Sunday, September 2, 2012

Day 78 - Eva and my sudoku addiction

Last week I found out that there were going to be a whole bunch of hard sudoku puzzles released today  for the purpose of people trying out for the U.S. sudoku team. Actually they were released yesterday which means that I didn't get to try out for the team (which is OK because I don't want to go to Croatia Oct. 1-4 as I have recovery from consolidation to do--not that I would have made it anyway, but a gal can pretend). But...the puzzles are still available. If you want to download the puzzles, you have to make yourself a login. I don't know if you will get a bunch of mail from the puzzle association or not. I haven't gotten any yet, but I registered just today.

Ahem, not that I'd notice for sure, because once I got my hot little hands on those puzzles, I stopped long enough to do about the minimum possible. I had a really nice visit with Eva, made dinner for Ellie and hung out a bit with her and Terry and ate my own dinner (delicious falafel from Eva--thank you!). Not much else. I am not sure I checked my email, went to the bathroom, took the dog out, etc. Sudoku is a tremendously guilty pleasure for me because I could easily become one of those people who sits in front of their computer for 23 out of 24 hours a day and I recognize that as a bad outcome. It is incredible to me how I am really quite disciplined in general, but have no ability to withstand the charm of those little empty boxes.

Back when I was working, I used to try to limit myself to one puzzle a day, but honestly I just couldn't do it. I really had to stop altogether or I'd find myself up at 0300 doing "just one more puzzle." I'm sure I could have stopped any time I wanted. Actually, I'm not sure that I could have and it really just worked out best if I didn't do any. Now that I have more time during the day, I have been limiting myself to the three in the NYT and have actually been thinking that they are pretty easy and not that much fun to do. Then, this huge collection of first rate puzzles comes along. Fortunately, it is very limited so I will waste two or three or four days on it and then emerge bleary eyed with sore hands and poor personal hygiene and then return to the world of the respectable. This is incredibly pathetic, but absolutely true. I hope you do not think too much worse of me for it.

I also did the tiniest bit of weaving today and decided not to walk the dog because the last two times I walked her she ended up limping later in the day (ok, it is also self-serving because sudoku). We'll try again tomorrow. I did walk myself a little bit with Eva (the usual 1.8 miles to the end of Swazey parkway and home).

I continue to feel great and hope you do, too. I wish you a happy Labor Day; hope you have a three day weekend and that you feel appreciated for all your labor. For those of you who are in unions, especially if you are working to make your workplace or the world better, thank you. A final plug: if you are at all a sudoku fan, do check out the puzzles; some of them are really first rate.

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