Sneak Attack of the Rubik’s Cube… Sunday Musings
It was innocent enough. I was at a friend’s house for Thanksgiving and her son asked me if I knew how to do “this old puzzle my mom’s friend gave me.” “Sure, I love puzzles. What is it?”
And out came a faded, creaky, dusty Rubik’s Cube. Oh Noooooooooo…
I wasn’t world champion at it. My fastest time was just under 4 minutes. I think… might have been faster. I had a friend who did it in less than a minute. He cheated — oiled the dang thing. Once I was going so fast that it exploded in my hands, cube pieces all over the place. But it was in putting it back together that I discovered the key secret of the cube:
The center color never changes.
duh…
Well, you probably knew that. But once I figured that out, it was so much easier to solve. Then I got addicted. I carried one with me everywhere. Even bought the little keychain one. (That’s a bugger to solve, my fingers aren’t small enough to move it quickly.)
Somehow, somewhere, it disappeared. I suspect that my husband at the time hid it. Food was burning on the stove. Mail went unanswered. Dogs went unfed. I HAD TO BEAT MY BEST TIME!
Long forgotten, it resurfaced on this Thanksgiving Day.
“Do I know this? Sure. Here, let me show you.” Aged neurons started firing. Fingers started moving of their own accord. But wait, do I do that movement Before or After ‘castles?’ His creaky and very un-oiled cube just frustrated me. No resolution. I gave up and ate turkey.
When I got home the search was on. I know I’d seen it awhile ago. And I think I’d squirreled the instructions away in my “According to Hoyle” card game book.
Ah HAH! Found it. My ex had stuck it in an old trunk with other memorabilia. “OK, I’ll just do this once to remember how to solve it, then I’ll fax the instructions to my friend’s house. No worries. Piece of cake.”
Solved it.
Faxed instructions.
Solved it 5 times yesterday
timed it
getting better
time is down to 11 minutes
i can do better
took it apart today and oiled it
time is down to 10 minutes
it’s a beautiful thing
I read somewhere that people who do puzzles have a lower incidence of Alzheimers.
so this is a good thing, right?
It IS fun. And if I move into the rhythm of it, I get into a zen state and start processing other miscellaneous thoughts pretty quickly. I heard one of the best ways to solve a problem is to play solitaire on the computer. It’s just mindless enough that your brain begins to work on important things. (That theory was probably advance by a slacker in the workplace who was busted for playing too much solitaire!)
this could be a good thing… I haven’t played Sudoku in over a week!
Enjoy your Sunday,
Happy Hanukkah to all my Friends,
A hui hou (till we meet again,)
Beth
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Beth Terry is a Certified Speaking Professional and Trainer who travels the world conducting training programs and speaking to conventions and conferences. Her high energy and humorous programs are filled with common sense, practical, memorable and do-able tips and tools. Topics: How to handle crazy times and difficult people, Overwhelm, Stress, Change, Difficult Customers, Difficult Employees, Difficult Bosses.
Her books, Walking in a Crowd of Angels * and 101 Ways to Make Your Life Easier are Great Ways to get your loved ones motivated and inspired over the holidays and into the new year. Order today!!
© 2007 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc
* While supplies last. We are down to the last box of our First Edition copies of Walking In a Crowd of Angels. This is the book that was distributed at the Pentagon to families who lost a loved on in the attack of 9/11
