It probably should not make me so extraordinarily happy that I've found someone who can play Tetris "at my level." But it does. And for a selfish, gloating moment, I'd like to expound upon that.
Halfway through the first semester of my sophomore year in college I got engaged. Happy times, but we planned the entire wedding in 2 months, which brought about a lot (and I mean a LOT) of stress. During Finals Week I had the closest thing to a Nervous Breakdown that I've ever had. It was frustrating and horrifying and life just didn't seem manageable.
Luckily, during this same time period, my roommate had an old school Nintendo system, along with many worthy games. The most worthy among them, of course: Tetris. So what did I do for many, many long hours? I played until I couldn't even keep my eyes open. My eyes would burn and itch, but I'd still be mindlessly playing Tetris. While on the phone for way too long, talking about wedding details: playing Tetris. While avoiding homework and essays and studying: playing Tetris. While not sleeping, because I liked to torture myself that way: playing Tetris.
And I got quite good at it. I beat my line score from childhood pretty quickly. Up to 120 lines, and then I was toast. Then up to 140. Then into the 160's. And then, miraculously, I topped out at 181. You probably don't realize how good that is. It's ridiculously good. So good, in fact, that I challenge anyone and everyone to try and beat me. Cause I know that their Tetris "skills" are likely to fall far short of my own. No wonder: I can play Tetris while brain dead.
I have since beat my high score. Highest line score to date: 197. Not that I have video record of it, but if I did, I could post the 8th highest score on the "Official Electronic Scoreboard" chart.
Somehow, that should make me important. What are my life accomplishments? 8th place in the Tetris Highest Lines Competition.
(Check it out here:
http://www.twingalaxies.com/index.aspx?c=22&pi=23&gi=4164&vi=14178 )
I challenged my friend, TT, to a Tetris Showdown a few years back. He was pretty confident, but that was okay with me. I like it when people are confident about their skills so that I can squish their pride and humble them. Makes me feel All Tetris Powerful. ... He didn't even come close to my score, and he had to admit that I'm the Better Tetris Player. (See how I report all this like it actually matters?)
Then, a few months ago, a friend of mine on my soccer team said she'd seen my report on Facebook that I'm really good at Tetris, and suggested that I should play against her husband, Toby, cause he's pretty good, too. Oh, it was on. They're super nice people and they brought their kids over for dinner and then: my 2nd Tetris Showdown.
To my surprise, Toby was better than I thought he would be (yes, I do just assume everyone else pretty much sucks, even if they say they're good). After watching him play about 40 lines I told him that we could be Tetris friends. He has skills. Like, real true Skills. Like, he put pieces where I would have put them--the true mark of a Tetris genius. His expertise is raw score instead of line score, so he wasn't as concerned with the total lines. He put in a nice show, but I still beat him, even in raw score. However, it wasn't the thrill of squashing his Tetris pride, like the other Showdown had been. Because Toby was a Worthy Tetris Adversary.
After watching me play, we had a discussion about our Tetris strategies and how they differ. Why we place pieces where we do. We talked about the benefits of placing certain pieces in certain places and directions. I was in heaven! Someone who can talk to me about a game I love, in a way that acknowledges my genius! Aside from the ego boost, it was also great to find someone who is "at my level."
We have a Tetris re-match loosely planned for the future. Toby's parents bought him an old school system, so he now can hone his skills. Which means I should probably start working on my own, getting back to my old line score. When I played Toby a few weeks ago, I could only get to the 160's! That's not good enough to beat a Real Tetris Master! I will have to get back to work.
And I now declare Toby my Tetris BFF.
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