Now, this little story fits both Travel and Achievements but I’ll let you decide.
As a level 10 Google Local Guide, I was proud to finally receive the coveted Google guide pin. This little guide dude pin was my trophy for the hundreds of hours I’d contributed to improving Google Maps through reviews, photos, and data corrections.
Getting the pin is quite a rare occasion, so while some foolish guides might try and auction it for $30-$40 (making their hundreds of hours of time worth practically nothing), most of us would guard the little guy pin with their lives and put it in hidden caves or at least a combination safe.
I, however, put it in the one place that no one would dare open - the drawer of retired technology and gadgets, where old phones, MP3 players, and cables go to die. I tucked the pin safely between a “dies within weeks” Zune and “OMG It’s still perfectly working” Blackberry, knowing it would be secure in this graveyard of obsolete devices. After all, no one’s eagerly opening that reliquary of aging electronics except when desperately searching for a long-lost charger. So my Google pin settled into a cozy new home, nestled in technology history and guarded by the most dangerous weapon of all - a drawer of total boredom.
Months passed by and until I decided it was time for its big debut. What better occasion than my mapping trip to Lincolnshire over the Bank Holiday Monday? I proudly affixed the pin to my new blue jacket (perfect background for it’s Yellow/Orange colours) on Monday morning, imagining the new adventures we’d have.
The little dude clearly had other ideas.
We started the day well, the pin gleaming as I mapped and reviewed my way around the county. But things took a turn at the crowded steampunk festival grounds. Suddenly my independent-minded pin decided to take a solo tour, vanishing from my jacket into the sea of 100s of fantastically dressed paraders.
What followed was a frantic chase as I retraced my steps, crawling on hands and knees through the grass while scanning for a telltale blue gleam. I must have looked ridiculous - a normally-dressed man scouring the ground while colorful steampunk revelers strode by in elaborate mechanical outfits. They gave me puzzled glances, unable to comprehend what I was searching so desperately for. But I didn’t care about anything except finding my beloved pin.
Meanwhile, my wife seemed to be almost reveling in my panicked search. She casually browsed the festival stalls, enjoying the entertainment while making no effort to help look for the pin. I can’t blame her - she hates when I endlessly photograph everything on my phone for my mapping activities, viewing my Google guiding as an obsessive hobby. So the loss of my badge of honor was probably a welcome respite from my constant documentation. If anything, she seemed happier than usual as I scrambled frantically through the grass alone.
But my pin was nowhere to be found. I’d lost my prized possession, a devastating end to our first trip together.
Dejected, I returned to the parking lot, already mourning the loss of my pin. But there, nestled in the grass by my car tire, the little rascal was waiting. A bit scuffed up but otherwise intact (well, he did lose his safety button somewhere on the day). Where exactly he escaped to that day, I’ll never know. But he sure found his way back in order to get a ride back home.
After the scares of that Monday, the pin is taking a nice long rest in his drawer. But I have a feeling his adventures are far from over. While independent, he’s a survivor - the little pin that could. Our next trip may be sooner than I planned!
. Glad you could find the pin again, I would probably resign on the spot from mapping for a while.
