My Google Maps Experiment: Part 1

So, as I mentioned in my last entry, I was playing around with Google Maps a bit and debating taking a different route from Charleston to central PA than my usual I-95 drive.

When I got this idea, it was because I was bored with seeing the same thing all the time and didn't think I could handle 13 hours straight in the car this time around. There was no great formula behind creating an awesome map and I didn't work around any experience - I had never traveled most of what I selected so I had no idea what I would encounter along the way, and I didn't particularly have a list of cool things that I wanted to see that influenced my map choices. Basically I dragged the little blue line around to roads I hadn't been on that maybe went through some towns I wanted to see and that weren't interstates, but that at the same time didn't double my total trip time or anything drastic like that. Maybe once I get home, I'll share the map if I remembered to save it.

I was very nervous about taking some random route. It's not that I'm not a good driver, or that I can't read maps or anything. I wasn't able to upload the map I ended up with to my GPS unit, and while the world has long functioned without GPS, it really is a great advantage over trying to read directions AND drive at the same time. Had I had a navigator, I would've had no qualms about this at all. But I was looking at the final directions and seeing turns and merges and such that occurred back to back every couple hundred feet for a small stretch and I was just thinking of the impending disaster. This stretch did, in fact, kick my ass, but not because I didn't read the directions.

Anyway, today was the first day of my drive. I think I traveled like 500ish miles - not the best budgeting on my part, but I was convinced I needed to get past Richmond, VA on day one. Don't know why, just felt it necessary. I headed up US 17 for most of the trip. As I passed through Myrtle Beach, I had a really weird experience.

A few years ago, while I was living with the at-the-time-boyfriend, I had this dream. It happened twice, and then never again. But in this dream we (he, I, and a bunch of my friends from school) were in Baltimore, MD. Inner Harbor, to be specific. And we entered this nightclub. The club itself was two floors and mostly glass, so you could look out over the harbor area from all directions in the club. This club was called Club Kryptonite. I was a little shocked today when I was sitting at a red light and gazed past the stupid Planet Hollywood on the corner to see this large coliseum-looking thing with a 'K' inside of the shape that is on Superman's costume/uniform/whateverthehell. This was the logo from the dream. In fact, the door/entrance of the building looked the same. Large pillars, sort of dramatic. The club itself wasn't at all right...but it just took me aback a bit. I had never been to this section of Myrtle Beach before, so it wasn't some vague memory hanging out or anything. Nor do I think "oooo I'm super psychic!" I just think it was a weird coincidence.

Right. So I carried on with the US 17 thing through North Carolina. Very pretty, NC. I think I could live in various parts of the state for maybe 3 months at a time in each place. (This is an estimate.) There are lots of big, beautiful rivers and lots of trees - mixed forest type trees, not just the same boring trees over and over. Don't get me wrong, I like trees from the palm family, but it's getting a little monotonous. North Carolina has lots of evergreen type things. And they also have some cypress trees growing around the edges of certain bodies of water. I like cypresses A LOT.

North Carolina seemed to go on forever, and then I got to Virginia. My directions in VA (which were generated by Google Maps, not written by me, so prob sort of my fault but wtf Google?) ended up being sort of confusing at best. It also didn't help that my only indication that I'd actually entered Virginia were the "Speed checked by radar" signs. The long stretches of road that wound through some random forests were nice. Loved them. It was shady, there were hardly any cars on the road, and it gave me the chance to (reasonably safely) have a little car commercial fantasy and see how my new(ish) car handles on slightly curvy/banky roads. I haven't had a lot of chance to figure that out before today, but now I know and it's all good. With shitty alignment and tires that desperately need replaced, she still drives like a dream. *sigh*

Okay so the major problem occurred surrounding the following directions.

In theory, these are great. I looked over everything while I stopped to let the puppy walk around, and I had it down. I was ready to go. NCarolina 11 went fine - very fun. There were no signs ANYWHERE I could find indicating that I was ever on Beachwood Blvd. until I was far past where I supposedly should've been seeing these signs. I hadn't seen a single US-258 N sign. Until I saw at the same time a US-258 S sign. I got temporarily distracted by this, but quickly righted myself and was back on this 19 mile stretch to the actual US-258 S I should've been turning onto. Except...when I got there, that sign was not there. It was somewhere else. And it wouldn't lead me to the weird branches of 58 I was supposed to be hitting. Believe me. I tried. And tried. And tried some more. I retraced myself for a good 25 minutes before I said fuck it and tried it my own way. I ignored the "Business" part of the directions and figured eventually I'd get where I needed to go. Not so. I ended up somewhere residential with no signs for anything that I could find in any direction. And I was so confused that I couldn't get my directions straight. So, throwing in the towel, realizing that there was very little driving left until I arrived at I-95 to get me to my hotel, I turned on the GPS unit. I figured it could at least get me the hell out of that shitty little town (Franklin, VA btw) and get me back onto some sort of track. That would've been great except I was getting ZERO satellite contact. I spent another 20 or so minutes just driving around trying to get some sort of connection. I got nothing until I accidentally ended up in the middle of an industrial park for some steel mill or something. Luckily, the GPS chose the same route as my Google Maps one. Except that little section of directions I showed you was about halved. Half of those steps did not exist. Maybe I'm just blind, or selectively perceptive, but it only took me three of these steps via GPS to get where I needed to go. It was not a big huge super awful ordeal - but frustrating nonetheless. Patience can be, but sometimes is not, my greatest quality. My first 9 hour day ended up being an 11.5 hour day. I did get to stop and check out a few more things than usual, which was nice. But 11.5 hours was a bit much for me at this point.

Tomorrow will be shorter. Despite the slight temptation to just get home, I'm going to finish this out the way I planned tomorrow. And it'll be fine. I refuse to get ridiculously "bad" lost!

Anyway. I'm babbling. This is really of no consequence, but I can't sleep so I figured why the hell not. :) That's how it goes around here, get used to it.

Maybe bye bye for now?

Apologies for my absence, but it once again coincides with my lack of anything to say. I'm really fighting with my head lately, and even more so with my sleep schedule. Between 5 and 6 a.m. is usually when I finally drift off to sleep. So because I'm sleeping at dumb hours of the day, it rules out some of my time. And because of headaches and other things, I've just been slowed down. Getting things done around the house is enough for me at the moment.

I know last month I had a lot of different issues and theories for solving them. And I know I had a lot of vague plans. But I think things are being pushed into motion. I don't know if it's good or not. I'm scared, to make a vague understatement. So we'll see. I don't want to discuss too much until I get the health issues a little sorted and until I have more definite plans in place. Once that all pans out, I'll blab about everything.

I'm having a long, hard contemplative session about stepping away from this blog for awhile. And away from Facebook and a bunch of other stuff. So, we'll see what happens. It wouldn't be a permanent goodbye, more just a little auf wiedersehen until further notice. But, just a head's up...it may or may not come.

I'm going home at the end of this week, and have the first in a series of many doctor's appointments on Monday. I'm really, really scared by this whole thing (even though I know it's not in my control so it's stupid to be scared about it). I'm just very worried, so any good thoughts you could put out there would really mean a lot.

Since I've been awake all through the recent nights, I've been reading a lot. Trying to trim down my To-Be-Read Pile and trade them out for new books. I've finished 3 book in two days and my brain is having a hard time with words on a page and making sense out of them. So I spent the last several minutes dicking around on Google Maps. I think I want to change up my route for going home to Pennsylvania. So of course, I didn't research this ahead of time. I'm just dragging and dropping the little blue line on the map until I come up with something mildly satisfactory. I can't decide if I should take this new, sort of random route or not. Or save it for on the way back to Charleston. I'd have no idea what sorts of things I'd encounter, as I said I haven't done any research. But it'd be a change of scenery, even if it means I'd just be seeing different highways and different trees. I'm going to ponder it a little. I would make my drive home a two-day one if I decide to take the new weird route.

This is all that's really new. I haven't sewn, I haven't cooked anything fantastic, I haven't painted. Just haven't had the energy or the focus. I've got a lot of stuff weighing on my mind lately and it's throwing me off, very much. So...hopefully things will change sometime soon. Hopefully for the better.

Happy Earth Day!

It's Earth Day. Do something cool for our planet. And then continue to do something cool for our planet every second of every day, so that eventually nobody will give a shit about Earth Day because everybody will being caring about Earth every day.

Ok, now that I've gotten that out of the way....

Today sucks. I have the worst migraine I have had in...well, definitely 2010. Probably also the last half of 2009 can be included in there. I know what's coming - Well then why are you at the computer blogging on your boring blog? Because I did my duty to try to prevent this. I took the medicines that NEVER WORK. I went back to sleep for a few hours. All my blinds and curtains are closed. I have stayed hydrated and eaten some healthy food. And still with the throbbing and the pain behind the eyeballs and the constant looming feeling of nausea. So fuck it. I'm just gonna keep on keepin' on. And take a break every couple of minutes.

Anyway, I wanted to share something cool. Forgive me if you are my friend on Facebook and are seeing this for a second time. But I stumbled across the coolest blog on tumblr today. It's called Fuck Yeah The Universe (go ahead, click the link) and it's got really awesome pictures of and articles about stuff in space. In addition to liking FYTU, I kind of like the idea of tumblr. I may eventually acquire one of those in the future.

I think I'm about to hop in the shower (yeah it's 3:23 pm, what of it?) and head to the kitchen. Today's offerings may or may not include some vegan chili and maybe some cookies or something if I can be bothered. Possible pictures to follow.

ETA: I went back to browsing Fuck Yeah The Universe after I posted it and the next thing I saw was this. Click it. Seriously.

Name That Tree

I asked via Twitter, and nobody seemed to have an answer for me. A week or two ago, I was downtown taking some pictures and just walking around to get some fresh air with a friend. And we stumbled across this beeeeautiful flowering tree. All I want to know is what kind of tree it is. Googling is getting me nowhere. Here. Look at its flowers. Whoever correctly identifies said tree gets a(n imaginary) high five. GO!

hm.

I'm still feeling very trapped in my life lately, and the feeling is exacerbated by my total lack of energy. It's not because I'm out partying and not sleeping, not because I'm not taking vitamins, basically not for lack of trying. I get up in the morning, do some yoga, take my vitamins, eat some breakfast, start to get moving and promptly crash. It's likely that I sleep close to 12 hours a day. Not because I want to, but because I can't function otherwise. I'm clumsy and absent-minded and just generally unpleasant. The 12 hours a day things doesn't sound awful in theory, but considering I don't typically even get to sleep until 3 a.m., it kind of ruins the entire day.

So all that being said, I haven't been up to much. It is mentally taxing to think that's it's physically taxing for me to do all the normal things a person does. But it kind of is that way.

Even though I haven't been up to much, I did get something cool in the mail the other day, so that's something! This cool guy from Australia sent me two mix CDs, which, so far have been AWESOME. I'm really loving them. One is all bands from Australia and the other is just good bands from everywhere. His girlfriend, Bianca, decorated the CDs and made everything look gorgeous. She has the most beautiful handwriting I have ever seen. Check it out.

I didn't get pictures of the actual CDs, because I was in a rush to listen to them. But they're cool, I promise.

Staci and I went to the Tin Roof again last night. They were showing Zombie Strippers and we wanted to check that out, but we got sidetracked and misinterpreted each other so we were too late. Oh but don't worry, it will be seen. We just kind of hung out and talked and just relaxed. I like the place - it's got this feeling about it - makes me feel creative. We were doodling and writing the entire time we were there. And the pressure to drink isn't high. They're cool with people coming and hanging out and not being boozy and out of hand. I like that. Also, people actually talked to us this time around.

My dad called while we were out and said he bought some new paring knives. The first thing I asked him was if they were sharp. Not because I was being a dick, but because I am familiar with the brand of knives he bought and they're the sharpest ones I've ever owned and they hold it well. Anyway, he said he cut himself and should've gotten stitches but didn't, only while he was washing them. At this point I made fun of him profusely. Since I cut myself last year, my family members always tell me to stay away from sharp things. So it's nice to switch it around every now and then. He assures me he can feel the tip of his thumb, so I think all is well. If he were terribly injured, I wouldn't laugh.

That's all I've got. Not leaving the house much during the daytime really cuts down on the stories to share. I'll try to get better and come back with something really fantastic.

I did go out today to celebrate Record Store Day a little. I held off for a couple of weeks just for this occasion. See? Here is me browsing at my local shop (hanging out in the lower left corner, as I do) along with a bunch of other people who got there right when they opened.

(Shh...I stole this picture from the store's Facebook)

Anybody else go out? Tell me all about it. Where did you go and what did you get?

It's heeeeeere...

Happy Record Store Day, people!

Go out and get you some!

It's like Bonnaroo, but different...

I happened to come across an article on the New York Times website today about what it feels like to have long-term insomnia. It was a really interesting thing to me, because I can definitely identify with lots of what the writer had to say.

When I was younger and still living at home, I often didn't sleep at night. It wasn't because I couldn't, it was just because I preferred not to do so. It was easier for me to get things done at night when the house was quiet, and it was a time when I could do the things I wanted to instead of fulfilling the obligations I had during the day.

My junior year in high school, I had a solid year of good sleep before, sometime in my senior year, I started having awful nightmares and waking up in the middle of the night. I'd be absolutely terrified of absurd things that weren't putting me in danger or circumstances that didn't even exist. I really struggled with this situation, because my boyfriend at the time (who I lived with for most of this period) didn't understand what was going on and didn't really want to. So I'd sit up at night, crying and just generally freaking out while he slept like a baby and had no concern for what was going on. I knew that he couldn't fix the problem, because I didn't have any idea how to fix it, and I didn't expect him to sit up all night with me every night. But I think what I really wanted from him was just some sort of understanding - an acknowledgement that what was happening was a real issue to me, and that, even though he wasn't experiencing it, he understood that it really took a toll on me.

After awhile, I drifted out of that phase and got back into a normal sleep pattern again. I woke up every morning feeling ready to get out and do something new. I took good care of myself and was happy to be making some sort of a life on my own.

Then in 2008, my headaches started getting worse and I had them more frequently. I slept a lot more than normal, because my sleep at night was so disrupted. In 2009, I started having problems even falling asleep. Since then, I've been mostly awake until 4 a.m. every night. I've tried melatonin and Ambien and all of that fun stuff, to no great avail. So at around 11 each night, I get myself ready for bed and usually even try to go to sleep. If I do happen to have such luck, I wake up within an hour or two and can't get back to sleep until early in the morning.

All of this wouldn't be so bad if my body didn't automatically wake up at 7 or 8 every morning. Occasionally, I'll get a nap in before noon or in the early evening, but more often than not, I'm running on 4 or less disjointed hours of sleep a night.

Anyway, I guess my point to all of this is that a lot of people don't understand (either because they don't have the problem and can't grasp it, or they think it's fake, or they just don't care) the effects that constant sleeplessness can have on a person.

So go over and read the article here. It's by Lindsey Anderson, and if you want, you can also visit her blog here. It's not a call for pity for people who can't sleep - it's just kind of an insight. I like to understand things in other people's lives, so I found the article interesting.

April bores me.

I feel like I'm in a huge, disgusting rut right now and I'm having a hard time getting out. So I'm trying to mix up my life a little bit and see if anything clicks. So far, nada.

Last night, Staci was over to my place and I made vegan pizza for us (since Earthfare now has Daiya - thank you, Lord) and we watched the Evil Dead 2 DVD which Netflix so graciously bestowed upon me this week. It was pretty much the Bruce Campbell show, and we both decided that the first was more fun to watch.

Tonight, I went to this little bar across the street called the Tin Roof (with Staci, of course). They were having an MST3K night and were set to show two episodes (Crash of the Moons and Menace from Outer Space), with some fun little shorts in between. When we got there, this was not the case. They showed two sci-fi movies and were set up to have some local folks sort of riff on them, but these folks didn't show I guess and nobody really stepped up. So we were left as a tiny group hovering at the bar making our own jokes - I have to say the bartender and one other patron were doing really well. The first movie they ran was The Astral Factor and it was honestly very hard to watch. Staci and I didn't stick around for the second, and most of the other people had left as well. It was a fun night. I think we both really enjoyed it, but it was kind of awkward. It felt like we walked into a modern day Cheers, where everybody knew each other and we were kind of intruding on their space. So we were just two nerdy girls sitting in a room full of nerdy guys. Anyway, the place is actually really cool and very comfortable, so it may become a new haunt for us and hopefully these people will become accustomed to our presence.

I'm shocked that Staci is not totally bored with me yet. We spend a lot of time together, but it seems that we get along well. And we take breaks in between of a couple of days. I think we're both kind of stuck and looking for change in our lives, so we sort of get each other.

In other news, this article popped up on my Facebook feed today, courtesy of Charleston's City Paper. I know I beat the proverbial dead horse about Food Revolution - but I just find it important and interesting. The article sort of mentions the situation here in the Charleston area in relation to the current buzz surrounding Jamie's show.

Other than all of that, my life has been kind of slow compared to the way it was in March. It's nice to have a slow day to just rest every now and then, but I feel like I have them all the time, and I feel sort of like I need them more often. It's frustrating to feel like a 90-year-old and be in pain or sick or fatigued or whatever. But I'm hoping things will get a bit better in the next week or so.