30 before 30 - The Rubik's Cube, Part 2

Sorry to leave you hanging for such a long time... I'm sure you were all dying to know whether I figured out how to solve the puzzle (side note: do you see that symbol at the end of the last sentence? It's a sarcmark and it's a new punctuation made to indicate sarcasm... not sure if works on computers who don't have it installed... are you able to see it? )

For a refresher, click here for Part 1.

The answer is YES I DID!!!!!!  I am now a proud knower-of-how-to-solve-the-rubik's-cube!

So, the first thing I did was scramble the cube.

Because this was my first time attempting to solve it, I watched Pogobat's tutorials at the same time. It took me 40 minutes to complete finish... but I did it!!!!

It was actually pretty simple to do! Once you understand the architecture of the thing, it's just a matter or using the appropriate "algorithms" to get them to the right spot!

Of course, this does not count as "learning to solve the Rubik's cube" because I was merely following the youtube guy's instructions. A true test would be to rescramble the cube and solve it ON MY OWN without the assistance of the videos.

I had Matthew scramble the cube for me.

Using mnemonic devices to memorize the different algorithms Pogobat taught me, I finished the cube on my own in 8 minutes!!!!  I get that some of you might think that I'm just showing pictures of solved cubes and didn't actually solve it myself... So for you non-believers, here's a sped up video of me solving the cube... You can tell it's me because I have ugly wrinkly hands with chubby fingers and a scar on my right hand from when I was a curious 11-month old and attempted to pull myself up using the cord of an iron that my mom was currently using (needless to say, the iron fell on my hand leaving me with permanent scars and dreams of being a hand model out the window)!

The darn thing kept getting stuck, so I probably could have shaved a few seconds if I had the cube oiled!

I can finally cross something off of my 30 before 30 list! Woohoo!

It took me a total of 90 minutes to watch all the videos and memorize the algorithms. Currently, my fastest time is a little under 7 minutes! Who knows?!?! Maybe one day I can enter a "speed cubing" competition... :-D

That goal is probably for another list though...

30 before 30 - The Rubik's Cube, Part 1

sorry for the cheesy graphic

I have never owned a Rubik's Cube, but as I am a child of the 80s, I have played with a ton of them over the years.  Many of my cousins had one and every time there was a family party, I would spend a few minutes hours twisting and reconfiguring that darn cube to try to solve it, but could never figure it out.  The most I've probably completed was just one side of a cube and it was one of my proudest moments!

I love puzzles and word games.  When I discovered Minesweeper in 1997, I was determined to be the best at it.  I played that game every chance I had.  My all-time best scores were: Beginner - 3, Intermediate - 19, and Expert - 86 (can you beat that?).  I cried when my brother had to wipe out the hard drive because of a stupid virus before I had the chance to save a "print screen" of my accomplishment... so I don't have proof of this feat I achieved 13 years ago, but please believe me when I say those times are real!  Also, my favorite board game is Scrabble/Words with Friends and when PlayStation was the best gaming console, I was addicted to Roll Away (yes, I was a video game geek, but only played RPGs and puzzle games... like that's supposed to make me seem less geeky).  Anyway, somehow, I never really put in the effort to solve the Rubik's cube -- the ultimate puzzle.

Until now.

As part of my 30 before 30 list, I set out to solve the Rubik's cube.  Of course, I wouldn't be able to do it on my own.  I scoured the interwebs to find the best videos and articles that would teach me the proper techniques and was also easy to understand! I may have geeky tendencies but I am no genius. There are loads of resources out there, but my favorite tutorial is from this dude:

source - doesn't he seem nice?

I watched all of Pogobat's videos and became very excited to try the techniques out myself.... but, ummm... I didn't have a Rubik's cube!!!

D'oh.

I went to Target (my favorite store, zomg!) and tried to restrain myself from buying anything other than the Rubik's cube (who knew I'd get sucked into buying 'back to school' supplies when I've been out of college for over 5 years).  I wanted to find a cute one (like one with pink and teal colors - do they even make those?!), but could only find the original.

Here she is (I named her Biksy... couldn't name her Ruby, which would be a logical name.  I already named our first tree that, but that's another story):

Brand new, straight out of the package. 

Aww.. now she's all messed up

Did I finally learn how to solve the Rubik's cube?!? Or did I get ridiculously frustrated and ended up chucking that stupid thing at Pogobat's smiling face staring at me through the computer?! 

 Stay tuned...

30 before 30 - The Beginning...

Ziplining in Kaua'i

Long before the Bucket List movie came out, I made a really simple site to list everything I wanted to do in life from the really easy (i.e. fly a kite) to the more challenging (i.e. be on a gameshow). Very slowly, I have been able to cross some things off and it felt really great to watch my list grow smaller... but as I reviewed the things I've already completed, I also found myself adding new things I wanted to do and experience.

I have been very blessed throughout the years and am super happy with everything I've accomplished in life so far, but sometimes life goes by so fast and I lose focus or forget the goals I have made for myself.

Thus, I've given myself a deadline - my 30th birthday.

Like many others have already done, I made a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. This list will include the things on my old list that I never completed, plus a bunch of new things I want to do! I have a little over three years, which gives me plenty of time. I know it won't be easy, but I look forward to challenge.

I hope by doing this I will be a better, happier, and more fulfilled person by the age of 30. If not, at least I'll have done a bunch of cool things I can tell my future grandkids about!

I'll be sure to continuously post my progress here... If you have a 30 before 30 list of your own, I'd love to hear about it below!



[in no specific order]
1. Run a full marathon
2. Visit all of the other main Hawaiian islands (Oahu, Maui, Kaua'i, Hawai'i, Ni'ihau, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Kaho'olawe)
3. Kid(s)!
4. Audition for musical/play/reality show Oops! I forgot I auditioned for American Idol back in 2004 New Goal: Learn to make French Macarons
5. Harry Potter World
6. Disneyworld
7. Master 3 Filipino dishes
8. Have an anniversary photoshoot (like an engagement photoshoot)
9. Learn how to sew
10. Learn how to really swim (I can make it from one end of a pool the other, but I don't think I can do laps and certainly cannot tread water for the life of me)
11. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
12. Fly a kite
13. Attend every type of professional sporting event: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, horse racing, arena football, soccer, NASCAR
14. Watch the Lord of the Rings film trilogy
15. Teatro Zinani
16. Master 3 American dishes
17. Ride a bike further than around the block
18. Build a snowman
19. Go on an East Coast vacation with the hubs
20. Visit the Coca-cola factory
21. Finish painting all the rooms in the house
22. Visit a fortune teller
23. Learn how to solve the rubik's cube 8/15/10
24. Sing the national anthem at a baseball/hockey/football game
25. White water rafting (different from regular water rafting...)
26. Take ballroom dancing lessons with the hubs
27. Go on an Alaskan cruise
28. Cut my hair short (above the shoulder)
29. Have a full conversation (at least 10 exchanges) with my parents in Tagalog (no Tag-lish allowed)
30. Go on a Jelly Belly Factory tour