took me six months to complete it. It would sit at the end of my desk like a shining beacon of humiliation that I could not solve it. Everyday, I would stare at it as if it were scar put upon me by a gypsy temptress. It would temp and tease me by calling my name while on conference calls and say "Solve me, i'm easy" "you almost have it, keep going". Well, fall became winter. Winter turned to spring. One day, when no one was looking, I tried to smash it open on the ground. I hurled the well built piece of science fiction like I was Roger Clemens (during his juicing period, mouth guard and all). It had the upper hand on me, and the puzzle knew it. It used its powers of confusion to rocket itself off the concrete subfloor and bounce into my window, cracking it like almighty Thor unleashing the thunderclouds from Asgard. I fell to the floor, my back fell against the walls painted all white with my shame and humiliation. My hands, exasperated, ran through my hair, realizing that I hit rock bottom. I had no choice, there always comes a time when you must face the music. But, i stood up, refusing to lose to the black magic that this sorcery has brought into my life. I calmly stole the plant from the office area and strategically placed it in front of the quickly spreading crack in the glass. The reminder from my Outlook calendar reminder blares with the familiar tune of Antoine Dotson's "Hide your kids, hide your wife" another conference call...... I began to ask myself, how low have i become? Then the lightning bolt, intended for the window, strikes me! Waves of creativity and ingenuity crash over me like a tsunami. "Look up the answer on Youtube" Antoine, you are a genius. I knew that the years of ridicule of having your music on my playlist was for a future event. Over the course of the next 90 seconds, I found the How to video on solving this puzzle. Triumphantly, I raised my hands in celebration as I open the puzzle and take out the nut that was placed inside. Sweat rolling off my brow, acted like the tears of god washing and cleansing me of this experience. I felt that god's acceptance of my tempting the devil came when it began to rain outside. His celebration to the world of me beating the devil back for hundreds of years to come was the rain that fell. A few weeks later, a co-worker threw me a hard candy from the hallway. Poorly thrown as it was, it bounced off my desk and went into the same window i mentioned previously. "OMG! look what you did" i say back pointing to the cracked window. "Dont worry buddy, its our secret. I wont sell you out. But one day I may need a favor and remember this moment". my co-worker nods in acknowledgement. What have I become, I asked myself while I ran to the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror, my eyes glowed red like I was possessed. The rolling fires in hell shine through me like a beacon....a lighthouse for evil. Then I blink, and I have horns and forked tongue. I awake from my nightmare. life it seems is back to normal. phew. Other than that, the packaging was a little bulky and I didnt like the shade of green of the box.
