I try to keep a map in my head when I'm driving in order to know where I am and where I need to go, and I keep the picture with north being up so I don't get confused about which direction is which way. For the first month that I was out here in L.A., I kept a Post-It note on my dashboard that said "Ocean's on the LEFT" to remind me about the radical flip in that picture. Apparently, I still haven't quite grasped the concept that in order to head away from Los Angeles, I need to go east. I'm so used to heading west to get away from a city or a coastline that I nearly got back on the highway going in the wrong direction after we stopped for lunch yesterday. Fortunately, my friend was there to ask me what I was doing before I actually got back on the 10 so I could go the right way.

Out east, the road signs don't tell you what cities you're heading towards. They name the next big city and then say "and other Desert cities." That cracks me up, and I don't know why.