There had to be an admission sooner or later. My name is Alison, and I confess to Su Doku. Do you play it? Do it? Is this now something to confess to, given that su doku fever has dimmed a little?
Perhaps I can give a comparison. Back when I was teaching English in Poland, words were my stock in trade, morning noon and night. I enjoyed it, but it meant I wanted something unrelated to words to wind down in the evening. Mum kindly sent me cross-stitch samplers, which did the trick.
Not that much has changed on the words front. I may not teach now, but much of my work involves words, emails, letters, phone conversations etc. Numbers have become quite a good way to relax, particularly on work trips, where words continue from morning to night, including over mealtimes with clients.
Yes, it is addictive. I can’t do the fiendish ones very often, but I can usually manage the difficult ones fairly reguarly. It doesn’t matter that you’ve just solved one – you feel the need to do another one. Immediately. And preferably even faster than the previous one. No wonder the Japanese, the originators of su doku, include how long they take to solve a puzzle.
Now my travel kit includes a magnetic su doku board. I admit that I’ve still to get the hang of it a bit more – the hand and eye skills are a bit different to writing in the numbers with a pen.
Having chosen a job that is ‘useful..worthwhile…’ and many other balanced, equatable things, it’s quite nice to do something that is not particularly constructive, but just fun.