I sat down at a friend's apartment the some weeks ago and realized that I was surrounded by Rubik's Cubes. There were at least 5 of them floating around the room. Some people were whizzing through them, while others just stared at them with furrowed brows.
It had been a few years since I had picked up a cube and wondered if I could still manipulate one. On the mission, Elder Bradshaw called it "Baptizing the Cube" when he was able to make the last side turn all blue in under 3 minutes. My best time was around 2:30 seconds by the end of my mission. Since then, I've never been able to break 5 minutes...
There was one among the Cubing Group who seemed to be the alpha male. He was distinguishable because he was the only one spinning the layers with a single hand and had a bottle of lubrication in his pocket. After proving to myself that I could still "Baptize the Cube", I asked the alpha male if he would impart a portion of his additional wisdom upon me.
"Do you know what 'F2L' means?" he asked.
"No," I responded innocently.
"First Two Layers," he explained with a twinkle in his eye.
He then proceeded to instruct me on how to solve the first two layers all at once. I barely understood his instructions, but was sure that I would improve with just a little practice.
A few days later, The Gang reunited at Danny Gray's apartment with cubes in hand. It was still taking me 20 minutes to solve the F2L, compared to the 5 minute it took me to solve it the original way. I had basically forgotten everything. The Alpha patiently walked me through the different possibilities and their solutions again with me and sent me on my way.
A week after that, I had managed to get my "F2L" time down from 20 minutes to only 5 minutes. It still wasn't faster than the original way to solve it, but I was still showing dramatic progress.
Unfortunately, Cube Fever SEEMED to die down soon after that. I could not find the Rubik's Cube herd congregated in their usual stomping grounds. (I think Danny went on vacation.) However, in his absence, I heard that many moved on to greener pastures. Some had gone out and purchased 4-layer and even 5-layer cubes. It is my understanding that those still pursuing the dream/addiciton have become quite expert.
Alas, my cube has once again been shelved. Recently, my best solving time was 2 minutes and 53 seconds. Using the F2L method, I'm still over 5 minutes. Oh, well. Maybe I should buy the cube shown below. Then I could blow everyone away!
It had been a few years since I had picked up a cube and wondered if I could still manipulate one. On the mission, Elder Bradshaw called it "Baptizing the Cube" when he was able to make the last side turn all blue in under 3 minutes. My best time was around 2:30 seconds by the end of my mission. Since then, I've never been able to break 5 minutes...
There was one among the Cubing Group who seemed to be the alpha male. He was distinguishable because he was the only one spinning the layers with a single hand and had a bottle of lubrication in his pocket. After proving to myself that I could still "Baptize the Cube", I asked the alpha male if he would impart a portion of his additional wisdom upon me.
"Do you know what 'F2L' means?" he asked.
"No," I responded innocently.
"First Two Layers," he explained with a twinkle in his eye.
He then proceeded to instruct me on how to solve the first two layers all at once. I barely understood his instructions, but was sure that I would improve with just a little practice.
A few days later, The Gang reunited at Danny Gray's apartment with cubes in hand. It was still taking me 20 minutes to solve the F2L, compared to the 5 minute it took me to solve it the original way. I had basically forgotten everything. The Alpha patiently walked me through the different possibilities and their solutions again with me and sent me on my way.
A week after that, I had managed to get my "F2L" time down from 20 minutes to only 5 minutes. It still wasn't faster than the original way to solve it, but I was still showing dramatic progress.
Unfortunately, Cube Fever SEEMED to die down soon after that. I could not find the Rubik's Cube herd congregated in their usual stomping grounds. (I think Danny went on vacation.) However, in his absence, I heard that many moved on to greener pastures. Some had gone out and purchased 4-layer and even 5-layer cubes. It is my understanding that those still pursuing the dream/addiciton have become quite expert.
Alas, my cube has once again been shelved. Recently, my best solving time was 2 minutes and 53 seconds. Using the F2L method, I'm still over 5 minutes. Oh, well. Maybe I should buy the cube shown below. Then I could blow everyone away!
Baptizing the cube. :) I was so excited to learn how to do that when you got home from your mission. I wrote down all the steps and tricks...I wonder where that paper is, because I'm sure I no longer have the magic.
ReplyDeleteI never got the magic. But every good magician/performer needs an appreciative audience. Sign me up! Love that new cube pictured at the bottom. I think that's more along my skill level.
ReplyDeleteCould get me one of those to give BG for Christmas? She could amaze and astound all her friends!
ReplyDelete