S. Worthen | Weblog

Last night, I got lost in London. It wasn't intentional. Indeed, I generally pride myself on being well-oriented. London confused me longer than most cities have, but I haven't been even particularly disoriented here in a year or so.

Last night's intention was to make my way from Oxford Circus north-east to UCL at Gower St. and Euston Road, from shopping errands to the UK premier of Flock of Dodos. Even if I hadn't done exactly that route before, it wasn't a difficult one. I went wrong by blithely plunging into side streets, trusting my sense of direction, and letting my pride keep me from consulting my A-Z for rather longer than I should have. The roads lie in constantly re-angled partial grids. At some point, I lost track of my turnings. By the time I'd passed Great Titchfield St. for the third time, I knew something was wrong. At Portland Place, I gave in and consulted my map. I was further west than when I'd started.

Fortunately, I was running early. Fifteen minutes of efficient walking later, I was safely in the theater with five minutes to spare.

( On the documentary and dinner, which has nothing to do with being lost... )

C. is also lost, but in a very different way. He's been diligently trying to make an impulse Wii purchase for weeks, and finally succeeded. He's now lost to tennis.