sudoku is spanish for sudoku.

*you may associate more with this post if you've ever done a sudoku puzzle* i'm just saying...
i've crossed over. at first, i hated them. but it was only because i had never experienced the feeling of [pure genius and] satisfaction after finishing one. i don't care that it's level facil (that's spanish for easy), i finished it. i always make sure to pick up the free newspaper that's printed here in bcn called the ADN because on the back there are 2 sudoku puzzles: facil y dificil.

today, though, i had a life moment. uh oh... warning... cheezy j life parallel coming up... i was on the train back, curling my toes really tightly in order to keep my balance because it was so packed that i couldn't get a spot against the wall. so there i was, doing my sudoku as things were quickly falling into place. 5 here. 4 there. 1,2, OK missing a 9 when all of the sudden i hit the wall. UH-OH. i made an error somewhere. there was one blank left and it would have been a repeated number in the vertical row. UGH. i tried to go back and retrace my steps. where had i doubled up? what did i do wrong?!

well, i glanced at the solutions. come on, though, it's on the same page and just disguised by being "upside down." so i saw that all i had to do was switch 2 numbers. i actually hadn't doubled up. but i couldn't see the problem even though it was right in my face. sometimes we need to just take a step back. we need a perspective change. and sometimes the numbers are all there, but it's just not right. you can "have everything" in the same place, but life doesn't seem to pan out.  now, with sudoku, i can just erase my errors.

being here in spain is a good time for me to step back and get a bit of a perspective check. it's also a reminder that life is more like an ink pen rather than a pencil...

back at the beginning of this process to come to spain, a friend was encouraging me to come. as i was weighing my pros and cons, a big one was missing out on things at home. he reminded me that in life, you always miss out on things. you can't possibly do everything. but by not doing some things, you get to experience other great things. i stored that nugget of wisdom deep in my heart as i've often been one to wish i could have experienced something else, too. it's a reminder to live in the present. being thankful of where i am, what i'm experiencing, what i'm seeing and who i'm meeting.  thanks, friend. :-)