In the 90’s, I really really wanted a Gameboy. We weren’t very well off, so someone in the family bought me one of those handheld games that played a Tetris clone. Between me and my mother, we wore that thing out. We were in a race to see who could reach the maximum score of “all nines”. I don’t remember how many nines there were.
Most people my age can attest to the weird side effect of a Tetris binge. If you were addicted to Tetris – and really, who wasn’t? – you more than likely ended up with the “Tetris effect“. Your brain spent so much time processing those bricks that you saw them constantly. If you closed your eyes, they floated across the back of your eyelids. When you were awake, the bricks were still there, just at the periphery of your vision. Sometimes, you could almost feel a sort of eye strain, like you had been trying to focus on two distances at once.
It wasn’t restricted to just Tetris, either. I can remember having a similar feeling when my BFF and I would spend hours playing King’s Quest games. Later, my mind would waste time before obsessively typing MUD commands before I could fall asleep.
It’s happening again.
The weather has been nice enough to play outside with the poi after dinner. I’m usually out there for about an hour after dinner, longer on the weekends. I’ve spent the last week practicing a couple of new moves, and it’s been slow-going. After watching some video a couple of weeks ago, I realized my reverse 3-beat weave was missing a beat on one side. Between the new trick(s) and the missing beat, I’ve been drilling a lot more frequently than just flowing.
However, even when the pois’ leashes aren’t in my hands, my brain still spins them. I don’t know if it’s trying to work out the tricks or simply choreographing moves to a soundtrack I can’t hear. Also, it’s not only my mind that’s in flow art overdrive. Have you ever watched someone run through a routine in their head? Their muscle memory takes over, and sometimes they give the slightest bit of a performance. Shawshank, on at least one occasion, caught me “spinning” while we were out for a walk.
Am I any better for all that mental rehearsal going on? Perhaps. I think sometimes it’s better to work out the tricks, no strings attached.
Or, working out how quickly you can type abbreviations to get that stupid tape before the robot kills you in Space Quest ;-p
For some reason, it’s The Perils of Rosella. That’s the one that did it. I think it took up most of our summer!
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