Mel, a co-worker (and office-mate) of mine, suggested I wrote a letter to Tetris to tell it (her? him?) how much I love and appreciate its presence in my life. So here goes… (may get out of hand…)
My Dearest Tetris,
I don’t know where I’d be without you, my Russian dream. You make my life complete in many ways that are difficult to put into words. You fill all the holes in my life and then that one line of blocks disappears completely. There’s just so much to say about how much you’ve made me a better person. Where do I begin?
You are misleadingly and delightfully complex. Sure, you are just moving blocks, but part of your allure is that you give the guise of being simple while I truly know how complex it is to make all the pieces fit. You’re like an allegory for my life, because my life tends to have Korobeniki as background music.
Many other relationships I’ve had are too focused on the mistakes I’ve made, but when I screw up with you, you give me some leeway. If I can make the pieces fit, you just clear out the mistake like it never happened, and we get to pay attention to what is going on in our lives at that moment.
I have to admit that if we’re engaged in each other for too long, you tend to speed up to a pace that I can’t keep up with–you crazy wild thing! I can’t even move things to where I want nearly as quickly enough as you want me to; but you’re understanding about this, and you let me start over with a blank slate. Not only are you this forgiving, but you remember every single one of my best efforts and keep them on record in the numerical form of a high score.
I don’t feel awkward about letting a friend play with you, and everybody has something nice to say about you. You’re a big hit with my friends and you treat them all as equals; it’s not like you only give me all the good pieces, you toss it up on everyone so that they all know how much fun you can be.
You are also such a strong personality; you don’t let anyone ever beat you, and you show them who is boss when they talk the talk but can’t walk the walk when they touch your blocks. I admire this in a partner greatly.
Moreover, the organizational skills you’ve taught me have influenced everything about my life. You’ve taught me that there is a way to make everything fit, and that that is the challenge of being alive in today’s modern world, and to not give up when there seems to be too much clutter. If you think logically and strike when the time comes, you can definitely clear up some space in your life. I wish more people knew this. Also, you’ve taught me not to stack things high enough to reach the ceiling, which is also a great life skill.
I just want you to know how much you’ve made me see the world in a different light. And I want to thank you.
Love,
Nico