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Puzzle Piece
It’s early morning and I’m up with my cat, keeping him company. He’s hungry but I can’t feed him until after his visit to the vet today. I don’t like it any more than him. He paces, rubs against my feet, declaring his need for attention and food.
Amidst the blizzard like conditions of yesterday, we searched valiantly for a vehicle that will last ten years, has enough room for my head and legs, ample cargo space, and fits in our garage. We drove two vehicles home from the dealer to find out they’re too long.
Over the last few days W and I solved a 7501 piece puzzle. I haven’t spent time solving a picture puzzle for ages. W did most of it, sitting at the table in silence with a cup of coffee next to her. I set my camera on a tripod and took pictures at various times while it came together. I’m hoping to put them together in a time-stop animation.
The process of solving a puzzle was interesting and made me think about how the approach to puzzle solving lends itself to so many situations. It requires certain attention and focus. Demands intense study of all pieces. Breakthroughs comes by studying patterns, shapes, relationships, etc., from all the pieces. There’s a lot of cognitive processing involved.
In similar way to putting pieces of a puzzle together, W and I sat on our couch last night and worked on the new vehicle puzzle together. With an HGTV show in the background and our laptops, we worked collaboratively in a Google spreadsheet putting together a table showing comparative vehicle lengths, head room, leg room, etc. She was aghast at how nerdy it was2. But convenience and ease of use is undeniable.
Winter semester starts two weeks from today with an 8:30 AM class on introductory statistics and data analysis. I’m bracing myself for what is sure to be unrelenting and intense sessions of complex puzzle solving over the next 15 weeks. My brain will be better for it, it hopes.
Image: The missing piece of the puzzle, still missing. Sometimes that happens.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was actually 749…note the missing piece. And a corner of all things. [↩]
- Though later admitted she had the same idea. [↩]
Holidays approach, family valued
For generations families have been celebrating holidays in varying ways with amounts of tradition. Over the years you meet at different places, see familiar and new faces, chat, eat, drink beer, then you go back to your life.
As the years pass, more faces become familiar and you can’t help but notice the maturing. The weathered eye, the momentary aching gaze, the grin, the laugh, the sigh. The innocence, the expectation, the ignorance. You feel it yourself. Experience it daily. The maturing, the learning, the realizations.
So easy to go wandering in memory, remembrance, reflection. Blog posts centered on reflection make you want to puke.
It’s not like you aren’t trying to think of new ways to approach the world, to voice things in a way that unites, encourages, stabilizes, secures. All the while knowing such a thing can’t be voiced. Realization adds a few more yards to the long stare of your weathering eye. You press on.
“The Mad Men held captive the minutes,
where elsewhere the minutes fly past.
Minutes held captive are thick and warm,
gone are the minutes of last.”
~Brown
Seven Eighths Complete
Unless I forgot an assignment, I’m done with this semester. I’ve already registered for my final two classes and both are on my mind with a mere 3 weeks between us. I’ve already ordered books for my statistics and data analysis class.
But the last few have been fast paced and filled with familiar agony of change, effort, learning, and hard work. I’m completed a number of homework assignments, dealt (most recently) with car troubles (which continue), and brought about a design change to a product whose acceptance and successful release remain in question. Soon we’ll know, but we’re on the edge of our seats a bit.
It’s been cold. Sometimes a bitter frozen cold, sometimes a wet shivering cold. Windy too, though not so much today. The Jeep started with some zip when I picked it up from the shop today. Hadn’t realized how weak the previous battery had become. Hopefully this isn’t a metaphor.
Connected via social networking with another person of Honor and Influence from my early adult life, a person who knew a lot about attendance. Reflecting on it, lessons from other persons of Influence coalesce toward consistent themes of acceptance, awareness, and balance.
I’ll be writing a letter of support for a professor that has been nominated for something. A letter describing how this person has influenced me in positive ways and encouraged achievement. There are a few individuals that have done this and in pondering the project I’m recalling experiences.
Oh, and I’m old. I said to W recently what a treat it was to have experienced something. Who says that?!?
Anyway, had somewhat of a reason to blog, needed to find some loose articulation, and now look forward to reading some Neal Asher short stories received recently from the Book Depository.
Image: This is what I stare at waiting to cross a street on the edge of central university. The light was nice this morning so I waited through another light to get what I hoped was decent picture.