make an exception in this one instance. But oh well. XD (And like I said, I wasn't all that frustrated by the whole ordeal; if nothing else, I know the towns in that area a little better now. XD)

Oh dear, I can so relate to that XD A couple of months after I'd gotten my driver's license I wanted to visit a friend. My dad had driven me there countless times, always the same route.

And I got so lost I ended up at the other end of the city, having to call my friend to ask WHERE THE EVERLOVIN F*** I WAS XD And the only clue I could give her was: 'At a stadium.' - 'What stadium?' - 'Uhm, IDK? It's green...?'

*headdesk*

But I'm glad you made it out of that maze of highways and got home safely :)

Haha, I've been there; I get lost all the time going places I've been before, especially if someone else was driving the previous times (I don't pay nearly as much attention as I should in those instances). It's gotten to the point where unless I've driven somewhere myself at least two or three times, I always have a copy of Mapquest or Google Maps directions on hand. Just in case. XD

And thanks; heh, at least I got a decent story out of the whole thing.

You're not alone; I think I'm even worse of XD

When I was 10, me and my family were at a family resort in Denmark. Early one morning I got the bright idea that I would find a baker and suprise everyone with fresh buns for breakfast ^^ So I headed out, and managed to find one after asking lots of people for directions. When I got back to the resort my mom and dad were terrified! ''You went out by yourself?! We're so glad you found the way back!'' Funny thing is that they wouldn't have worried at all if my 3-year younger sister had pulled the same stunt; she's a living GPS XD They still react this way some times

Oo, sorry for the long post; I have a tendency to ramble some times XP

Haha, but at least you managed to find your way back without too much incident (and with yummy treats on hand, no less). Actually, though, for some reason I very rarely get lost when I'm going somewhere on foot. It's only when I'm driving that I get turned around.

Glad you made it back in one piece, though. (And no worries; I'm a rambler myself, so I'm used to it. XD)

True that XD

Lucky! I get lost when I travel by foot, car, bike... you name it. But I usually manage to find the way in the end fortunately; it just takes a while due to many wrong turns XP

WOOOOOOOOW..... *pat pat* Is it sad that the entire time I'm reading your entry I'm going: dude...that's totally what I would do since I'm horrible at talking to ppl when I'm embarrassed and such even though i'm about to screw myself majorly over.

(My dad makes me carry his Thomas Guide map since our family is too cool for mapquest...incidentally it has come in handy MANY times for me XD)

weeeeelll...at least you didn't make a fool of yourself when you talked to the DMV people.i don't know about yours, but the CA DMV is f*cking hell if you catch someone at a bad time.....which is EVERYtime.....

Jersey?! Wait, are you the ones who can't pump their own gas cuz of funky old laws that the politicians just deal with (read: are too lazy to change)?

sorry...obligatory silly thing to mention has been said D:

I had a map at some point but. I lost it. Yeah, just when you think I couldn't possibly fail anymore, right?

Anyway, I'm glad I'm not alone, though hopefully you won't ever end up in a similar situation. XD And yeah, the DMV people were very nice. In the past I've met more than a few who weren't, so I appreciated it this time around.

AND HAHA YES. I have actually never pumped gas in my life. >_> I don't actually mind the law because it means that I can sit in the comfort of my car while someone else does all the work, lol, but I don't deny that the reasoning behind it is shaky at best. Supposedly it's to ensure a supply of unskilled jobs, and even if we got rid of the law we wouldn't save more than 5 or so cents a gallon at most, so basically no one feels like there's any real incentive to change it. It does make things hella awkward when traveling outside the state, though. XD

oAo I would have been scared to death. WHY WERE YOU NOT SCARED BUT INSTEAD EMBARRASSED ;A; But at least you got back. XD;

_{And lol Jersey? I was born in New Jersey 8DD}

Heh, I don't know why, but my instinctive reaction in situations like these is generally to stay calm and try to rationalize my way through. There are pros and cons, though; the upside is that I don't panic or get too scared, but the downside is that I end up making the situation worse by passively driving around for almost an hour because I don't feel any immediate compelling urge to pull over and ask for help. XD

And hey, a fellow New Jersey native, cool! <3 I actually was not born here, lol, but I've lived here ever since I was three, so close enough.

Adventures from my boring life!

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