The little things

I opened up Google Maps this afternoon to plot out a potentially crazy trip for a D3football/D3hoops weekend in November and had to smile -- the default location on that service seems to be a little hit or miss but it remembered who I was today and displayed the satellite image of our neighborhood here in Minneapolis.

It reminded me, also, that I have this list of adjustments that I've had to make (or try to make) over the past few months now that we're not in Northern Virginia anymore.

Such as one that's pretty basic: remembering to dial 1 in front of 703. Definitely not a local call anymore. I think I finally have this down.

Going up and down the creaky stairs from the main level of my parents house to the upstairs. They creaked back then and creak even more now. Only now I'm worried about waking up the kids rather than waking up mom and dad.

Driving at what's considered a normal pace out here. And keeping my hands off the car horn.

Remembering that shows start an hour earlier. Or that 4 is CBS and 9 is Fox rather than NBC and CBS.

Remembering to call the Interstate around here I-94, not I-95. This also took a long time to adjust in the other direction, when on the east coast.

There's a whole new round of remembering what's east of me and what's west of me. In Connecticut I had the same problem, since New York City had been east and north of me for so long that it was ingrained in my head that way. Except getting on 95 ... err, 94 ... err, 95 in Connecticut, NYC was always west and south. Here it's getting away from the thought that Minneapolis is west of me, or north of me, 100 percent of the time. I've confused Cate probably a dozen times already.

But I'm not going back on one thing. I'm going to keep calling it soda. It seems like everyone knows what I mean.