Tetris

"Tetris" is a misomer; if ever there was a game that should warrant the title "Life," it shouldn't be that stupid board game. Tetris has taught me more about life than many other games I can think of. I hesitate to say that it's the most profound game I've ever played for a few reasons, namely because 1) I've played a LOT of games, and, 2) That would just sound stupid.

But the little falling blocks are kind of profound in their own right. Tetris is a game of sorting things out, and putting them in their proper place. The more you can sort, and the faster you can do this, the higher score you will receive. Really, that's what life is all about- sorting out all the crap that rains down upon us. These problems and situations come in all shapes and colors, and some fall faster than others. Each four digit block represents a tiny piece of adversity, and it's our job to figure out how to deal with these pieces, put them in their proper places, and make them ultimately disappear. If not, you buckle under the pressure.

Everyone who's played has reached that point where you're stacked almost to the top of the screen, barely keeping your head above water, with certain doom being imminent. Every once in a while, maybe just out of sheer luck, or a strange burst of sudden concentration, you'll pull out of that dire situation and manage to not only recover, but clear all the blocks and start back at the beginning. It's such a good feeling.

That's kind of where I'm at right now... clearing the blocks. If you look back on the to do list I posted on this blog a few weeks ago, there are few if any items on that list that have yet to be accomplished. Granted, there are still things being added, but it's shrinking faster than it's growing. I'm not in the clear yet, but there is definitely hope on the horizon.

But then, whenever you reach that point in the game, it seems like you've just gravely offended the game or otherwise pissed it off, and it decides to throw a shit-fit and hurl blocks at you from every direction. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Tetris is a game you can't win... it just gets harder, and you either get better at it as the game progresses or you die. One way or another, the game wins, so the point is to do your absolute best before time runs out.



I play a lot of Tetris.