Puzzles

Journal Entries for Puzzles

Puzzling #1: I love puzzles! However, I am not very good at them. I’m not sure what it is, as I am a very visual person. Perhaps it is that I often learn through repetition, and there is not repetition in puzzles. Once you fit that piece, you fit that piece.

Our puzzle is beautiful, but very complicated. Today we worked on starting the frame.

Puzzling #2: Today seemed like we were starting to get somewhere. The frame is probably about halfway there. It helped that all 4 of our group members were there today. I think it’s really helpful when we each tackle a section of the puzzle and then work on that particular section. It’s really fun going through all the many pieces and seeing, “Oh, that’s my piece…wait, that’s his…that one goes over there…” instead of just being overwhelmed by how many pieces they are. So, already a life lesson from the puzzles: when you break things down and deal with them piece by piece (and as a team, if possible), they are no longer overwhelming.

Puzzling #3: We moved our puzzle to a different table today because we realized that the board we were working with was too small for our puzzle. I’ve never seen such a big puzzle! Today we started to color code our pieces into plastic bags so that we can get the puzzle done faster. Hopefully this will help us to be efficient. It’s starting to feel a bit hopeless, like we’ll never get done.

Puzzling #4: Our puzzle was particularly frustrating today. We have finished the border, but that is all. Even with four of us splitting the work into sections, it is incredibly difficult to find the pieces you need for your part of the puzzle. I’m trying to be optimistic in that when some members of the other group come to help us, the work will go faster.

Puzzling #5: Color-coding was and remains to be the best idea anyone has ever had and I use it in every area of my life, whenever and wherever possible. It is the best idea for this puzzle ever. If I need a piece of a fish, I look in the fish bag. If I need some ocean, I look in the ocean bag. Color-coding made my day today.

Puzzling #6: Biggest puzzle ever, most frustrating project ever, best idea for improving teamwork in a group of people I ever imagined could exist. Seriously, it creates conversation and just forces us to work together as a team. We don’t have a choice. It’s wonderful. Families should do this when they go for counseling.

Puzzling #7: I think the ocean in our puzzle is bigger than the real ocean.

Puzzling #8: Today, it was just Kristen and I puzzling and it was quite wonderful. It’s a bit easier with less people, because we’re not all in each other’s way. Someone else was also giving us a hand with our puzzle after I left on Monday, and it’s starting to come together. Maybe the real ocean is bigger than our puzzle. Maybe.

Puzzling #9: So, we took a pretty long break from puzzling. The next important thing that happened was: Chenelle finished our puzzle! She is the best. Seriously, I am so psyched that this puzzle we’ve spent the entire semester doing is finally finished. This makes me so happy.

Puzzling #10: We’re doing an installation with our puzzles. Here’s the thing: we spent SUCH a long time doing that puzzle. Seriously, I had nightmares about it. And now we’re tearing it up? I’m not sure I like this…but maybe we will be able to collaborate to find a creative solution.

Puzzling #11: Yay! We decided as a group to keep our puzzles at least partially together. This makes me happy. I like the idea that we have to use everyone’s puzzle on our balloon, because that stresses the collaborative part of this project.