The Grand Master of Tetris: The Post in Which I get Competitive with my Husband

Somewhere between the two-left footedness of childhood, the apathy of adolescence and my life today, I became a very competitive person.

I think maybe it’s because I was never very good at sports; I didn’t score many (OK, any) goals or runs or points or whatever you get when you kick, throw, hit or run after a ball. I didn’t ever play to win. Apparently, now in my grownup life, that has come back to haunt me. I tackle Scrabble with a vengeance, murder my opponents in LIFE, and my hippos are way hungrier than anyone else’s.

But my weird, relatively new-found obsession with wining came to a head last night. With Tetris.



In a past life (when I was in college) I played Tetris almost daily. It helped me clear my mind, re-focus, and get ready for whatever lay ahead. It was relaxing, fun, and somewhat mindless. And may I add, I was pretty damn kick-ass at Tetris, if I do say so myself. In fact, my high scores would speak to that, if I still had my high scores and if my version of the game could talk.

Last night, I got the itch. It was time. Tetris – I have returned.

I pulled out the laptop, cracked my knuckles, logged on to www.freetetris.org, and started flipping, dropping, and building walls. I was doing well. Until … I got heckled. By my husband. Who told me how he’d beat both versions of the game. How his high “score” (number of lines) was around 130. “What’s the most lines you’ve gotten,” he asked, mockingly. “Have you ever gotten a Tetris before?”  He questioned, QUESTIONED my Tetris prowess! I gritted my teeth, and clicked the arrows on the keyboard like a madwoman. Game over after 57 lines. Game over after 59 lines. Game over after 53 lines.

Time ticked by, and I kept telling myself, just one more game. I must make it to 130 lines. I must win.

Bedtime rolled around and I had made it up to 79 lines. Frustrated, I flipped the laptop shut, curled up into bed, and closed my eyes, only to see dropping squares, lines, and those weird step things that come in two different colors. Adrenalin pumping, I paced the apartment.

I will not play Tetris in the dark at midnight. I will not play Tetris in the dark at midnight.

I caved.

High score: 115. Such a waste. Scott’s won this round.

But my competitive side would like to step up right now and announce, loudly, to the blogosphere: I kick his ass at Scrabble every time we play.