Maa-a-aa-a-aa-a-aa-a-aaps

If you like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, then I apologize for getting that song stuck in your head.

Maps.  I love them.  

Many times as I'm looking up an address on Google Maps, I'll find what I'm looking for and then... I'll get lost.  I start clicking and dragging and zooming and exploring and all of a sudden I'm looking at Bangkok, Thailand and I realize that Singapore is actually south of Thailand and Cambodia?!?  Don't laugh, but geography was never really my best subject.  Neither was history, while we're admitting shortfalls here, but whatever.  Although I might be horrible at geography, I actually have a really good sense of direction.  I credit my Dad for passing on his knack of knowing where to go.  He drove a truck for 30 years (give or take), and I'm not sure if it was a skill he developed or if it was natural, but my Dad always had a great sense of direction and would know the best route to get to a place.  I'm not saying that I never get lost, but most of the time I can figure out how to get un-lost, and if I go to a place once I can usually find my way back (or find my way home).  I definitely credit my somewhat photographic memory and being able to visualize a map in my head after I've looked at it.  This is especially helpful and adds to the fun when I'm reading a book that has a map in it.  Since I love epic fantasy adventure series, seeing a map in the book I'm reading is a pretty frequent occurrence.

For example, the The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The books have the most amazing maps in them, and I would often refer to them as I'm reading about hobbits and elves and wizards and kings.

The Lord of the Rings - map of Middle Earth

The Lord of the Rings - map of Eriador

The Lord of the Rings - map of the Shire

I think maybe this map deal is in my blood.  My great-uncle, Andrew Okrusko, drew a map of Ukraine and I remember seeing it hung with pride in my grandparent's den.  The calm pastel colors and the layout of a place that my great-grandparents once lived, it all captivated me.  I found it online today, one website said it was published in 1970, and another says 1974.  I could only find a small clip of Uncle Andy's map, but it seems like an old friend somehow.  I think I need the full size version in my house, what do you think?

Uncle Andy's map of Ukraine

There are other maps that I'm enthralled with.  Right now I'm reading Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.  So far it's a lot more kinky and raw and dark than I had imagined, but I'm enjoying it (on page 43 right now, I stopped reading in order to write this blog).  I've already flipped back to the map a few times to get myself oriented with where the characters were.

Wicked - map of the land of Oz

Then of course, there's the amazing stories of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.  I recently gave a boxed set of the books to my BFF Candace's daughter for her 9th birthday.  She is an avid reader and I've given her a lot of books through the years for Christmas or birthdays.  I fell in love with the Harry Potter series, and I hope that she does too.  I wish there were more maps available for Harry's world, because I feel like I need more visual information in my head about what is where.  I might just have to buy a Marauder's Map so that I can see the layout of Hogwart's for myself.

Map of the wizarding world of Harry Potter

Harry Potter - The Marauder's map

Another of my favorite fantasy series is the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King.  King really has a way of captivating me with his ultra-detailed character descriptions and landscapes.  My imagination is fueled and I'm transported to an entirely different world than the one we live in.  Most of my girlfriends don't really understand my love of fantasy or science fiction - novels, TV shows, and movies.  But then again, I don't understand the fascination that many people have with "chick lit" or "chick flicks."  If I'm going to watch something made-up, I prefer it to be so obviously not-of-this-world that I don't start to harbor a dream that the male escort I hired as a date to my sister's wedding will all of a sudden fall in love with me.  You know, because THAT happens in real life.  I greatly prefer magic and aliens and unicorns and hobbits because then a dream is just a dream and it doesn't affect my real-life psyche.  I mean, besides the fact that I swear Chris Johnson looks like an orc.  And there was that one date I went on with a male witch (he was Wiccan), although he was not fantastic in the least bit, just an ordinary man with different beliefs than me.  I should definitely start documenting my strange dating life... but that's probably best for a blog under a pseudonym I think.  Anyway, the Dark Tower Series is amazing and also has a great collection of maps that help me find my way through the intricate plot lines that Stephen King creates.

The Dark Tower Series - map of New Canaan

The Dark Tower Series - map of Mid-World

I have to mention one of my very favorite series, even though I couldn't find any maps for it.  The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon is an amazing journey through time and involves love and Scotland and all sorts of adventures and trouble.  Check it out if you're looking for new books to read.  I guess since it's a historical fiction series, I could have just posted a map of Scotland... but meh what fun is that?

Of course since I have a love of maps and knowing where I'm going, I had to get a map of the subways in NYC.  Streetwise has a fantastic collection of laminated maps of all sorts of cities.  The Manhattan one fits in my pocket/wallet and I use it on a regular basis to check on transfers, etc.  It's not really that funny being on the subway when you are lost and you realize that you're underground and that hunk of electronic genius that you rely on for everything is prettttttty much useless.  Plus, I'm a little bit old fashioned anyway.  On our road trip out from CA to NY I insisted on getting maps from AAA for all of the states that we were planning on driving through.  It really was helpful, because there's not always 4G/3G coverage for Verizon, and without data, those amazing little map apps and other tools are not functional.  And who wants to be lost in Arkansas without a map?  I sure as hell don't.  I mean, they can't even figure out how to pronounce their state's name correctly.  It's an S, not a W, people!

An absolutely essential map - Manhattan subways

Thankfully, I have really gotten the hang of navigating the subways and streets here in NYC.  I was really disoriented for at least a month or so - I couldn't tell which way was north or south, and I often got off of the subway and had to spend 2-3 minutes figuring out where I was and which way to walk, and I usually started the wrong way anyway.  Even if I have GPS telling me where I "am," I still need to be able to see three streets in order to see which way I should go.  But now I have a better feel for it, maybe I've finally adjusted to the angle and direction of the sun in relation to north/south.  I don't get as turned around, and while I wouldn't consider myself a subway pro, I definitely feel comfortable with making my way around, thankfully.  Although I still have my pocket map, just in case!

(Disclaimer: None of these images are mine, I borrowed them from various sources on the interwebs for my personal use.  I don't own any copyrights on these particular images)