Directionally Impaired

Since I've moved to Milwaukee, I've pretty much carried my Garmin everywhere with me. Those of you who know me really well are fully aware of the fact that I'm very directionally impaired, so my GPS has been a lifesaver to date. Lately, I haven't been taking it to work with me because I've been traveling the same way for two weeks and at least know how to get there and back. Today, I had this weird thought that I should bring it with me, but I was running way late for work (I blame the flu) and didn't grab it when I left. Well, apparently I should've listened to that little gut feeling. No, not the "Hurry to the bathroom, there's food coming up!" gut feeling, but the "You should bring your Garmin just in case," gut feeling. Why should I have listened? Because one of the roads I take to get onto the freeway on the way home was unexpectedly closed. The result? I got extreeeeeemely lost! At one point, I was on I-94 going in the direction I would take to get to Colby (the opposite direction to my apartment). At another point, I was in the middle of downtown. How on earth?! Normally this probably wouldn't have been that big of a catastrophe, but this unfortunate directional mishap occurred at 5:20 p.m. (i.e., the heart of rush hour). I somehow managed to pull up a map on my phone while simultaneously trying not to die in traffic, and after about 45 minutes of wrong turns and ending up far, far away from my apartment, I managed to get to a recognizable spot. Funny thing is, that recognizable spot was SO close to my work that I wanted to cry. I accidentally ended up miles in the wrong direction when I was only a few blocks away from going the right way. Awesome. Sad thing is, I was so freakin' nervous that I didn't even pay attention to road names or where I was in relation to anything familiar. I don't become observant when I'm lost. I become a panicky freak. Not a good recipe for getting home safely. Anyway, I've learned two things from this experience: 1) I still suck at directions just as much as I always have, and 2) The Garmin WILL be traveling with me again, at all times.