Adventures in stupidity

Aaaghghh! I'm so dumb.
I've been considering buying a new sewing machine while I'm here in China. I considered it before we got here, I considered it when I saw some I liked, and last night, on a whim, I considered it again. I checked online for some prices, talked to Kevin about it, found a store, and decided to go for it!
So this morning I set out for the store. It was on the street where we live, and the Baidu Map (like google maps but used in China) gave me a good idea of where it was. I walked like half an hour through slushy streets in a balmy 14 degrees Fahrenheit. I got to the location, and there was no store. Actually, there were no shops at all, and there were only three very large government buildings. I walked around the block where I was sure it would be, but it wasn't there either. I walked all the way home on the other side of the street, not seeing a sewing machine store the entire time.
Ugh!
I found the website again and gave the place a call.
"Hello, is this the place that sells sewing machines?"
"Yes, it is."
"Hi, I'd like to come by and see your sewing machines. Is your store on ___ Street?"
"That's right."
(Ugh! That's only the same street I'd been traipsing up and down for the last HOUR.) "Is your store near an intersection? Which one?"
"Well... you know the post office? There's an overpass bridge right by it, and if you cross the street right there, you'll see our store. It has a blue sign with white lettering: Yong Shun Sewing Machines."
THE POST OFFICE????? The post office RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM MY APARTMENT?
Yes, that's the post office she was talking about.
I didn't plan on going back out again, but once I realized it was right across the street, I put my boots and coat back on, smacked myself in the forehead several times, told my husband I was stupid, and ran back out the door.
While I was waiting for the elevator, I looked out the window where she said she was located, and yup. There was a big blue sign, bright white lettering. Yong Shun Sewing Machines.
Now I'll cut myself a bit of slack: It was written in Chinese. It was also facing my apartment, which is not facing the street where I'd been walking. But I still feel stupid for not calling before I set out to find the place.
So I went to their store for about 2 minutes. They didn't have the kind of machine I was looking for.
"But the Hua Lin Sewing Machine store around the corner has one."
Yup. Across the street THE OTHER WAY from my house was ANOTHER sewing machine store. I bought my machine, and they'll be delivering it later today.
If I hadn't been so stubborn, if I had called the place before setting out, if I had humbled myself and asked for help (because that is really the issue here), what took two hours of my afternoon might otherwise have taken LITERALLY fifteen minutes.
UGH!
But I'll share pictures once it gets here!