a new obsession

I'm a game player. As in, I literally like to play games.

I used to love Backgammon, and played for hours and hours in college with my good friend Jean. We were taught by our Turkish friend Toni.

I've always liked gin, but have transferred my card allegiance to Canasta.

Mahjong never interested me much.

Growing up, my sister Valerie and I used to play marathon Monopoly games lasting days.

I still play Words with Friends and still really like it. In fact, I've become very close friends with someone I barely knew before we started playing.

I do the Times crossword puzzle daily, but use autoheck after Wednesday (sometimes before).

And just recently, two good friends introduced me to Spelling Bee. It's another daily NY Times game where you try to reach a certain level called, of all things, Genius. 

The rules are simple, so it's easy to learn. You just make words using the 7 letters you are given. Words must be a minimum of 4 letters, and must include the middle letter. You can use the same letters multiple times in a word. Here's an example of what a game looks like. 

So every day, after reading through emails, I sit with a cup of coffee and start this addictive game.

Some days I get to Genius level relatively quickly. 

While other days it takes me hours and hours (on and off and while I do other things).  

But the worst are those days where I become frustrated and utterly stressed, trying to find the last one or two words to make Genius level. 

And some days I just have to give up.

Two of my good friends also play, and when we get to Genius we post our score. If my friends make it and I don't, I feel stupid. As if by not making Genius, I truly have sub-par intelligence.

Here are just a few of the texts that reflect our feelings on various days this month.

I know there are worse obsessions. 

And I can argue that it's good for the brain. 

But in the end, I just really want to make Genius, especially, and most importantly, if my friends have.